“I don’t know what she thought to accomp—” She was interrupted by Vivian flinging the chicken she’d put on the tray for her to eat with her fingers.
Riley was looking at her critically.“Let me do it.”
“I can do it.”
“Yes, but I’m better at it.”
“You are not,” she said, incensed.
Riley merely lifted an eyebrow.
“Fine.”She got up and brushed food off her clothes.“I should have worn a bib myself,” she muttered.
“Watch and learn,” Riley said.
Damned if he wasn’t better at it than she was.Of course, Riley had airplanes coming in to land, made faces and rainbows with the food, and encouraged her to finger-paint with it.
“How in the world did you learn to do that?”
“Figured it out.Val helped.She was having a hard time one day and we came up with some fun ways to get Vivian to eat.”
“Ha!Cheater.”
“Now, now.Don’t be a sore loser.”
Vivian chose that moment to pick up a glob of peas and fling it, which hit Riley on his nose.
“Score!”Letty said.
*
When they finishedlaughing and Riley had wiped the food off his face, he said, “I guess it’s bath time now.”
“Yes.Let me guess.You’re an expert at that too.”
“Nope.I’ve watched Val and Liam do it, but I’ve always been afraid I’d drop her.”
“They do get pretty slippery.”
“I bow to your superior knowledge.”
“Ha-ha.”She unhooked Vivian’s belt and took her out of the high chair.“I’m going to get her bath ready.Why don’t you clean up in here?”
“Gee, thanks.”Riley couldn’t decide whether Val’s obvious scheme was a good or a bad thing.He knew his sister wanted him and Letty to get back together and she’d clearly decided that putting them alone together—except for Vivian—in the same place would help.
He’d suspected Val’s plan the minute he saw Letty’s car.There was no reason she needed both of them to take care of Vivian.Unless she wanted to force them to talk to each other.Of course, one of them could have left, but he was damned if he’d be the one to break first.Apparently, Letty felt the same.Maybe they could actually talk once Vivian went to sleep.Maybe Letty would explain why she was so adamantly against a permanent relationship.Because no matter how hard he tried to understand, what she’d told him didn’t make sense.
He went to the bathroom to find Vivian in the bath and Letty kneeling by the tub, soaking wet.He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.“Need some help?”
“No, smart-ass.We’re almost done.It will be bedtime by the time I get her out and put her jammies on.”
Letty attempted to put on Vivian’s pajamas.“You’re soaked,” he told her.“Go get a dry shirt from Val and I’ll put her pajamas on.”
Riley managed to get her jammies on, but it was a bit of a challenge.Vivian kept turning over and squirming away, then laughing when he’d catch her leg or arm and attempt to get it into the footed pajamas.“You’re a mess,” he told her.She smiled as if to say, “Of course.”Sometimes, when he saw Vivian he thought about what it would be like to have a baby of his own.His and Letty’s.It surprised him that he had such a strong urge to be a father, to have a family of his own.He thought he might have had it for a while now, but he’d been too stubborn to admit it, even to himself.
At least, until he started dating Letty.Then everything he wanted fell into place.Everything except Letty.
*
