Page 14 of Dare To Resist (Dare Nation 1)
“Nice.” Quinn didn’t try to hide her sarcasm, then bit the inside of her cheek. “Why did you call me?”
His warm gaze settled on hers. “Because you’re you. You handle things. You keep me organized and settled.”
“In business,” she said through gritted teeth. “Why not call your mother or sister?”
“Are you kidding?” He dipped his head. “My mother would be all gaga-goo-goo over the baby and want to keep her forever, and my sister would be all over me … well, for exactly the things you just called me out on. And I wasn’t about to explain myself to my little sister.”
“She’s only two years younger than you but point taken.” For now. There was no way this infant was becoming Quinn’s problem. “Why don’t you hold her and I’ll check for necessities for tonight. A bottle, formula, and diapers.”
A look of horror crossed his face. “I can’t hold her.”
“You can and you will.” She handed the baby to him, giving him no choice.
He took her awkwardly into his arms and the screaming started again immediately. “See?”
Quinn adjusted the way he held Jenny so the baby felt more secure in his arms, but the cries didn’t abate.
Ignoring them the best she could, she lifted the bag to the kitchen table and went through it, doing a mental inventory as she laid out each item. “Powdered formula, four diapers, a onesie, you have the burp rag, and a pacifier. Thank God. You’ll be okay until morning.”
Quinn picked up the pacifier and walked to the sink, running it under the instant hot water to sterilize it, then dabbed it against her hand, waiting until the rubber cooled off. Returning to a still clearly panicked Austin, Quinn put the pacifier into the baby’s mouth.
Jenny immediately sucked it right in and quieted. Until she glanced at Austin and wound up to wail once more.
“Take her, please.” Austin held out the infant, her little legs dangling beneath her.
“Fine.” Quinn accepted the baby and cuddled her against her chest again.
When Jenny immediately settled, Austin’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m calling you the baby whisperer,” he muttered.
“Let’s sit down and talk,” Quinn suggested.
He nodded and she followed him into his comfortable family room and the place of their kiss. Any time she walked into this room, the memory assaulted her and she was reminded that the kiss had turned her life upside down. She hadn’t been with any man since.
Instead of sitting down, she kept rocking from side to side with the baby in her arms. “Think. Could she be yours?”
He threaded his hands through his hair, messing up the longer strands and giving himself an adorably shaggy look. Add the more than five-o’clock shadow and he was one sexy man.
“How old is she? I can’t tell,” he said.
Quinn looked at the baby’s face, gauged her size, “About three months? Four? It’s hard to know. I can check the size of her clothes but that’s my best guess.”
He groaned. “So if you do the math, nine months of pregnancy, three to four months old … yeah, it’s possible. But I wore a fucking condom. I always do.”
She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about him with a female in an intimate situation. Not at all. “Okay, well, you’ll get that sorted out. In the meantime, as I said, you’re good for the night. I can make a bottle before I go so you can feed her before bed.” She bent down and put the quiet baby into his arms.
“Wait, what? Where are you going? You can’t leave me!” he practically yelled.
Predictably, between his loud voice and tense body, Jenny started to wail once more.
Quinn narrowed her gaze at him. “I’m going to make a bottle and you are going to learn to hold her.”
“You can’t leave me.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t expect me to move in and play nanny for you, do you?”
He treated her to his most endearing grin.
She folded her arms across her chest defensively. “Charm isn’t going to work.”
“What about begging? Will that work? A raise? A promotion?” he rambled, his nerves clear. So was the abject fear in his eyes and panic in his expression.
She narrowed her gaze. “I’m already your executive assistant. I can’t become your executive executive assistant.”
He let out a breath and glanced at the little girl in his arms. Despite his terror, there was something endearing about the man and the baby. She couldn’t say no to him on a normal day but now?
Fine. She’d stay tonight and they’d figure something out in the morning. But she didn’t have to let him off the hook that easily. He needed to learn to stay calm with the baby and that wouldn’t happen if she kept giving in to him immediately.
“Try calming her down. I’m going to make a bottle. We’ll discuss the rest when I get back.”
