Page 7 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

4

CECELIA

What the hell was Sterling Alexander thinking?

He stood there watching me change baby Georgie’s diaper like it was some kind of performance art or something. His smirking face and the way he held that mock-tail, non-alcoholic drink made me think he was taking all of this as a joke. I wasn’t laughing.

“Oh, I know, I know,” I cooed at the poor darling. She was shaking, she was so upset. Having just woken up, she was confused, she didn’t know where she was, and another stranger was talking to her.

“You speak baby?” Sterling quipped.

I glared at him with my best laser eyes. “I speak scared and hungry, and she is both.” I hitched the little girl in close, wrapping my arms around her protectively. She needed to know that somebody was going to take care of her. “How do I get back to the kitchen from here?”

I asked the older guy. I had never met a butler in real life before. I barely believed they weren’t something made up for superhero movies. I already made up my mind about Sterling Alexander. He skated through life on his charm, good looks, and family money. None of those were going to sway me, and they certainly had no effect on the sniffling baby in my arms.

She didn’t care about money. She cared about comfort and food and security.

“Shouldn’t you dress her first?” Sterling asked, making useless gesturing motions with his hands.

“She’s hungry. She’ll get food all over herself. I see no reason she needs to be dressed, only to have to clean her up again.” I stopped as we entered the kitchen from a different direction than we had earlier. That time, I had been concerned with Sterling’s day drinking. This time, I was looking out for Georgie and— “Where’s her highchair?”

“She doesn’t have one,” Sterling admitted.

“Why not?”

His eyes went wide as he looked at me. The expressions that danced across his face were almost comical. Wide eyes made way to a wrinkled brow, and then stoic blandness. He looked at me with a complete lack of emotion. He was better looking when he felt things.

“The past day and a half have been a bit overwhelming. I expected you yesterday, and I was under the impression that your agency was to provide support.”

“Support, yes. Furniture, no.” I turned to the butler, Wayne. “I understand you have applesauce? Could you put together a small bowl of that, please? Do you have any cereal, or oatmeal?”

“We have quick oats. Would you like for me to prepare some?” he asked.

“Yes, make them sweet, with maple syrup if you have some.”

“Isn’t giving the kid sweets bad?” Sterling asked.

He could stay out of this conversation as far as I was concerned. I glanced over his expensive clothes and got a very wicked idea.

“We need her to eat. She doesn’t have the same tastes as an adult, and I don’t know her history beyond the specifics of how she came into your life. Was she raised without sugar and only home-grown, homemade organic foods, or did her mom put Coca-Cola in her baby bottle? You said she wasn’t interested in eating earlier. Either she was just too upset”—I stroked her soft hair. She wasn’t crying any longer, but she clung to me like a monkey— “or she didn’t like the food. Let’s try something she’s more likely willing to eat. I don’t know about you, but plain oatmeal isn’t very appealing.”

“The applesauce, Miss.” Wayne set a small bowl on the counter and then placed a spoon next to it.

I glanced around. There was a full-sized table with chairs on the other side of a bar-like counter. I gave Sterling a focused look, darted my eyes to the bowl, and then nodded. “Right, I’m going to need your help. Come on.”

I turned and expected him to be smart enough to grab Georgie’s food and follow me. He set the bowl next to the chair I sat down in, keeping Georgie on my lap the entire time.

“Are you hungry? Let’s try some applesauce, okay?” I got her situated and thought she was going to hurt herself the way she grabbed at my hand and bit down on the spoon. Both men received more laser eye glares from me. “Not hungry? Did you even try?”

Georgie was starving. I couldn’t get the applesauce from the bowl to her mouth fast enough. It didn’t take much time before we almost finished the bowl.

“How is that oatmeal coming?” I asked.

“Almost done, I am returning it to a boil,” Wayne started.

“No!” I practically shrieked. “She can’t have hot food the way adults can. She doesn’t know about blowing on the spoon to cool it down. If it’s too hot to go into your mouth straight out of the pan, it is far too hot for her. A good rule is fully cooked, fully re-heated, but not served warmer than body temperature. At least while you are learning.”

“Learning?” Sterling asked.

---