Page 4 of A Date with Fate

Carlie’s eyes looked suspiciously damp. “Are you sure? I would love to shower off the latest round of spit-up.”

She moved towards me, and I waited, pretending that I was completely okay with the situation. I loved babies—or at least the idea of babies—but as none of my brothers had bothered to actually settle down and give me nieces or nephews, my experience was quite limited.

I knew babies liked to be walked and rocked. I would start there.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. Hand him over.”

Carlie held the baby out, and with careful fingers, I slid my grip around his tiny body. Hayden was thoroughly bundled, so it felt a whole hell of a lot like snagging an enormous baby burrito from Carlie. But I refrained from saying that. I didn't think she would really like to hear me comparing her son to an entree.

“I’ve got him,” I told Carlie, stepping back with the baby tight in my arms. I hoped she couldn’t tell how much I was shaking as I did. But the only thing I saw on her face was relief and a little excitement as she clapped her hands together once.

“You look great with him,” she whispered, backing away. I wasn't sure if it was a real compliment or the relief of being able to shower that provoked the words. But either way, I practically preened.

“I've got him,” I said again, confidence growing.

She dashed away, her robe a blur of fleece as she disappeared from the room.

Alone, the baby and I stared at each other. “Why don't you want to go to sleep? Seems like a sweet gig to me. Sleep all day, sleep all night, catered meals…”

The baby didn’t respond, but I could see the slow crinkle of Hayden’s forehead. Deep in my stomach, I knew something was about to go down.

“No, no, no,” I whispered to the baby. “Don’t do that. We were just getting to know each other.”

Sure enough, he began to fuss, pulling his arms free of the swaddle and waving them wildly, as if each movement further woke him up.

Oh no, I chanted internally, realizing that I hadn't been moving. Babies liked walking, so I set off on my first lap around the living room. We stopped for a moment to look at the electronic frame on a bookshelf and then by the window looking down onto the streets of Chicago, but other than that, we kept moving on.

Every time I even considered slowing down, his little face would curl up in dislike.

“You’re a hard man to please, little buddy,” I remarked out loud after lap ten or so. At the sound of my voice, his gummy mouth opened and he gurgled at me.

“He likes you,” a soft voice said from the other side of the room.

My heart leaped in my chest, surprised by Taylor’s appearance, but Hayden didn’t seem to mind. “He likes walking.”

Taylor chuckled, the sound making my belly tighten as I wandered slowly across to her. To my surprise, her hands moved up, almost defensively, as I got closer. “No, don’t do that. He doesn’t like me at all.”

I grinned at her but kept moving, doing a small circle around her. “How do you know that? You just met him a few hours ago.”

Taylor’s brow lifted. “Trust me, I know.”

I cringed a little as my forearm cramped. I switched my grip around, moving Hayden to my other arm. “Screamed at you, did he?”

Taylor moved closer, convinced I wasn’t going to hand her the baby anymore. Interesting reaction, I noted, tucking the swaddle back around Hayden’s shoulders.

“My recent experience is that most men either scream at me or run from me.” Taylor wiggled her finger above Hayden’s face for a moment, watching as the baby's eyes failed to track the movement.

“Well, Hayden and I are different.”

Her eyes leapt to mine, wide with surprise. Then slowly she blinked and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at her feet.

I got closer. “Technically, we are running around you.”

I heard a soft laugh but didn’t look back at Taylor. The baby in my arms fussed again, and even while I moved around the room, nothing seemed to work. “Looks like my charms have worn off,” I murmured, panic making my words rushed.

Taylor moved back to my side instantly. “Logan said he loves skin on skin contact. Just drop his swaddle a little and let him lie against you.”

---