17. Lake Houses are the Best
17
Lake Houses are the Best
What’s it called when a hospital runs out of maternity nurses?
A midwife crisis.
Natalie
“What are you doing here?” Dylan asked, sleep heavy in his voice. Surprise, not accusation, tinged his tone.
I tried not to stare at the thin pajama bottoms clinging to his hip bones and leaving very little to the imagination. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, which made it even harder for my eyes to stop looking at him. He was all muscles and bare skin. Lots and lots of bare skin.
“I, uh...” I forgot how to speak. There was just so much bare skin and those pajama pants were showing the line of his hips, keeping my mind very firmly in inappropriate territory.
“My eyes are up here,” he teased. “Did you forget that today’s my day off?”
I closed my eyes and sighed. At least I could think when I wasn’t looking at his gorgeous body that was very much off limits.
“Yup. I forgot. I’m so sorry for waking you up on your one day to sleep in.” I quickly turned to head back to my apartment, silently cursing myself.
“Natalie,” he called out. I froze when he said my name, my cheeks flushing as I couldn’t help but smile. I turned slowly to face him again. “I was going to make some breakfast. You want some? Ellie should be up soon and I know she’d love to see you.”
I wished I had the self-control to pretend to need to think about it, but I didn’t. I practically sprinted back to his apartment. He chuckled as he closed the door behind me as if even he had noticed how quickly I had returned.
“I just need to put on some better cooking clothes,” he said, padding down the hallway toward his bedroom. “I’ll be right back. I just put the coffee on and there’s lots.”
I did manage to have enough self-control to wait until he was in the bedroom before I went to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. It probably helped that I had already had one cup today, but Dylan’s coffee was better than mine and who was I to say no to coffee.
He returned a few moments later, dressed in basketball shorts and a well-worn baggy t-shirt. Even then, he didn’t look like a regular guy. He still had too much athletic build and easy movement, but at least I wasn’t openly gaping at his muscles anymore.
“I heard the weather is supposed to be gorgeous today,” I said, pouring him a cup of coffee and handing it to him. “I was actually thinking I might take Ellie out for a walk before I realized you’d be home, but we could still go.”
His face brightened and then fell. “That sounds amazing, but the DNA results haven’t come back in yet. I can’t risk being seen in public with an infant, even if you’re the one holding her. The press will assume the worst and drag you into it.”
I shuddered thinking of the headlines. I’d be labeled a single mom gold-digging an NFL player, or that I was the mother of his child that no one knew about. Either way, I’d be in the spotlight and that wasn’t something I was quite ready for.
“Is a DNA test supposed to take this long?” I asked, sipping on my coffee.
He shrugged, the motion easy even on his broad shoulders. “The lawyers say it’s all going to plan.”
“And how do you feel about it?” I pressed, watching him.
He leaned against the counter, cradling the coffee mug in his large hands. He stared into the dark drink for a moment before answering. “I’m not sure. I love her though.”
The sweet admission made me smile, although I tried to hide it in my own coffee mug. He grinned as he caught my smile.
“I can honestly say that I have never felt this way about another woman before,” he continued. “She’s needy and clingy, but...” He paused, glancing toward the bedroom where I assumed Ellie was still sleeping in her crib. “But I hope she’s mine.”
To say that my ovaries were on fire would be an understatement.
“What if we go to my aunt’s lake house?” I blurted out.
He raised an eyebrow waiting for me to continue.
“It’s on a private lake,” I explained, gaining steam as the idea grew in my mind. “There’s a small pool and a beach. We can bring sandwiches and make a picnic out of it and get to enjoy our day off and the great weather. The house has showers even so we don’t have to be sandy for the trip home.”
I was rambling, but I desperately wanted him to say yes.
“Wow, a house that has showers...”
“We can have a day out without worrying about anyone seeing us,” I continued, ignoring his teasing. “And I think the water and sunshine will be good for the baby.”
He sipped at his coffee, appearing to give my idea consideration.
