Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,64
lined up, but I can hold her while I do them if she’s awake.” She kicked her feet up on the coffee table and bent her knees, repositioning Bea on her legs. “Right, sweet pea? Daddy needs to go to his meeting and stop worrying.”
“I have that meeting with Aiden Wednesday.”
“I know. We’re fine, Ben, today and Wednesday. You’ll have her when you don’t have meetings, and that’ll give me time to give my undivided attention to the bookstore.”
He sat down beside her, and she dragged her eyes appreciatively down his chest and said, “I love you in Armani.” Turning her attention back to the baby, she said, “But we love Daddy in anything, don’t we? Mostly naked, though.” She’d whispered naked. “One day I won’t be able to say that in front of her.”
“But I hope you’ll never stop thinking it.” He turned her face and kissed her deeply. “Rels, I’ve been thinking. Let’s stay here during the week. You need to be able to go up and down to your shop, and I can work from your apartment just as easily as I can work from my office.”
“Fine with me.”
Bea took hold of Aurelia’s finger, and Aurelia made kissing noises. Bea’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a smile. An honest-to-goodness smile!
“Did you see that, Rels? She smiled!”
Aurelia laughed. “That’s because she’s the smartest, cutest baby girl on earth.”
“Make her do it again,” Ben urged.
They spent the next fifteen minutes making kissy faces and soaking in all of Bea’s adorable smiles.
“Remember what the books said? She might be too young to smile,” Aurelia said between kissy faces. “These are probably reflex smiles, but you know what that means?”
Ben hugged her against his side, overflowing with love. “That she has the best reflexes on earth?”
“Exactly!”
“There’s no way her smiles are caused by reflexes. Not when her little arms flap like an excited bird. I can’t leave you guys,” he said, feeling too torn to walk out the door. “How can I go all the way into the city, focus on my meeting with Mason, and then drive all the way back? I’ll be gone all day. I’ll miss so much with Bea, and I’ll miss both of you like crazy.”
“You have to find her mother, Ben. Bea will be doing all of this when you get back.”
He groaned. “If you’re wrong, there’ll be hell to pay.” He gave her a chaste kiss, and then he kissed Bea and said, “Be good for Relsy.” He pushed to his feet. “She’ll probably be crawling around by the time I get back.”
Aurelia laughed. “Don’t forget to take the letter that we found with her. I put it by your keys this morning. Did you grab it?”
“Yeah, I did. Thank you again for being with me in this.”
“I think you should thank me for the years I was with you before this. Bea’s an adorable incentive, and you know I love her, but never forget it was always you first, Benny boy.”
Ben carried her words with him on the long drive into the city. He’d expected to experience at least a modicum of relief at having an ounce of freedom from his new, ever-present responsibilities, but as he drove, he longed to be with Aurelia and Bea. He cranked the music, driving faster than he should, reaching for the feelings of invincibility and adventure that had propelled him through thirty-plus years of life. But as he flew down the highway, what went through his mind wasn’t excitement at having breathing room. Nope. He couldn’t shake the knowledge that he was being foolish and irresponsible. What if he got into an accident? His attorney was still drawing up the papers to have him declared as Bea’s father. What would happen to her if something happened to him? Would she be taken away from Aurelia? Would Aurelia want her without Ben?
His chest knotted at the thought.
He knew she would want Bea, but the idea of Aurelia shouldering that responsibility alone was too much to bear. He eased his foot from the gas pedal and felt the knots in his chest loosen. Pushing away the notion that he should grab the stars of freedom, which he no longer wanted, he focused on the road and his upcoming meeting with Mason.
By the time he arrived, he was more determined than ever to find Bea’s mother.
He sat across from Mason Swift after giving him the details he could remember about Caroline, studying the man who was as