“You didn’t wake me. I’m always up early. Habit. How is she this morning?” She comes around to face me and tugs on the hem of the T-shirt she’s weaning. My T-shirt.
Does she have any panties on underneath?
“Good. I changed her diaper,” I say, like a student looking for praise from a teacher. How juvenile is that? Changing the subject, I gesture with a nod toward the kitchen. “Coffee should be done.”
“I’ll grab us a cup,” she says and darts into the other room like wolves are nipping at her heels. Cupboards open and close as she searches for the mugs, and a few minutes later she brings me a much-needed cup.
“Cream, no sugar, right?” she asks.
“You remember,” I say, a statement, not a question.
She blows into her cup and sits in the seat across from us. Daisy gives a good burp and I settle her back into my arms, and give her the rest of the bottle.
“You’re really good with her, Jonah,” she says quietly.
I shake my head. “To think before yesterday I’d never even held a child.”
“You really stepped up.”
My chest swells. Goddammit, I really like it when she looks at me like that, like she’s totally proud of me. Although I don’t want to think too hard on why I like it so much.
She goes quiet for a moment, toys with her coffee mug. Is she thinking about last night? Waiting for me to bring it up? I open my mouth, but she speaks first.
“Jonah, about last night…”
I brace myself. “What about it?”
“It was…”
“Fantastic?”
A small smile touches her mouth. “That’s one word to describe it, but I’m just not sure—”
“Wait,” I say, unable to hear her valid points on why we shouldn’t do it again—Christ, I just found out I was a father, and I have an NHL career to think about. Not to mention her brother is going to kill me, and Quinn deserves better than a guy like me, one who has a reputation a mile wide. Plus, she’s chasing her own dreams, is building a life for herself that I don’t fit into—not that either of us are looking for anything more. We had fun, simple as that.
I lean toward her, Daisy secure in my arms. “You had fun, right?”
She sips her coffee and looks at me over the rim. “I…yes.”
“So did I. A lot. So what’s a little pleasure between friends? Neither one of us is looking for anything more, so while you’re here, helping out, why can’t we just keep having sex…enjoy each other?”
She visibly quakes, like she’s remembering all the dirty things we did last night, reliving them in her mind’s eye. “I…”
I take the empty bottle from Daisy’s mouth and put her over my shoulder again. Quinn’s face softens as she watches me.
“So you’re suggesting we continue to have no-strings sex, until I find you a nanny?” she asks, and my heart thumps with excitement. At least she’s considering it.
“Sure,” I say casually, although my stomach is in a chaotic mess. What if she says no? I’m sure fifty hand jobs a night and a harem of puck bunnies would never suffice. Now that I’ve had a taste of her, I want more. I’m certain by the time we hire a nanny I’ll have gotten her out of my system. “And until I find a nanny, I want to pay you for helping out.”
She crinkles her nose. “No, I don’t want your money,” she says adamantly.
Christ, she’s so different from the other women I know, which makes me like her all the more. “It’s a simple business arrangement, Quinn.”
“I can’t take your money, Jonah.”
“Fine. Then while you’re here, I’ll pay your half of your father’s medical bills.”
She sits up a little straighter and her eyes go wide. “How do you know—”