unusually hard place to rest my head, but that didn’t stop me from invading his personal space and using him for my own personal enjoyment.
Wait. That came out wrong.
I clear my throat, my eyes dropping to his chest. Oliver is there, wide awake and trying to eat his fist. “Hey,” I coo, reaching over and stroking his cheek.
“Little man here woke up pissed at the world. A quick diaper change and some steak and eggs in a bottle took care of that. He dozed for a few minutes while I burped him, but he’s been wide awake for about twenty minutes or so.”
Stretching and glancing around, I try to forget about the way his strong arm felt against my cheek. “I can’t believe I didn’t hear him.”
“Me either, honestly. He was not very happy until I got him changed and out of his carrier. He’s been content as hell just hanging out here on my chest,” Mack says, glancing down and smiling. “I’m gonna piss him off again, though. We’re getting ready to land, so I’m gonna have to put him in his seat.”
Mack moves Oliver from his chest to the carrier seat, carefully and slowly. Even though it hasn’t been two weeks since the baby came to live with his father, Mack definitely appears more at ease with handling the child. It shows with how quickly he gets him into position within the seat and the harness secured and tightened.
Over the next few minutes, we land in Ohio and taxi to our gate. An attendant meets us at the door to help us disembark and collect our belongings. I feel guilty with the quantity of bags we brought, especially when most of it belongs to the baby, but Mack and I wanted to be prepared for anything. This is our first outing with a one-month-old, and while we may have overpacked, it all felt necessary at the time.
We’re loaded up into two awaiting SUVs. Mack, Oliver, and I pile into the second vehicle, along with the suit from the head office. We follow behind the other car and are taken to a hotel next to the racetrack. I’ve never been to Mid-Ohio, so I’m eager to take in everything around me. I’m actually itching to pull out my camera. There are people loitering the sidewalks, and the sun is peeking over the buildings, casting shadows on the street. The natural light is absolutely perfect right now.
“You coming with us?” Mack says, standing beside his open door, a grin spreading across his face.
A quick look around shows we’ve already parked in front of the hotel, everyone else already filed out. “Oh.” I reach for my handle and step outside. The summer air is warm, but not too bad. It’s actually great racing weather.
“Let me guess, taking photos in your mind?” Mack asks, as he releases the carrier from the seat belt and stretches the sun visor over Oliver’s head.
“Guilty,” I reply, ducking my head as my cheeks turn pink. I don’t know why I’m suddenly blushing, but I am. Maybe it’s because he just reminded me how well he once knew me—or still knows me, apparently.
“Maybe later we can take a walk around and you can snap a few pictures,” he offers, grabbing the diaper bag and shutting the vehicle door. “Come on, let’s get inside.”
“Do you want me to grab anything?” I ask, making sure I have my small carry-on with my camera.
“No, valet will bring it up to our room,” he tells me, leading the way into the hotel. I spy Colton and the suit heading our way from the front counter, the hotel clerk clearly very happy she just took care of the Colton Donavan. In fact, she’s already got her cell phone out and snatching a photo of his backside, completely oblivious to his wife and son standing right there by him.
“You’re in twelve ten,” Colton says, handing a keycard to Mack.
“Thanks,” he replies as the boss hands out the rest of the cards and then leads us all to the bank of elevators.
We all get off on the same floor and head to our respective rooms. I follow behind Mack and stop when we get to the door. He turns to me, a look of concern on his gorgeous face. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told Colton we’d be fine sharing a room. I didn’t want him to have to pay for two. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, I’ll get you a