“Okay.” In one word he managed to convey that he was both confused and amused by her explanation.
She wanted to shake herself silly. She didn’t need to explain herself to him. She was a CPA. A professional. She wasn’t Cinderella, tongue-tied with the prince.
And he wasn’t Prince Charming. The prince she remembered from her storybooks would have picked up on the fact that she and Joshua had had a difficult night. He would have been concerned. Dominic should be concerned.
She stepped into his space again, angry that he’d missed the obvious. “The baby had a little trouble adjusting.”
The light in Dominic’s eyes softened. “I don’t doubt it. Poor kid.”
Okay. Sympathy. That was good. He wasn’t totally indifferent. He had probably just missed her first mention of the baby having a long night. Or maybe he hadn’t understood it. “Anyway, now that you’re here, you can relieve Joyce.”
His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Relieve Joyce?”
“Take Joshua from her.”
“Can’t. I have an informal business meeting at the club.”
“But—”
“But nothing. I thought we went over this last night. This is why I hired you.”
A voice inside her head told her to back off. She’d had a rough night and very little sleep, and he obviously had plans. Plans that were probably made long before he got the baby. Plus, pushing him into spending time with Joshua wasn’t really her business.
The opposing voice told her it might not be her business, but Joshua was his child now and she couldn’t bear to think of the baby living life without love, being kissed by servants, ignored by his family.
She listened to the second voice.
“Yes, we did go over this last night, and I thought you understood that you’re Joshua’s primary love giver.”
To her complete amazement, he looked at his watch as if what she’d said was of little consequence. “Can we finish this later?”
She drew in a disbelieving breath. “No! Dominic, at some point—”
He brushed past her. “I’m late. We’ll talk when I get home.”
Stepping into the backseat of his car, Dominic wished he hadn’t called for his driver. Audra had made him so angry that he desperately wanted to slam a door. Now he couldn’t.
Didn’t she realize how hard this was for him? Didn’t she see how much responsibility and work had already been thrust upon him? Didn’t she understand he had so much to do that he was barely treading water? Didn’t she own a real pair of pajamas?
The car door clicked shut behind him. His driver slid behind the steering wheel and Dominic burst out laughing. She was annoying, persistent, ill-informed—and so adorable he had wanted to flirt with her until she couldn’t resist him. But she was also right. No matter how busy he was, he had a child to raise.
He had to get involved in Joshua’s life, but as soon as he thought of spending time with him, he froze. He had absolutely no idea what to do with a baby. Worse, Peter was the strong, smart one. The one who should serve as Joshua’s example. It didn’t seem fair that Peter’s little boy was stuck with second best. The guy who wasn’t even sure how to hold him properly was the one who would teach him about life.
But Dominic knew the world wasn’t always fair. Like it or not, he had to be more than a dad in name only. Maybe instead of teasing Audra, flirting with her or fighting, what he should be doing is taking advantage of her expertise while she was with him and Joshua.
CHAPTER FOUR
AS JOSHUA woke from his nap that afternoon, the nursery door opened and Dominic walked in. Still furious with him, Audra wanted to lambaste him, but before she could open her mouth to speak, he handed her a bouquet of flowers.
“I’m sorry.”
She tried to say, “That’s okay,” because an apology always warranted a second chance in Mary Greene’s family. But looking at the bouquet of roses and daisies, an unlikely combination that for some damned reason or another made her happy, she was suddenly speechless. She hadn’t been given flowers in a year. Not since her fiancé. She had literally forgotten how much fun it was to have someone think of her.
Joshua’s crying jolted her back to reality.
“Oh, honey! I’m sorry!” She’d been so surprised by the flowers she’d forgotten the baby.
Dominic took a breath and hesitantly faced the crib. “I’ll get him.”
Audra’s mouth fell open as Dominic leaned down to lift Joshua. “Hey, now. What’s all this crying about?” He settled the baby’s bottom on his forearm and grimaced. “My sleeve is now saturated.”