Page 5 of Best Kept Secret

Hudson scowled and pointed at the microwave.

“You could have picked her up first.”

“Oh. I didn’t think of that.”

“I’ll do it.”

Hudson’s eyes went wide. “You?”

“Why not? How hard can it be?”

“Okay, but don’t drop her.”

Jared chuckled as he strolled out of the kitchen.

When the timer finally rang, Hudson took out the bottle and started to walk away with it. Then he remembered part two of the instructions.

Test the formula on your wrist before you feed it to her.

He tipped the bottle and shook a couple drops on the inside of his hairy wrist. Lukewarm. Perfect—for a baby, that is. The idea of drinking lukewarm milk made him shudder.

He went into the living room and saw Jared holding Annie and pointing at something out the window. Her cries had dissipated, and she seemed interested in whatever Jared was showing her.

“What are you looking at?” Hudson asked, coming up beside them.

“Just some pretty birds, right, Annie?”

Hudson looked outside and saw an attractive woman on the sidewalk below, smiling and waving at them. “Pretty birds, my ass.”

“Shh. Not in front of the baby.”

“Give her to me,” Hudson demanded.

“I got her to quiet down, didn’t I?” Jared teased as he carefully handed her over.

“You were using her as a chick magnet.”

“And it worked.” Jared waved to the woman below and then turned away from the window.

“You’re standing there in a towel. You didn’t even need Annie to gain attention.”

“Maybe you should try it sometime.”

“I’m not interested in that kind of attention.” He sat down on the couch, cradled Annie in his left arm, and held the bottle to her lips. Thankfully, she latched on right away, assuring him he’d followed the feeding instructions to the letter.

“What do you mean?” Jared asked as he sat down on the chair across from Hudson.

“Don’t you have to get dressed or something?”

“I will after you answer the question.”

“Things are different now. I need to focus on Annie.”

“So, your days of chasing women are over?”

Hudson looked down at his daughter, who gazed up at him with innocent, trusting eyes. “Maybe for now.”

“Don’t worry. Women love babies. You won’t have any trouble getting their attention, not that you ever have.”