She sighs and a dreamy look floats across her face. “Love. I can’t wait to experience it one day.” She swipes her keys off the kitchen counter. “I better go. Otherwise, I’ll be late for my shift.”
She exits the house in a mad whirlwind. She informed me she’s studying nursing and has to take on shifts at the hospital. Apparently, she can usually get shifts that work in with Luke, but not tonight.
“Callie!” Sean’s panicked voice echoes through the house, and I freeze with my own panic.
What the hell were you thinking offering to babysit a four-year-old?
You have zero experience with children.
And now you want to potentially kill Luke’s offspring?
Oh, shut up.
I run towards where his voice came from and find him standing near the toilet with a sad expression on his face. “I had an accident. I weed my pants.”
Oh, the poor little poppet.
“It’s okay. I can get you some clean clothes.”
His brow furrows, and he looks at me like I am stupid. “Silly, I need a bath. I’m dirty.”
Right.
I knew that.
He stares at me, clearly waiting for me to make the next move. I wonder exactly how smart four-year-olds are. I mean, is he smart enough to know I have no fucking clue what I’m doing?
Fake it until you make it.
Quick, just run the damn bath.
“Okay, let’s get you in the bath then.” I head into the bathroom and drop to my knees in front of the bath. Turning the taps, I say, “How hot do you like it?”
“I like it really hot, but Daddy doesn’t.”
“Well, Daddy would know best, so I won’t make it too hot.”
“Maybe we could have it hot. I won’t tell Daddy.”
I turn to look at him. He’s watching me with expectation. And as much as I don’t know Sean, I recognise the sneaky glint in his eyes.
Oh, God, what was I thinking wondering how smart four-year-olds are? Maybe they’re not all smart, but this one certainly is.
I smile. “Sorry, mate, but we have to do what Daddy says.” As much as I want to win him over, I’m not doing it by upsetting Luke.
He shrugs. “Maybe we could have extra ice cream later instead.”
Dear Lord.
Is this going to go on all night?
A girl’s only got so much willpower, and those puppy-dog eyes he’s using on me might just crush my strength.
I decide it might be best to ignore that for the moment. I jerk my chin at him. “Let’s get these clothes off you. And then we can talk about what games you play in the bath.”
His eyes light up at that. Stepping closer to me, he lifts his arms for me to take his shirt off. “Paris has ice cubes we play with. They’re in the freezer.”
I finish taking his clothes off. “That sounds like fun. Let’s go get them.”