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The key was to look relaxed.
Wynn sat beside the high chair and kissed the top of the baby’s head. “Hey, darlin’. How was your day?” He removed his jacket and loosened his tie.
Ayla blew a bubble and babbled at him. He grinned, looking more like himself. “I know I’m prejudiced, but she really is a cute child, right?”
“The cutest.”
“Did the baby stuff arrive?”
“Oh, yes. Your credit card took a huge hit. But everything is ready to go. Ayla even napped in the new bed, didn’t you, sweetheart?” Felicity chewed her lip, feeling ridiculously awkward. “Have you eaten?”
“No. Work was a nightmare. Because I spent most of this week back in Tennessee, things got out of hand.”
“I thought you had several capable people working under you.”
Now he definitely looked guilty. “I might have a small problem with delegating authority.”
“Ah.” She hid a smile. His confession didn’t surprise her. Wynn was the kind of man who gave every problem the full weight of his attention. He was brilliant and driven. To be honest, Felicity worried there would be no room for Ayla in his life. “You want me to order something?”
“That would be great. Pizza?” he asked hopefully.
“Sure.” She rummaged in the drawer where he kept the take-out menus and found one for a pizza place that claimed to have deep dish that rivalled Chicago. Had to admire their confidence. When she stepped into the hall to use the phone, she could hear the low timbre of Wynn’s voice as he spoke to the baby.
Felicity placed the order, but half of her attention was on the conversation in the kitchen. She had forgotten to ask if Wynn had an account on file, so she gave the pizza guy her own card number.
When she returned, she realized Ayla was starting to get fussy, despite the attention from her uncle, now her father. “Do you want me to get her ready for bed?” she asked. “So you can change clothes and have a glass of wine? The pizza will be forty-five minutes at least.”
“Toppings?”
She stared at him. “The usual. I suppose I should have asked.”
His eyes seemed to telegraph a message, but Felicity couldn’t decipher it at all.
He exhaled. “The usual is fine, Fliss. But I’ll handle Ayla. You’ve been on the clock all day. Maybe you’re the one who needs the wine.”
When he and the baby walked out of the room, Felicity felt flat. This situation was never going to work, was it? Wouldn’t Wynn have been better off with a stranger, a professional? A woman who wouldn’t be tempted to confuse the past with the present?
Had he mentioned beingon the clock to remind Felicity that their relationship wasn’t personal?
It was going to be a long nine months...
