“Maybe you should let them in,” Paige whispered in his ear.
Wow, he needed to get it together. “Nicole, please come in. You remember Paige.”
“I’m glad to see her here tonight. I thought this might cause problems between you two.” She passed by him and set the infant carrier on the area rug. “Cooper ate about two hours ago, so he’ll need to eat again soon. He still gets hungry about every two to three hours.” As she spoke, Nicole removed him from the seat, and his palms itched to hold him.
“Sounds like Scott.” Paige nudged him in the side. “Would you like anything, Nicole?”
He hadn’t asked her over to play hostess, but since he seemed incapable of doing it he appreciated her help. Later, he’d tell her how much.
“Some pinot grigio would be great. One of the best things about not breast-feeding is I don’t have to worry about what I eat or drink.”
Damn, he knew so little about Cooper. A dad should know whether his son was being bottle-fed or nursed.
“It’ll also make it easier for when he stays with Scott,” Paige added, filling the awkward silence. “Some babies have a difficult time taking a bottle if they’ve always been nursed.” Paige started to walk toward the kitchen. “I’ll get you some wine. Scott, do you want anything?”
He’d remained silent too long. Clearing his throat, he got ready to jump into the conversation. “Whatever you get is fine,” he answered, before turning back to Nicole. “Can I hold him?”
Nicole didn’t hesitate. She walked toward him, and with each step she took his heart beat faster. “Make sure you support his head and neck.”
He knew the drill; he’d held his cousins’ babies enough.
When Nicole placed Cooper in his arms, the room around him disappeared. Scott took in everything about the baby he held. The urge to protect and love him no matter what filled his whole body, and he swallowed, hoping to control the emotions bubbling up because otherwise, he risked crying.
“This afternoon I spoke with my lawyer. She’s been working with yours and doesn’t think it’ll be much longer before they have a custody agreement worked out. I’m going to check in with her again Wednesday. I don’t think I’ll have time tomorrow, my flight leaves at nine in the morning.”
He’d talked to his own lawyer earlier as well. According to him, he’d never worked on a custody case that was going so smoothly.
“Are you going on vacation?” Paige asked. She’d returned with wine for Nicole as well as a drink for him, which she put on the table.
Scott heard Paige’s comment and realized he’d missed something. “You’re leaving New York soon?” He looked away from his son long enough to see Nicole take a sip from her glass.
“Tomorrow I’m returning to Los Angeles for a few days. I have a meeting with my agent. Then I’m joining Jordan in Maui. He’s there working on a new film. He called over the weekend and asked me to join him. We’re really trying to work through things.”
Cooper moved in his arms, pulling his attention back down. My son. He’d known for a few days, but until this moment it hadn’t seemed real. He’d just met his son. He wasn’t ready for so much distance to be between them. “What about Cooper? Is he going to Maui with you?”
Nicole laughed, the sound grating on his nerves. “He’ll stay in California with Leslie, my nanny, until I get back. You’ll love her. She lives with us and everyone in my family adores her. Even my mother, and she’s picky. I considered bringing her along today so you can meet her but decided it can wait. Next time though I’ll definitely bring Leslie with us.”
It took effort, but he held back his first thought. He didn’t want his son being raised by hired help. Yeah, he and his sisters had stayed with a nanny whenever their parents attended a fundraiser or some other event where children weren’t allowed, but they hadn’t had a nanny around 24-7. Neither had any of his cousins. And although he’d need some form of childcare during the week while he worked, the individual would not be moving in. Unfortunately, whether or not Nicole hired a live-in nanny wasn’t up to him.
“When will you get back to New York?” he asked, rather than voice his opinion.
“Not sure exactly. After Maui, it’s back to Los Angels for a day before I fly out to Paris and work on some scenes for my new movie. Cooper and Leslie are coming with me. After that we’ll return to Manhattan.”
He’d already missed the first month of his son’s life. He didn’t want to miss another one. Part of him wanted to say he’d take him now. Nicole could go to Maui and the nanny could get a vacation. But neither his apartment nor his life was ready to take a baby today. “Leave him with me while you’re in Paris.” A couple weeks would be more than enough time to get everything in order, especially with his mom already on the job.
Nicole touched Cooper’s head but didn’t try to take him back. “It took me months of interviews before Cooper was born to find a nanny I liked. I don’t think you’ll find one in a couple weeks.” She shrugged. “I guess Leslie could stay here if you don’t find one. I don’t think she’d mind. She adores Cooper and the city. If you want, I can ask her tonight and let you know.”
“I don’t intend on hiring a live-in nanny. And if I don’t find someone I trust to watch him while I’m at work by then, I’ll arrange to work from home. Or take the time off.” His voice came out sharper than he’d intended and he reined his frustration in. “I have family nearby too.” His cousin Callie spent time in both Manhattan and Connecticut. If he got stuck, she’d help him. And his mom wasn’t far away either. “People raise their own children all the time, Nicole. I think I can figure it out.”
Paige’s arm went around his waist. “He’s got me too. There’s no reason I can’t spend the weekends here while Cooper’s with Scott. I can come on Thursday after work and stay until Sunday night.”
Nicole’s eyes darted from him to Paige then down to Cooper and back to him. Disbelief was evident on her face. “If that’s what you want. It’s okay with me.”
***
From the kitchen she watched Scott’s parents interact with Cooper. For the past, hour they’d done nothing but fuss over the baby, each taking a turn to hold him. At least, they held Cooper when they could wrestle him from Scott’s arms. Although he’d been nervous when she arrived, he’d relaxed almost the moment he held his son. Since then he hadn’t let Cooper from his sight. He’d even fed and changed Cooper’s diaper. He was going to have a tough time when Nicole left with the baby. He’d considered telling Nicole to leave him here while she flew to California, she’d seen it on his face. She’d also noticed his disapproval of Nicole’s decision to pas
s off a lot of responsibility to a nanny. To his credit though, he hadn’t made a big deal about it. He’d merely said he didn’t intend to hire a live-in nanny himself. Her love for him had grown even more because of the simple sentence and what it said about him. Regardless of the help he could hire, he planned on being a full-time father when Cooper was with him. A lot of men and women in his social circle didn’t do that. They’d rather act more like the fun aunt or uncle and leave the hard work to the hired help. Her cousins Nolan and Prescott were perfect examples of that. They bought their children everything under the sun, but spent little quality time with them.