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I dipped to kiss the tip of her perfect nose, noting the flare of pleasure in her eyes, before leading her inside.
“Hope is running late but she’ll be here soon to pick up Brayleigh,” I explained. Minty didn’t respond. “She was supposed to be here by three. I thought that would give her plenty of time. We’ve always been flexible with pick up times. Next time I’ll let her know when we have plans so she won’t be late.” I continued, nervously filling the silence. “I’m sorry.”
“Brayleigh is here?”
I nodded, my breath held. “She’s napping.”
“Okay,” she replied easily. “Want to give me the tour while we wait?”
Relief momentarily weakened my limbs, startling me with the depth of my investment in her already. I was not enamored with this feeling of trepidation. I pushed it to the side, focusing instead on the pleasures of watching Minty take in my home.
“You did some of the work yourself?” she asked.
“I didn’t do the electrical or the plumbing. Barrett’s brother is a contractor and he helped me in his spare time, gave me all the grunt work to do while he worked his magic on the rest. Actually, what am I saying? You know Rhys. He did the tough stuff.”
“It’s beautiful.” She took in the kitchen, its bright, white cabinetry, raw-edged countertops, and patterned ceramic floors. Her concentrated gaze seeming to replace her physical touch as she strangely kept her hands to herself. “What parts did you do?”
“I tore everything down and helped hang the cabinetry. Rhys did the back splash. I did the flooring; I did all the flooring,” I added as we walked out into the living room and its warm wood floors.
I tried to see it through Minty’s eyes. The wide baseboards, wood floors, new windows, and reclaimed brick fireplace were all beautiful but could not hide the lack of a woman’s touch.
I rubbed my hand over my shaggy hair. “I’m not much of a decorator.”
She spun towards me and reached out to touch my arm, the first time she’d touched anything. “It’s beautiful, Lucky. Truly. I’m not one for clutter and I love the clean lines of your place. Its… soothing.”
“Da-da-da-da-da!”
“She’s up!” I grinned and held out my hand. “Come on up. You can see the upstairs while I get the baby.”
Minty
Wow.
This was not what I expected when I pulled into his driveway. Certainly nothing I prepared for. I swallowed my trepidation as I trailed him up the narrow staircase to meet his child.
He bounded up ahead of me, his long legs eating up the stairs. Low-riding jeans ending in frayed hems brushed the tops of his bare feet, and he wore a simple t-shirt that skimmed his lean physique and high-lighted the ropey muscles of his arms.
He didn’t dress to impress and that’s what impressed me. Most of the men I’d dated over the past decade were so bent on peacocking that they barely tried to get to know me at all.
Plus, there was something about men in jeans and bare feet.
I huffed out a breath. Maybe if some of those other men had worn jeans and showed a little arm porn, I might have been more interested. I almost felt sorry for them because I suddenly found myself in the unenviable position of wanting to impress somebody. A toddler somebody at that.
“Da-da-da-da-da!” Rang out even louder as we approached Brayleigh’s bedroom.
Maybe if this meeting went well, I’d be buoyed to meet his baby-mama. I smirked. What the hell was I getting myself into? After this, riding with him on his motorcycle would be anticlimactic.
He looked back to make sure I still trailed him and jerked his head with a grin for me to follow. When he opened the door, Brayleigh squealed in delight, her tiny mouth wide open, eyes sparkling, little fingers grasping the air.
That look told me everything I needed to know about what kind of dad he was.
“Da! Pick up!” she demanded, her little feet stomping into the mattress.
Lucky laughed as he swept her from her crib and wrapped his muscled arms around her cozy baby body. “Hello, Tweetie!”
Immediately, she curled her tiny body into his chest and flung her chubby arms around his neck. “Hi, Da,” she murmured. The tips of her little fingers turned white where she pressed them into the back of his neck, and my ovaries exploded.
She cuddled in for a moment more then shot up straight, her entire body wiggling to get down.
