“Can’t Finn look after her for the night?”
My hand presses to my forehead. “I can’t go out partying when I just had a baby, Jade. Do you know how guilty that’ll make me feel?”
“You’re entitled to a life, Maya,” she says softly. “You’re allowed to go out and have fun.”
I chew on my lip as my stomach twists. “I would feel awful.”
“For who?”
“For Finn, because he’ll have to look after her.”
“Maya, he’s the father, not a babysitter.”
My eyes close as I sigh. She’s right.
“Think about it,” she says when I don’t respond. “It’ll be good for you.”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
For the next thirty minutes, Jade fills me in about her life, and for once, we don’t talk about Finn or Skye, and it makes mefeel somewhat normal. That I can do both and still come out the other side.
When I head home and walk through the front door, Finn is asleep on the sofa. He’s lying on his back with the baby monitor in one hand and a textbook on his chest. His curly blond hair is flopped over his forehead as he breathes evenly, an oversized hoodie slightly bunched up to flash off the sliver of hair that trails from his belly button down into his trousers.
My mouth automatically curls at the sight—I know the feeling of needing a nap when someone needs your attention all day.
I silently shut the front door behind me and walk across the living room, into my bedroom. I creep forward and lean over Skye’s cot to find her sound asleep with her baby blanket draped over her.
My fists squeeze from how adorable she looks, and I resist the urge to touch her and wake her up. We could have silence for a little bit more.
When I return to the living room, I walk towards Finn and slowly pluck the baby monitor from his hands, but his eyes immediately snap open, and he jolts. His hazy green eyes flick over my features as he releases a soft groan and rubs his handsome face.
“Shit, sorry,” he croaks. “I fell asleep.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I say softly. “I nap all the time. I get it. It’s exhausting looking after a baby.”
Finn stretches out as the book falls from his stomach, and my eyes travel down to his abdominals once more. I stare for a moment too long because memories of being on my knees and kissing over his skin flash in my mind.
“How was your day?”
I snap my head back to his eyes. “Yeah, it was good.”
“Have a good time with Jade?”
“Yeah. It was good to spend time with her. I haven’t ever done that without Skye.” And as much as I loved it, I’m happy to be home.
Finn pushes himself up into a sitting position as I perch beside him. “Well, whenever you want to do that, let me know. I’ll be here to look after Skye.”
My heart thumps again. It really is the bare minimum from a father, but he’s thrown himself into this full force and hasn’t looked back since. It’s everything I didn’t know I needed, especially after thinking I’d have to do this alone.
“Thank you,” I say. “How was Skye today?”
“Perfect.” He grins. “Perfect as always.”
Warmth grows in my chest.
“What’s the time?” Finn asks as he starts looking for his phone.
“Just after five.”
