Page 51 of The Complication
When Joy reached the elephant, Declan helped her to sit up, facing me. Naturally, the plush toy went right into her mouth so she could happily gum his big floppy ears.
“I told you. She is the smartest baby. I knew she was going to start crawling,” Declan crowed. “She’s going to be a natural athlete. Do you think we should begin searching for dance classes for her? Or maybe gymnastics? At what age do they take kids for classes like that?”
A sharp bark of laughter broke through the lump in mythroat, and I shook my head. This man was going to destroy all my best intentions.
“I am pretty sure they require them to be walking first.”
Declan flashed me an irritated glare that only made me laugh harder. “That can’t be right.” He typed on his phone, and I suspected he was trying to find classes that would take Joy right this second.
Stretching across the blanket on my stomach, I touched the hand holding his phone and drew his gaze up to his face. “Why don’t we let her get good at this first? Don’t forget that we still need to survive teething.”
His expression turned grim, and the remains of my heart melted. “I’ve read about that. It’s going to be a tough time for her.”
I’d seen the first signs of her teething with random fevers and fussiness. A couple of times I’d let her gnaw on my finger, and I could feel where a tooth was getting close to breaking through. I hated the idea that she was going to be in pain and there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“But she’s a fighter. She’ll get through it and move on to eating more interesting things.”
“She’s a crawling fighter,” Declan agreed. He stared fondly at her, smoothing a hand gently over her head while she continued to play with her elephant, oblivious to our plans for her. Joy was going to do Joy, and I couldn’t be prouder of her.
And did I want to date Declan Foster? Fuck yes, I did.
18
DECLAN FOSTER
“I thinkI’m having second thoughts.”
I hated myself for even uttering those words out loud, but every moment that ticked by made the overwhelming panic inside me grow. And I never panicked. No matter the situation. I was a solid, unshakable rock.
Sebastian scrubbed a hand over his face before he shifted forward in his chair to rest his arms on his desk. “Second thoughts? About Parker?”
“Yes. I mean no.”
“Which is it?” Sebastian’s tone jumped in pitch as if he were panicking with me. “Because he’s supposed to be arriving in like twenty minutes for your date, right?”
“I’m not having second thoughts about Parker. Never.”
“Then…”
I sighed and slumped deeper in the chair opposite Sebastian’s desk. It was just after six in the evening. Most people had left the building, heading to their homes. Parker was supposed to meet me at the office at six thirty and we’d walk together to the restaurant for our six forty-five dinner reservations.
But after five thirty, I’d rushed up to Sebastian’s office for a pep talk and a reality check.
“I’m worried about this dating idea I had. Why should we date? He’s already living with me. I should propose.”
“That might be fast. Dating is good.”
“But it means we have to talk. I…don’t talk.”
Sebastian huffed and gave me his exasperated look. “You don’t talk at home?”
“He does most of the talking, and it’s usually about Joy. Sometimes I talk about work.”
Sebastian snatched up his phone and started dialing. “I’m going to need some backup.”
Within a couple of minutes, he’d conferenced in Pierce and Rome, placing them on speaker so we could both hear them.
“Please don’t tell me this call is to brag that you’re getting hot sex whenever you want,” Rome grumbled. There was a short ticking sound that shut off again. His turn signal. He was driving home.
