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Where had this woman been? She was everything he’d wanted.
Caleb turned his attention again to Ryan. “She … I … she needed help, and she was desperate, and I knew I could help her.”
“And you wanted to be the one to show her all your expert moves?”
He snorted and shook his head. “Dude, you’re so far off the mark. I just want to take care of her. I want to help her.” He looked toward his friend.
“You have feelings for her.”
Caleb snorted. “Let’s not, okay?”
“Daddy, Daddy, the baby smiled!”
Caleb stepped away allowing one of the twins to run toward her father and grab his hand.
Annie laughed and wrinkled her nose. “I have a feeling there’s a reason for her smile.”
She got to her feet and lifted Tara into her arms. “Do you have a room I can use to change her?”
“I’ll take you,” Caleb said. “I’ll let you guys … you know … enjoy this moment.”
He noticed how happy Katherine and Ryan were at the twins’ enamored response to the little girl. With Annie holding Tara, he made his way down the long hallway, toward the guest bathroom.
“Your friends seem nice,” she said.
“Ah, don’t be fooled. I was right.”
Annie laughed. “That is so sweet.”
They entered the bathroom, and his friends had already set up a baby changing area for little Tara.
“They want another baby, but they don’t want to hurt the twins,” he said.
“Do you call them the twins because you can’t remember which twin is called what name?”
He winked at her.
“Oh, my, you’re so bad.”
“I know their names—Joey and Jesse—but sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart, and they’re at that age where they enjoy dressing exactly the same.” He shrugged. “There’ll be a time when it’s not popular or cool to even, you know, be the same.”
“So true. If kindergarten doesn’t do it, high school certainly will.”
He waited as Annie changed the stinky diaper and cleaned up Tara. Once she was done, she washed her hands and then picked up the little baby. “There we go, all nice and fresh.” She pressed a kiss to Tara’s face.
“How was high school for you?” he asked, leaning up against the doorframe, not wanting to leave.
He had a horrible feeling his friends were going to interrogate Annie, and that was the last thing he wanted.
She scrunched up her face. “Horrible. I was bullied because of my size and the way I looked. Having glasses was not cool. I don’t have to wear them all the time.”
“You wear them to work, I know.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“I was the star of the football team.”
“Ah, you know I could have guessed you were.” She laughed.
“And how was that exactly?”
“One of your tattoos is a football.” She shrugged. “I have super powers of deduction.”
“Yeah, well, I was also pretty smart through high school as well. I kept my head down, studied. Now, Ryan, he was the party animal. I got pulled along for the ride.”
She laughed. “I bet you’ve got plenty of stories to add to his.”
“I’m not going to lie, I totally have. It was all in good fun.”
She chuckled. “High school is always supposed to be hard, I guess. I don’t know. It’s a little easier than the real world, but I don’t think it truly prepares you for what is waiting for you. What do you think?”
“You’re right, it doesn’t.” He shrugged.
Annie stepped closer and as she did, he couldn’t help but breathe her in. Vanilla. It was a scent he was becoming highly addicted to, and one he didn’t want to leave. She didn’t need him. Annie was a good woman and she knew how to take care of Tara, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. If she told him to, he would. He wasn’t a stalker, but he enjoyed being around her so damn much.
“We better head out,” she said.
“Yeah, it would be rude to stay locked up in the bathroom.”
Annie snorted. “Especially after you told me it would be good to get out and, you know, learn to mingle.” She placed her spare hand on his chest. “Are you okay?”
No, he wasn’t okay. With her standing right in front of him, looking so tempting, and those lips, he wanted to kiss them. They were plump, inviting, and he wanted to grip the back of her neck, tilt her head back, and take possession of them. But that would cross a line—a big line. Annie hadn’t given him any sign that she wanted more than friendship from him, whereas all he could think about was creating something more, something deeper, something that lasted. She was supposed to only be a client, but the nights were getting harder.
“Yeah, of course I’m fine. Shall we go and see what my evil friends are up to?” He winked at her.
“You’re so bad. They’re good people and their twins are so cute.” She kissed Tara’s cheek.
