Be My Hero(44)

 

"Aww." Glancing up at me, she said, "I think I just fell in love."

I was very nearly tempted to say, "So did I," but that was just stupid.

Wasn't it? Shit, having her here, watching my kid, was too dangerous for my peace of mind.

Eva sent me an odd frown as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. I shifted uncomfortably.

"What are you still doing, gawking at us?" she said. "Go! I'm on the  clock and getting paid for this. You might want to do the same so you  can afford me."

Finally, I grinned and shook my head. "I owe you . . . big time."

With a roll of her eyes, she waved me off. "I think you already paid me back the night you saved my daughter's life."



***



I had to work through my lunch break. It sucked ass.

All morning, I itched to get home and check on Julian. See Eva. Snuggle  Skylar. My attention stayed more on the clock than under the hood of  whatever car I was fixing. Then some rich douchebag in a fancy suit  showed up with a flat tire. We weren't exactly a tire repair or  replacement shop, but the only thing my boss saw was green flashing, so  yeah, I was called in to fix the Bentley's tire. Not sure what a damn  Bentley was doing in our neighborhood, but whatever.

Someone else must've thought he didn't belong either, because a  knife-slash had given him the flat. It definitely wasn't an accidental  blowout.

The prick owner stood over me the whole time, arms folded over his chest  as he scrutinized every little thing I did and sneered at all my  tattoos, but at least he didn't offer a critique. When I handed him the  ticket to go in and pay, telling him he was all set up, he finally  smiled, all his wrinkles puckering around a thin, white scar slashed  high across his left cheekbone. But it wasn't a friendly smile. His eyes  spelled out his true thoughts. They looked down on me and all my  tattoos and piercings, telling me what a piece of shit they thought I  was.

Rich people.

I'd love to see him try to make it in this neighborhood. Sometimes, to  survive, you had to blend in and adapt, project an image of intimidation  so sick motherfuckers would leave you alone.

Besides, I liked my badass appearance, though I'm sure this look would  never let me fit into the country club scene where Eva had been raised.  Remembering she was in my apartment, surrounded by my low-class things, I  dialed her up.

"Hey," I said as soon as she answered the phone, the melody of her voice making my pulse skyrocket.

"Hey!" She sounded upbeat and awake. Watching two kids all day didn't seem to have worn her out yet. "What's going on?"

"Just checking in. I was going to stop by on my lunch break, but we had a  car come in at the last second." I stepped away from the Bentley as the  rich suit strolled from the cashier's desk and pulled his keys from his  pocket. His gaze was on me as he opened his door, so I sent him a  respectful nod. "Have a good one."

His return smile was a little too knowing for my taste, so I kept watching him as he slid into his ride.

"We're doing great here," Eva told me as I stared. "Julian just had his  lunch and went down for a nap, so Skylar got bored and nodded off too. I  don't know how I coordinated getting them both to sleep at the same  time, but I even impressed myself."

I smiled. "I'm not at all surprised; I knew you'd be that good. Sounds  like you got it under control. I know he can be a handful at times."  Tristy claimed he cried nonstop.

"Well, I haven't seen proof of it yet. This little man is a complete  sweetheart. He hasn't cried once and boy, does he love to smile."

My face stretched as my own smile grew. "Yes, he does."

"Though I'm learning a big difference between the genders when it comes  to diaper changing. That was a . . . wet learning experience."

My eyes went wide. "Oh, shit. Did he piss on you?"

"A little bit, yeah." Her laugh was full, letting me know she wasn't  upset at all. "I hope you don't mind that I used your dryer."

My head filled with images of her sauntering around my apartment topless while her shirt dried.

Oh, hell. Instant wood at work. Not good.

"No," I croaked, my voice hoarse and jeans way too tight. "Not at all.  I'm sorry he got you. I guess I should've warned you he might do that.  After I open his diaper, I usually only lift it up just enough to let  the air hit him and he can do his thing before I unwrap him completely."

