An Unexpected Christmas Baby (The Daycare Chronicles 2)

He’d pulled out his phone. Had it on his thigh. She couldn’t hear any sounds coming from it, but realized, if she glanced at the screen, she’d see the newborn child he’d taken on that week.

Busy avoiding that choice, she wanted to ask if he knew anything about offshore accounts, but couldn’t figure out a legitimate reason for wanting to know.

And wondered why he’d asked her out to lunch.

“How’s everything going at home?” she asked instead. Not a Stella question. Unless he happened to mention her in the course of his answer.

He told her about Diamond Rose’s first bath, complete with turning up the heat in the house. And her heart gave another little flip.

Because of the baby, she told herself.

What kind of fate was forcing her to spend time with a man who had an infant? And be attracted to him to...

“I’ve been trying to work up to asking if you’d like to join us for an evening,” he said as they finished their wraps and threw away the trash, walking side by side as they made their way through the park to where they’d catch a cab back to the office. They’d spent all of twenty minutes together.

“Us?” she asked, concentrating on her step, keeping it steady. She had to do this. To pretend to be friends with him. And it wasn’t like she freaked out anytime she was around an infant. She flew on planes with them. Ate in restaurants with them. She just kept her distance.

“Diamond Rose and me.” He’d put his phone in his shirt pocket, his hands in the pockets of his dress pants.

She suddenly felt hot and waited for the chill that would sweep over her when the flash ended.

Maybe she really was getting the flu.

Could she at least hope so?

“I’d like that,” she told him while hoping the thrill she felt was because she was one step closer to helping her father.

For the next couple of steps she warred with herself over whether or not she should say more—perhaps tell him she had baby issues.

But she didn’t tell anyone that except the people to whom she was closest.

Besides, this wasn’t a real friendship.

“When?” she asked as their arms touched.

“Tomorrow night? I can make lasagna tonight so we’d just have to heat it up. We could watch a movie.”

What about Stella? She had to ask.

“I might be out of line here, but...are you seeing anyone? I...like to know what I’m walking into.” No. Wrong. All wrong.

Now it sounded as if she was interested in starting a “seeing each other” relationship. Which she wasn’t. She couldn’t.

Could she?

In any case, she’d had no business asking.

“Not anymore I’m not,” he said. “I was until recently.”

“How recently?”

“Last week.”

Oh. So, she was...some kind of rebound?

Strangely, that felt okay. Was actually growing on her. A friendship—maybe even a real one?—while he adjusted his life. Because even if he turned out to be her father’s thief, Howard wasn’t planning to press charges. Yes. This could all work. She could help her father, and maybe be friends for real. Someday. When this was all over.

They just had to make sure those erroneous trades never occurred again.