The SEAL's Secret Heirs(16)

She was in a lot of trouble.

“Hi,” she murmured, because she felt that she had to say something instead of standing there ogling a gorgeous man as he rocked his infant daughters against an explosion of pink.

“Hi,” he mouthed back. “Is it time for our visit already?”

She nodded. “I can come back.”

She didn’t move as he gave a slight shake of his head. Carefully, he peeled his body from the chair, not jostling even one hair on the head of his precious bundles. As if he’d done it a million times, he laid first one, then the other in their cribs. Neither one woke.

It was a sight to see.

He turned and tiptoed toward the door, but she hadn’t moved from her frozen stance in the doorway yet. She should move.

But he stopped right there in front of her, a half smile lingering on his lips as he laid a hand on her arm, presumably to usher her from the room ahead of him. His palm was warm and her skin tingled under it. The feeling threatened to engulf her whole body in a way that she hadn’t been engulfed in a long time.

Not since Kyle.

Goodness, it seemed so ridiculous, but the real reason it hadn’t been hard to stop dating was because no one compared. She was almost thirty and had only had one lover in her life—this man before her with the sparkling green eyes and beautiful face. And she’d take that secret to the grave.

Her cheeks heated as she imagined admitting such a thing to a guy who had likely cut a wide swath through the eligible women beating a path to his door. He hadn’t let the grass grow under his feet, now, had he? Fathering twins with a woman he’d written off soon after spoke loudly enough to that question.

If she told him, he’d mistakenly assume she still had feelings for him, and that wasn’t exactly true. She just couldn’t find a man who fit her stringent criteria for intimacy. Call it old-fashioned, but she wanted to be in love before making love. And most men weren’t willing to be that patient.

Except Kyle. He’d never uttered one single complaint when he found out she wasn’t hopping into his bed after a few weeks of dating. And oh, my, had it been worth the wait.

The heat in her cheeks spread, and the tingles weren’t just under his palm. No, they were a good bit more in a region where she shouldn’t be getting so hot, especially not over Kyle and his brand-new warrior’s body, laser-sharp focus and gentle hands.

Mercy, she should stop thinking about all that. Except he was looking at her the way he had last night, gaze on her lips, and she wondered if he’d actually do it this time—kiss her as he had so many times before.

One of the babies yowled and the moment broke into pieces.

Kyle’s expression instantly morphed into one of concern as he spun toward the crib of the crying infant. Maddie. It was easy to tell them apart if you knew she was the smaller of the two girls. She’d worn a heart monitor for a long time but Grace didn’t see the telltale wires poking out of the baby’s tiny outfit. Hopefully that meant the multiple surgeries had been successful.

“Hey, now. What’s all this fuss?” he murmured, and scooped up the bundle of pink, holding her to his shoulder with rocking motions.

The baby cried harder. Lines of frustration popped up around Kyle’s mouth as he kept trying different positions against his shoulder, rocking harder, then slower.

“You liked this earlier,” he said. “I’m following procedure here, little lady. Give me a break.”

Grace hid a smile. “Maybe her diaper is wet.”

Kyle nodded and strode to the changing table. “One diaper change, coming up.”

He pulled a diaper from the drawer under the table, laid the baby on the foam pad, then tied the holding straps designed to keep Maddie from rolling to the ground with intricate knots. Next, he lined up the baby powder and diaper rash cream, determination rolling from him in thick waves. When the man put his mind to something, it was dizzying to watch.

With precision, he stripped the baby out of her onesie and took a swift kick to the wrist with good humor as he changed her diaper. It didn’t help. The baby wailed a little louder.

“No problem,” he said. “Babies usually cry for three reasons. They want to be held. Diaper. And...” A line appeared between Kyle’s brows.

Then Maggie woke up and cried in harmony with her sister.

“Want me to pick her up?” Grace asked.

“No. I can handle this. Don’t count me out yet.” He nestled the other baby into his arms, rocking both with little murmurs. “Bottle. That was the other one Hadley said. We’ll try eating.”

Bless his heart. He’d gone to Hadley for baby lessons. He was trying so hard, much harder than she’d expected. It warmed her in a whole different way than the sizzle a moment ago. And the swell in her heart was much more dangerous.