“Well, if it’s good for the baby, who am I to argue?” he finally said, setting down his mug on the counter. “I will just need some help with this car seat. I think you need an advanced technical degree to install it.”
I laughed, thrilled that he had agreed. I then realized that I had not shaved for at least a couple of days. At least I had a swimsuit I knew looked good on me.
With a laugh, he continued. “Plus, it will give us a chance to use the swim diapers I bought!”
The drive to my aunt’s lake house took less than an hour. The cottage-style home was a staple of my childhood. It had three bedrooms, three baths, an outdoor shower, a pool, a hot tub, and lake access. My aunt’s husband had been rich. Ridiculous level rich, but they’d never had kids. He’d died when I was four so I didn’t remember him, but I did remember my aunt letting my not-rich family use the lake house for summer vacations.
My dad had loved it here. It was one of my favorite places on the planet.
I sighed with pleasure as we spilled out of the car and into her gravel driveway. The smell of trees and water filled my lungs, replacing the heat and smoke of the city. Somehow, out here, the humidity felt cleaner and sunshine less intense, yet somehow more welcoming.
“Wow, this is nice,” Dylan whistled as I keyed in the numerical lock to let us in.
“My aunt is the reason I can live in our building,” I explained, pushing the door open. “She owns my apartment. She owns most of the building to be honest, but she lets me live there as long as I pay the dues and fees.”
He nodded, as if he had been wanting to ask how I could afford to live in such a nice building but had been too polite to say anything.
“She doesn’t have any kids so she likes to help out her nieces and nephews when she can,” I continued. “I try not to ask her for too much because she’s already given me a lot.”
Dylan easily hefted the car seat onto the kitchen counter where Ellie gurgled and cooed at him.
“You ready to swim?” he asked her, bending at the knees so his face was in line with hers. She reached for him, her chubby hands missing by miles but making him smile at the effort. He unclicked her from the seat and set about changing her diaper and putting on the now useful swim diapers.
I headed out to the pool to take off the pool cover and lay out towels. My aunt had a house cleaner and pool cleaner come by weekly, so the pool sparkled in the sunshine. The lake glittered just beyond the pool, inviting us with darker water and a sandy beach. I figured Ellie should try out the pool first since the water would be cleaner and warmer. We could wade in the lake after. When she was bigger, we could take the kayaks and go find the creek where all the turtles liked to congregate.
When she was bigger.
I was already planning on having Ellie stay in my life. I swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure if I was invited to stay in her life once the DNA results came back. I wasn’t really sure where I stood in Dylan’s life other than as his nanny, and that wasn’t a long term position. Neither one of us had said a word about the kiss, and I didn’t want to bring it up and ruin things. Today was supposed to be a nice relaxing day at the pool.
“Cannonball!”
I turned, ready to yell at Dylan that babies shouldn’t be doing cannonballs into the pool, but instead saw him knee-deep in the pool holding onto his daughter and dipping her toes under the water. Ellie shrieked with delight, kicking her feet and splashing the water.
I tried not to stare at his muscled bare chest and the absolutely adorable little girl in his arms. She was so tiny compared to him, yet he was absolutely at her mercy. He could have been an advertisement for having children because I was ready to purchase the whole kit.
“Come on in, the water’s great,” Dylan called out to me. He looked up, the sun highlighting the strength of his face and making his eyes sparkle as he grinned at me.
I reached for my shirt, lifting it up over my stomach before getting self-conscious. Was he going to like what he saw? I swallowed hard, the butterflies going hard in my stomach but I stripped. I might have made sure to pop my chest and roll my shoulders a little, but that was just because it was comfortable, not because I wanted him to notice.
But notice he did. I saw his eyes focus on me and even from this distance, I could see his pupils dilate. He licked his lips as he looked me up and down.
Heat blossomed in my chest and core at the idea that he thought I was sexy. I liked it, and I did saunter to the pool stairs in order to join him.
