Chapter Six
Owen
I took the last bite of my sub as I pulled into Willa’s driveway, Tuna happily munching on the extra meat I’d ordered on the side for him.
This giving up my free time after a long day of work was going to take some getting used to. Normally, I’d be home cleaning up after making a healthy dinner. Then taking Tuna for a long walk before heading into my makeshift gym in the basement to squeeze in a workout before bed.
Instead, it was takeout food while driving, then four more hours of work before going home to shower then crash hard before doing it all over again.
That said, it wasn’t resentment or dread I felt as I climbed out of the van with my dog and grabbed supplies before making my way up the front path.
The house was lit up in the warm, golden light that filled Willa’s house. I guessed there were no worries about her being awake still.
The doorbell barely got a chance to chime before the door flew open, and then there was a short, cute, bubbly blonde woman in a bright yellow floral romper.
“Hey!”
“Hey,” I greeted, brows drawing together. “Gracie, right?”
“Right! And you must be Tuna! I’ve heard so much about you.
” She dropped down as Tuna rushed over the threshold, grabbing his big head with both hands and giving him a rub.
“I’m so glad I got to meet you before I left,” she said, kissing the dog’s head.
“Owen, nice to see you again. Willa is upstairs. She’s expecting you, but maybe just give her a little hello so you don’t give her a fright.
Okay. I’m out of your way. Don’t mind me pushing your dog into my backseat.
I’m totally not stealing him or anything. ”
I let out a little laugh as she moved out of the door as I stepped in.
The lower level of the house was full of sounds and smells. Namely, the washing machine and dishwasher running and the scent of that natural basil cleaner Willa swapped out all her old lemon cleaner for.
Clearly, Gracie was the kind of friend who popped in uninvited to help a new mom with some basic life tasks while she either showered or caught up on sleep.
As I made my way toward the steps, a smile tugged at my lips when I saw the robot vacuum mop sitting on its cradle, charging.
I brought my tools into the primary bathroom before moving back out to try to announce myself.
But when I made my way toward the doorway of the nursery, where Tuna was already at the crib watching the sleeping baby, Willa herself was nowhere to be seen.
As I was making my way back out into the hall, a door flew open.
“Gracie, did I hear…”
I saw a split second of Willa—her wet hair around her shoulders, a white towel wrapped tightly around her body—before she ran right into me.
“Oof,” she grunted as she collided with the wall of my body.
When my hand went out automatically to steady her, it landed on bare skin. The bare skin of her hip.
“Oh, God,” she yelped.
“Did you… lose your towel?” I asked, forcing my gaze up to the ceiling. Making my hand drop from her warm, impossibly soft skin was a harder task.
“How is that possible?” she hissed. I could feel how heavily she was breathing, her breasts pressed to my chest. She refused to step away because she knew she’d expose herself if she did.
“It’s okay,” I said, lifting my hand to cover my eyes, and smelling the sweet, warm scent of her lotion or oil from touching her hip. “I won’t look; I promise.”
I could feel her gaze on me for just a second, checking to make sure I was a man of my word, before she suddenly moved away.
The sensation of regret was damn near overwhelming. Because some part of me that I wasn’t proud of wanted to keep running my hands over her body, press her back against the wall, touch, taste, and feel every inch of her.
Christ.
I needed to get a grip.
I didn’t pant after a client. Not even Willa, who I’d been around dozens of times in the past. I’d appreciated how beautiful she was, but hadn’t felt myself fantasizing about feeling her softness beneath me as I surged deep inside her.
“Okay. All decent.”
My thoughts weren’t.
And my body was reacting.
I dropped my hand to find her wide-eyed and hazy. Dare I even think it? Also turned on.
“Didn’t mean to startle you. I was trying to find you to say hi without waking up the baby. Who has a very enraptured babysitter right now, by the way.”
“He’s the sweetest dog in the world.”
“Gracie headed out, by the way. While threatening to steal my dog. I’m starting to think I should retire my handyman business and just rent Tuna out to people who want to spend time with him.”
“But then who would fix the thousand other parts of my house that are bound to break?” she asked, shaking her head at the absurdity of the house she’d decided to keep living in, despite all its various—and expensive—quirks.
“At this rate, your house is my retirement plan.”
“I know, right? Insane. Well, I don’t want to keep you any later than necessary. I’ll just, um, go grab some clothes.”
