“I’m glad to see you stepping up and taking responsibility for your actions, son. And you had better bring this sweet boy over to his nana’s house as often as possible.” Molly pressed another kiss to Connor’s head. “Now, be a dear, go and put the kettle on for me. And prepare a bottle for the wee man. I suspect he’ll be hungry soon, and his nana wants to feed him.”
With that, Noah knew his mom had accepted Connor into the family.
Chapter 7
Moments after Melanie returned home later that afternoon, Noah came through the door looking exhausted but happy. She stood up from the barstool at the counter where she had been debating whether she would join Noah in having a beer or open a bottle of wine.
“How did it go?” she asked as she walked over and took the diaper bag out of his arms. He smiled at her gratefully before setting the car seat down and lifting Connor out.
“Surprisingly well, actually. Mom was more upset about Gigi abandoning Connor, than about how he was conceived,” Noah replied wryly.
Mel snorted. “Yeah, I’m guessing Molly expected Ryan to be the one to produce an illegitimate child, not you.”
“Exactly.”
Noah settled on the couch with Connor, who was just starting to stir from his nap. Mel knew that right now, with the baby sleeping so much, life was relatively easy. Sure, he would continue to wake up several times a night for a while, but he was stationary, and his needs were minimal. As she had told Noah before, all a baby really needed was love, a clean diaper, somewhere to sleep, and something to eat. How would Noah handle things when suddenly Connor was mobile, talking, eating real food, going to preschool, getting sick with multiple colds a year, or any of the other many hurdles that parents have to face.
Mel couldn’t begin to imagine how a single parent would manage, much less one who’d had zero chance to prepare like Noah. Melanie had come from a big, loving family. Her grandparents had moved here from Italy, which meant loud family dinners every week, with plenty of food and laughter. Mel was an only child, but she had grown up with plenty of cousins who were as close to her as siblings. Even though they had eventually moved away from Portland, it was a common occurrence for one or more of them to join the family dinner.
“I grabbed the ingredients for nachos, are you okay with that for dinner?” she asked, bringing her focus back to the here and now.
Connor’s future was Noah’s problem, not hers. No point in dwelling on how hard it would be for them both, going it alone. Yes, she realized that was harsh, but Mel was determined to keep her heart safe by not getting too attached.
“Nachos are life. Of course I’m good with that, thank you. I’ll just feed this guy then I can help,” Noah replied with a smile.
While Mel got to work in the kitchen, she watched from the corner of her eye as Noah lovingly fed his son a bottle. Damn, he looked good with a baby in his arms.Nope, don’t go there, she chastised herself.
“So, did you see the email from CPS? The social worker is coming in a few days for the first home visit,” Noah stated.
Melanie hadn’t checked her email, but she wasn’t surprised that they would want to come so soon. They needed to ensure Connor was safe, and in an appropriate environment for a newborn. What did surprise her, was what Noah said next.
“You realize we have to make it seem as if we’re in love, right? She can’t see all my stuff in the spare bedroom. It’s going to have to look like we share a bed.”
The knife Mel was holding clattered to the counter. They couldn’t share a bed, no way, that was too close for her comfort, or for her willpower. Waking up cuddled against Noah on the couch was hard enough. Lying next to him on a bed would definitely be more than she could handle.
“Right, well, we can just stage it that morning,” Mel replied quickly. “It’s not like she’s going to just drop in and surprise us or anything.”Not like my family might…But she pushed that worry aside, she needed to make it clear that her bedroom was off limits. “Besides, I’m a bed hog.” She laughed awkwardly.
“That’s okay, we can cuddle on the couch like we did last night.” Noah smirked.
Mel threw a piece of pepper at him in response. “Nice try, buddy.”
Noah stood up and burped Connor, then tucked him into the swing they had purchased the day before. Melanie took a moment to marvel at how natural parenting seemed to come to him. His gentle manner came shining through in every interaction he had with his son, and Mel couldn’t ignore the fact that it was pretty sexy to see such a strong man become such a softy.
As they cooked and ate dinner together, Mel was aware of the underlying current of energy passing between them. An energy she had not noticed before, but was obvious now. How had she managed to ignore the mutual attraction between them for so long? Noah was the man she spent the most time with, but she had never seen him as more than just a handsome friend who was easy to be around. She had always been able to laugh off his flirting as harmless teasing between friends.
Maybe it was the forced close proximity, maybe it was the idea of the pretend engagement, maybe it was the baby stirring up her emotions—and hormones. Whatever it was, Melanie realized she was looking at Noah differently now. Her appreciation for his muscular body and casual good looks was more than just platonic. When his firm bicep brushed against her as they washed dishes, the heat radiating from his skin sent shivers down her spine. When he smiled warmly at her and thanked her for dinner, the rumble of his voice made her heart skip in a way it hadn’t in a very long time.
She was losing control of her carefully erected walls, and instead of running scared, she felt drawn toward him.
* * *
Cooking with Melanie wasn’t a new experience for Noah. They had shared many meals after long bike rides, had passed several evenings eating pizza and binge watching their favorite shows on Netflix. They were currently in the middle of re-watching The Office, and both loved to laugh about Michael’s tantrums.
But something was different tonight. Up until now, Noah had done his best to hide the strength of his attraction to Mel. He had felt a jolt deep in his soul the first time he met her and knew right away that she was someone special. Even now, he could remember that night at The Lucky Strike with perfect clarity.
“I’m just saying, it’s weird that you’re settling down before me,” Noah said to Ryan, part of his ongoing campaign to tease his brother about finally finding the one woman who could tame his crazy playboy ways. Truthfully, he was jealous. What Ryan and Anna had was exactly what Noah wanted. As much as he was proud of Ryan for what he had made of his life, with the pub and with Anna, Noah was filled with an intense longing to find his own path.
“Yeah, well, we always knew I was the better brother,” Ryan teased right back, as he dried a clean glass and stacked in on the shelf. “But, if you take us up on the offer to start working here as a manager, maybe you’ll find your person.”
