Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,38
her, Bodhi gazed over her shoulder, stone-faced as always.
“Ben!” Bridgette said. “You have a baby! I call dibs holding her Sunday night!”
She ran through the twenty-questions game, and afterward Ben handed the phone to Willow and cradled B in his arms, thankful to have her back.
As Bridgette oohed and ahhed, Bodhi said, “If this yoga girl isn’t her mother, you should call my buddy Mason Swift. We worked together at Darkbird. He’s done bounty hunting, and he’s a PI. There’s no one he can’t track down.” After several years in the Special Forces, Bodhi had worked for Darkbird, a civilian company hired to carry out dangerous covert rescue missions. But after falling in love with Bridgette and Louie, he’d taken a job strategizing and training rescuers one week per month, with no chance of being sent away or risking his life. Bodhi’s mother owned a flower shop in New York City, and he’d learned all there was to know about the business. When he wasn’t training, he helped Bridgette run their flower shop.
Bodhi gave Mason’s phone number to Ben and said, “He lives in New York City.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate this.”
“Hey, Bridge, in other headline news,” Piper announced, “Ben and Aurelia are sleeping together.”
“What?” Bridgette squealed, and Bodhi treated them to a rare laugh.
“Piper! I hate you so much right now,” Aurelia said, her cheeks turned crimson again. “We haven’t slept together.”
“Seriously?” Piper looked confused. “Baby-making Ben didn’t try to—”
“Enough!” Ben snapped. He handed the baby to Aurelia and said, “Bridge, Bodhi, enjoy the rest of your honeymoon.” He grabbed Piper’s arm and hauled her toward the door. “Outside. Now.”
“What the hell?” Piper jerked her arm from his grasp.
“What’s between me and Aurelia isn’t up for commentary. And no jokes about B, either. This is a stressful time for all of us, and I don’t need you making Aurelia self-conscious. She has enough to deal with right now. Got it?” She opened her mouth to speak, and he said, “Don’t start. Every time your mouth opens, trouble comes out.”
Piper smirked.
“Come on, let’s get the baby stuff inside. What do I owe you?”
She narrowed her eyes and said, “A date with Fletch.”
“Have you lost your mind?” he asked as they descended the stairs. “Not only is Fletch one of Talia’s best friends, but I’m not in the matchmaking business. Besides, if I set you up with Fletch I’ll have Harley breathing down my neck. No, thank you.” Ryan “Fletch” Fletcher and Harley Dutch were both friends of Ben’s, and he wasn’t about to get between them. Harley owned a pub in Sweetwater where everyone, including Fletch, hung out, and he’d had his eyes on Piper for years, though she didn’t seem interested.
“Harley, the muff marauder?”
Ben glared at her.
“We all remember the name Heaven Love gave him in high school. He might be hung like a horse, but I worry he’s all kitten on the inside.” She laughed. “Now Fletch, he seems like he’d be naughty in the bedroom. And those glasses? They give him a little extra something, don’t you think?”
“Piper, stop. Why can’t you get your own dates?”
“I can, mostly, but I’m told I’m too intimidating. God forbid a woman knows what she wants in the bedroom.”
“I don’t want to hear this.”
She grabbed the stroller from the back of her truck and said, “If you’re against Fletch, how about Aiden? That man’s hiding something. He screams Fifty Shades Red Room to me. Don’t you think?”
Ben shook his head as he grabbed the baby swing box. “No, and I wish I could erase the last two minutes with you from my memory.”
After breakfast Ben spent almost an hour giving Piper instructions about how to care for B. Aurelia had to admit, seeing Ben so protective over a baby that might not even be his was a definite turn-on. He acted as if he’d been taking care of B his whole life. But on the way to the yoga instructor’s house, Ben stared straight ahead, with a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, bringing reality back into focus. Aurelia had initially thought she could do this because Ben was her best friend. He’d been there for her so many times, so she was returning the favor. But now he was her boyfriend, and it was like a switch had flipped inside her head. She was about to see a woman with whom he’d not only had sex, but might have also created a baby.