16. Sutton
Sutton
Iyanked the door open, shocked to see Asher standing on the other side.
I’d only opened it because I thought maybe Iris had come back early.
He looked amazing, as always, with his shaved dark hair, sharp jaw covered in scruff, and wide imposing shoulders.
He was in navy dress pants and a white button-up shirt, no jacket today.
The man was so handsome it hurt.
“Asher?” I asked, confused, as I wiped a self-conscious hand over my hair, which was falling out of its ponytail. I was in a pair of black leggings and an oversized white T-shirt. Thankfully Sophie hadn’t puked on this one. Yet.
He’d seen me with tears on my face two days ago and had seen my place literally falling apart but this felt significantly worse, puke or not.
I’d come home the night after he stayed, talking to him on the phone, fully expecting to rush him off so I could call the landlord, but then I saw the sink was fixed.
When I’d asked him about it, he just said he hadn’t fixed it.
When I asked if he paid someone else to fix it, he moved on to another topic.
“Hey, sweetheart, can I come in?”
I’d promised myself to try and build up a wall against the nickname but it wasn’t working considering I felt like putty whenever he used it. It was even more delicious in his beautiful, deep British accent.
“How did you—” I shook my head in confusion.
“I come bearing gifts.” He held up a bag in each hand. I frowned a little but stepped aside to let him in. I followed him into the kitchen and watched as he started pulling things out.
“What are you doing here, Asher?” I was overly aware of the messy space but almost too tired to care. Sophie had toys and clothes lying around, and there were dirty dishes in the sink. I was normally a clean person but the last thirty-six hours had really kicked my ass.
“Quinn told me Soph was sick.” He said it simply, as if it was an explanation for his sudden appearance. He turned and started putting things in the fridge before moving back to the counter to unpack the second paper bag. “How is she?”
“Umm…” The genuine concern in his voice was pulling at me. “It’s the flu. Her fever is still high but she’s sleeping now which is the first time in a while.”
He had stopped unpacking and locked eyes with me as I talked. “You should have called me.” He looked genuinely pissed off, his tone short. Well, shorter than normal.
“She’ll be okay. I had her checked by a doctor this morning at a walk-in clinic.”
“You went to the doctor alone?” He shot me an accusatory glare.
“Of course I did. I’ve been doing this on my own for a while, you know. She’s fine, Ash. Kids get sick, they’re little germ factories. It honestly might hit me worse than her.”
He let out a grunt as he moved around the kitchen, pulling a few more things out of the bag. “I got soup broth but then I wasn’t sure if she could eat it so I got some of those digestive cookies. Figured they would be gentle on her stomach if it was still bothering her.”
I blinked at him in shock. I felt like I was dreaming. I pinched my arm, the pain cluing me into the fact that this was indeed happening.
Asher kept talking like this was all no big deal. “I got us some burgers and fries because I assume you haven’t eaten much. I got a lot of options in case you don’t like something. And I picked this up just in case.”
My traitorous eyes began to blur with tears as I looked down at the box of baby Tylenol in his hands. I could blame it on the exhaustion and lack of sleep, but that wasn’t it.
Aside from Iris, no one had ever cared about me and Sophie before this quiet man.
It wasn’t just the box of medicine, it was the little things.
Late night wine and ice cream deliveries and bringing me food weren’t much in the grand scheme of things.
But for someone who’d always had to take care of themselves, it was everything.
Asher acted like a sullen grump but with me he was different. Kind and thoughtful and attentive. As I took the box with shaky hands, I bit my lip, hoping to stop myself from crying.
“Sweetheart?”
I looked up to see his concerned eyes roving over my face. I waved him off, trying to reassure him that I wasn’t going to cry.
Even though I wasn’t so sure.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired.” It wasn’t a lie; I hadn’t slept much last night. Sophie woke up a lot just needing extra comfort. I cleared my throat and pulled the box into my chest. “Thank you, Ash. You don’t have to be—”
He narrowed his eyes at me before turning back to the counter.
Before I could tell him he didn’t have to stay, that he didn’t have to take care of me like this, Sophie started crying. Her nap was much shorter than it should have been considering how little sleep she was operating on. I let out a small, tired sigh.
“Get her. I’ll get the food ready for us.”
