The thought had never occurred to Gia, but now that it was out there . . .
Her gaze zapped straight to Mike’s. The man would make the most gorgeous babies. She felt a strange and wonderous heat besiege her womb. Overwhelmed, she shook her head. This was too much.
Baby Logan tuned up quick, going from finicky whimper to full-on, I’m-not-happy wail in under sixty seconds. Sighing, Anna pushed up the three-quarter sleeves of her frock and headed for her son.
Mike put up a palm. “Let me. You need a break, sis.”
Anna looked surprised but nodded. “Have at it.”
Mike lifted the crying, squirming baby from the stroller. “Hey there, that’s a pretty big noise for one little guy.”
The small child cradled in the sexy carpenter’s big, work-toned arms tugged at something deep inside Gia. A longing she’d never known was there.
Logan’s small face was screwed up tight, tears springing from his eyes as he smacked his gums together.
“Let me find his teething ring.” Anna rummaged through the stroller, pushing aside the baby blanket. When she didn’t find what she was searching for there, she turned to the diaper bag strapped to the back of the stroller. Took out diapers, a bottle of milk, another blanket, her purse . . . “Oh no! He must have dropped his teething ring somewhere on the boardwalk.”
Logan was crying so loudly that passersby paused to gawk.
Anna offered up a vague, harried smile as she continued to hunt for the missing teething ring.
“Shh, shh, boy-o.” Mike bounced the baby in his arms and blew raspberries to get his attention. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Instantly, Logan quieted, his eyes rounding as he stared at his uncle.
“Bet you don’t even remember me, do you?” Mike cooed, a tinge of wistfulness in his voice. “Since I was gone so long. But I missed you, boy-o. So, so much.”
Aww. Gia melted. Slick butter in the hot sun.
Logan bumped his gums together harder and shivered, his face screwing up for a fresh round of tears. He sobbed and rubbed his little fists against his mouth.
“Your toothies hurting bad, huh?” Mike sounded completely besotted with his nephew.
Anna was still fumbling through the diaper bag, hands flying every which way as she muttered, “I can’t believe I only brought one.”
Unflustered by the racket, Mike offered up the knuckle of his index finger for baby Logan to gum and immediately the child soothed, giving a happy smile. “Is that better, tough guy?”
Logan clasped his small hands around Mike’s wrist, holding on for dear life.
“He’s got a strong bite. I feel like I hooked a catfish.” Mike chuckled. “I can’t wait until he’s old enough to take fishing.”
Awed, Gia stared at him. The guy had a way with babies. Who knew? But Mike could charm the birds from the sky without ever trying. Even babies fell hard for the guy.
Is that what I’m doing? Gia wondered. Falling for him? A fizzy thrill passed through her, as crazy as it was powerful.
“Found one!” Looking beleaguered, Anna straightened, her hair falling messily back into place after she’d been almost upside down in her hunt for the teething ring. Triumphant, she held up the ring, saw it had a bit of blanket fuzz on it, and plucked that off. “I’ll swap this out with your knuckle before he gnaws it to a stub.”
Mike eased his knuckle from the baby’s mouth and his mom stuck the teething ring between Logan’s gums.
“Thanks,” Anna said, combing a hand through her lush red curls. “You are going to make the best father ever.”
For realz, Gia thought.
“Better than Kevin?” Mike teased.
“Kevin is a great dad,” Anna said. “But you’re far more patient. More patient than me even.”
“That’s only because I don’t have to parent twenty-four, seven. You’re a wonderful mother, Anna, and don’t you forget it.”
“Okay, flattery will get you everywhere. You’re officially off the hook for not telling me about your engagement right away.” Laughing, Anna reached to take her son.
Grinning, Mike handed her the baby.
“I can’t wait for you to experience fatherhood for yourself.” Anna winked at Gia.
“Fatherhood?” Mike gulped visibly.
“Not that I’m putting pressure on you or anything.” Anna chuckled. “But Logan sure could use a playmate close to his age. While Allie loves him to pieces, she gets bored with him pretty quickly.”
“Cool it, big sister,” Mike said. “We’re a long way off from having kids.”
Yes, especially since we aren’t really engaged.
“It’ll be the best thing that ever happens to you,” Anna