Chapter Twelve
Lainey
I removed the blanket from my shoulder and looked in the mirror to see if any spit-up had hit my dress.
There wasn’t any that I could see but realized how unattractive being in the middle of a conversation with Adam and suddenly smelling baby vomit would be. So, I changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a pink t-shirt and slipped on a pair of pink fuzzy socks.
I made quick work of changing Conor’s diaper and putting him in his footie pajamas.
I was glad he had conked out, so I didn’t feel as guilty about skipping his bath tonight.
I would put him in his baby tub in the sink in the morning.
I didn’t want to pass up the chance to spend time with Adam.
Even if nothing was going to come of it.
I appeared in the living room, unable to keep the smile from my face at the thought of hanging out with the handsome Marine some more.
Only to find him fast asleep on my couch.
His black Salomon boots were lined up neatly next to the coffee table, and he had his arm behind the throw pillow he’d propped under his head.
His six-foot-three frame was too big for the sofa; he couldn’t possibly be comfortable. But then I remembered what he’d said about sleeping in worse places.
I retrieved a blanket from the linen closet in the hall next to the only bathroom in the two-bedroom apartment.
Before I laid it across his body, I couldn’t help but pause to stare at his handsome face.
His high cheekbones would make any woman envious, but the cleft chin on his masculine, square jaw balanced it out.
As I stared at him while he lay with his eyes closed, I realized how long his eyelashes were.
I think I hadn’t noticed them before because I’d been so captivated with how blue his eyes were.
Being this close, I could also make out the dusting of light freckles across his nose. His cropped dark-blond hair was thick, and I had to fight the urge to brush his short bangs along his forehead with my fingertips.
I gently covered him and softly whispered, “Goodnight, handsome.”
He turned over on the couch and pulled the blanket tighter around him, murmuring, “Goodnight, beautiful.”
Was he talking in his sleep, or did he really think I was beautiful?
Yeah, like I was going to get any rest tonight, knowing he was in the next room after he said that.
I could wake him and offer half of my bed. Strictly platonic, of course. It wouldn’t be my fault if I snuggled next to him in my sleep. Or touched his…
Oh my god, Lainey! Get a grip, you harlot!
~~
I had just dozed off when the alert signaling I had a text sounded. Worried it might be Paulina calling in sick tomorrow, I picked up my phone from my nightstand and looked at the screen.
Brian: I hope I’m not waking you, but is Adam still at your house?
Me: Yeah, he’s asleep on my couch. Why?
Brian: I expected him to stay in my guestroom tonight.
Me: That’s my fault! He fell asleep while I was putting Conor to bed, and instead of waking him up, I put a blanket on him.
I didn’t want Brian to think something untoward was going on—even if I had kind of wanted exactly that.
Me: Do you want me to wake him up?
Brian: Only if you want to. I was getting ready to go to bed but didn’t want to lock him out. I also wanted to make sure he hadn’t gotten lost.
Me: He’s fine here, although he might not agree when Conor wakes up hungry at 2 a.m. and again at 5.
Brian: Maybe Adam could help you and take a feeding shift.
Me: Unfortunately, I’m the only one with the right equipment to feed the baby, if you know what I mean.
I included a laughing emoji, which he returned.
Brian: He doesn’t take a bottle yet?
Me: Not yet. There hasn’t really been a need to wean him.
Brian: It’d probably make your life easier if you did. That way more people could help you. I’m sure the O’Briens would love an opportunity to have their grandson overnight.
Me: I know you’re right. But it’s going to take effort, something I seem to be in short supply of lately.
Brian: You have a lot of people to lean on. Yours truly included.
Me: And I love you for it.
Brian: Tell Adam not to leave town tomorrow without saying goodbye.
Me: I will. Goodnight.
Brian: Goodnight. Sleep tight.
Fingers crossed I could fall back asleep before Conor woke up in a few hours.
****
Adam
I woke to baby Conor’s hungry cries quickly followed by the sound of bare feet padding down the hall, then Lainey’s soft voice as she quietly soothed him.
In the still of the small apartment in the middle of the night, I could hear everything.
“Shhh… it’s okay, sweetheart. Mommy’s here. Hold on one second.”
Then it was quiet again, except for a steady, rhythmic sound of what I imagined was a rocking chair.
As I lay listening in the dark room, I felt drawn to see if there was something I could do to help her, but I wasn’t sure what.
It came to me when the sound of the rocking stopped. I could at least burp and change him and allow her to go back to bed.
With purposefully heavy footsteps so not to startle her, I appeared in the doorway of the nursery. I could see her in the chair by the window patting the baby’s back.
She looked like an angel with the moonlight reflecting off her mussed blonde hair.
“Hey. Let me do that,” I said as I approached her in what turned out to be a glider not a rocker.
She didn’t move to get up. “It’s okay. We’ve got a routine.”
“I’ve been trained in tactical maneuvers and combat skills, Lainey. I can burp a baby and change his diaper.”
I should have been scared at how easily she acquiesced, and the smirk on her face as she stood up and gestured to the now-empty seat.
After I sank into the chair that was still warm, she placed Conor in my arms, so his face was at my shoulder. He whimpered as he got situated but quieted quickly when he got comfortable and I patted his back.
