“Denial would be easier.”
“Maybe for you. Not for me. Never for me. I pretended with you once. I won’t do it again. Ever.” Then he released her, and walked out of the room.
Nice going, McKay. Tell her you’re not going to maul her and what’s the first thing you do?
Growl and go all Big Bad Wolf on her.
Christ. He was an idiot. One touch, one hopeful, coquettish look from Sky and he morphed into a horny toad. Kade inhaled several deep breaths and stared out the window above the sink.
His feelings for Skylar hadn’t changed. Things had gone to hell between them last summer before he’d mustered up the guts to confess he’d fallen for her. Hard. And judging by the way she was acting, she wouldn’t welcome any declaration of his feelings or his intent. At least not right now. Seemed he had no choice but to hang back and let this play out at her pace, not his. Luckily he was a patient man.
Calmer, Kade grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator. Eliza would be up soon, he may as well get ready to feed her.
Soft footsteps stopped behind him.
Kade spun around. “Look. I’m sorry. I touched you like I had a right to. I don’t. The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable in your own house.”
“Let’s forget it, okay? Chalk it up to being a stressful day. I’m going upstairs to get your room ready. Eliza is still down here in the bassinet. Will you listen for her to wake up?”
“Sure. Where am I sleepin’?”
“In the guest bedroom.”
“Where does Eliza usually sleep?”
“In my room.”
“That’s gonna be a problem when I get up with her in the middle of the night.”
“No it won’t be. I’ll just deal with the night feedings and get up with her like I always do.”
“The hell you will. I’m here to care for our child. That means day and night. If she sleeps in your room, so do I.”
Skylar looked petrified for a moment before she regained her composure. “Funny, McKay. You had me going there for a second.”
“I ain’t kiddin’.” He crossed his arms over his chest, knew it looked belligerent and didn’t care. “I’d be fine if you moved her crib into the guest bedroom with me.”
“But all her stuff is in my room. I hadn’t planned to decorate and put her into her own room for at least another month.”
“Then it’d be smart to keep her right where she is, wouldn’t it?”
She blinked with the same owl-eyed expression Eliza had earlier. “So what you’re saying, is…”
“It appears you and I are gonna be roomies, darlin’.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. You stay on your side of the bed. I’ll stay on mine.”
“So we’re sharing a bed strictly as parenting partners?”
“Yep.”
“You’ll be a perfect gentleman?”
“If that’s what you want. Besides, you’ll probably be so glad to get a full night’s sleep that you won’t even notice I’m there.”
“But—”
“But, it’s only for a few weeks, until you put her in her own room, right?”
“Ah. Right.”
“So, how hard can it be?”
The look on Skylar’s face was priceless. He knew she wasn’t convinced it’d be no big deal having him in her bed.
And that’s exactly what Kade was counting on.
Chapter Six
Two weeks later…
“Wah. Wah. Wah.” Pause. “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.”Skylar groaned and rolled toward the edge of the bed. “Hang on, baby. I’m coming.”
Kade placed his hand on her shoulder. “Stay put. I’ll get her. Go back to sleep.”
She mumbled, “Thanks.” The minute he was out of bed, she sprawled in the middle of the mattress and snagged his pillow.
What a bed hog.
“Wah. Wah. Wah.”
“Good Lord, child. Them lungs work fine at four in the mornin’, don’t they?” Kade murmured, scooping Eliza out of her crib. He skirted the footboard and snuck out of the room.
Downstairs in the kitchen, he kept the lights dimmed as he reheated a bottle. Eliza rooted against his chest, making angry snuffing sounds. He brushed his lips across the top of her head, inhaling her sweet baby scent, rocking her back and forth. “I know. Poor starvin’ girl.”
The timer dinged. Kade plucked the bottle from the pan, tested the temperature, shifted Eliza into the crook of his arm and popped the nipple in her mouth. Greedy sucking noises echoed in the quiet house as he headed for the rocking chair in the dark living room.
After he set the rocker in motion, he closed his eyes. He was tired. The third time he’d been up with their fussy baby in so many hours. Usually he and Sky took turns, but the last two nights Eliza hadn’t slept for more than an hour at a stretch. Didn’t help Sky said Eliza wasn’t napping during the day. She screamed bloody murder any time Skylar wasn’t holding her, so Skylar had fallen behind at work.