bags, found the diapers and wipes, and held them up like prizes. “Got them!”
Aurelia knelt to lay the baby on the floor.
“Wait. That’s too hard. She’ll hate it.” He grabbed the blankets from the basket, holding his breath as he folded the dirty parts inside and then laid them on the floor. “Put her on that.”
Aurelia placed her on the blankets, and B’s eyes slammed shut with a louder, shriller wail. Her tiny arms shot straight up, hands fisted, and her cry tapered to silence, the same frightening way it had earlier. Ben’s heart stopped. The hell with the poop. He scooped B into his arms and put her on his chest as another cry sounded. Thank God.
“Ben! What are you doing?”
“Change her like this. I don’t want her to stop breathing, and she’s so unhappy. Just do it, please.”
“Then take her in the kitchen in case this stuff drips.”
He followed her into the kitchen, holding B against his hammering heart, floored that his skyrocketing pulse wasn’t due solely to Aurelia traipsing around in a skimpy bra.
As Aurelia peeled off the diaper, Ben pressed his lips to the baby’s head and tried to soothe her. “It’s okay. We’re going to get that nasty diaper off you. Shh, sweetheart. We’ve got you. You’re okay.” As he said the words, he knew they were true. They did have her, and he’d make damn sure she was okay.
“Can you stop bouncing her?” Aurelia asked as she tossed the diaper into the trash.
“I didn’t know I was.”
He stood stock-still, and Aurelia used what seemed like dozens of baby wipes to clean her up.
“Holding her isn’t so hard,” he said. “As long as you support her head. She’s like a floppy doll. How old are babies before they can hold their heads up?” Her tiny fingers clung to him, and his protective urges surged. He pressed his lips to her head again. “We have to watch out for her, Rels. She’s so small, and she has no one else.”
He glanced at Aurelia and realized she was staring at him with a soft, unfamiliar gaze. In the next second the unmistakable look of desire darkened her beautiful eyes. The temperature around them spiked, and she quickly shifted her eyes away. Holy hell. He wanted more of that heat, that connection.
Testing the Ben-and-Aurelia waters, he said, “If I’d known baby poop was a turn-on, I’d have rented a baby.”
“Shut up. All guys look hotter with their strong arms holding a tiny baby.”
“Good to know you like my arms. You should see my—”
She silenced him with another glare, and he chuckled.
“Sorry. I’m making a mental note . . . ‘How to get Aurelia naked. Step one, rent a baby. Step two, make its diaper explode.’”
“No wonder you’re still single. Turn her around so I can get the front.” As he shifted the baby, she said, “We should give her a bath. Did you buy a baby bath?”
“A what?”
“Never mind.” She lifted the baby’s legs as she cleaned her. “There are at least six bags out there. What did you buy?”
“I don’t know. Things I thought she needed,” he said as she tossed the wipes in the trash. He turned the baby toward him again, cradling her bottom and her head as he gently placed her on his chest and shoulder. He realized B had stopped crying and whispered, “Listen. She’s not crying.”
He kissed B’s head again, holding her tiny body against him. Aurelia was looking at him that way again, like he wasn’t her friend Ben but something more. He wanted to pull her into his arms, too, but he was afraid he might lose his grip on the baby. She went to the sink and washed her hands, but not before he noticed a pink flush creeping up her cheeks.
“We did it, Rels. We’ve always made a great team.”
She busied herself washing her hands as she said, “How about we team our way over to the sink for a bath?”
“You want to put her in the sink?” He went to her, and when she turned around, he was right there. He didn’t step back, unwilling to put space between them. Not after that spark he’d seen in her eyes. The flush on her cheeks deepened, probably because she was shirtless and her breast was brushing against the back of his hand, but he’d like to think it was because they were in this crazy situation together, and it was hard not to think of each other in