The Pickup (Imperfect Love 1)

Giselle’s phone rings in her pocket, and she pulls it out. “I need to take this. It’s the interview I’ve been waiting for. I’ll be right out there.” She points to the patio. “Be careful with him.” She gives me a pointed look. I hear her answer the phone as she closes the door leading to their outside patio.

I watch Reed as his eyes work to focus, and once they’re open, I can see the dark green irises that match mine. His lids flutter a few times, his eyes moving all over— not quite sure what he’s looking at—and then he lets out an ear-piercing wail.

“Oh shit!” I’m not sure what the hell to do. I look over at Giselle, and she’s still talking on the phone. Not wanting to interrupt her interview, I make my way down the hall with the crying baby. “Liv!” I whisper-yell, having no clue which room she’s in. My eyes stay trained on the screaming baby, making sure he doesn’t fall out of my hands.

Olivia opens the door, and holy shit, she’s a fucking wet dream, standing there in only a small plush towel with her wet hair pulled up in a messy bun, the ends dripping wet. I watch as the droplets run down her neck—that same neck I spent hours sucking and kissing on—over her collarbone, and disappear down into her luscious tits.

“What the hell are you doing?” She cuts across the hallway and plucks Reed out of my hands. “Who let you in here?” She glares my way while she rocks him gently, his cries lessoning by the second.

“Giselle let me in. She had to take a call…an interview, I guess, and he started crying.”

She huffs loudly in frustration, then walks down the hallway toward the kitchen, her ass swaying in the towel as I follow behind her. She stops at the counter and grabs a can of something with one hand. When she reaches for what looks like a bottle, it falls to the ground. She sighs, the baby still crying in her arms. She bends down to pick it up and the bottom of the towel rises, giving me a peek of her ass. Jesus, I’m going to hell…

“Here! Let me help.” I reach down, needing to focus my attention on something other than her sexy-as-sin body, but she snatches the bottle off the ground before I can grab it. Once she’s standing upright again, I reach for the baby in an attempt to help her.

“What are you doing?” she snaps.

“I’m trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help.” Alrighty then…Olivia finishes making the bottle one-handed then sticks the nipple-looking thing into Reed’s mouth. He immediately stops crying and starts sucking. She carefully wipes the tears from his eyes, gives him a kiss on his forehead, and then looks at me. We stand in the kitchen, staring at each other for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say. These awkward moments just might be the death of me. I’ve only known Olivia for a second, but she has got to be the most challenging person I’ve ever met.

“He has my green eyes,” I say, trying to break the silence. She glares, and I close my mouth. Just as I’m about to say what I really came here for, there’s a knock on the door.

“Jeez!” she huffs out. “It’s like Grand Central Station over here.” Still holding the baby and the bottle, and still in her towel, she opens the front door.

And it’s her dad. His gaze moves back and forth between Olivia and me. “Why are you standing in a towel with Nick here?” Olivia’s eyes dart down to her lower half then back up to me, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

“Oh my God!” She carefully thrusts the baby with his bottle into her dad’s arms before scurrying out of the living room and back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

I chuckle, and her dad hits me with a hard glare. “Why are you here with my daughter while she’s in a towel?”

“The baby was crying, and she just got out of the shower.”

He lifts the baby up, burping him like he’s done this a million times. “Doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Reed burps, and Coach lays him back down across his arms, giving him some more of the bottle.

“I came here to see Reed.” I study Coach for a few moments, comparing him to my father. I would bet my dad never fed or changed me. He probably never even held me. Ms. Kelley was a part of my life from as far back as I can remember. I doubt either of my parents actually took care of me more than they were required to. Meanwhile, Liv is doing it all on her own here—with the help of her friends and family. Not with the help of her baby’s father.