her pan back anyway.”
Diesel looked momentarily panicked. “Oh, I uh… couldn’t return it empty. That’s bad manners.”
“Of course you can!”
“No,” Diesel insisted. He looked deeply uncomfortable, which was both cute and weird. “I’ll get it back to you later.”
“If you’re sure—”
I broke off as Marigold sent up another splash, this one big enough to drench the whole front of me.
“Oh, sh… ugar,” I said, looking down at my dress shirt. I’d avoided the worst of the coffee stains from holding Marigold earlier, but this splash had been a full-frontal assault because the water level in the sink was so high. “Gah! Pro tip: don’t leave the tap running when you add more bubbles.”
Diesel snorted. “Noted.” He grabbed a clean towel from the drawer by the sink and started to mop the bubble-water off my chest with slow strokes that felt so good I made myself grab the towel and turn away.
“It’s good to make the bath part of her nighttime routine,” I babbled nervously. “A bath, then some of that lavender lotion, then jammie time, then read her a book. Even if she doesn’t pay attention, it’s good to get her in the habit. Then hopefully she’ll be ready to conk out.”
Diesel blew out a breath that hit the side of my neck and sent shivers down my back. “You’re like the Baby Whisperer.”
“Me? Nah—”
“You don’t even know how amazing you are, hon—er, Parrish. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never learn it all. Like, the other day when you came over, and she started crying after her nap. She cries every time she wakes up and I’m not there, so I usually walk in, stop in the kitchen to wash my hands, then go get her. But you somehow knew to go running.” He shook his head. “It’s like you’re psychic.”
I frowned, thinking back. “Well, that was a panicked cry, as opposed to her lonely cry, as opposed to her hungry cry. And pretty soon, if she hasn’t already, she’ll add in a pissed-off cry when you take away the shiny, pretty dangerous objects she wants to play with. It’s not magic. You’ll learn which cries are real,” I assured him.
“You know, I always figured I wasn’t cut out for kids, that it was a lifelong commitment to stress and worry. I never bought into the idea before.” He brushed back one of Marigold’s curls.
Chalk up another way Diesel and I were wholly and dramatically incompatible. I was the king of commitment.
“What about you? You ever thought about having kids of your own?”
“Me?” I shrugged. I’d always known I wanted children, even back when I’d thought being gay meant I wouldn’t be able to have them, but it felt weird to admit that. Like it might make Diesel realize just how desperately I wished this fake relationship were real.
“Parrish, if we’re gonna pull this off, we need to know more about each other, don’t you think?” he prompted.
I looked up at him again. “To make things convincing?” I asked softly. “Like with the flirting?”
“No! Or… that too, I guess.” He shrugged. “I just find you interesting.”
I shook my head. “I already agreed to do this, Diesel.” There was no need for him to butter me up by feeding me lines, especially unbelievable ones like that. I was in this for the long haul.
“I’m not asking for deep secrets,” he wheedled. “Just simple stuff, in case someone asks. Like, what’s your middle name?”
I frowned. I couldn’t imagine anyone quizzing us on these things, but what did I know? “Flynn. It was my mother’s maiden name.”
“Parrish Flynn Partridge,” Diesel said with satisfaction. “I like it.”
That should not have felt like a compliment since I hadn’t exactly picked it myself, but it felt good anyway. “What’s yours, then?”
“Mine?” He frowned and double-blinked, like he hadn’t thought forward to the part where he’d have to reciprocate and answer silly questions too. “Montgomery.”
“Really? Diesel Montgomery Church?” Okay, that was adorable. “Is that a family name too?”
“Oh. Uh. No. It was where my mom was waiting tables when my dad came along and knocked her up?” He swallowed so loud I could hear it. “And my first name isn’t Diesel, it’s actually Edwin. And… you know what? You’re right. Maybe sharing info was a stupid idea.”
Ah, shit. The only thing more irresistible than teasing, flirty Diesel Church was Diesel Church with that uncertain look in his eyes and that pucker on his forehead that made me want to kiss it away. I’d never felt this much