“If you don’t mind, we’ll babysit Toby one night next week. That way, you can either have a night alone at home with Santana or take her out for a meal.” Tapping her fingernails on the fence, she added, “For what it’s worth, I’d go with a night at home alone. Marcus did that for me on our first date, and it was bar none the best one we’ve had.”
“That sounds great.”
Her head snapped around in my direction. “You don’t mind us looking after Toby?”
“I’d be lying if I didn’t feel slightly anxious about it, but I trust you guys with him, so I’m good. If there’s an emergency, we’re right next door anyway.” And wasn’t that the truth. The more I allowed myself to accept help and trusted people with him, the happier I was feeling in general. “Just don’t let your grandmother teach him how to twerk.”
“You’re different.”
I kept my eyes ahead of me as I grinned at the statement. “I think that’s down to Tana.”
“More than likely. Meeting your special person changes life in the best of ways. That’s what Marcus did for me, and it’s what Santana will do for you and Toby. Anyhoo, back to the date—you might get to see if she’s really as hairy as the bathing suit.”
A laugh burst out of me that made the colts stop chasing each other for a moment. “That suit’s fucking awful. What were you thinking?”
“That she’d throw it out,” Addy snorted. “Anyway, you think about that mind-blowing first date and then let me know when you want us to babysit. I’ll catch you later.”
Before I could answer her, she was jogging over to the building that housed our office and the laboratory.
I liked her idea, and I loved the prospect of having time alone with Tana even more. I also needed to get rid of the mental image of her body covered by that fucking suit. Every time I dreamed of her, I’d get as far as undressing her and kissing down her stomach, then I’d look up and see man tits covered in hair and wake up on a yell. It was getting to the point I was wondering if I needed therapy. It’d been weeks since man-tit-gate had happened, and it was still affecting me.
Shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans, I made my way back to the stable, stopping when I saw Tana sitting on the grass with Toby. He was on his hands and knees and was this close to crawling for the first time. He’d turned nine months three days ago, and I had no idea if this was delayed, on time, or early.
The books all said every baby was different and that it was possible for them to crawl from eight or nine months, but they never said it was the standard age, which frustrated me. I needed people to be specific, so I could gauge if I needed to get him looked at by a doctor or get some advice on how to fix the problem. Would it kill the people writing the books to give parents that peace of mind?
Glancing over her shoulder at me, Tana put a finger to her lips, indicating for me to stay quiet, and then waved me over to them.
As I got closer, I heard her say softly, “You can do it, Bub. Just move your knees one at a time and use your hands to keep your balance.”
It was unlikely that the words made him do it, but sure as shit, one knee went forward, knocking into his hand and making him move it, and then the other knee did the same. Slowly but surely, Toby crawled three feet away from where he’d initially been, giggling at Wrecker, who was crouched down with his butt in the air, growling at a daisy.
“He’s really doing it,” Tana breathed, her phone in front of her recording the moment. “I’m so relieved you’re here to see it instead of having to watch this video.”
I’d crouched down behind her, and when I turned my head to meet her eyes, our noses skimmed each other. I don’t know if it was the shock of the proximity that made us stop, but I could feel the puffs of her breaths against my lips as I stared into her eyes.
My DNA was a mix of Spanish, Brazilian, American, and Belarusian, meaning I had an olive skin tone, dark hair, and eyes that couldn’t figure out what color they wanted to be. Tobe had inherited that from me instead of his mom’s fairer complexion. But Tana? She had mahogany colored hair that hit mid-back, eyes that reminded me of the perfect mix of coffee and creamer, and her complexion was a stark contrast to mine. She never burned under the Floridian sun, but she got more freckles when she’d been out in it for a while.