His gaze sweeps us, and he puts his hands into his pockets. He looks young and wary…maybe a touch embarrassed.
V smiles, breaking the ice. “That fits almost perfect. I thought we were about the same size.”
Miller lifts his dark brows, looking decidedly awkward. But he polices his expression, giving Rayne a polite smile.
"Thanks for the borrow."
"Yeah, no problem."
"Why don't you sit down," I tell Miller. I stand up before he can, and hold out Eden. "Want to hold a baby?"
"Umm."
Vance laughs. "Sky."
I look at Miller. "That's my nickname. It's short for Skywalker, like in the movies."
"Star Wars," Miller murmurs.
"Yep."
I look to Rayne, who scoops Eden out of my hands but then nods from Miller to the couch. "Sit down,” Vance says. “I want you to smell her."
Miller laughs. "What?" He's looking at Vance like he’s crazy, but he’s got a big grin on his face now.
"She smells like the baby products say they will. You know, the baby lotion? That comes in the pink bottle? She's got a scent, man. Like flowers and unicorns or some…such something."
He was going to say “some shit.” I smirk, noting that he censored himself for the kid.
Miller's looking nervous but amused as Vance sets a throw pillow on his lap. "Don't be awkward," Vance warns, grinning. "Everybody's equally unqualified to hold a baby. They're like little animals...flopping all around. It's not easy. That's why we have the pillow. And your very usable arm here."
The guy gives a soft snicker.
"Hey, it’s better than unusable, like my arms. This is gonna be a breeze for you,” Rayne teases.
Damn—that reminds me that poor V needs to see another doctor for his painful shoulder. I frown over at him, wondering why he didn't mention the post-surgery elbow being "unusable" to me.
He gives me a wink, saying that he's just putting on to amuse our new friend here.
"I'm going to leave you guys to baby-sniffing,” I say. “I'll be in touch. Going for a short day even if there's things to do; I’ll be home early."
I waggle my brows at V, who nods once.
He sets baby on Miller's lap and urges the guy to hold onto her sides, just above the hips.
"Just smile at her,” Rayne says. “Make some faces."
Then Vance walks around the couch and wraps both arms around me. "I love you, Papa," he murmurs.
We're both grinning as we pull apart.
"Love you more," I murmur.
"You two be good," I say, half-joking.
“Will do, Papa,” Vance says.
I lean over the couch and touch Eden’s tummy. "Bye, baby."
"Bye, Dad," Rayne says in a baby-sounding voice.
The young guy—Miller—laughs. Because my new husband is lifting his spirits. By letting the kid hold our baby.
Life is crazy.
Vance
It's kind of hard to be around the kid at close-range, knowing what I know about him—but he didn't actually tell me. He told Sky, and while I get that, I sort of wish he'd told me, too, so I could...I don't know. Give him a hug or some shit.
He told Sky he's going to college—that he's already started, several weeks back—but even that's a fact I'm not supposed to know. I put some space between us on the couch and instruct him on what to do with Eden.
"You can raise her hand and do a high-five."
He gives me a look like he thinks I'm insane—but then he does it, and it makes him smile.
"Now, listen. This is the moment. You're gonna lean down and sniff her hair. Just a discreet, polite sniff. Try to make a funny face while doing it, so you won’t scare her. Don't worry, I won't be taking any pictures. Then you let me know if you think she smells like the baby lotion."
I stand over him, wearing a cheesy sort of smile, and the guy looks up at me like I'm the weirdest. "Did you put it on her?" he asks.
"Put what?"
"The pink baby lotion."
"No." I laugh. "That would defeat the purpose. It would confuse her smell. I like the natural baby smell. Not store-bought."
He shoots me another weird look. "Yeah, bro. Okay."
But he leans down and shuts his eyes and sniffs near Eden's forehead. When his eyes open, he's grinning. "Okay, you're right, I guess. She does smell..." He sniffs her again. "It's the baby smell that people talk about. Sort of like lotion, but you said you didn't use that."
"Not a drop.”
"Do you put something on her skin?" He juts a brow up.
I wink. "Scentless oil. Their skin needs a lot of moisture. Kind of weird, like little aliens." I flash Missy a smile. "I'm going to get us some food from the kitchen," I tell Miller. "What do you want? More cookies?"
His lips twitch, but his face has settled back on somber mode as he lifts a shoulder. "Anything is okay." His eyes slide to mine—I'm standing to his side—and they look tired.