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“You need to be a little lower to help with that, sunshine.”
Ignoring him, she tugged on his forearm. “Let your arm relax a bit. Now put your arm under her legs more so she isn’t dangling so much. Pull her into your chest.” He did as she said, and she made some small adjustments, touching his arms here and there. “Now take a deep breath in and let it out slowly.”
As he did, Beau settled against him, her eyes drifting shut.
“There. See? That’s much better.”
Will gazed at the baby in wonder then looked up and grinned at Juliet. And damn if it wasn’t the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. And that was something considering he was holding a baby.
“You said you raised your younger siblings?” he asked her.
“Yeah. My parents were great parents, but when you have that many kids, you expect the older ones to help out. I love them all, but I’m not interested in doing it again.”
He nodded. “Makes sense.”
“What about you? Is it just you and your brother?”
“Our family disowned us years ago. Disinherited us too. We didn’t like them much, either, so they’re free to keep believing our stuck-up, money-grubbing sister is the second coming.”
“Looks like there’s plenty of room in your family, then.” Juliet looked pointedly at Beau, who was now sound asleep.
Will followed her gaze and stared down at the baby. It was there in his eyes—the same look she’d seen on her parents after every single one of her siblings had been born.
Will was falling in love with Beau, which meant she needed to stay the hell away.
Chapter Ten
It was hard for Will to know how to feel, while he burped a sleepy Beau on his shoulder and talked to Juliet about her design. He was warm. Content. There was a time where this exact scenario would have freaked him out, but Beau was adorable and liked him when he was holding her right, and Juliet was clever and liked to laugh. She had a full-on laugh—not a cultured, fancy sound, but warm in a way that made him want to inspire her to do it more often.
So that prissy mask Juliet wore was her business face. He could deal with that, especially knowing it was easy enough to make her mask slip.
“I was thinking maybe a stage.”
“A stage?” They’d never had one.
“For exhibitionists or performers, if you have the budget for that. It would be nice to have a focal point in the room. I was thinking here.” She pointed to the area that had come to mind for him too.
Considering she was new to kink, she’d learned fast, between her own research and what he’d shown her. She got it, and the fact that she got it meant she’d felt it. What they’d done together hadn’t just affected him. He’d been a prick and taken things too far, but she’d adapted, and he’d do his damnedest not to scare her again. At least, not until they’d built a stronger rapport.
But that was putting the cart before the horse.
There was no saying she’d want to be with him again, let alone make it serious.
The only thing he’d been thinking about other than taking care of Beau over the past few weeks was Juliet. It had only been one night, but her reactions had made him forget himself for the first time in ages. Her squirms and begging and mewls still plagued his dreams when he caught a few minutes’ sleep.
Now here she was, sitting in his great room, playing with her pretty hair as she spoke to him, and giving him every nonverbal “come hither” a classy woman like her could convey.
He’d love to hear her beg again. Love to see her naked and grope her soft skin, smack her sexy ass.
It was really too bad the baby had her spooked. He could see it on her face every once in a while.
She liked him, but apparently Beau was a deal breaker.
He liked her, but her not liking Beau was a deal breaker.
Taking care of his little goofball was his life right now, and he wasn’t going to hand her over to some set of good-enough parents just so he could wash his hands of responsibility. If Beau had been conceived only a few months earlier, she would have been his. Part of him had always regretted and resented that he wasn’t her father. It had fucking hurt.
Visiting Beth at the hospital with the little bear and flowers had been one of the toughest moments of his life—not because he wished things hadn’t ended, but because the woman he’d loved had conceived a child with a stranger instead of with him. Funny how he hadn’t been good enough for that, but he’d been good enough to put on the birth certificate. It was hard to wrap his head around.
