I hear a commotion in the far room and glance around. The room is pale mauve, with plush, oversized sofas. Several doors lead from this room, more than in my room. I imagine it’s a two-bedroom kind of situation instead of just the one.
Glass doors lead out onto a terrace, and from what I can see, there’s a small garden. That’s nice, to have a little bit of playground way up here in the sky. That does seem like a billionaire thing to do.
A door opens, and a middle-aged woman comes out, smiling broadly. Her hair is canary yellow, rolled into curls that tuck behind her ears. In her arms she holds a chubby, pink-cheeked baby who looks all around with bright, eager eyes.
“Good morning, Mr. Worth!” Magda wheezes.
Spencer seems to melt a little bit, walking forward with his arms out. When he takes Sophia, I can see the warmth in his eyes. He pauses to just stare at her for a few seconds before pivoting to show her to me.
“Sophia?” he says in a sweet, playful voice. “This is Bunny. Be sweet to Bunny, okay?”
Like a magnet, I’m drawn to her. I walk forward with my hands out, eager to get her into my arms. Spencer shifts, letting me slip my fingers under her little arms and lift her away from him.
“Oh, look at you!” I coo at her, noting that she’s not too sturdy just yet. Somebody said she was only four months old, so she still has a lot of things to learn.
“Can you sit?” I ask her. “Not yet? How about a little floor time?”
She smacks her lips at me and opens her mouth in a wide smile. She can’t sit, but she can sure charm!
I love the smell of her. She smells a little bit like a funky barnyard, but not in a bad way. Just in a real way. A deep hunger burns in my chest. If people weren’t watching me like hawks, I would just inhale her for five or six minutes, deeply.
Carrying her over to the sofa, I notice that there’s a stack of blankets and a pile of brightly colored toys.
“Oh, yes, this looks nice,” I remark to her, easing myself down to the floor. I take a blanket and spread it out and lay her in the middle of it, holding my hand up for her to kick when she starts moving her legs all around. She utters a low, happy chuckle as she wiggles her arms and legs in unison.
In the toy bag, there’s an assortment of rattles, blocks, and stacking rings. When I bring the rings toward her, pulling the yellow one from the top, she holds out one chubby hand.
“Oh, you’d like this?” I ask her.
She gurgles a response that sounds like she does want it and I hand it to her, noting the way her little fingers grasp the ring with ease. Immediately she draws it to her mouth and starts gnawing on it.
“Well, aren’t you just a perfect lady?” I ask her, drumming my fingertips on the sides of her wide belly. Seriously, she’s so delicious I could eat her up.
I feel the sofa move next to me and glance up to see Spencer, his eyes warm, his expression as friendly as any of the other brothers even though we just met. He must be particularly attached to Sophia.
“Am I on video chat?” I ask him, noting the iPad next to him.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he murmurs uncomfortably. “I should’ve asked you first. I’m sure the guys would be sad they missed your first meeting."
“Oh, I don’t mind at all!” I assure him. Using this opportunity to touch her again, I pick her up and put her on my lap. We both turn around to face the iPad as she sits between my legs and happily slobbers all over the ring.
“Say good morning to your daddies, Sophia!” I coo at her, taking her free hand to wave it at the iPad. “Good morning, Daddies!”
She wriggles and nestles against me, arranging herself into a semi-reclining position. After a little while, I see her cheeks cave in as she starts smacking her lips again.
“I bet you’re hungry, aren’t you? Is it your breakfast time?” I ask her.
I love the way she looks right at me when I’m talking to her. She makes complete eye contact, and I could fall into those big blue eyes.
“Yes, it’s breakfast time!” Magda announces, coming over with her arms out. She is smiling, but I can see that she’s a little territorial too. Or maybe it’s just me, not wanting to give Sophia up.
Begrudgingly, I allow Magda to take her from me, though it feels cold where she was. I follow her with my eyes until she disappears into the other room, closing the door behind her.
Spencer looks me over, really looks at me.
“She’s a beautiful baby,” I sigh. “Really beautiful.”
“She really is,” he replies, and I can hear his voice is thick with emotion. I want to hold his hand or something. To let him know I understand. I can feel how attached he is to her. It makes me like him so much, though I don’t even know him.