Page 18 of Good Girls Like it Dirty
Chapter Six
Maybe I shouldn’t have come.
Monique looked at her nails and contemplated relapsing into the old habit of biting them. Then she glanced at the closed door.
Less than twenty-four hours since she’d last seen Zaine—as Monday evening rolled in—she decided to show up at his place and surprise him. And now, even after ringing his doorbell three times, no one opened the door even though his car was in the driveway.
What if he had someone over? They hadn’t talked about exclusivity, and maybe he was a mega man-whore who wanted to enjoy his separation to the fullest. Her heart shrunk to the size of a cherry tomato.
Monique drew in a breath and made to move away when the door swung open.
“Hey,” he said, holding a…baby?
She frowned.
Certainly not his. She opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what to say. The only sound that went past her lips was a strange groan.
“She’s my sister’s,” he said, holding the cute little blonde baby. “She was desperate to go on a date with her husband and my other sister Emma, who was supposed to watch her, got sick.”
Relief poured down her spine, and her shoulders dropped a notch or two. “How old?” she said, clapping at the baby. “Six months?”
“Seven.” He motioned for her to enter. “Were you in the neighborhood?”
“Yes, of course. Why else would I drop by?” she said, totally downplaying how long it’d taken her during rush hour traffic to get to Hollywood Hills.
Amusement flickered in his eyes, and that crazy vibe passed between them. “I don’t know…perhaps you want to take advantage of a sexy uncle after he’s off duty.”
She stroked the baby’s cheek and cooed. “I do. But for now I want to hang out with this cutie. What’s her name?”
“Sarah.”
“Hi, Sarah,” she said, making some faces that warranted her a few coos and chuckles from the little one. Soon, Sarah stretched out her arms, and Monique took her, walking with her on her hip around the house.
“You’re good with kids.”
“I helped raise my three younger brothers,” she said, remembering the days when she helped feed, bathe, and put them to sleep. Her mother worked long hours, but Monique never minded one tiny bit. Her early experience with children had shaped her personality, caring for them when her own father didn’t. She hated seeing her siblings neglected by their father. That’s why she’d vowed to help kids without a voice when she became an adult.
“Where were your parents?”
“My mom was around, but she needed help after my dad bailed on us. I was a teen, but my siblings were younger.”
“Sucks. I’m sorry,” he said. “My father died when I was seventeen. He was a good one, though. Present.”
“Good. An honorable man who raised an honorable son,” she said, and peered up at him. Their gazes held for a moment that stretched beyond measure. He stared at her tenderly, sending some kind of secret message she herself didn’t know how to read. The intensity of their silent exchange squeezed the air from her lungs.
It would be safer to return to sexual innuendos and easy banter.
She’d be a whole lot safer if she turned away from him and their bizarre sex-for-money bargain.
Though she knew the right path to take, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Monique…”
“Yes?”
“Sarah needs a diaper change,” he said, pointing at the baby. “Give her to me.”
Monique shook her head and laughed at herself. Here she was waiting for him to say something romantic when he’d called her, and instead he alerted her about Sarah’s much-needed change. He grabbed the baby from her and took her to the living area, where a few items were scattered: a bottle, a blanket, and some toys. He didn’t ask her to change Sarah; he went ahead and did it himself, quite efficiently for a guy. “Do you babysit her often?”
