Page 32 of Bossy Baby

“Did you know bubbles come in flavors? I saw blueberry bubbles one time. I only have a shower in my apartment so I don’t get to have baths often.”

“I’ll get you blueberry bubbles,” Mac promised. “And any other flavors. Tonight we’ll use the lavender bubbles I picked up. They should help you relax. You’re feeling okay right now, but the pain will come back.”

Hayley glanced down at his cast. Except for the weight of the thing, he could almost forget it was there. The beautiful rainbow cast that Mac had picked out just for him.

It was unbelievable that earlier that very same morning Hayley hadn’t known how Mac truly felt about him. Hayley had doubted himself so much that he’d missed the signals Mac had been giving him.

How had he gotten the attention of such a kind man?

Sure, Mac had secrets. Hayley didn’t miss that he had to pry out any information about Mac’s past. Mac was much more open about the present. And their future. But if Mac needed time, then Hayley had all the time in the world. Because he couldn’t forget their conversation earlier.

Mac wanted to be his Daddy!

Hayley hadn’t even had to be the one to say it first.

He thought Mac was leading him back to the room he’d napped in, but he turned right instead. Mac’s room!

“My tub is bigger and has jets. I thought you’d enjoy it more.”

“That sounds awesome!” Hayley enthused. He was trying to take in as much of Mac’s room as he could. The furniture was big, dark, and looked expensive. Something he could see Mac picking out.

A half-open closet door showed a pile of clothes on the floor.

Hayley would be dying to clean that mess up if he wasn’t so excited for his bath. Across the room was also a set of French doors. Maybe that led to a private balcony or something just as romantic. Mac said he’d have plenty of time to explore. Hayley hoped he’d still have time.

“In here.” Mac opened the bathroom door.

Gasping, Hayley couldn’t believe his eyes. It was the biggest bathroom he’d ever seen. Beautiful white, blue, and silver tiles shone from one side of the room to the other. The gorgeous tiles covered the walls, shower, and around the base of the tub. A long dark blue rug stood in the middle of the floor.

“There’s a heater under the tile for winter. I haven’t been here in the colder months, but that sounded nice.” Mac pointed to the large towel rack against the wall. “We’ll probably be using it before too long though.” Four dark blue towels hung from the silver rack. “One of my favorite features is the warming rack. I put clean towels on it earlier for you.”

How much money did Mac have? Not that it really mattered. But Hayley was still in shock. Even the best hotel he’d ever stayed in hadn’t had a bathroom this nice.

“Do you like it?”

Hayley laughed. “It’s awesome!” He glanced over at Mac. Mac looked…nervous. “Mac? What did you do?” Mac had totally done something for Hayley, something Hayley wouldn’t know if he didn’t outright ask.

After a few moments of Mac’s shifting on his feet and not meeting his eyes, Hayley moved to stand in front of him. “Mac?”

“I designed this room especially for you,” Mac confessed. There was that light blush on his cheeks and the top of his bald head. Oh, Hayley had never noticed that before.

“You designed it?”

Mac cleared his throat. Then yep, rubbed the back of his head. “I cut out a bunch of pictures from magazines and put them together. Then gave them to the construction crew and decorator.

For him. Not for himself. Mac had designed the stunning room forhim.

Wrapping his good arm around Mac’s waist, he squeezed as hard as he could.

“Oh wow,” Mac said. “That’s nice…”

“What?” Hayley let his head fall back so he could look up at Mac.

“The hug. I like it.”

Mac liked his hugs. Cool! “So I can hug you more often?” He didn’t know why he felt the need to ask. Mac didn’t pull away when Hayley touched him. Still, Mac also wasn’t always comfortable when Hayley touched him, either.

“I’d like that,” Mac said quietly. “As often as you want.”

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