Page 33 of Vegas Baby

She cocks an eyebrow at me and quirks a smile. “We?”

I blush and rub my hand over the back of my neck. “I mean if you want my help. If not, that’s cool too. I don’t know. You needed a daycare. My sister runs one. Sue me for trying to hook you two up.”

Kira full-on smiles and it knocks the breath out of me. “Okay, but I’m not sure how we’ll get there. The car seat is in Michael’s car, and he’s at work. I wasn’t expecting that we’d go anywhere.”

I smile back. “That the best excuse you got?” I tease. “Maria lent me a car seat just in case. Go pack what you need.”

Kira gives me a stunned look, seemingly frozen in place. And just as swiftly, she leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “Thank you,” she says simply, then pulls back, blinking hard as she disappears into her room.

And now I sit on her couch, seemingly frozen in place by the feeling of her lips on my cheek. The smell of her invading my senses. Dios mío, I am so screwed.

* * *

By the end of the day, Kira has agreed to leave Nadia with Maria starting next week. Thank fuck she didn’t even question my sister’s “free trial period” offer. Now I feel like I owe her for covering the fact that I’m effectively paying for it. I don’t need Kira to feel any pressure from that gesture.

But seeing how happy she was watching Maria with Nadia, knowing her baby would be in the best hands possible … well, it’s worth it. And the happiness her happiness made me feel cemented that I’m fully back to exactly where I was before all the anger. Totally head over heels for this woman.

I’m not even mad about it. It is what it is. Am I going to try to get her back? Hell, yes. Which is why, after dropping Kira and the baby back at their apartment, I wait for Kira to settle Nadia in for a nap before making my move.

I watch Kira slip quietly out of the bedroom, pulling the door to the frame behind her before joining me on the couch. She sinks back, leaning her head on the cushions and letting out a deep sigh.

“Thank you so much, Sebastian, you have no idea how relieved I am to have found such an amazing place for her,” she says, lolling her head toward me.

I lean my head on my hand, examining her face. “You’re welcome. But you look more tired than relieved,” I tease.

She shrugs lightly. “She actually sleeps pretty well,” Kira replies, gesturing toward the bedroom. “I guess I’m just … I don’t know how to explain it. Being a mother is more exhausting than I imagined it would be.”

I contemplate that for a moment. “Then maybe you need some time not being a mom,” I reply. She gives me an inquisitive look. “When was the last time you got out of the house on your own? Did something just for you?”

Kira laughs. “Are you serious? I just had a baby, and before that, I was pregnant and generally freaking out. So probably since …” She trails off and her eyes go wide.

“Since you left me?” I offer. She nods contritely. I smile and reach for her hand, stroking my thumb over the back of it. “Then maybe it’s about damn time I got you out of this house.”

“Like … a date?” she asks tentatively.

The corner of my lips quirks up. “Something like that,” I agree. “Or it could just be two friends going out and having a good time if you’d prefer.” I pause for a moment, but she doesn’t respond, so I keep going. “If you were to get out, what would you want to do?”

She chews at her bottom lip for a moment. “It’s silly.”

My eyebrows fly up. “Then you definitely have to tell me.”

She scrunches her nose. “I’d just want to do whatever normal twenty-six-year-olds do in Las Vegas.”

“So, drink, dance, gamble, stay out until the wee hours of the night? That sort of thing?”

Kira makes a disgusted face. “Not gambling no. But the rest … yes, that sounds … perfect.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You don’t like gambling?” She shakes her head, the disgusted face reappearing. “Well, damn, you sure picked an interesting place to live, then.”

The expression drops from her face. “I didn’t pick it.”

The smile likewise drops from mine. “I’m sorry, I didn’t —”

She shakes her head. “It’s okay. Yes, I would love to have drinks and go dancing and stay out late with you.”

Nerves tighten in my stomach given that she didn’t say whether it was a date or as friends. But she said yes, so I’m not going to push it.

“Really?”

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