Page 18 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
Robbie seemed alarmed by this news as he shot Reagan a concerned look before glancing back up at Lily. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Her pulse was pounding in her ears, and she had to fight the urge to take a step back from him to give herself room to breathe.
“Well, we don’t want to keep you from your swim.” He cleared his throat again. “It’s good to meet you. Ah…”
She found her cheeks warming, imagining what he would think of her undercover name. “Don’t laugh, but my name is Summer. It’s a joke for all seasons, especially with the last name Sunshine. I blame my New Age parents.”
“Summer Sunshine,” Billie drawled out in his rough Boston accent as he jumped to his feet. “I couldn’t think of a better name. I’m Billie. That’s Tim, our baby brother, and this here is Reagan. The baby you just soothed is Cassidy. We’re the uncles of these two beautiful little girls. And their dad is my brother, Robbie. He’s divorced, and this is his time with the kids.”
Lily couldn’t help but notice Robbie’s tight smile at the blatant lie.
“We’re here to help,” Billie continued, clearly selling it. “He’s also deeply in need of a vacation, as you can tell. I hope we see you and your friend around.”
She made sure to smile brightly and enjoyed watching Robbie’s eyes darken. “Hard not to run into each other, being next door. Well, I hope Cassidy feels better.”
A sound like mottled gunfire sounded from Cassidy’s diaper. Tim grinned. Billie winced. Robbie’s brows flew to his hairline.
“Well, I said shewouldfeel better…” Lily managed, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
“Acupressure for the win,” Tim said, tipping up Cassidy’s little face. “All you had was a bad case of gas. No more crying now. Right, baby girl?”
“Man, Cassidy, you had a lot of magic inside you, didn’t you?” Reagan asked, patting her tummy soothingly.
Cassidy gave a wide grin at last, drool spilling from her mouth and onto her swimsuit.
An awkward silence descended as the air swam with the smell of rotten eggs. Reagan started gagging and holding her nose, making Cassidy laugh. Billie and Robbie shifted on their bare, sand-covered feet. Embarrassment was so not in their alpha vocabulary, and honestly, Lily could never have imagined a first meeting quite like this one.
Robbie winced after sending her a chagrined smile. “Ah…we’ve got a diaper to change from the smell of it. Again, thanks for your help. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other.”
“Yes, let us know if you need anything,” Billie said, his deep voice playful. “Sugar, milk, eggs. Adult conversation. We’ll need it after another diaper changing.”
That made Summer’s mouth twitch. “I’m sure you’ll be all right. You guys look pretty tough.”
“Some days it’s a mirage,” Robbie joked half-heartedly as he held Cassidy away from his chest.
“You guys are being such babies,” Reagan said with a snort. “It’s just a diaper.”
Robbie looked to be biting the inside of his cheek when he turned back to her. “Any chance you’re a miracle worker with changing diapers too?”
She gave it a momentary thought before dismissing it. She didn’t want to lookthatmaternal. Somehow, she didn’t think it was the right note to set with him. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. If you need a break afterward, you know where to find me and my friend. Good luck.”
She made a strategic retreat, waving as she started walking down the beach in the other direction. Stopping to pick up a seashell, she watched as Robbie strode to the house, the little girl babbling now as she twirled the ends of his hair, wet from his earlier dip in the ocean with her.
From his rigid gait, he clearly wasn’t thrilled to be on diaper duty. All of a sudden, she found herself wondering why he and his ex-wife hadn’t had any kids. Of course there were a million reasons people didn’t have children, whether they couldn’t or didn’t want to, but he was part of a big family. Had that cured him of wanting any of his own? God, she really shouldn’t be thinking about this stuff…
“So we’re babies, huh?” Billie plucked Reagan onto his shoulders, making her cry out in delight and clutch his bald head. “Did your mom pack a gas mask? Because your sister might look all sweet, but she stinks as bad as a Southie garbage truck.”
Reagan held on laughing as Billie started jogging toward the house, catching up to his big brother. Tim followed more slowly, picking up seashells in a way that suggested he was the romantic of the bunch.
Lying back in the sun, Lily wished her mind was on how good the warm sunlight felt on her skin. But all she could think about was how downright adorable Lieutenant O’Connor was when he was joking and looking repulsed at the thought of changing a dirty diaper. She could never have learned that from studying his file. Now she had a fuller picture. He was courageous, honorable, handsome, and funny. And smart. She couldn’t forget smart.
Summer also couldn’t let herself get too attracted to him.
She was, after all, here on a job.
CHAPTERFIVE
Parents neededmobile hazmat teams on call twenty-four seven.
