"We've been having a blast," Eva reported, grinning as she pressed her lips all over Fighter's face. The lucky little bastard. He soaked it up, too, smiling and half closing his eyes, then grabbing fistfuls of her hair and pulling.
"Hey, buddy. No pulling." I reached forward to help untangle the mess.
"He's okay." Eva laughed as we both worked to free her silky pale strands. "He definitely loves to grab onto things."
I loved that she knew what he loved already . . . after a single day of watching him.
When Skylar squawked, frustrated with being unable to lift her head, I scooped her up and pressed her cheek to my nose so I could inhale her clean, fresh baby scent. "Hey, kiddo. Was that your way of getting my attention? You got it, babe."
"I don't think she's forgotten that you still owe her a dance," Eva said, her eyes sparkling as she watched us cuddle.
"That's right. I do owe her a dance, don't I?" I settled Skylar into the crook of my arm and got to my feet so I could hum George Strait's "Baby Blue" into her hair and sway her around the living room.
Noticing how pleased Eva seemed about watching us together, I winked down at her and then motioned to the blanket. "I'm surprised you guys are on the floor. It's got to be filthy." I couldn't remember the last time I'd cleaned it. Maybe not since Fighter was born. I'd been taking on as many overtime hours as I could scrounge up to pay for all the bills that had come with his birth. So I was usually too busy with laundry, dishes, or bathroom work to worry about spiffing up the front room.
"Funny thing about that," Eva told me with a sly smile. "I found this thing in the closet over there. I think it's called a vacuum. It cleaned the floor right up."
"You vacuumed?" My head whipped around to take in the entire front room. I'd been so centered on the three of them playing as if they were a real family I hadn't been able to see anything else. But, shit, not only were there vacuum lines on the floor, but everything had been tidied, the coffee table and end tables cleared off, possibly even dusted. The lap blanket Tristy used to curl under was folded and draped over the back of the sofa, and the couch pillows were straightened and fluffed.
"You cleaned." The wonder in my voice only made her roll her eyes.
"These two really enjoyed their beauty sleep today, so I had a lot of spare time on my hands."
"Yeah, but . . . " I turned back to her, shaking my head. "You didn't have to do all this, Tink. I mean," I splayed out my hand, overwhelmed, "Just being here for Julian . . . God, you have no idea how much I appreciate you coming over today and watching him. You completely saved my ass."
The compliment made her glow. I'd flirted with her numerous times and flat-out told her she was gorgeous. But thanking her seemed to have an even better effect. She just looked so satisfied. In her element. The pleased glow on her cheeks made her more beautiful than she already was.
A high-pitched beeping from the kitchen interrupted the moment, making me frown. What the hell was that? For a second, I thought it might be a smoke alarm. But Eva bolted upright, taking Julian with her. "Oh! Your supper's ready."
Supper? My mouth fell open. "You cooked?" She cooked?
"Don't get too excited. It's just a frozen pizza. You seriously have nothing in your cabinets, Patrick. I'm thinking you need to leave a little cash with me tomorrow, so I can go grocery shopping for you. Julian's almost out of diapers, too. I'd have given him some of Skylar's but, compared to her . . . " She paused to set her hand over the little boy's ear so he couldn't hear. Then she whispered, "He has a huge ass."
I laughed. "Compared to this little doll, I think everyone has a huge ass. But yeah, if you want to go grocery shopping, I'd be more than happy to fund it." I'd be happy to kiss the ground she walked on.
But cleaning? Cooking? Grocery shopping? I was beginning to wonder if there was some rare disease I could somehow inflict on the Rojas family, that way Eva could be the temporary babysitter forever.
"Here, can you hold him for me?"
I blinked because that was usually the question I asked Tristy. "Yeah. Of course." After transferring Skylar to one arm, I opened the other for Julian. Eva grinned at the three of us after she handed him over. Then she sauntered off, her hips swaying with a natural rhythm that made my mouth water.
I wanted every little part of this woman that ever existed. Needing to trail after her, I followed, bringing the kiddos with me.
Chapter 18
PICK
Eva talked me into going to work that evening at the club. So I did, and that sucked ass too, because I couldn't let a pair of drunk girls drive home on their own, which made me run even later than usual. After I dropped them off at their front door, I realized how potently it left my poor Barracuda smelling like fruity perfume. So I took the long way home with the windows down to air it out.
I didn't want Eva smelling them and thinking something had happened that hadn't when I had to take her back to Mason's. But when I finally returned to my apartment at damn near three in the morning, she was dead asleep in my bed, with both babies tucked around her. I spent a moment just watching them, loving the sight of them together. This was supposed to be my family. My happily ever after. And she should've been my wife.
My chest swelled with longing and a thirsty kind of need, but also with joy because they were really here, for however long I had them.
I planned to relish every second.
Backing away, I tiptoed to the living room and texted Reese to tell her Eva was asleep. I'd drive her home in the morning. Then I flopped onto the couch, pulled the lap blanket onto my shoulders, and passed out.
Hours later, I woke to Eva tapping me on the shoulder. "Why didn't you wake me when you got home?"
I tried to tell her I hadn't wanted to disturb any of them and that I'd already called Reese, but I'm not sure if she understood much through my tired slurring, until she answered, "Well, thanks for letting us get our rest, but Skylar and I can take the couch now. I didn't mean to fall asleep and steal your bed."
I waved her off. "It's okay. Go back and stay there for the rest of the night."
She frowned. "I'm not kicking you out of you own bed, Patrick."
"Damn." I let out a dreamy sigh and grinned up at her as I rolled onto my back. "It still sounds hot when you call me that, even when I'm half dead asleep." With a yawn, I curled back onto my side, facing away from her. "Please, God, don't make me get up and move right now. Can't 'member when I last had this much sleep."
She was quiet for a minute before saying, "You're right. I'm sorry for pestering you. Go back to sleep, Patrick."
I smiled at the address and then sighed when she lightly ruffled my hair. I loved the feel of her fingers against my scalp. About to sink back into peaceful oblivion, I bolted upright when a thought occurred to me.
"Shit! Is Fighter awake?" I hadn't gotten up with him yet, and usually I did once or twice a night.
"No, I just fed him, changed him, and put him back down."
I rubbed my face. Why did I feel so crusty? "You didn't have to do that, Tink. I'm home, I could've gotten up." I was a little chagrined that I had slept right through his crying.
Eva merely rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. Seriously. I was already up with Skylar."
"Thank you," I said, meaning it from the bottom of my heart. "I owe you."
She shook her head as if amused by me and strolled down the hall toward my bedroom . . . to sleep in my bed. I groaned and collapsed back on the couch. With as much wood as I was sporting, it'd be a while before I got back to sleep now.
***
In the morning, I got out of the shower to peek into my bedroom, my towel wrapped around my waist. Eva wasn't in bed and neither was Skylar. I heard rumblings in the kitchen so I dropped the towel and dug through my underwear drawer for something clean. Once I was dressed, I carried my socks into the kitchen, which for some reason was where I put them on each morning. When I reached the entrance, I was surprised to find Eva pouring two bowls of cereal.
From the back, she looked good first thing in the morning, her clothes wrinkled and molded to her curves and her hair pulled up into a fashionable yet sloppy knot with these tempting little stray tendrils hanging down and teasing the back of her kissable neck. I knew she'd look twice as amazing when she turned around. I was so tempted to come up behind her, wrap myself around her and kiss the tops of her shoulders. My arms ached because I restrained them from acting on the impulse.
She turned around, and I saw she had Skylar cradled in one arm. "'Morning," she said brightly, though lavender bruises of sleeplessness underlined her eyes.