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“She’s so perfect.” A warm salty breeze flicks my hair around my shoulders. The ends tickling the baby’s nose. I scrape it back with one hand, letting it fall down my back.
“I’m probably biased, but she totally is,” Laia mumbles absentmindedly still distracted by something on the terrace.
The second I turn, I wish I hadn’t. Mylo and a woman. A perky, laughing, petite little woman. And he’s—grinning. He’s grinning down at her as they walk towards the terrace. This terrace. Where I am. This is the moment I should look away and get on with my day. I don’t. The closer they get, the harder I stare. I know her. She’s great. Perfect even. We went to the same school. She’s a couple of years older than me and about a million times more successful. Nina Callen. She’s a lawyer. My heart thuds. And she’s stunning. And nice. And intelligent. And he’sgrinningat her like he’s never grinned at me—like he would never dream of calling her a nobody.
“Zi? Kenzi?”
I blink myself back to Laia’s worried face. “Sorry, What?” I plaster a smile on. It looks just as forced as it feels if the crease that’s appeared between Laia’s eyebrows is anything to go by.
“I was saying that I’d bet my next night’s sleep that there’s nothing going on there.” She flicks her gaze over my shoulder.
I shake my head, force the smile to stay put. “It’s totally fine even if there is. Nina’s great. Things with me and Mylo never even got started. It’s a non-issue. Not even a little issue.”
Laia’s mouth curves up into a sympathetic smile, and she tucks her dark blonde curls behind her ears. “You know I’m still here if you need to talk about anything? Non-issues. Issues. Whatever.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Seriously.” I glance down at the still sleeping baby in my arms, then back up to her mama. “In fact. I’ve decided the man ban is over. I want me some…” I gently cover the baby ear that’s not pressed into my tummy before I go on. “S. E. X. A good sweaty, toe-curling throw-down is exactly what I need. And soon.”
Laia’s eyes go wide. Her cheeks getting pinker by the minute, a horrified little nerve-smile playing on her lips.
“Don’t look at me like that just because you’re a mom now. It’s been months, Laia.” I close my eyes and count back. “Actually, scrub that it’s been closer to a year.”
Whatever blood was in my face departs when she shakes her head and flicks her gaze pointedly over my head. It floods right back in at the deep clearing of a throat behind me.
“Great. Mylo. You made it.” Felix appears behind Laia’s sofa, oblivious to the epic awkwardness he’s just stepped into.
I close my eyes and pray that the last five seconds were just some sort of freakishly real figment of my imagination.
I’m nowhere near that lucky.
“Of course, man. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Mylo’s rough voice ripples right down the back of my neck.
I can’t bring myself to look him in the face when he rounds my sofa, hands on his hips, right where his low-slung board shorts meet that solid V of muscle. I blink my stare up. It lands on the insanely huge bicep of his tattooed arm. Memories of waking up with that very arm slung over me do not help with my mortification. What the hell is wrong with me?
Felix sits and jerks his head for Mylo to sit too. Next to me. I shove up as much as my cushion fort will allow. It’s not much. His big thigh brushes my bare leg and Seren lets out an unimpressed mew. I loosen my hold on her. Glance over to where Laia is watching us, cheek gnawing. Worried.
Something’s going on here, and I’m not sure I’m gonna like it.
“Want me to take her?” Mylo’s rough voice just makes my cheeks hotter. So does the twist of his body next to mine as he pulls his T-shirt on and the clean fresh spice of whatever he uses to wash with hits me along with my graphic imagination. Him. Naked. In the shower. Naked.Why?
I pass him the baby. Remove the pillows from my side and scoot as far from him as the sofa will allow. It’s not far.
Felix’s perplexed cheek twitch is impossible to miss. He glances at Laia that back over to us. “So. Mom was over last night, and she asked us if we were planning on having a naming ceremony for Seren.”
“Okay.” I drag the word out, trying not to notice how easily Mylo has settled Seren onto his chest, her little cheek mooshed against his shoulder, his massive hand supporting her pink frilly bum. I fail.
“Cool.” He rumbles quietly, patting her back absentmindedly like he’s handled tiny people every day of his life.
He catches me staring, gray eyes unreadable before he looks away.
“Do you need help organizing?” I clap my hands together and lean further away from the ovary-twitching beast beside me. Concentrate on my friends. On being as excited as I would be if he weren’t over there playing baby whisperer withmyfavorite baby.
“We got you both here today, because…” Laia flicks a nervous look between us, then to Felix. “We want you to be her Guardians.”
“Ohmyggodyes.” I blurt out at the same time as Mylo says “Her what?”
Awkwardness forgotten, I turn to him. “Guardian. Like Cluan fairy-godparents.”
His head tilts to the side, a tiny upward curve to the side of his mouth. “Fairy-godparents?”
