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“Pity,” I muttered.
Lying to my family didn’t bother me a damn bit. Yet, lying to Posey tore me up inside. It didn’t sit right and ate at my gut whenever she was around me. I repeatedly told myself I was doing the right thing. I’d been protecting Destiny from bad people. Surely, in Posey’s line of work, she’d get that. Even be willing to forgive me when the truth eventually rolled out. I wasn’t Destiny’s dad.
“The night I stayed over to watch Destiny, I never got to finish apologizing about my behavior. I had some preconceived notions about you and your lifestyle. It was wrong of me. I know better. So, I’d like to apologize for my behavior.”
I sighed. “You don’t need to apologize, Posey. No doubt most, if not all, you’ve heard about me is based on some truths.” Her cheeks flushed pink, causing her freckles to stand out across the bridge of her nose. I wasn’t even going to make excuses for my behavior before Posey came into my life. I slept with who I slept with. I wasn’t married or engaged, nor had I ever cheated while I had a girlfriend. Even if the girlfriends were far and few between. “You know that dinner invite still stands.”
“You never reached out to me,” she admitted.
“Only because you seemed uncomfortable with my request, and I wanted to give you time to think,” I stated. “Did you work it all out?” I sure as hell hoped she did. I might not be able to offer her the world until this bullshit with Cobi ended, but it was a start.
She sat up tall, a smile spread across her pretty little lips. “I did. And I’d love to do dinner with you.”
I clapped. “Fuckin’ A!” Her soft giggle shot right to my cock, which had softened a little when I sat down. Now, the appendage ached like a sore fucking tooth bound up in my coveralls. “Can you do dinner tomorrow night, then?”
“I can.” She paused before doing a glance over her shoulder. “Is it alright if I go sneak a peek at Destiny before I leave?” She held up her hand. “I promise I won’t wake her up.”
I chuckled. “You can.”
Posey stood, then scampered off up the stairs. Ten minutes later, Posey came down the steps and grinned with Destiny in her arms. “I didn’t wake her.” As if I’d give a fuck. If she hadn’t had woken on her own, I’d have done it soon, anyway. “She woke up as I was heading back out the door.”
“It’s not a problem, Posey. She needed to wake up because I’ve got to get to work.”
“Cool.” She kissed Destiny’s head. “I also changed her diaper for you.”
“Thank you,” I replied before taking a squealing Destiny from her arms. “Will 5:30 tomorrow work for you?”
Posey nodded. “Can I bring something?”
“No,” I said. “Just yourself.”
The blush on her cheeks snatched the breath from my lungs. Was she just as excited about spending time together as I was? “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Posey gave us one last wave before heading out the door.
It took me a second to compose myself. I wanted to stop Posey from leaving. Pull her into my arms, hold her, and ultimately kiss her breathless. Even with the baby in my arms. However, it would have to wait until tomorrow. Fuck knows, I’d been a patient man so far. I could wait another day to get her in my arms.
After tomorrow, though?
All bets were off.
Chapter 7
Hunter
Chaos would have been better than silence. After a shit day at the shop, where it seemed nothing could go right, and we were all still worried about Jackson, Destiny was also dealing with growing pains and cutting her second set of bottom teeth along with two more on top. Poor little girl couldn’t get comfortable, and everything hurt her.
She was a drooling, sobbing mess.
I texted Posey to change the time of our dinner, needing the extra hour and a half to get Destiny dosed up on pain medication and some the oral numbing gel Ireland recommended, so she could have some dinner then sleep. Unfortunately, no one warned me about the explosive diapers that came along with teething babies.
Or how sick they could get.
That might have been helpful.
Instead of taking two baths, I showered with Destiny cuddled to my chest while wearing swim shorts. It was the easiest way to get us cleaned up after that mess. Thankfully, my good jeans weren’t a part of the casualty list. But my shirt, her outfit, and the diaper in question were history. How she shit up her back and into her hair while also covering my torso I’d never understand.
Couldn’t say I wasn’t proud, though.
By the time I got us both cleaned up and redressed, Destiny was losing her fight to stay awake. Didn’t blame her one bit. She cleaned out her gut pipes for at least a few days while working hard to grow in them teeth of hers. Between the two of us, her job was harder. At least I understood what was going on with her. She didn’t, and it had to be scary and excruciating. Bussing a kiss across her cheek, I placed her in the crib and tip-toed out of the room.