"What a good tip. Thank you. I will definitely keep that in mind for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I echoed stupidly, while my heart raced faster.

"Well, yeah. I thought your normal sitter was going to be contagious for a good two weeks."

I went dizzy. Eva Mercer was going to be in my apartment, watching my  kid every day . . . for two weeks? How was I going to survive that,  always knowing she was there, caring for my child, walking through my  rooms, sitting on my furniture, drying her pissed-on shirts in my dryer?  I was itching enough to get off work now so I could rush home and just  bask in her presence. But two weeks of this luxury? God, I could  overdose on such a rush.         

     



 

"Oh, hey. Quick question before you go."

Go? I'd been planning on dragging this phone conversation out as long as possible. "What's that?" I asked.

"He's four months old now, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's what I thought. So I borrowed your laptop and looked up a few  sites so there wasn't anything huge I was missing about caring for that  age. And it said four months is an okay time to introduce them to a  couple of solid foods. But I didn't see any in the cabinets, so-"

"Wow, I hadn't even thought of that yet. But yeah, I'll make sure to  pick up some the next time I go grocery shopping. What do I get for  him?"

"They said it's okay to wait a couple more months, but he seems to chew a  lot, so I thought maybe . . . I know, I'm overstepping my bounds.  Sorry, I-"

"No! That's . . . actually, I'm glad you brought it up because I have no  clue what he really needs. I've pretty much been faking it for the past  four months. Any advice you have is appreciated."

"In that case, you can start weaning him on baby rice. I think he could  use this diaper cream I have for Sky, too. It's got the best  recommendations, and Julian's poor little tushy seems to be recovering  from a nasty rash."

I couldn't tell her that was because his mother had never changed him  and many times he'd gone most of the day without a fresh diaper. It was  humiliating enough, knowing my kid was going through that and that I  couldn't be there to keep him constantly changed, but listening to Eva  point out the obvious only ratcheted up the shame.

Sad as it was to admit, it was a godsend that Tristy had left. He was finally getting some real care.



***



Five o'clock couldn't come soon enough. I punched my timecard and sped  home. As I unlocked and opened the front door to my apartment, a baby's  laughter startled my ears.

Frozen in the doorway, I watched Eva-her back to me-as she sat  cross-legged on a blanket on the floor and leaned over Julian. Flat on  his back, he kicked his legs and flapped his arms, giggling  uncontrollably up at her while she made raspberry sounds.

When she paused, he stopped smiling, stopped kicking and stared up at  her with a serious expression. But then she started again and even  swished her blonde hair in his face, making him laugh and kick again.

Next to him on the other half of the blanket, little Skylar was sprawled  on her stomach as she tried to lift her head off the floor, her  miniature little noggin wobbling from the effort it took.

The three of them together like that was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen.

I stood in the doorway, unable to do anything but stare at this woman  charming my little boy. In that moment, I loved her. I loved her so damn  hard my entire chest ached. Tears might've even gathered in my eyes  because the whole thing made me so damn emotional.

But fuck, she was making my kid laugh. How could I not love her?

I didn't care who she was, how many years I'd dreamed about meeting her,  wondering what she'd be like in real life, I loved this woman right  here on my floor for what she was in this very moment.

Sensing my presence, Eva finally looked up and glanced over her  shoulder. She yelped in surprise before setting a hand over her heart  and laughing.

"Hey, look who's home." Picking up Fighter, she cradled him close so  their cheeks smashed together. Then she took his hand and helped him  wave at me. "Hi, Daddy. How was work?"

I sniffed up my emotions and stepped into the apartment, feeling almost  disconnected from my body because I was so completely submerged in this  moment. I never wanted it to end. I wanted to frame it and hang it on  the ceiling over my bed, so I could look up and relive it again and  again, every night for the rest of my life before I went to sleep.

After the front door shut behind me, I stepped closer and slid down onto  the floor to sit at the edge of the blanket with my back propped  against the couch. "Work was good, but I doubt I had as much fun as you  guys seem to be having."