Page 56 of Unexpected Delivery

His eyes sparkle as he rocks Gracie against his chest. It’s so weird to see this giant alpha with tattoos down his fingers and up his neck be so tender with my baby, but he’s grown a lot more confident with her over the last month.

He pats my hip. “Slide in. The waitress is grabbing to-go boxes, and I have a question for you.”

I scoot in, setting the diaper bag between Hayes and me. He grabs it and places it on his other side by the car seat before wrapping his arm around my shoulder once more. “I didn’t invite him. He tracked my location. I had no idea he was going to crash our date.”

I’m pretty sure I mouth the word“date?”

Is that what this was?

If so, I’m not complaining.

I’m just a little confused on what changed yesterday to make them all start showing interest at once. Especially since I’ve spent the last few weeks giving myself constant pep talks tonotread too much into their kindness.

Last night with Morris and today with Hayes, their intentions seem clear enough that I’m sure I’m not imagining it.

Hael twists toward me and Hayes. He rolls his deep blue eyes and nods at his twin. “He doesn’t seem to want to share you.”

I laugh, but Hayes raises his hand from my shoulder, flipping off his brother.

To defuse the tension, I ask, “How was your day?”

Hael grins. “Better now that I’m with you.” Oh, he’s laying it on thick, and I still smile like a total goofball. “So, I have a work thing tomorrow night. It’s nothing too terrible. I have a new client that I need to woo a little. I mean, he already signed the contract, but he’s weird about family. I was telling him about you and Gracie last night?—”

“Really?” I ask, studying him carefully.

He nods. “Yeah, but now he wants to meet you. Would you be open to going to dinner with me tomorrow night? It’ll probably be pretty boring, but you haven’t had any time to yourself since Gracie was born. And we’ll only be ten or fifteen minutes from home if she needs you.”

Hayes grabs my hand with his, giving it a squeeze. “Morris and I are more than happy to watch the baby, but no pressure if you’re not up to leaving her just yet.”

My eyes fly to Hael’s. He nods like he wants me to know he’ll understand if I’m not ready to be away from her, but he also looks so hopeful that it makes me feel like a jerk that my first instinct is to say no. “How long would we be gone?”

“Maybe an hour and a half or two hours, but I don’t want you to say yes just to make my life easier.” Hael moves Gracie to the crook of his arm from where she was up on his shoulder. “He’s a pain in the ass, but he pays well, and this job could lead to a new vein of clientele. Almost all my business comes from word-of-mouth sales.”

My teeth dig into my lower lip as I think it through. The thought of being away from Gracie makes me panic a little, but all three of these guys have gone out of their way to help me in over-the-top ways.

If Hael needs to make a good impression to secure future business for the shop, then I want to do whatever I can to make that possible.

“I can’t promise how well I’ll tolerate being away from Gracie, but I’ll try,” I finally say, smiling.

“Fuck, yes.” Hael grins back. “How about a practice run?”

“What?”

“I was hoping to take you shopping.” Hael continues bouncing my daughter, who seems utterly content in his arms. “The boutique is only two minutes down the road. What if Hayes takes Gracie home while I take you shopping?”

My eyes widen, and my heart thumps. I thought I would have an entire day to mentally prepare—and probably have a few panic attacks.

Hayes squeezes my shoulder. “I’m positive I can take care of her for the hour or so it would take you to find an outfit, but it’s your call. I’m also happy to come with you to the boutique, and I can watch her in the store while you shop.”

My head shakes. “No, that’s silly.” It takes everything in me to force myself to say, “I trust you to get her home safely.” I look at Hael. “But we need to be quick.”

Hael smiles dangerously. “You got it, beautiful.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Hael

When I first moved up here to live with Morris, it didn’t take long to realize he doesn’t date. The man has been celibate since I’ve known him.

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