Page 24 of Make Your Save

His gaze latches onto me for two heartbeats and I’m momentarily lost in those blue orbs. Damn him for being so attractive. And damn him for having a baby, because seeing him with her is literally melting my heart.

Rowan turns his head to look back at Lucy. “I hate having to leave you, but I know Hadley will take the very best care of you.” He lowers his lips to her forehead, kissing her gently. “I love you, little Luce, and I’ll see you in a few days.”

He straightens his body back upright, his gaze landing on me once more. He stays for a moment longer, as if he doesn’t want to leave, before he pulls himself away. I watch him as he disappears through the house, the sound of the door shutting behind him as he enters the garage.

I look down at Lucy in my arms and she stares back at me, her eyes roaming across my face. “Looks like it’s just the two of us.” Her nose crinkles, and she moves around in my arms, lifting her little arms to stretch her body. Her mouth opens with an exaggerated yawn and I find myself doing the same.

“Good idea,” I smile at her, glancing at the various boxes of things and back out at the living room. “We’ll take a nap and then tackle the nursery.”

“I don’t know how the hell he knows where anything is in his toolbox.”

I glance up at Riley as she walks back into the roomwith two different screwdrivers. I lift an eyebrow at her as I hand Nova one of the slats for the crib. “Believe it or not, I haven’t looked in his toolbox yet.”

Nova snorts and I realize there’s definitely an unintended innuendo hanging in that sentence. “Give it some time.”

“Yeah, right.” I laugh, shaking my head at her. The two of them came over a few hours ago and we immediately got to working on putting the furniture together. The furniture that Rowan specifically told me not to touch.

We ran out of time this morning to get things put together before he left and he told me he would do it when he got home. He felt guilty leaving without having Lucy’s nursery set up, but I assured him we would be fine. I didn’t tell him my plans of doing it anyway, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“How is he adjusting to this?” Nova asks as we finish up the crib, both of us rising to our feet as we carry it over to the wall. It’s a crib with a changing table attached to it, so that’s one less piece of furniture we need to construct.

“As well as anyone can adjust to something like this,” I tell her, taking the crib mattress from Riley as she slides it across the wood floor to me. She adjusts the baby carrier strapped around her body, her son’s little head rolling to the side as he readjusts against her chest.

The room is quite the sight right now, but it’s coming together. We now have the crib all put together, and Nova and I managed to carry the glider into the room and tucked it in the corner. We have the dresserhalf put together and then that’s it for now. It’s not much but it’s a start for the little one.

Posey, Nova’s daughter, sits in the center of the room, reading a book upside down to Lucy as she sleeps on the mat we got her for the floor.

“He’s going to be a great dad,” Riley says as she runs her hand over Theo’s head. “He has such a big, soft heart.” She smiles, her gaze meeting mine as Nova and I start back on the dresser. “I overheard him talking to Nash one day about how he never wanted to go through what we went through.” She pauses, a wave of pain washing through her eyes. “After Theo’s traumatic birth, I think it really scared all the guys about having kids.”

“Oh, yeah,” Nova bobs her head up and down. “Lincoln’s going to be like a damn helicopter when we decide to have babies.”

“At least Rowan doesn’t have to go through any of the birth process,” I chime in, shrugging innocently as the two of them look at me. “I mean, that part is already over.”

Riley chuckles. “This is true. I’m not so sure he wanted kids, but I think this will be good for him.” She smiles at me as Nova and I flip the dresser over. “He’s lucky to have you here to help him.”

“Are you planning on staying here with him full-time?” Nova asks me as we move the dresser to the other wall. Riley walks over with a stack of little baby clothes and we begin to fill the drawers.

“I’m not sure yet,” I admit, the thought idling in the back of my mind. “My lease is up in two weeks and Ididn’t plan on staying, so I need to see if I can extend my lease. I have three months until my next travel assignment, so I need to figure out what I’m going to do.”

Rowan told me to take the guest room beside Lucy’s nursery, so I put my bag in there before the girls got here earlier. I’ve spent the past few nights on his couch, so it feels weird to occupy an entire bedroom. I think he meant for me to use it just while he’s away, but I don’t know. I have my own apartment, but my lease will be up soon and I’m not sure what my plans will be after this.

Originally, I planned on continuing to travel. After feeling so stuck for so many years in Cedar Ridge, I just wanted to see what else the rest of the world has to offer.

“I’m sure he’ll just tell you to stay here,” Riley says as she lifts Theo from the carrier and unstraps it from her body. “It would honestly make the most sense.”

“It does,” Nova adds, finishing up the drawers before turning back to me. A soft smile lifts her lips. “Rowan’s going to need all the help he can get and I think you might be the perfect person for the job.”

I let out a laugh, settling down on the floor in front of Posey and Lucy. “I didn’t think my nursing career would have me turning into being someone’s nanny.”

“Sometimes life takes the most unexpected turns,” Riley tells me, the glider shifting as she sits down to nurse Theo. “Enjoy the ride, girl.”

CHAPTER TEN

ROWAN

“Coach, can I talk to you?”

We’re all filing off the ice after our morning skate and I know I need to bring this up with him. My life is changing significantly with having a baby and while it shouldn’t affect my work life, I still need him to know in case there’s an emergency or anything comes up.

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