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I fight a smile, but it escapes anyway. “Look at you sweet- talking me.”
“I owe you after the asshole I was earlier.” He turns to me. “I’m sorry.”
I nod. “Thanks for that. Are you ready for the bath?”
He shakes his head and I laugh, picking her up. Immediately he stretches his arms over his head and to the side. “How much does she weigh?”
“Twelve pounds, I think.”
“Why do my arms feel like Jell-O?” he asks, continuing to stretch them as he follows me to the bathroom.
“Okay, we need that baby bath.” I point at the pink plastic thing in the tub of their second bathroom.
He picks it up and puts it on the counter.
“Grab the temperature thing.” I flip on the water. “Beth says it needs to be at one hundred degrees. I’m going to undress her.”
“You’re leaving me responsible for the water?” His fearful look makes me laugh.
“I trust you.”
Once I undress Cecilia, I come back to the bathroom, place her in the baby bath, and she opens her eyes, smiling. She loves the water. Thank God. Using the washcloth, I try to bathe her the same way I witnessed Beth do.
“I’m going to hold her up, and you’re going to get her back,” I say to Enzo, who’s watching from behind me, not really participating.
“Thanks for taking one for the team. She’s slippery, and though I’m a pro at handling wet things, this is something entirely different.”
“Okay, no sexual innuendos in front of the baby.”
He takes the washcloth from my hands and washes her back and the back of her head.
We finish quickly. Picking her up under her arms, I lift her out of the bath. Enzo holds his hands under mine in case she slips. God love him.
I gently place her on the towel and wrap her up before carrying her into the bedroom.
Enzo waltzes in moments later with our instructions. “We have to turn this on.” He flicks on this circle thing that projects stars and animals onto the ceiling. “We have to make sure everything is out of the crib.” He looks over the edge as I dress her in a pair of giraffe pajamas. “We have to turn on the monitor.” He flicks on another gadget that lights up.
I kiss her forehead. “Time for bed,” I whisper.
Her eyes are already shutting as I place her in the crib.
“We’re done.”
“According to this.”
I lean into his chest as we watch Cecilia fall asleep, my own eyes drooping with exhaustion.
A minute later, we tiptoe out of the room and Enzo falls onto the couch, so I join him. We lie there for five minutes before his hands slide under the hem of my sweatshirt. Just as he cops a feel, Cecilia screams.
“So much for bedtime.” I look back at a spent Enzo. “Still gonna come all over my tits tonight?”
He peeks one eye open . “Raincheck?”
I laugh while walking back down the hall. Yeah, we’ve got lots of time to make that happen.
