Daddy Undercover (Crescent Cove 9)

She loved Sadie, so of course, she’d slip her some. Me? I was beyond in the doghouse. I might as well have been in a whole new village.

Sadie sat at Gina’s feet and gave her the most adoring expression ever. Gina immediately softened and dangled a piece over Sadie’s mouth. She took it so gingerly she probably didn’t even nip Gina’s fingers.

When I occasionally offered my dog table scraps, she usually tried to take my fingertips off too.

The two of them ate bacon and ignored me until Gina heaved a giant sigh and pushed the nearly empty plate into my gut on her way past. I snagged my fingers in the back pocket of her jeans to stop her, and the look she flashed me was pure ice.

“Watch where you put your hands, pal.”

“Technically, just my fingers.” But I eased back and held up the hand in question in apology. “All night, you’ve either been darting away from me or playing with your phone.”

“Oh, was that what I was doing?”

Judging by her pissed off tone, I ventured, “No?”

“No, I was not. I was scrolling through baby sites trying to make lists of what we need for her, and then you made that jackass comment about my wearing a snuggie at the diner. It finally woke me up. I can help, but I can’t do this for you. I want to make it easier, but I don’t want the lines to blur. And right now, they’re so wavy they’re wrapped around my damn ankles.”

With the promise of bacon gone, Sadie trotted out of the room. I was so focused on Gina’s flushed face, I barely noticed.

Until Sadie let out a bark from the living room.

Gina and I stared at each other before bulleting down the hall, elbowing each other to try to get there first.

We burst into the room to find Sadie standing in one end of the boat, nosing at the baby’s face while she awkwardly patted the dog’s cheeks.

“Aww,” Gina murmured. “See, you didn’t have to keep them apart. They’re already fast friends.”

“Am I asking too much of you?” I asked quietly. “Is that what you meant in the kitchen? Putting a burden on you that you don’t want, because hey, you’re my friend, not her mother.”

“No, I’m not her mother. And I can’t pretend to play that role even if I wanted to—which I do not, because she has one. One who could come back at any time.”

“She’s not coming back, Bee. Ever. I know you can’t believe something like that but it’s true.” I pulled out the folded note in my pocket, still ignoring the envelope I’d shoved in with it.

Gina took it from me and read silently while I watched the dog and the baby basically making kissy faces at each other.

“She said if she kept her, something bad would happen. She didn’t mean…”

“I don’t know. I also don’t know how I didn’t see that kind of darkness in her but maybe in the space I was in, I wanted that.”

“Are you saying you like chained her up or something kinky? Possibly involving your handcuffs?”

I didn’t want to laugh. Not now. Maybe not for a good long while. “No. Wasn’t anything kinky. When you’ve gone long enough without, missionary feels exotic.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Shit, I can’t believe I just said that to you.”

She returned the note. “Women are lucky. We have bottom drawer boyfriends for the lean times.”

“Bottom drawer boyfriends—you kn

ow what, nope. I’m not going there. Not tonight.”

“Probably best.” Gina nodded gravely as I tucked the note back in my pocket.

I wanted to burn it, but the part of me trained to gather evidence insisted it was proof. I needed to keep every bit of documentation for when I saw my lawyer and took the next steps, whatever they happened to be.

“We—you,” Gina amended, “need to give her a name. Unless it is mentioned in that envelope you tucked away.”

“I don’t know what it says.” I also didn’t reach for it.

My eyebrows climbed as Gina reached over to slip her fingers into my pocket. She fumbled around gingerly before withdrawing the envelope and sliding her finger under the flap. “Can I?”