His Best Mistake. KRISTI GOLD
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what that entails, Kevin? All the feedings and changing and bouts of endless crying?”
“I understand that completely, and I’ll handle it. And now that I’m here, there’s something else I want to address.” He looked around the area, focusing on the double bed crammed into the corner. “Does Carly have her own room?”
“It’s only a two-bedroom apartment, and I have a roommate, which is why Carly’s in here with me.”
He sent her a sly grin. “Oh, yeah. Your roommate. The one who looked like she wanted to castrate me before she left.”
At least Macy hadn’t delivered the groin kick. “She’s nice when you get to know her.”
He gave her a Yeah, right, look before surveying the room again. “I don’t know a lot about babies, but isn’t Carly going to outgrow that bed soon? And it seems to me you don’t have room for a bigger one.”
That ruffled her maternal feathers. “This apartment is all I can afford right now, Kevin, and I promise you that she’ll have a full-size crib when the time comes, even if I have to sleep on the floor.”
He looked altogether cynical. “That’s a great idea, Leah, sleeping on the floor. I’m sure that’s going to provide you with a lot of rest before you have to make life-or-death medical decisions.”
Leah recognized he had a point, and she had another suggestion. “Then I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
He cracked another crooked smile. “The one with the flat cushions? That’s going to be great for your back, which if I remember correctly, bothers you if the bed’s too firm.”
When exasperation began to surface, Leah bordered on demanding his departure. “Again, I’ll make do for the next two months. Carly won’t suffer in any way, shape or form.”
“I’m thinking there’s a better solution that will prevent any suffering or sacrifice for either of you.”
Leah was almost afraid to ask. “What would that be?”
“A new place to live. A better place.”
“I’ve told you I can’t afford—”
“At my expense.”
She mulled that over for a moment, greatly tempted by the offer. Kevin was a financial wizard with a portfolio that rivaled any corporate CEO’s. Many times he’d given her fiscal advice and ways to plan for her future after her fellowship. He had the funds to finance a bigger apartment. A place where Carly could have her own nursery, allowing Leah to sleep in her own bed. “You’re really serious about paying my rent for a bigger apartment?”
“Not an apartment. A house.”
Maybe even in a neighborhood with a park where Leah could take the baby on her days off. The deal was getting sweeter by the moment. “A house would be great, but all the homes near the hospital are incredibly expensive.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of a newer subdivision about fifteen minutes out. A great house in a great neighborhood. Four bedrooms, four baths, almost four thousand square feet. Gourmet kitchen and a big backyard with a pool.”
Leah laughed. “That’s a little bit of overkill for two people, don’t you think?”
“Three people.”
Leah swallowed hard. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Kevin.” In reality, she knew exactly what he was getting at.
And he confirmed her suspicions when he smiled and said, “I’m talking about my house, Leah. I want you and Carly to move in with me.”
CHAPTER THREE
“ARE YOU serious?”
Kevin wasn’t at all surprised by Leah’s reaction, even if he was surprised by his own spontaneous offer. But come to think of it, the whole idea made perfect sense. “I’m dead serious.”
She sent him a champion scowl. “You’ve lost your mind, Kevin.”
Possibly for thinking she’d actually agree to it. But he wasn’t willing to give up…yet. “It’s a good arrangement, Leah. You can go to work in the mornings without having to drop Carly off anywhere. I can take care of her during the day and you can take over when you come home at night if you’re not too tired. Hell, I can even have dinner waiting for you.”
Her skepticism showed in her expression. “You don’t cook.”
“Not true. I made you dinner one night at my apartment.”
She smiled. “You heated up a dinner that your sister-in-law was kind enough to prepare for us.”
Kevin returned her smile, mostly from remembrance of one of many great evenings they’d shared. “You didn’t complain. In fact, I don’t remember you issuing any complaints the entire night.” Or in the morning, when he’d made love to her again for the second time. Or maybe it had been a third time…
Leah cleared her throat, jerking Kevin back into the present. “Lack of cooking skills aside, exactly what do you know about taking care of a baby?” she asked.
Not much. “I have several nieces and nephews that I’ve taken care of a time or two.” Under direct supervision from their parents during family get-togethers, a detail he’d rather not reveal at the moment in light of Leah’s cynical look.
When Carly whimpered, Leah scooped the baby up in her arms and laid her on the bed. “Hand me a diaper and the wipes,” she said as she began to undo a maze of snaps down the legs of Carly’s footed pajamas.
Kevin looked around a few moments before Leah added, “The box is in the corner and the wipes are on the dresser.”
He retrieved a disposable diaper and a plastic container clearly indicating baby wipes. After handing the items to Leah, he sat on the edge of the mattress next to his daughter.
“Do you want to do this?” Leah asked, looking expectant.
If he even made an attempt, then he’d prove just how little he did know. “Since we’ve only recently been introduced, I’ll watch while you change her.”
“You haven’t done it, have you?”
She was too damn intuitive for her own good. For his own good. “No.”
“That’s what I thought,” she muttered as she untaped the diaper, slipped it from beneath Carly, rolled it up and tossed it into the nearby pail.
Kevin tried to concentrate on the rediapering task, but he was distracted by the baby noises Carly began to make. “Did you hear that?” He sounded as if his daughter had just recited the preamble to the Constitution.
“She started the cooing phase a week ago,” she said as she refastened all the snaps with the skill of a baby-changing artist.
When Carly smiled at him again, Kevin said, “She sure is a happy girl.”
Leah picked up the baby and held her against her shoulder. “She’s not going to be happy for long since it’s past time for her nap.”
That was his cue to leave. He stood and said, “Fine. I’ll go so she can take her nap. I’ll call you later to discuss the move.”
“I didn’t say I was going to move in with you, Kevin.”
At least she hadn’t said she wouldn’t, which meant he still had a shot at pleading his case. “Just think about how convenient it would be if we lived together.”
She laid the baby back in the bassinet then turned and sent him a wry smile. “It’s not the convenience that worries me.”
He knew exactly what was worrying her—the possible fallout from their proximity. “Listen, I have two master suites, one on each end of the house, with two bedrooms in between. One of those rooms