“Can you teach a baby to swim?” he asked, lowering Ellie into the water, but keeping a firm grip on her. “Do they have baby swim lessons?”
I nodded as I slid into the water and stood on the second step of the pool with him. Even though the water was warm, I could still feel his heat radiating off of him into the water.
It was distracting. I needed to focus on the baby, but all I could see was his muscles and bare skin.
Get a grip, I told myself. Be a professional.
As if swimming with your boss in a private pool with his illegitimate daughter was professional in the first place.
Ellie giggled and kicked her legs, helping to bring me back to the task I was supposed to be doing. I focused on her, doing my best to ignore the well built arms holding her safely in the water.
Together we lowered her into the water. She flailed with her balled fists, frowning at the water as she tried to figure out exactly what was going on. Dylan chuckled, the sound low and deep as he watched her try to figure out this new thing in her world.
She was too little to do more than just hold and wander around the shallow end of the pool. The water was warm and the sun hot, so I wasn’t too worried about her getting chilled. Ellie giggled and babbled, wriggling her entire body in the new sensation of being surrounded by water.
“I think she likes it,” I said, grinning as I watched her chubby arms flail. Her tiny eyebrows alternated between heavy thinking and joyful surprise. Dylan murmured his agreement, dipping her down low into the water so it came up to her chest. Ellie’s eyes watched everything, trusting in the ever present security of her father keeping her safe from all harm.
“I think she’s going to sleep like a rock after this,” Dylan said with a laugh after we “swam” around for a good twenty minutes.
“Here, let’s see if she can float,” I offered, holding out my arms to him. He hesitated, unsure of what I was going to do to his daughter. “I promise I won’t let her go,” I added.
He gave her to me, his shoulders relaxing when she smiled up at me and flailed her arms happily in the water. Carefully, I maneuvered her onto her back, cupping her head in my hand so that she couldn’t sink but her body could float out in the warm water. At first, she wasn’t sure about the new position, especially since it meant her head was getting wet, but after a moment, she let out a long breath and her entire body relaxed.
“There you go,” I whispered, letting her float gently in the warm water. Every muscle in her face relaxed, her arms and legs splaying out as she gave me her absolute trust that I would keep holding her head and keep her from going under.
“I wonder if this reminds her of when she was in the womb,” Dylan said thoughtfully, his dark eyes focused on his daughter. “She looks so peaceful.”
I watched as her eyes started to blink slowly, growing heavier and heavier with every flutter downward.
“I guess this would be the ultimate water bed,” Dylan remarked. I glanced up at him to see him grin at me. “Can it be my turn next?”
“Only if you don’t require a diaper change after,” I teased. He snorted a laugh, making Ellie stir but not wake.
“We can wrap her up in a towel and put her in the baby pen,” I offered. I’d set up the travel crib on the patio near the hot tub.
“And then hot tub for us?” He grinned. “Sounds great.”
He crossed the pool in three strokes, his strong muscles propelling him through the water. I tried, and failed, to not stare as he hefted himself out of the water and up onto the patio deck. Water streamed down his bare chest in tantalizing designs, curving around his well-defined pecs and abs. I forced myself to look away when the rivulets of water surged toward his low slung swim trunks.
He grabbed a towel and waited for me to tow the sleeping infant to the stairs. Carefully, although I was pretty sure she was tired enough to sleep through a hurricane, I cradled Ellie into my arms and then handed her into the waiting towel. As if he had done this a thousand times, he had her swaddled in the towel. She sighed in contentment but did not wake.
I climbed out of the pool, wondering if Dylan was watching the water slide down my body the way I had stared at him. He carefully placed Ellie in the travel crib and sat on the edge of the hot tub. I joined him, sitting next to him. I could have sat on the opposite side of the tub, but I didn’t. I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be close to him. I could pretend to justify it that I wanted to be nearer to Ellie, but I knew the truth.
I wanted to be next to him.
I wanted to touch him.
I knew it was a bad idea and I decided I didn’t care.
I was going to have this moment.