The Curve Ball - Samantha Lind Page 0,36

I don’t want the noise of the ice maker going off to alert JJ of my presence. I quickly add the ice and then close the door and just about jump out of my clothes when I see JJ standing at the doorway, leaning against the frame as he takes me in.

“Fuck, you scared me!” I yelp, smacking my hand against my chest and about dropping my water bottle.

“Sorry,” he says, not that I believe him one bit. The desire that is written all over his face is unmistakable, even in the darkness. The only light that fills the room is the small night light coming from the few under-cabinet lights that get left on overnight.

I go back to filling my water bottle up, then secure the lid once it’s full. “Just needed some water before bed,” I finally tell him, attempting to break the awkward silence.

“Did you have a relaxing bath?” he asks, a smirk still painting his lips.

“Ho-how did you know I took a bath?” I ask, confused about his knowledge of what I did. The thought hits me about everything that I did in that tub and can feel my cheeks heat in a blush. Does he know I made myself come thinking about him?

“I could hear the water running,” he says, and I blow out a huge breath.

“Oh,” I say, so quietly, I’m not even sure if he could hear me with the distance that is still between us. “It was relaxing,” I finally tell him, realizing I never answered his question.

“I’m glad. You were a little tense, there, before you went into your room,” he says, bringing my attention back to that moment.

I don’t know what to say, so I just nod my head up and down as I stare in his direction. I can feel the heat start to leave my cheeks. Before either one of us can say anything else, Evie cries out, saving me from this awkward moment. “I’d better go get her,” I say, escaping past JJ and down the hall.

I enter Evie’s room, heading straight for the crib. I pick her up, soothing her as I attempt to soothe myself. My heart is beating fast after that encounter with JJ in the kitchen. I don’t know what’s going to happen between the two of us, but I can’t deal with any of that right now. Right now, this little girl needs my attention.

I lay her down on the changing table and quickly take care of her wet diaper. She feels a little warm to the touch, so once I’ve got her zipped back into her sleeper, I snag the thermometer from one of the bins on the table and swipe it over her forehead. As I figured, she’s running a little warm, so I grab the baby Tylenol and bring it with me out to the kitchen. JJ has retreated to the living room where he’s sitting on the couch watching something on TV, sounds like some sports channel recapping things that happened today in the sports world.

I make quick work of mixing up a bottle for Miss Evie. Once it is ready, I take it, along with the medicine, and head for the living room. I sit down on one of the recliner chairs, placing Evie, so she’s facing me, propped up on my legs. She’s not fussing right now as she looks around the room. That gives me the chance to read the bottle of medicine so I can see how much she needs. I open the package and measure it out, I lightly pinch her lips, making it look like she’s got fish lips, then squirt it into her mouth, aiming for her cheek.

“What are you doing?” JJ asks.

“She’s running a low-grade fever, so I’m giving her something for it,” I tell him.

“What was that with her face?”

“Oh, just a trick to getting the medicine in her mouth and actually down. If she’d spit it out, it would have made a mess, but also, then it is hard to determine if she actually got any and, if so, how much. You have to be careful not to overdose a baby with this stuff. With a small body, too much Tylenol at once can cause damage to her kidneys.”

“Good to know,” he states. “So, you just pinch her cheeks?”

“Basically. Just make them look like fish lips,” I explain, stopping and showing him with my own. “Then you can slip the little dropper into her mouth and squirt it