The problem was that she had to head into the primary bedroom to do that. Which meant I got to watch how her ass moved beneath her towel as we both walked in the same direction.
I was just setting out some of my tools when I felt her presence in the doorway.
Turning, I found her standing there in a buttery-soft-looking baby blue pajama set. I decided not to notice the way she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“I don’t know if you need to know this sort of thing, but I emptied the dehumidifiers midday.”
“I’m not surprised. That was a lot of water. Plus, it’s been humid. I’m gonna keep them running, but they should be slowing down. I know they make it hot as hell in here…”
“I’m not worried about that. I barely ever see this room anymore,” she admitted. “I was going to make some coffee. Can I get you some?”
“Sounds good,” I agreed. I didn’t usually drink coffee so late. But some part of me was looking for an excuse to see her again. “Thanks.”
“I’m assuming I can’t talk you into any flavors?”
“You’d be right on that.”
“Fine. Plain, boring coffee it is. I’ll be right back.”
I heard her feet on the stairs until Adelaide let out a shriek. A whine from Tuna followed.
I was going to have to wait on that coffee, but that was fine by me as I finally got to work, listening to the soft hum of Willa’s voice as she sang and talked to her daughter and my dog.
There it was again.
That weird feeling of rightness I couldn’t really wrap my head around.
I didn’t know what to make of that feeling.
I’d spent enough time around babies to know they were supposed to trigger something in people. A protective instinct, at least. A sense of awe, even. Whatever it was that made grown adults willingly spend months surviving on two hours of sleep a night.
But this felt different.
Or maybe it only felt different because of where I was standing.
In Willa’s house. Holding Willa’s baby. Watching Willa try to keep her professional life from falling apart while simultaneously trying to soothe her small baby.
For one brief, strange second, it felt less like I was standing in someone else’s home and more like I’d somehow wandered into a life that could have been mine.
The thought was so absurd that I immediately shoved it away.
I barely knew this woman.
Maybe it was as simple as being single for a long-ass time. There was something nice about hearing another voice in the house. Of sharing in domesticity.
I shook those feelings off as I got to work, reminding myself that this wasn’t my house. It wasn’t my life. That wasn’t my woman. Or my baby.
But maybe it was time to get on that, if I was suddenly starting to long for it.
I’d gotten so busy building a business that I’d kind of fallen behind on the “life” thing.
Most of my days were the same: long work hours, workouts, cooking, chores, time with the dog, bed.
I was at a point, though, that I didn’t need to work so hard.
I could be hiring some other guys to pick up the slack and have more time for myself.
Then I could be working on family.
The weird thing was… I didn’t feel the tug at just the idea of having that. Not the way I got that little twist about Willa and Adelaide.
I was going to go ahead and bury that thought. It had no place in reality.
I got to work cleaning up tile and glass I’d busted out during the demolition, forcing my mind to go blank, to just focus on the work.
“Hey,” a soft voice called, making me jerk and straighten.
Turning, I saw Willa standing there. Her baby was in the crook of her arm, her little hand closed around the bodice of her mother’s shirt, tugging it down a little more than my inappropriate attraction to her needed right then.
“Hey. Everything all right?”
“I got distracted, but I did get to the coffee,” she said, holding a mug out toward me.
“Oh, right. Thanks. I heard her crying. I figured you got busy taking care of her.”
“The whole world revolves around her right now.”
“Eh, at least you’ve got a cute boss.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans then reached for the mug. “You didn’t have to get this.”
“I wanted to. I know these aren’t your normal hours. And I really appreciate it.”
“It’s nothing. Stay back, bud,” I called when Tuna came up behind her. Not that he had any intentions of coming to me. He sat down right at Willa’s side, leaning his head against her leg. Willa’s free hand went down to rest on his head.
“I think my dog likes you more than me.”
“I think his affection toward me is only a ruse to get closer to the baby.”
“You might be right about that.”
“He gets upset every time she cries or even just grumbles. He was very distressed when I had to put Adelaide on the changing table.”
“I should have known he’d get this attached. Had a rabbit build a nest in the backyard once. He used to sit over the nest and whimper at the bunnies until I made him come inside.”
“I’ve always wanted my own dog. Before… all this,” she said, wiggling the baby, “I worked too much for it to be fair. Though, I guess, home alone here is better than stuck alone in a loud, scary, uncomfortable shelter…”
Her eyes went all watery at that.