“Hey, you’re here helping me, you can have and use anything you want. I mean anything.”
You can even use my body if you’re so inclined.
Shit, asshole. Stop thinking like that.
Her big blue eyes go wide, and I suck in my breath. Hoping I didn’t say any of that out loud.
“Oh, damn,” she says, then covers her mouth and glances at a sleeping Daisy. “Oops.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We forgot to stop at my place for a change of clothes.”
“I can drive you.”
“No, I don’t want to miss the delivery.”
“Did you want to go yourself?” I ask, trying to hide the fact that staying here alone with an infant terrifies me.
She crinkles her nose. “No, I don’t really want to leave you alone with her just yet. I mean, I know you can take care of her, but she’s not used to you,” she says, switching it around to show that it’s Daisy she’s worried about, but I can’t help but think she’s worried about me, too.
I almost exhale a breath of relief. “I have some old sweats and a few shirts you can borrow.”
She does a sweep of my body, and makes a face. “Nothing of yours is going to fit me.”
“I’ve got sweats that tie, and I’ve seen you in baggy T-shirts before. Just grab what you need from my closet.”
“You don’t mind me going through your things?”
“Nope. I’m just like your brother, remember.”
She looks away at the reminder, like she doesn’t want me to see her expression. “Right. What about a toothbrush?”
“I have spares in the bathroom drawer. Help yourself to anything, Quinn.”
She heads toward the stairs. “Am I going to find something…weird…in your closet or drawers?”
“Define weird.”
She glances at me over her shoulder, and from her grin, I can tell she’s being playful. “Something that one might have to blow up.”
I laugh, hard. “You looking for something to blow?” I tease, and her cheeks turn a sexy shade of pink.
“No, I mean…I was just…” She growls, and I grin. Whoever thought I could fluster the Ninja Chihuahua. “Never mind.”
She rushes up the stairs, putting an end to my taunting, but hey, she was the one who brought it up. Seriously though, hearing the word blow on her lips has my dick standing at attention. Christ, maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. Quinn under the same roof as me, sleeping in the next room. Well, that might prove too much.
As Quinn roots around in my closet, I pull my cell phone from my pocket and place an order. Daisy makes sucking sounds, and I drop to the floor beside the sofa. I’m a dad. Her tiny fingers are curled, and I tentatively reach out and touch them. She’s so little and vulnerable, solely relying on me, and that, I’m not ashamed to admit, scares the living fuck out of me.
Can I do this?
My heart jumps into my throat, and suddenly I’m finding it a little hard to breath.
“You are so tiny,” I say quietly. My thumb brushes her soft pink cheek, and she turns toward my hand. “I’m sorry about what your mom did, Daisy. None of this is your fault, and I know I’m not much of a father, but I’m going to try to be the man you need me to be.”
Her eyes flicker open, and my heart squeezes as she looks at me, her big blue eyes roaming my face, taking me in, accessing me, like she’s seeing me as something different for the first time.
“Hi, Daisy,” I say in a soft voice. “I guess I’m your dad.” Her lips quivers, and I rush out with, “Yeah, I know, I don’t blame you for crying. I would cry too if I were you.” I play with her little hand, examine it, and when her tiny fingers fist around one of mine, my heart speeds up and my vision goes a little fuzzy. She makes a cooing sound, and my chest tightens.