Page 71 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
“Ah, so all the basics,” I laugh.
I want to reach over and draw her into my lap so that I can feel her laughter reverberate through me. Instead, I settle for laying a hand over hers, a point of connection.
To prove that this is really happening right now.
Noah babbles from across the table, tired of being left out of our conversation. It’s hard to distinguish from a kid who hasn’t quite mastered “the wheels on the bus,” but some things are clear.
“Tirzoo!” He waves his spoon at the tempting tray.
“I think he’s trying to say that he wants dessert,” I say very solemnly. “He’s cleaned most of his plate.”
He still has one full pancake on the plate, but he’s played with it long enough that it’s basically mush in the syrup. I want to tell him to eat it and savor every moment, because it will be a long time before his mom cooks something this edible again, but I just babble back at him.
“Are you…” Paige stops clearing the tablet to watch us, amazed. I keep talking to Noah as if she hadn’t spoken. “Are you using baby talk to communicate with my son?”
“We have a good line of communication going. We would very much appreciate it if you didn’t judge us.”
My skin turns pink just a little at the thought of someone catching me like this—being vulnerable. Kids have a way of bringing out that tender side of me.
“Well, keep it up. Noah obviously adores you.”
She finishes clearing the table and then brings out dessert, having stacked the plates in the sink for later, where we’ll wash them together.
She sighs as soon as she opens the tiramisu container. It’s more like a moan, really. The sound does something to me deep inside, and I have to make a conscious effort to ignore my growing hard-on.
“Will you serve?” Paige asks innocently, handing me the silver spoon.
She has no idea how hard it will be for me to stand up like this, but I do. Even after adjusting myself inside my khakis, it’s impossible to hide.
“Oh,” Paige gasps with a little laugh. Her cheeks turn brighter than I thought they could, nearly fluorescent. “Someone was hoping for a very different kind of dessert.”
“I didn’t mean?—”
But Paige is too busy laughing to listen to my excuses. I want to tell her that tonight isn’t about sex or sleeping with her. I would leave at the end of the night without so much as a kiss if she wanted.
“I think it’s time we put Noah to bed, don’t you?” Mischief glints in her eyes. “Skipping bath time for one night isn’t going to kill anyone. Besides, he can take one in the morning. No school tomorrow.”
I nod vigorously. “A growing boy needs plenty of rest. Plenty of sleep, all night long.”
My words make no sense, but the only thing I can think about is having Paige wrapped around me.
She steps closer but doesn’t wrap her arms around me. Instead, she clasps them before my chest as if she’s begging me. “You put him to bed tonight. I have some things to take care of.”
“Come on, Noah,” I call, scooping him from his highchair and swinging him over my shoulder. He giggles with glee, his tiny body fighting me playfully.
We trudge up the stairs while I relish how comfortable I feel here. I know where anything is, I know how to put Noah to sleep, I know how to make Paige sound like—well, that last one needs to wait until after I put Noah to sleep.
I change him into soft superhero pajamas, then he tucks the bunny under his chin and curls up in his bed. I kneel at the head of the bed and let him choose which book he wants me to read. He chooses two, so I resign myself to reading both.
There are worse things in the world than spending time with a toddler.
* * *
Paige
Aaron doesn’t know, but I’m watching him and Noah going through the bedtime routine from the shadows. There’s a small alcove at the top of the stairs where I can see in, but they can’t see me.
I’m consistently surprised by how gentle Aaron is with Noah. He’s had no kids of his own to practice with, and his adopted siblings were older when he met them. It’s his instinct that makes him a good dad, if that’s what he wants to be.
