Chapter 7 – Carr
Chapter Seven
CARR
E verything is going so smoothly now that Addison is here. The baby is happy, Errol is happy, and I’m getting work done. Ben, with the help of the legal team, was able to obtain a copy of the birth certificate. “Megan wasn’t happy about the request,” he says as he hands over the paper.
“There’s no name here.” Then I remember Addison saying that some people leave it blank. I tap the paper against my palm. “When’s the paternity test coming back?”
“Should be any day now.”
Addison wanders into the kitchen with the baby in one arm. “Is that the birth certificate?”
She must recognize the seal on the document. “Yeah.” I hand it over. “You were right. Name section is blank.”
“I don’t mean to pry, but your name isn’t on here.”
“It’s my cousin.”
“So this baby…she’s not yours?”
I don’t like the sound of that. “No, the baby is mine. Finders keepers—that sort of thing. Here. Let me hold the baby.” Addison has given me some lessons on handling this little tyke, and ever since she’s arrived, the baby doesn’t cry as much anymore. “Why don’t you go take a shower and we’ll have dinner together and you and Errol and I will come up with a name.”
“I don’t know…”
“You want to smell nice for the baby.”
Her eyebrows crash together. “Are you saying I don’t smell good?”
“I never said anything.” I turn my back on her and nuzzle the baby’s head. Everyone smells perfect. Addison like spring and the baby, well, the baby has some kind of special smell. It might be the baby powder, but I think it’s some natural chemical that babies produce.
“Hmmmph,” Addison sniffs and stomps out.
As she’s leaving, Errol arrives, carrying bags of groceries. “Why’s Addison upset?”
“Mr. Smooth told her she smells.” Ben points an accusing finger at me.
“She had bags under her eyes. She needs a break.” She’s doing all the childcare, and it’s a 24-hour job. Errol and I barely survived, and we’re two people. Two men, kind of inept, but still, it’s one more pair of hands and one more set of eyes than Addison has.
“Are you gonna hire a nanny for the nanny?” Errol wonders.
“No, but I think I can do some stuff. I was handling it okay before Addison arrived.”
Ben snorts. “You were on the verge of throwing yourself off your balcony.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ben.”
“Never mind him.” Errol hands me a highball. “What are we going to name the baby?”
Ben makes a timeout with his hands. “Did you call Dex? Shouldn’t you wait until the paternity test comes back?”
“No. Dex says the baby isn’t his. Megan doesn’t want the baby. The tyke is mine now.”
Errol arches an eyebrow. “Yours?”
“Yes, so start thinking of some good names. I’m going to go read Master and Commander to the little one. Also, cook Addison’s steak medium. I don’t think she likes the rare stuff.”
“How do you know?”
“Because a couple of mornings ago, you cooked steak and eggs for breakfast, and she didn’t eat the red parts of the meat. She likes it slightly pink inside.”
“You weren’t even here when I made steak for breakfast. You were down at your office working on that Osaka deal.”
“And when I came back, I saw the plate on the table.”
“You’re acting like the baby isn’t the only thing that’s yours.”
I walk out because it doesn’t feel like Errol needs a response.
Thirty minutes later, Errol sends us a text that the food is done. “We’ll read more about Captain Jack later,” I inform the baby. She gurgles happily. I’ll have to take her out on the yacht. Seems to me that she likes the water.
Addison appears at the dining room table freshly washed with her hair in a ponytail. She looks like someone’s teenage crush. Mine.
Fuck.
“Do you want me to hold her?” Addison says, innocently unaware of what’s going on in my head.
“No, I got her.” The baby is tiny, barely bigger than my hand. In the papers the nanny agency sent over, there was a section there about how hitting on your nanny is a prosecutable offense. I don’t think that’s true, but there’s a power dynamic here that I shouldn’t take advantage of. I shut off the spigot of caveman thoughts and snuggle the babe close. “You got some ideas for a name? How did your mom come up with yours?”
“Mom just liked it. I think it was off the list of popular girl names that were unusual. How about you? Is Carr short for something?”
“My dad’s side is Scottish. He wanted to name me Cameron. Mom didn’t like that, so they settled on Carr. I think the baby looks like a flower. What do you think of flower names? Violet, Peony, Rose, Lily?”
“Those are all pretty.”
“What would you name your little girl?”
“You can’t steal her name,” Errol squawks. He removes the salad plates and sets the steaks down.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that people have names in their heads for their future families, and asking them what those names are and giving them to your own children is breaking an unwritten social rule.”
“I’ve never heard of that rule before.” I hand the baby off to Addison so I can cut up the meat.
“It’s because you're a bachelor.” Errol sniffs.
“You’re a bachelor and twice my age.”
“I pay attention to things.”
“Is this from one of those dramas you watch all day?”
“Are you judging me?”
“Before you answer, remember he feeds us,” Addison warns.
I hold up my hands. “No judgment. How about Violet?”
“It’s pretty,” Addison agrees. “And it has strength.”
“Great. She can have my mom’s middle name.” I hold a fork full of steak in front of Addison’s mouth. Her lips part and accept the food. It’s damnably erotic. Errol coughs into his fist. I send him a glare.
“The steak is perfectly cooked,” Addison says.
Errol beams. “Thank you.”
I wait for him to tell her that I made sure her steak was perfect, but the bastard backs away without another word. I lift another piece of meat to Addison’s mouth.
“I can feed myself.”
“You’re holding the baby.”
“I’ve cared for two kids before. I can handle a baby and a fork at the same time.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“You’re not going to give me a fork?”
“Nope.” I can wait here all day.
She finally accedes, and after a while, she’s full. I take the baby then. “What are you doing?” she protests.
“Violet and I are going to go read more Master and Commander . Then I’m going to take her for a walk so she can get used to her name. Meanwhile, you’re going to sleep.”
“Taking care of Violet is my job.”
“You’re dead on your feet, which means you’re not going to operate at top condition, which means you’re a danger to Violet. Don’t make me fire you.”