Later.
Yeah, I liked the sound of later.
Not that he needed to know that I liked anything that came out of his mouth. I had to make sure his head could still fit through the door.
15 Ian
It took two weeks before she finally let me take Audrey to work.
And, holy shit, I regretted it almost instantly, rethinking keeping her there. It was like she could sense my weakness and cried unless I held her. Then, I remembered how tired Carina looked this morning when she finally caved and agreed to rest for a few hours. She told me she’d come get Audrey at lunch and then her eyes closed before I even walked out.
That left me with a tiny human strapped to my chest as I bounced my way through a phone conference. Hell, I bounced all the time, even when I wasn’t holding her. Erik caught me bouncing the other day while I looked over spreadsheets. He’d quirked a brow, shaking his head with a laugh as he walked away.
Both guys gave me shit. Jared spent the morning laughing at me as I struggled to move without waking Audrey. I didn’t think he’d ever stop laughing when he caught me baby-talking. I’d flipped him off and continued talking to my girl. Ain’t no shame in baby-talking to the most beautiful girl ever.
By the time lunch rolled around, I almost collapsed in relief when Erik held up a bag from our favorite sub place. “Lunch in your office? You’ve got that baby bouncer in there, right?”
My face lit up, remembering the chair Carina promised was magic. I pulled Audrey off me with a groan, my front a little sweaty from where she’d been resting all morning. Gently placing her in the seat, I sent up a tiny prayer to the heavens that she didn’t wake up. Her face screwed up, and she grunted a little, but when I began bouncing the seat, she settled again.
Just like magic.
“Damn, I don’t know how Carina did this for the last few months,” I complained, stretching my back before plopping down in my chair.
“Because she’s a hell of a lot stronger than you.”
I scowled, but then shrugged. “You’re not wrong.”
“I rarely am.”
Scoffing, I threw my sandwich wrapper at his head, which he easily dodged. “God,” I groaned. “This sub tastes like heaven after all the calories I burned bouncing her. My quads are gonna be feeling it tomorrow. No wonder Carina has such phenomenal legs.”
“Can’t say I’ve looked since I stare at Alex all the time.”
“Alexandra’s got some great legs too. I’ve looked at hers plenty of times.”
I was barely holding back my laugh before the wrapper hit me in the head. Erik was so easy and protective of Alex. I liked getting a rise out of him.
“So, how has the last month been?”
“Good. Exhausting, but good. Every time I feel like I might face plant from lack of sleep, I look at her tiny face, and it’s all worth it.”
“She’s pretty damn cute.”
“Of course she is. She’s my kid. How could she not be the best-looking baby there ever was.”
“How does Carina put up with you?”
“I think she’s secretly in love with me,” I said with a wink. “She at least likes to look at my body and who could blame her.”
Erik groaned and rolled his eyes. I had that effect on a lot of people. “How are things going with you two? You stay there, don’t you? Are you guys…together?”
“No, we’re not together-together. But things are going well. We’re a team.” I thought of how to explain it and realized I wasn’t sure because we never talked about it. “A team that never talked about how to be a team, but we’re making it work.”
“So, you’ve never sat down and talked to her?” Erik said, slowly. His scrunched face was a mix of confusion, and doubt and it kind of pissed me off.
“No.”
“Ian, how the hell have you been with this woman for two months—basically living on her couch for three weeks as you raise your child with her—and you haven’t talked about what’s next?”
I scowled at his logic and ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t know. Jesus. Things have been crazy, and we’ve just…fuck, I don’t know.”
He laughed, and I thought of lobbing something sharper at his head. “What do you want?”
“I don’t know.” I sounded like a broken record.
He gave me a doubtful stare. Erik knew me better than anyone; he’d been my best friend since we were kids. “Yes, you do.”
I tried to hold his stare, but Erik was better at being a hard-ass than I was. “Fine. I want her,” I almost shouted, throwing my hands up. Audrey stirred in her seat, and I quickly bounced her again until she quieted down.
“Was that so hard?”
“Yes. Happy?”
“A little,” he admitted with a smirk.