Page 15 of Baby Contract

"Here." He tenderly hands her over to me, just as I taught him.

“You’re getting really good at this.”

“I’m a quick learner.” He kisses her on the head. I think he is going to leave, but he goes into the pantry, coming back out a few seconds later with a handful of items.

“Are we allowed to use the kitchen?” I tease.

Normally, food just appears around here. Not that I’m complaining. It’s been nice to have home-cooked meals instead of takeout all the time. A girl could get used to this treatment.

"It will be our little secret."

"Nuh-uh." I take a step back. "You leave me out of this." There is no way in hell I’m catching heat from Errol for this.

"Are you saying youdon'twant homemade hot chocolate?" I chew on my bottom lip, debating if it's worth the wrath of Errol. I'm not trying to make him mad. Not when he is the cooker of all the foods.

"Are there marshmallows?" I mean, that’s the most important question here.

"Extra, in fact." He holds up the bag, and a small smirk forms on his face. Oh, he’s good.

“I mean it’s basically a crime to turn down extra marshmallows. And this is your house. So it would be rude for me to not drink it.” I’m totally pinning this on Carr when Errol finds out.

“Sit.” He gives the order, gesturing to one of the chairs at the large kitchen island. I slip into it, feeding Violet the rest of her bottle before burping her. Carr finishes at the same time.

“Follow me.” He nods for me to come with him. I follow him into the nursery, where I put Violet down. I check to make sure the monitor is good to go. “My room.” Carr doesn’t wait for me to respond, heading straight into his room. I have no choice but to follow him. He's still got the hot chocolate.

“What are we doing?” I ask. Carr sets the mugs down on a coffee table, then picks up a remote and flips on the television. He has a spacious sitting area in his room, comparable in size to some people's living rooms. It even has a fireplace.

“We can watch a movie while we drink the hot chocolate. That might help relax you so you can fall back asleep.” Is this a good idea? “Come on.” He holds up a fluffy blanket. I take it and settle down on the couch.

“You have two fireplaces in your bedroom.”

"There are three, if you include the one in the bathroom."

“In the bathroom! Mine doesn’t have one.”

“I’ll have one installed.” Carr sits down next to me.

“You’re serious.” He shrugs.

“I was joking. I don’t need a fireplace in my bathroom.”

“But you want one.”

“It’s fine.” I laugh.

“If you won’t allow me to install one, you can use my bathroom anytime you like.”

“Find us something to watch,” I order him, picking up my hot chocolate and taking a sip. Carr finds us a movie before turning on the fireplace and sitting back down next to me.

I think we’re really playing with fire now.

Chapter Nine

CARR

“You need to come here. I think the deal is falling apart.” Kyle, my head of international business, appears to be close to a breakdown. The video call quality is so good these days that even unshed tears can be seen. “Robert Remington is here wooing Mr. Yamamoto with cheese and luxury goods.”

“I find it hard to believe that Yamamoto-san is swayed by a few gifts.”

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