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Huh. You know, I had to wonder if I’d ever been this attracted to anyone before. I definitely couldn’t remember the last time, if I had; that was for damn sure.
“To see Ava,” I added belatedly, which made Lucy blink and shake her head briefly as if to clear it.
Then she fumbled out, “Uh, yeah. Sure. Of course. Whenever you like.”
I nodded gratefully, and Ava let out another yowl, demanding attention.
My lips tightened into an affectionate grin. “Well, I better let you go.”
“Okay.” Lucy bobbed her head slowly, and murmured, “See you.”
“See you,” I echoed back, dragging my feet even more as I stepped through the doorway and glanced back at her one last time before pulling the door closed between us.
Once the connection had been broken, I heaved out a heavy sigh and gripped my head with both hands.
This was going to get messy; I just knew it. But even as I recognized the truth and could discern just how to avoid it, I still knew I’d come back tomorrow anyway. And I’d let my attraction get the best of me all over again, then, too. I was sure of it.
I was leading myself straight into a pot of boiling water, and I couldn’t seem to care how much it was going to burn. I just knew I couldn’t stay away.
10
LUCY OLIVIA
“Oh boy,” I muttered to myself as Vaughn pulled the door shut and effectively severed whatever voodoo spell he’d just had me under.
But good gravy, that boy had one hell of a draw about him. My body was still buzzing with awareness.
Which was truly awkward, especially when Ava Grace hollered out her displeasure, and the sound activated my milk, causing my already sensitive breasts to throb painfully.
“Okay, okay,” I told her, trying to appease my baby as I hurried down the hall toward the nursery. “I hear you, darling. Just a minute, now. I got you.”
This was all still so new to me. Not used to having a tiny human screaming her demands at me, I fumbled in my haste to situate myself into the rocking chair by her crib and pull up my shirt before opening my nursing bra.
She was so hungry and frustrated it took us longer than normal to make a connection, but as soon as she latched on, I jumped, freshly surprised by the suction. But once we had a rhythm going, I was able to relax back into the chair and blow out a relieved breath, expelling the last of my shaky nerves.
Focusing on the dark fuzz covering her head, I stroked her hair gently and laughed at myself.
“Sorry,” I said. “I know I keep petting you. This is all so surreal. I just can’t get over the fact that you’re mine. That I’m feeding you from my body, and you belong completely to me, fully my responsibility. I have a baby. Ack. I hope you’re okay with that; that I’m your mama.”
Ava kept nursing, completely ignoring my crazy rambling, and I had to smile.
“Good,” I murmured. “I’m glad we both agree on that. It’d break my heart if you didn’t like me because I kind of love you more than anything on earth.”
And that was strange for me too. I thought love was something that had to grow from a tiny sprout over time and bloom into something strong and eternal. But a year ago, Ava Grace hadn’t even existed, and now I loved her with my whole heart.
I had loved her immediately upon meeting her, too, and I had loved her massively. Nothing was as important to me as this little girl was.
“Now…” I murmured, skimming a knuckle across her velvety soft cheek. “What do you think of that new uncle of yours?”
When I received another nonresponse, I blew out a sigh and nodded. “Yeah. I have no words either. I just know he’s...intense.” And it was unsettling as hell. “Let’s just hope he didn’t take my offer of any time to mean he should just drop by again tomorrow, or anything.”
Because I needed at least a day to recover from the likes of Vaughn Merrill.
Just thinking about the way his brown eyes had focused so fixedly on me had me shuddering.
Which caused poor Ava to jostle in my arms and lose contact with my breast. As the nipple popped free of her lips, milk squirted her in the eye, and she let out an indignant shriek.
“Oh God. Sorry! Sorry, baby, I’m sorry.”
