“Are you sure you’re okay?” Quinn asked. “It’s just a few hours.”

“We’re fine,” Riley said. “She’s sleeping anyway. How hard could it be?”

Trevor and Max both snorted behind her.

“I just want to see Lara’s recital and I didn’t want the distraction of Jocelyn if she was fussy. I would have asked Mallory, but they went to Virginia for the week again.”

“I’ve got it covered. Bottles in the fridge. Diapers over there. Piece of cake,” Riley said.

“Let’s go then, Quinn,” Max said. “We need to get Lara there early. Riley says she has it covered, so I’m sure it’s fine. She has our number.”

“I won’t be calling you,” Riley said confidently. “It’s only a few hours. Go enjoy Lara’s dance.”

“Can I stay home with Aunt Riley?” Davy asked. “I don’t want to go to some stupid dance show.”

“You’re going,” Max said. “Always support your sister. You know that. Someday you’ll be happy that she’s in the stands cheering you on during a karate tournament.”

“I guess,” Davy said, following them out the door.

“I didn’t think they’d ever leave,” Riley said. “I want to get my hands on the baby so bad.” She looked over and saw her sleeping peacefully in the playpen.

“Don’t wake her,” Trevor said.

“Why?”

“Trust me, just don’t.”

An hour later, Riley asked, “Why won’t she stop crying?” She was starting to sweat. Literally. There was water dripping down her back from pacing around the living room, bouncing Jocelyn up and down on her shoulder. It was like a cardio workout she’d never had before. Her abs were clenched and her arms were cramping.

“I told you not to wake her,” Trevor said, calmly grinning at her. He didn’t even flinch when Jocelyn let out another scream.

“Maybe she’s hungry,” she said.

“You fed her twenty minutes ago.”

“But she might want more.”

“Not unless you want to wear the second bottle. But that’s your choice. I happen to like the white shirt you’ve got on.”

She looked down at her shirt, knowing it was clinging to her torso now. “I shouldn’t have worn white. I’ll never get that stain on my shoulder out.”

“I told you to put a burp cloth under her after the bottle,” he said smugly.

“How was I supposed to know she’d belch so loud it’d rattle the windows?!” Trevor laughed. Jocelyn’s screams were dropping to whimpers now. “Laugh again, she likes the sound of your voice.”

“More like the anxiety in yours is upsetting her.”

“No way,” Riley said. “She’s too little to know that.”

“Hand her over,” Trevor said, standing up. “I’m going to prove you wrong.”

She reluctantly handed over the fussy baby. It took a minute or so, but Jocelyn started to quiet down and settle onto Trevor’s shoulder.

“Your shoulders are bigger than mine. Mine are too boney, she wasn’t comfortable.”

“Quinn is smaller than you. But nice try.”

“Quinn is her mother. Jocelyn can sense that,” Riley said, crossing her arms.

“I’ll give you that one.” Trevor was slowly walking around the room now.

“I was moving too fast with her. That was the problem.”

“Part of it. It’s not a race. It’s about soothing. Bouncing around and jiggling the food in her belly doesn’t help.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” she said.

“You said you knew what you were doing,” he pointed out. His large hand was now resting on the baby’s back, his fingertips massaging little circles.

“Here. Give her back. I can take over now.”

Trevor smiled at her, handed the baby over, only to have Jocelyn start crying before the exchange was even made. Trevor settled her back on his shoulder. “You sure you want lots and lots of babies?” he asked, grinning.

“Not funny. It will be different when it’s my own kid.”

“Sure it will. But you’ve got to learn to relax, Riley.” He turned his head, gazing at Jocelyn as her eyes fluttered shut. “She wants comfort. You can’t give comfort if you aren’t feeling comfortable yourself.”

She dropped her shoulders. “I’m so not good at this.”

“Don’t pout,” he said, quietly. “See, she’s almost out. The key is to keep this up until you know she is sleeping completely, then lay her down. What’s the matter, there’s something out there you can’t excel at?”

“I repeat, not funny.”

“Sure it is,” he said. “You’re just annoyed right now. You’re annoyed that if I wasn’t here to save you, you would have sweated off two pounds then gained them back with that chocolate mousse in the fridge the minute Max and Quinn returned.”

She wanted to growl at him, but unfortunately he was right. Before she could control herself, before she knew what she was about to do, she slipped and said, “Not everyone can ace ‘take your baby to school day’ like you.”

He turned fast. Jocelyn stirred, but he got her relaxed again. “Kennedy,” he said, baring his teeth.

“Yep. And now I know. Of course, I always knew you’d make a great father someday.” She wanted to slap her hands in front of her mouth when that slipped out. That was taking things a little further than she intended.

They weren’t anywhere near making comments like that right now.

 

***

 

“Yeah, I will,” he said softly.

He’d found the past hour highly amusing, watching Riley try to care for her niece. She’d been all confident in her ability and for her sake he’d hoped it would work out well. She should have listened to him, but she thought she knew best.

“I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Why?”

“Why, what?” she asked. “Why did I say it, or why didn’t I mean to?”

“Both.”

She walked into the kitchen off the family room they were in, grabbed some paper towels and started to wipe her face and arms. “Just watching you right now. Not many men have that touch. Many want it, and try, but it’s just there with you. I guess it touched a chord with me. A good one.”

“And why did you wish you didn’t just say that?” he asked. He could see it on her face. He glanced down at Jocelyn, saw she was out cold, and laid her back in the playpen, then went to the couch and patted the cushion.

Riley walked over and sat next to him. He grabbed her legs and put them over his lap, always enjoying that.

“I don’t want you to think I’m getting all these ideas of babies and weddings. That’s kind of pushing things in a direction neither of us might be ready for. I had lunch with your sister and I know that made you uncomfortable, and now here I am saying all the typical things a woman does when she’s trying to land a husband.”

“You’re not a typical woman, though,” he said, running his hands up her calf. She was always so soft and smooth. He could never get enough. Riley Hamilton was turning into his addiction.

“I’d like to think I’m not.”

“We both know you aren’t. So tell me more about what you’re feeling.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to scare you.”

“You won’t,” he said, pulling her close.

“I look at you and I see everything. I see what so many women want and I wonder how I was lucky enough to find it with you.”

“I’m just a simple man,” Trevor said.

“There is nothing simple about you. Nothing at all.”

His mother always told him that everything he ever needed was in his soul. In his heart. Not to reach for what everyone else had in life, but to understand himself first and then he’d find love. His mother happened to be right.

“Probably not,” he said. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “Where do you see things going?”

“With us?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Far. I see things going really, really far.”