Page 103 of Always a Bridesmaid
“Oh, I—”
“Her pacifier is pinned to her outfit,” Violet called over her shoulder as she raced toward the kitchen, “so if it falls out and she cries, just pop it back in.”
…
Ford peered at the baby in his arms. Once again, he was in a position where he couldn’t help thinking of all the other things he’d rather tackle.
Torrential winds. Wading through neck-deep water to reach cars and houses as Pyro swam by his side. Rappelling down a sheer cliff.
Playing hopscotch on the back of hungry alligators.
“I don’t know what your aunt was thinking,” Ford said as the baby blinklessly stared up at him. “I’ve never held a baby before.”
Two dimples formed in Isla’s chubby cheeks as she grinned, causing the pacifier to fall out of her mouth.
“You think that’s funny? As the baby I’m talking about, I’m not sure you should.”
Another grin, accompanied by a loud squeak, as if she were still figuring out how her voice worked. Which, come to think of it, she likely was.
When he’d seen Violet holding a baby in her arms, his blood pressure about shot through the roof. It reminded him of watching her secure that wedding dress over her clothes.
During the past couple weeks, he’d managed to bury the incident in the shop and the binder filled with wedding plans.
Until their last meeting at Addie’s house. Then he couldn’t stop chewing over the fact that Violet had planned a whole wedding. Bought decorations. She’d almost gottenmarried. She undisputedly wanted to, and given the awe and longing on her face as she’d danced her niece around the bakery, babies were part of her long-term plan as well.
Which, yeah, lots of women craved those things. Settling down. Stability. A family.
Serious relationships always bring about fights, and once kids get thrown in the mix, forget it. Soon it gets messier and messier, until neither of you recognize who you’ve become.
How attraction and affection turned to dynamite and destruction so easily, he had no idea. He’d seen it happen time and time again, though.
Now he was agonizing over the idea of spewing loathsome words at Violet. Of ruining everything they once had, including the tenderness she’d shown him and amount of faith she’d placed in him. She insisted on calling him a hero, but presently, “coward” would be more accurate.
Ford eyed the exit that would soon open up to an influx of people, including Violet’s father and Cheryl and the Craft Cats. If his skin could, it’d crawl right off his body and leave without him.
But he needed to stay. Not only had he promised Violet, he was also holding a baby. Which left his internal temperature flaring and his muscles aching from not moving because what if he moved wrong?
She is pretty cute. Like a furless puppy.
Isla’s round face scrunched up, jarring his already rapid pulse into the fever zone, and Ford boosted her higher in his arms. “Don’t cry, okay? Because I like your aunt, and she thinks I’m a big strong bada—dude—and I don’t want her to change her mind when she sees I’m scared of a baby.”
Five tiny fingers wrapped around one of his big ones, and a mushy sensation he hadn’t felt before twisted through him.
“Confession time,” he heard, and turned to see Violet rounding the bakery counter. “I don’t think you’re a big strong dude.”
Ford frowned, going over-the-top with hisblasphemyface.
Violet walked up and placed her hand on his arm. “I know you are.” She squeezed his biceps, and his insides turned liquid on him. Apprehension and anticipation made a strange yet strong cocktail, and his gut didn’t know how to process them at the same time.
Isla’s scrunched face returned, flushing red, and she squirmed and let out a wail.
Violet reached over and popped the pacifier in her niece’s mouth. “Were you playing with Ford while I calmed down your mommy?”
A crinkle formed between Isla’s eyebrows, and the pacifier fell out as she began “talking” to Violet.
“At first I thought he was a bit cocky, too. He is, too, but you get used to it. More than that, he’s a fireman-slash-paramedic-slash-search-and-rescue-guy who also trains cute puppies and coaches baseball, so he can totally back up his giant ego.”
“And then some,” Ford added, shooting a grin at the woman at his side. To Isla, he whispered, “For the record, I thought your aunt might be a little off at first, and she’s shown me she can back that up as well.”
