CEO Daddy (Crescent Cove 6.50)

Good thing.

I nuzzled her soft red curls. She smelled like powder and soap and…eww, dirty diaper.

On cue, Lily let out an inhuman wail.

“That time again, hmm?” With a resigned exhale, Asher came forward to pluck her out of my arms.

Shocked into silence, I watched him lay her efficiently on the little changing table beside the crib. He swapped off her old diaper with a minimum of fuss, pausing for a second to tickle her chubby belly. Baby giggles filled the room.

Such a wonderful sound.

He put the clean diaper on her, then struggled to get her back into her green striped onesie. I hurried forward to help, but he muttered, “I’ve got it. This is the one part I can do.”

I stepped back and let him show off his skills.

When she was dressed again, he passed her back to me like a sweet-smelling, slightly squirmy football. She snuggled into my embrace like she never wanted me to let her go.

My chest ached as I turned with her to the window. “She should go out and play in this kind of weather. It’s probably the last storm of the season.”

“You’re sick.”

I remained quiet. I wasn’t going to tell him that my sickness had already abated.

Not yet anyway.

Soon enough, I would have no choice but to reveal all. For today, for him, I could pretend our lives hadn’t irrevocably changed.

And for me.

“I’m feeling better.” It wasn’t a lie.

“Yes, but going outside in the cold with a baby might wear you out. Although if you try that candy, you might be protected.” He raised his eyebrows at me as I glanced over my shoulder at him.

“You’re relentless, Wainwright.” I shifted the baby so I could thumb one of the candies out of my pocket. “Humoring you,” I added, unwrapping it and popping it into my mouth.

It didn’t taste particularly good, but the honey eased the lingering irritation in my throat and the mint was pleasing enough. Within a few minutes, I couldn’t deny I felt a little better. My touchy stomach had been given enough time to settle, of course, but I could give Asher this small win.

“You’re right. It’s magic.”

Asher nodded as if he’d expected nothing less. Then he went to the closet and withdrew a pair of bright purple boots and a pair of mittens, along with a navy blue snowsuit.

Lily stirred in my arms, her legs already pumping.

“She’s excited?” I guessed.

“No. She hates this thing.” He shook the snowsuit, and Lily made a face. “But she loves snow, and she knows what this means.”

Yet again, he plucked Lily out of my arms. I waited for him to dress her to go outside as capably as he’d changed her, but he glanced at me expectantly.

“Some help, please. We don’t have long before she messes up her diaper again. Or wants to eat. Or both at the same time.”

I helped him bundle her into her snowsuit before we got her into her mittens and boots. She immediately started trying to get the boots off, banging her feet and making faces.

With a sigh, Asher tipped back his head as if he was used to this routine.

“Not a fan of footwear, I’m guessing?”

“No. She hates shoes and socks. Sometimes she hates clothes, period.”