Page 9 of Tru Blue
“I’ll be extra careful,” she assured him.
When he set the baby in her arms, the familiar longing reared its needy head. And when she got a whiff of Lincoln’s sweet baby scent, it soothed that ache. Truman’s hands cradled her forearms as the baby settled into them, and Gemma checked out his tattoos. Why were they all blue? And what did they mean? She’d never been interested in men with tattoos or guys who were hard. Truman was a mysterious mix of many things, and because of that he came across as a little dangerous, but there also was something genuinely tender about him that made Gemma’s heart beat faster.
He made quick work of unloading the bags into the back of the truck and unboxing the car seats, his muscles flexing and bulging with his efforts. Since Kennedy was sleeping on the passenger side, he carried the baby seat around to the driver’s side and set it in the middle of the bench seat.
“You should really put that in the backseat. He’ll be safest there.”
“The back? What if he chokes or something?” He lowered his voice, glancing at Kennedy, still fast asleep on the passenger seat. “I won’t be able to see him. I’d rather have him up front.”
“Then you have to turn off the airbags. Infant car seats are made to only face backwards. You have to hook in the base with the seatbelt, and then the bucket snaps into it.” His perplexed expression told her he had no idea what she meant. “Here. Hold Lincoln and I’ll show you.”
He took the baby from her and watched as she climbed into the truck and proceeded to give him instructions on turning off the airbags once the truck was started, and hooking the base to the infant seat in place. She knelt on it and tightened the belt. “You have to make sure it’s secure.”
She shifted into the driver’s seat and he stretched across her lap and carefully set Lincoln in the car seat. His arm brushed her breasts, sending heat coursing through her body, but he was so focused on the baby she didn’t think he noticed.
He turned and smiled, bringing their faces so close she could feel his breath. She drank in his handsome features, seeing past his wild scruff. His cheekbones were chiseled and strong. His lips were a darker pink than most and bowed in a way that made her want to kiss them. His eyes swept over her face with an expression of concern—for the baby. As it should be.
“Can you show me how to hook him in?”
“Um, yeah. Sure.” Let me just reel in these crazy hormones. She showed him how to hook the belts and secure the baby, then turned to climb out of the truck, and he was right there.
His thick arms stretched over his head, his hands resting on the frame of the truck, blocking her exit, and those piercing blue eyes locked on her. Her pulse skyrocketed.
“You know a lot about babies.”
She breathed a little harder. “I’m a woman. We know things.”
His eyes searched hers for what felt like a very long time, and then he cleared his throat and turned away, leaving her with heart palpitations. She watched him circle the truck and lift Kennedy into his arms, settling her against one shoulder as he retrieved the other car seat and set it in the truck.
Realizing he probably didn’t know how to secure that seat either, she hurried after him. “Here, let me.”
She climbed onto the runner so she could reach over the car seat and buckle the seat belt, and felt his very large, very hot hand press against her lower back. She bit her lower lip, equally turned on by his touch and nervous that he really could be dangerous. Dangerously loving toward these babies. Okay, I’m going with turned on.
And maybe a little nervous.
He peered around her as she secured the car seat into place and explained the steps to safely buckle Kennedy into it. When she turned to step down, he wrapped one thick arm around her waist, lifting her from the runner. For the briefest of seconds she felt all his hard muscles pressed against her, and her body flooded with heat again. He set her on her feet and placed Kennedy into the car seat, completely oblivious to the sparks he’d ignited.
How is that even possible?
He closed the truck door and grabbed her bags from the cart, glancing around the parking lot. “Where are you parked?” His eyes landed on her Honda Accord, parked two rows away beneath a streetlight. “Oh, man. Someone got sideswiped.”
