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He nodded. “She’s sleeping okay. I have some of the teething gel in her diaper bag, though.”
He walked to the bag still sitting on the floor, picked it up, and set it on the counter. He dug through it and walked back to them, squeezing a small amount of the ointment onto his finger and started rubbing it on Amelie’s gums.
She clamped down on her daddy’s finger, making Corey smile.
It made Genevieve’s heart skip a beat, her insides turning to mush. Oh, man, his smile only personified his handsomeness. It made a woman wish he was looking at her that way, not someone else.
His gaze hit hers for a brief moment, then shifted away quickly.
Such wishful thinking on her part. He’d never look at her that way.
“There. If she is teething, that should help. Do you want to lay her down on the blanket?”
She nodded, deciding it was better if she didn’t look at him directly anymore tonight. She laid Amelie down, making more sweet faces, hoping that she’d keep her smile on her face as they took pictures. Both of them pulled out their phones, snapping picture after picture.
Amelie cooperated the entire time, giving them adorable smiles. Corey picked her up and transferred her to the tummy time mat where she immediately popped her head up, looking around. It looked like she was doing the baby version of the cobra move in yoga. All she needed to do was get those knees up and moving forward and she’d be on the move.
She took a seat while Corey picked up the blanket and folded it, putting it back in his room. She wouldn’t exactly say the room had turned awkward—well, anymore awkward than it usually was—but there was something different in the air. Some sort of electrical charge that she felt was waiting to zap her. Would she survive it?
Highly doubtful.
It would be better if she left and kept everything like it usually was—stayed for the feeding and went on her way.
He came back out and took a seat on the floor by Amelie. Neither paid attention to the other. It was as if they both decided it was best to keep their attention only on Amelie. Safer. No room for more awkwardness.
“So I was thinking…if you want to watch Amelie on Friday for me, you know, you can.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head as if she could clear out the cobwebs stuffing her ears. She had to have misheard him. Watch Amelie? By herself?
When she didn’t answer, he turned his full gaze on her. Still hard to decipher what he was thinking. His brows were low, no smile. Yet none of that lingering hatred in his eyes.
“You trust me?”
Wow. That was a dumb question. Because now he’d think about it and change his mind, deciding he didn’t trust her.
“I’ve made shitty mistakes in my life, too, Genevieve. Nobody’s perfect despite thinking otherwise.”
Her heart filled with joy. So much joy she felt tears welling up. She never thought they’d get to this point. That he would ever trust her.
“It’ll be a few hours. You can watch her here and put her to bed for me.”
Bedtime? Oh, the week couldn’t come fast enough. She would love to put Amelie to bed. Rock her and sing her a lullaby her mother always used to sing to her.
While all of this sounded amazing, it also frightened her. If he was going out on a Friday night, it meant he had a date. With his fiancée. Who’d come over and they’d have to be in the same room. Maybe she hadn’t seen the woman because Corey didn’t tell her she’d been coming over.
“Will your fiancée be coming over? She probably doesn’t want me near Amelie.”
Corey laughed, his brows turning low. “Fiancée? What the hell you talking about?”
“You know, your fiancée.”
His eyes lit up with merriment. “I’m not engaged, Genevieve. I’m not even seeing anyone. Where in the hell did you get that idea?”
“Umm…Detective Stileano said I hurt her fiancé and I assumed that was you.”
“Me and Gabby?” He snorted. “She’d break my balls for the littlest thing I imagine. Not my fiancée. She was talking about Dane.” He frowned. “He was in the bathroom when you took Amelie. He blames himself for it happening.”
Oh. That explained the noises she heard that night. She had thought Corey had been in there.
