“What?”
“You let me see the nightgown.”
Sleep deprivation makes me dumb. “I guess I did.”
“It’s gorgeous. I’m not surprised you’re having a hard time keeping inventory.”
She smiled to herself, there in the darkness.
“You were wrong when you said it wasn’t sexy.”
Sarah’s heart galloped at an unhealthy speed. Now she’d really never get to sleep.
“It shows off your legs. You have nice legs,” he continued. “And, well, it compliments other parts of you as well.”
If it were possible to die from flattery, Sarah was DOA. What was she supposed to say to that? Was she supposed to reciprocate? Those boxers you’re wearing sure show off your three percent body fat and ridiculously alluring physique?
“Sarah? Are you asleep?”
Dang. She should’ve pretended to be snoring. “Not quite,” she whispered.
“Did I say something wrong?”
No. You said everything right. “I think we should get some sleep. And I don’t want to wake the baby.”
Six
Aiden was rarely overwhelmed. He didn’t believe in it. Why panic when there’s a lot to do? Tackle it, and move on. But bleary-eyed, navigating the maze of boxes in the hall outside Oliver’s nursery and operating on very little sleep, he was officially off his game.
“How does a person who is so small need so much stuff?”
“You asked me the same thing yesterday. And I don’t know why, they just do.” Sarah balanced Oliver on her hip while she peeked into his room, where two delivery people were assembling furniture. “They should have the crib done soon. Somebody needs to sleep in his own bed tonight.” She cleared her throat and looked square at Aiden. “That goes for me, too.”
“Of course.” Yeah, he’d gotten the hint last night when he’d tried to say a few nice things and she’d hardly reacted at all. Although he’d caught her staring when he’d climbed out of the bath, and the look in her eyes said she approved, so which was it? It seemed like she was attracted to him, but maybe not.
It might have been a bad idea to invite Sarah into bed last night, but that was also his first dose of sleep deprivation at the hands of a crying baby. He could already see how a parent could end up giving in to any number of demands, just to have a respite.
Of course he hadn’t slept soundly. He’d worried that he might crush little Oliver, so he’d made a point of not moving, which didn’t lend itself to relaxation. He’d been intensely aware of every peep the baby made, hoping he’d sleep through the rest of the night. Sarah’s presence hadn’t helped. He’d ended up in bed with women in fewer than twenty-four hours before, but never like this, and never with a woman like her. As he’d studied her in the soft light that morning, he found himself not only admiring her uncommon beauty—the scattering of faint freckles across her cheeks, and lips that could make him lose all sense of direction if he thought about them too much—he had to extol the gumption contained in her small frame. She’d gotten through to him when that was the last thing he allowed.
“How are we supposed to get all of this put away with a toddler crawling all over the house?” he asked.
“Now you understand the challenge of caring for a child. It’s a constant juggling act.”
Oliver struggled and kicked to get down from Sarah’s hip.
“So I’m learning.” He yawned and took another sip of his coffee. This was going to be a long day. Not that he wasn’t looking forward to it. As much as he’d never imagined spending his weekend this way, and as tired as he was, yesterday had been incredible.
“He’ll go down for his morning nap soon and he’ll have the longer one in the afternoon. That should give us some time. Of course, it’d be a lot easier if we brought in reinforcements. Maybe you could call your family?”
Not this again. “I already told you I’m not ready for Oliver to be around my mom at all, let alone have her come in and spend any time with him on her own.”
“What about Anna? Didn’t she offer to watch him? She could take him for a walk and some fresh air.”
That could work. Anna was Aiden’s strongest ally in his family. He and his brother Adam had their moments, but he also represented some of the most painful parts of Aiden’s childhood—their father pitting the boys against each other, and deeming Adam heir apparent, even when logic said that Aiden, as the oldest child, should’ve eventually been handed the reins at LangTel.
Aiden’s other family ally was Anna’s husband, Jacob. He and Aiden were cut from a similar cloth—both dealing with the price a man must pay when he’s had a strained relationship with his father.