Lainey picked up a remote control from the armrest, the sound of Velcro echoed off the walls.
“This button makes it recline; this one makes it rock.”
After placing the remote back where it belonged, she pointed to a changing table on the opposite wall by his crib. “Diapers and wipes are in the top drawer; the diaper pail is in the corner. If you need new pajamas, they’re in the first drawer of his dresser.”
I nodded. “I’ve got it. Go back to sleep.”
There was that smirk again.
“Oorah, big guy.” She paused at the doorway and turned back to look at me. “Try to keep it down, will ya?”
“Piece of cake,” I replied far more confidently than I was now really feeling.
After hearing her bedroom door close, I fiddled with the reclining button until I found a comfortable position, then pressed the glider control.
“I got this,” I murmured to myself.
Famous last words.
****
Lainey
I woke with a start.
Something was wrong.
Light was peeking through my blinds. That was not right.
I was up before the sun. Always . Well, at least since becoming a mother. Even with the summer sun rising early, I was still up before dawn. Or rather, Conor was.
What is wrong with my baby?!
A feeling of panic overwhelmed me as I threw the covers off my legs, practically leaped out of bed, grabbed my phone off the charger on the nightstand so I could call 911, and hurried down the hall, chastising myself the entire way.
I should have never left him with Adam. The guy didn’t know anything about babies. He probably laid him down on his belly. Or covered him with a blanket.
In the short distance it took to reach the nursery, I’d worked myself into a frenzy and rushed through the doorway. Then stopped short at what I saw.
Still in the chair was a shirtless Marine, fast asleep, with my baby, also asleep and wearing only a diaper, nestled against his broad chest.
Adam’s blue shirt lay crumpled on the floor next to Conor’s pajamas.
I’ll admit it, I stared for a minute. Seeing Adam’s muscular arms around my son might have caused me to start ovulating.
It was such a sweet sight; I couldn’t help but snap a picture with my phone.
The sound of the photo being taken must have woken Adam because his eyes immediately flew open. Luckily, he wasn’t looking at me, and I quickly set my phone on the dresser before softly calling, “Hey.”
His handsome face lit up in a bright smile when he noticed me in the doorway.
“Good morning.” His deep voice was gravelly from sleep. “You’re a nice sight to wake up to.”
He kissed Conor’s hair, then lifted an arm and rotated it over his shoulder, like he wanted to get the blood flowing. His biceps and pecs flexed in the process.
Yeah, forget ovulating. I may have just gotten pregnant again.
He switched the arm he was holding the baby with and repeated the action.
I knew I was staring. Some might even call it gawking.
Moving toward the chair, I quietly said, “I can take him. I can’t believe he’s still sleeping, to be honest.”
He chuckled softly. “We uh—had some struggles last night, so it might have taken a while for him to fall back asleep.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Let’s just say you might have to do laundry sooner than you were expecting. And I owe you some diapers. But we got it figured out.”
I gestured to where my son was still asleep on his chest.
“I see that.”
“Go get ready. We’re fine. I’ll come find you when he wakes up. Or I can make my first bottle feeding attempt.”
“I haven’t tried a bottle with him yet.”
“No?”
I shook my head, internally preparing for his judgment like Brian’s last night. Instead, he shrugged and said, “That makes sense. I mean, you’re with him all day. Why would you need to?”
“Exactly! Although,” I paused for a beat. “I probably should consider starting so Shawn’s family can spend more time with him.”
“Or so you could go on a date.”
I swallowed hard. Was he offering to take me out?
“I thought you were leaving today?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean me.”
Can the floor open up and suck me in?
He continued, “I meant I’m sure there are a lot of men in town who would love to take you out.”
“Mmm, you would be mistaken. No one’s interested in dating a single mom. At least not this single mom.”
“Sugar, if I lived here, I’d be on your doorstep tomorrow night asking for a date.”
I laughed. “That’s easy for you to say, since you’re getting on a bus later.”
He grinned. “Yeah, you’re right. Plus, I’m not sure how well that would go over with Brian and Shawn’s family.”
“Welcome to life in a small town. And the reason I probably won’t go on another date until Conor graduates. No man is going to want to deal with that.”
“The right one will. He’ll be man enough to handle the O’Briens, and the O’Shaughnessys, and any other ‘O’s’ in town.”
“Hopefully my ‘O’s’.” My eyes went wide, and I clapped my hand over my mouth as I felt the blush creep up my chest to my neck and face. “I can’t believe I just said that!”
But Adam didn’t appear scandalized. No, he chuckled and replied, “ Especially those ‘O’s’.”
****
Adam
I wanted to be that man.
In fact, the idea of another man coming along and raising Conor while giving Lainey orgasms every night pissed me off.
And I knew I had zero right to feel that way. Hell, I was leaving town in… I switched arms holding the baby so I could look at my smartwatch, nine hours.
Lainey wasn’t my girl and Conor wasn’t my son—he was Shawn’s.
My friend’s.
The guy who’d died coming to save me.
I’d told Shawn at the cemetery I probably wouldn’t be back this way, but now I wasn’t so sure. This little dude in my arms and I had bonded last night over poop, vomit, and sleep. There was no way I’d be unable to resist checking in on him from time to time, or his hot mom.
I could do that while still honoring my friend.