Page 16 of Forever, Finally

Lily held Anne Marie’s littlest on her lap. The baby girl—Emma after her grandmother—had big brown eyes and a smile that could light up Kansas.

“You’re going to be a heartbreaker,” Lily murmured as she blew on the baby’s tummy and made her laugh. “All the boys are going to think you’re amazing and your daddy is going to have a heck of a time chasing them off.”

“He’ll have help,” Jake said as he strolled over and joined her on the blanket. “I’ll be there to keep those guys away. Isn’t that right, Emma? Because you’d never love any stupid boy more than your Uncle Jake.”

Little Emma beamed in delight and held out her pudgy arms.

“See,” Jake said as he took her and held her high above his head. “Who’s my best girl?”

Emma squealed and Lily’s heart clenched. Jake was always terrific with the kids. Despite being an unrepentant bachelor, he enjoyed his nieces and nephews at every family gathering. She happened to know he’d done more than his share of babysitting and had an annual weekend of wild fun with all the kids who were old enough to attend.

“So why don’t you have any of your own?” she asked, knowing she wasn’t going to get any more information than she already had.

“Haven’t met the right woman.”

“You’ve certainly met enough.”

“But quantity doesn’t guarantee a perfect match.”

“Is that what you’re looking for? Perfection?”

He set the baby back on the blanket and let her grab his hands. “It would help.”

“It’s not going to happen.”

“I’m starting to get that. So I’ll settle for someone imperfect.”

“Sometimes you are so guy-like,” she complained. “Women don’t sit around expecting perfection.”

He stretched out on the blanket and pulled little Emma up on his chest. The baby balanced there, facing him and grinning with delight.

“What does the phrase Mr. Right mean if not perfect?”

“Oh.” She really hated it when he had a point. “I guess some women are looking for perfection. You should form a club together.”

“I don’t know that I’d like the other members. After all, I’m not perfect.”

She looked at him as he lay on the blanket. He was barefoot. Worn jeans hugged his long legs and narrow hips, emphasizing his masculine build. His brightly colored T-shirt had grass stains on it from the fast-moving tag game he’d started with the older kids. Little Emma drooled on him and he didn’t seem to notice or care. His strong arms held her securely in place with a confidence that came from years of practice. He was good-looking, slightly mussed and smiling. So what exactly was there not to like?

“When is Rob due to arrive?” she asked to change the subject.

Jake glanced at his watched. “Any time now. Think Catherine will be surprised?”

“That he traded in the sports car he’d been restoring to buy her a new minivan? I think she’ll be overwhelmed.”

“She should be. It’s more than I would do.”

Lily poked him in the ribs. “You are so lying. That’s exactly the sort of thing you would do.”

“Give up a sports car for a woman? Not likely.”

“What about the time you gave up your trip to Mexico to stay with Anne Marie because Dave was still on active duty and overseas and she’d just had her appendix out?”

“That was different. Mom was in Italy visiting family. I didn’t want her to come back early. Catherine and Teresa were busy with their families.” He frowned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“See. You’re a great guy. You can’t help it. In fact, it’s kind of like a disease.”

Jake blew kisses at the baby. “We’re going to ignore Auntie Lily, aren’t we, pumpkin? Because she’s a big ol’ doodoo head.”

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