Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,18
to side. His flannel pajama pants hung off her petite frame, and his shirt hung nearly to her knees. She had no idea that her hands cinching the shirt at her waist made the outline of her breasts and nipples prominent.
“Bet this is a turn-on, huh?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“You have no fucking idea.”
“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes as she pulled off his flannel pants and tugged on her jeans. Even though she was completely covered by his shirt, seeing that flash of bare legs made his cock twitch. He vowed right then and there, if Baby B wasn’t his, the hell with Aurelia’s fresh start. He was going to tell her how he felt. That determination came with a jolt of unexpected discontent as his eyes shifted to the sweet little girl sleeping on his chest. Fuck. He didn’t want to wish her away as he had when they’d first found her, at least not with the vehemence he had yesterday.
“I forgot to throw the clothes in the dryer last night,” Aurelia said. “I’ll throw them in before I leave.” She knotted his shirt above her belly button.
Damn. With a flash of her taut stomach, she was even more tempting. He knew exactly what he wanted for breakfast, and it sure as hell wasn’t at the bakery. He wasn’t about to let her leave looking that hot for some other guy to enjoy.
“Aren’t you missing something?” he practically growled.
“What?” She sat down to put on her sneakers, and he eyed her bra, sitting on her purse by her feet. She followed his gaze and laughed. “The bakery isn’t open yet. Only Willow and Piper will be there, and they’ve seen me without a bra.”
Willow got to the bakery between four thirty and five every morning to prepare for the morning rush, and Ben’s sisters and Aurelia often hung out with her before going to work. Now that Aurelia was living in Harmony Pointe, he knew she hardly ever got a chance to hang out with them in the mornings. Talia and her fiancé, Derek, were also living in Harmony Pointe, and Talia no longer joined them, either.
He glanced at the clock on the wall, relieved that it was only six fifteen. “Please don’t mention B to them.”
“You were serious about that? You know they’d help you. What are you worried about?”
He sat up, holding B against his chest and speaking quietly. “It’s too complicated. I feel like a dick for not knowing the name of the woman in LA or the last name of the yoga girl, and the last thing I need is my sisters all over my case. It sucks enough that I had to admit all that to you.”
A flash of pain washed over her face, and just as quickly it disappeared and she said, “You think they’ve never hooked up with a guy they didn’t put through a thorough interview first?” She smiled and shook her head. “Listen, Benny boy. You may not want to think about your sisters doing that, but girls do hook up with guys. We’re no different from you.”
He scowled. “I don’t want to think about them or you hooking up with random guys, and before they get excited or irritated at the idea of B, I want to be sure she’s mine. Is that too much to ask?”
“Of course not. You know I’d never say anything behind your back.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Rels.”
“I have to go brush my teeth,” she said, heading for the stairs. “I wish I had deodorant.”
“Just use mine.”
“And get your cooties?” she said as she headed for the stairs.
“I’ll give you a hell of a lot more than cooties,” he mumbled.
He pressed a kiss to B’s head and whispered, “She’s really something, isn’t she, peanut?”
He thought about the two women they needed to locate and how hard it must have been to leave such a tiny baby. How could a woman go through an entire pregnancy, give birth, care for this sweet girl for weeks, and then abandon her? He couldn’t fathom leaving her. He was getting attached after only one day. She must have been desperate. Or in trouble.
Aurelia came downstairs looking tired, though she was smiling.
“Take my truck. It’s parked behind your car in the driveway,” he said. “The keys are on the table.”
“Okay. I’ll help you clean up when I get back. Any special requests from the bakery?”