I didn’t know what to say so I just turned and went to get my cranky daughter from her crib. I hated seeing her sick. Normally she was the happiest, most relaxed baby so this was hard on both of us.
“Hey, little one,” I said as I came into our room.
Her crying stopped for only a moment before she started again.
I checked her temperature and it was still elevated so I unboxed the medicine Asher had brought.
I had just run out and was going to ask Iris to pick some up when she got home but he’d saved us a trip.
“That handsome man, Asher, brought you more medicine so you can feel better.”
She took the dose and I kept muttering to her as I changed her into a clean onesie since her current one was wet from her fever.
Once she was clean, she stopped wailing long enough for me to get a soother in her mouth and then she calmed down a little.
I yawned as I picked her back up and we made our way back to the kitchen.
Asher was sitting at the counter with our food plated in front of him. He watched me closely as I walked in.
I gave him a shy smile as I sat. My stomach dropped when I glanced over and noticed the green light on the side of the baby monitor. It was a small enough place that I didn’t normally need it but since she was sick and I was tired, I’d been carrying it around.
“How much of that did you hear?” I looked over at him, mortified.
Not only had I called him handsome, but I’d also blabbed a bunch of nonsense to Sophie. Something about how the stubble on his jawline made him even more handsome and that I understood her desire to rub it when she was in his arms.
Thank God I hadn’t gone any further than that. There was no filter left in me.
“Give her to me,” he demanded without answering my question, turning with his arms open.
“Oh, you don’t have to. She’s fussy when she’s sick.” He motioned for her again. “Seriously, she won’t even go to Iris when she’s like this. Iris usually takes care of me so I can take care of Soph.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Let me hold her so you can eat.”
“Asher, you really don’t have to.”
“I’ll be pissed off if you pass out because you haven’t been taking care of yourself. Pass. Her. Over.” His tone was firm.
“She’s thrown up pretty regularly over the last thirty-six hours,” I warned.
“Hand her over, Sutton, a little baby vomit isn’t going to bother me.”
I hesitated another moment, looking at his expensive suit, but the command in his tone had me passing my baby over.
I would be right here if he couldn’t handle her.
I watched as he took my daughter effortlessly.
She squirmed for about thirty seconds as he settled her on her back in his arms, tucked into his side.
She continued sucking on her soother and then she started blinking heavily, like she might fall back asleep.
I sat there watching in astonishment. I couldn’t believe my fussy, sick little girl looked content and safe in Asher’s big arms. She was small for ten months, so she tucked easily into his forearm, her little legs flopped out to the side.
“Wow,” I muttered as he looked down at her with a soft smile. I didn’t know if I was more impressed by the man or how he was with my baby. I’d been impressed every time he was around her but even sick, she didn’t fight him. Aside from some short stints, she hadn’t let me put her down.
“Eat, Sutton.” He lifted his chin toward my plate. My stomach grumbled and he coughed out a laugh before I picked up the burger. It would be better to eat now in case Soph decided that she was done with him and I had to take her back.
After I took a few bites in silence I looked back to Asher who was rocking slowly from side to side, my baby now sound asleep.
“You’re good with her. Been around babies much?”
“No,” he responded quietly. “I’ve never even held one before Soph.”
I looked over at him, impressed. “Well…you’re a natural.”
He just responded with a small smile. I meant it.
Sophie having only been around me and Iris meant she wasn’t very good with other people.
She screamed bloody murder when the doctor would hold her for exams, but she didn’t even have to adjust to Asher—she just liked him.
“So Quinn told you she was sick?” I asked after I inhaled the rest of my burger.
“Yeah, I went to your office to bring you coffee and found that you weren’t there.” And then he took time out of his day to get me and Sophie what we needed without even having to ask. “Is this why she was fussy the other day?”
“Yeah, I think so. Sometimes she can just have a cranky day, and then sometimes it’s a precursor to being sick like it was this time.”
He grunted, glancing down at my daughter before looking back at me.
“Thank you for the medicine. I’d just run out.”
“I texted you.” He raised an eyebrow, accusation in his voice. I looked around, not even sure where my cell phone was in the mess around me.
“I’m not the greatest with my phone sometimes.” I shrugged awkwardly.
“Better fix that, babe. Drove me fuckin’ mad when you didn’t reply. Start thinking worst case when you do that.”
I reached out and touched his arm. “I’ll do better, Grizzly.”