The Bookworm's Guide to Faking (The Bookworm's Guide #2) - Emma Hart Page 0,64

the cutest sounds I’d ever heard, and I could barely believe they were coming from the same baby who’d just been screaming blue murder.

But she’d stopped.

And thank God.

Because I had no idea what I was doing.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – HOLLEY

rule eighteen: babies should not mix with baseball players. not if you’re trying to keep the fake, fake.

I smiled at Mrs. Holland as she left with a spring in her step and a tote bag full of books slung over her shoulder.

The woman was one of our best customers, but that was probably because it always felt like she was never going to leave.

Today had been no different. Not only had we started off with my favorite game where she explained a plot and I had to figure out what she was talking about, we only had book one in stock. Naturally, she wanted the entire eight-book series, so I had to add them to my order. Then she wanted to know if I had any other books similar to it in stock, and we’d somehow ended up in the gardening section so she could get prepared for spring.

It was almost Thanksgiving.

Usually I didn’t mind. She was harmless and, honestly, we’d all been down those rabbit holes in a bookstore. It just wasn’t all that convenient when I had a needy newborn in the back room.

I locked the door to the store, slid the bolt across, and flipped the sign to say we were closed. If Seb had never held a baby before, there was sure as hell no way he knew what to do with one, so God only knew what was going on in there.

I grabbed my coffee and carried it through to the staff room with me. I opened my mouth to announce myself, but the view through the door made me stop.

Seb was standing in the middle of the room, cradling Tegan, and feeding her a bottle.

In case you didn’t hear that explosion, it was just my ovaries.

No big deal.

One day, I might look back at this very moment and recognize it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The one that meant I was well and truly fucked. That, despite all my best efforts, there was no more running to be done here.

I did have feelings for Sebastian. I needed to figure out what they were, where they’d come from, and if they were merely feelings that needed closure or if they were ones that didn’t want anything of the sort.

Because watching him love on my niece, on a baby I loved more than anything, gripped hold of my heart and twisted it so tightly I felt it in every single beat.

“Lookin’ good, baller.”

He jerked his head up, a smile tugging at his lips as he rocked her. “Shh. You’ll disturb her.”

Oh, my heart.

My ovaries.

My womb.

All of it.

It was all… poof.

“Um,” I said softly. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I think she’s asleep, but Google said I had to burp her.”

I touched my fingertips to my lips and stepped into the room, depositing my cup on the coffee table. “You fed her?”

“Yeah, she wouldn’t settle, so I had to Google.” He pulled the bottle from her mouth slowly and handed it to me. “She’s not wet, she hasn’t shit, and I think she’s too young for teeth. Yeah?”

“Not even close,” I confirmed, fighting a smile.

“So I figured she was hungry. I found a bottle in the fridge, so I put it in hot water like it said and checked the temperature. It might have been a little cold, but I didn’t want to hurt her.”

“You could have just come and gotten me. Mrs. Holland would have come back.”

“No, it’s fine. We figured it out, right, Teegs?”

Tegan’s lips popped as if to confirm they had, indeed, figured it out.

“Do you want me to burp her?” Man, the butterflies in my stomach really had to get lost.

“Hey, no, you don’t get the credit for this. What do I do?”

“Are you sure?” I double-checked. “Think about this for a moment.”

“I’m sure. Now help me.”

“Okay, fine.” If she threw up on him, I was going to laugh so hard. “So you need this.” I took the burp cloth and used it to cover his shoulder. “Then you sort of put her upright, rest her head on your shoulder, and gently pat and rub her back until she burps. Or farts.”

“This is the strangest conversation I’ve ever had.” He did as I’d said, and I couldn’t help but smile