Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“She’s not ready to crawl,” I said.
“All the reputable parenting websites state crawling can begin as early as five months. The key thing is that she has to be able to support her head, which she had mastered before I first met her,” he countered with a confident tone full of patience.
“And some babies skip crawling all together. Joy has her rolling technique.”
“Which she’s brilliant at,” he announced with so much confidence, you would have thought he’d taught it to her himself. “I know she’s going to figure out crawling. Look how she holds herself up to see everything. Do you think we should put another blanket down for padding?”
“No, this soft area rug and blanket are enough,” I reassured him, struggling to not giggle at how adorable he was being.
“How about Wednesday?” he asked suddenly.
For a second, I could only blink at him. I wasn’t following his sudden change of topic. “For what?”
“Our date.”
“Oh. Uh…” My mind became useless static. I hadn’t expected him to want to discuss that right now. “Wednesday night? For a first date? I didn’t think Wednesday was a date night,” I teased.
“Is it a rule that people can only go on dates on the weekend? Would you rather we wait for Friday or Saturday night?” Declan replied, his tone serious.
“No, it’s not a rule. We don’t have to wait. However, it is short notice in terms of finding a sitter, unless you want to bring Joy.”
“I would be more than happy to watch over the little princess while you and Mr. Foster go out for an evening,” Franks offered as he entered the room carrying a tray.
It was hard not to shoot Declan’s ever-present assistant a glare as he placed two glasses of iced water on the nearby table, along with a platter of warm puff things filled with meat and cheese. We’d had lunch just a few hours ago, and Donovan had already supplied us with a snack. I needed to have a long talk with that chef about his efforts to test my snacking self-control…after I ate six more of these delicious things.
“And that’s another thing—I can’t keep taking advantage of your time or Chef Donovan’s because you’re convenient. Besides, aren’t you and he supposed to be off the clock now?” I made a show of looking at my nonexistent watch on my wrist before narrowing my eyes at him. Sunday was the guaranteed off day for Donovan and Franks. They both had another free day, but it floated through the week to whenever they wanted to take it.
Franks flashed me a smile that could only be called smug as he held his tray in front of him. “Chef Donovan has finished preparing dinner and placed it in the refrigerator for later. He wanted to send in a small snack prior to retiring for the day. I wanted to check that nothing else would be required ahead of clocking out.”
“We’re good, Franks. Thank you,” Declan murmured.
I wanted to roll my eyes at them. Prior to my arrival with Joy, I knew their jobs hadn’t been overly stressful. During the week, Declan had his lunches in the office, so Donovan only had to feed him twice a day and that was cooking for one person. And then keeping up with the house behind a tidy person wasn’t that hard. But I wasn’t about to take advantage of their generosity because they were eager to keep their boss happy.
“I appreciate your offer to watch Joy, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to babysit just because I’m a guest here or to make him happy,” I continued, pointing at Declan. The sexy blond glanced up from where he was watching my daughter to lift one quizzical eyebrow at me. “There have to be things you’d rather be doing in your free time. You’re still young. Wouldn’t you rather be going out on dates and having fun?”
At least I thought he was young. Franks appeared to be in his midthirties. That was young enough for dating and outings.
“He’s already dating Chef Donovan,” Declan stated, returning his attention to Joy and the stuffed elephant.
“What?” I gasped. My eyes snapped up to find Franks standing there with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. He’d become so pale, I thought he was going to pass out.
“You know?” Franks squeezed out in the softest voice.
“Of course. I might be slow to pick up on social cues, but I am aware of what goes on in my own house,” Declan grumbled. My head shot back as peals of laughter poured out of me. He seemed so grumpy at the idea that anyone would think they could sneak something past him that I had the overwhelming urge to crawl across the blanket to kiss the frown from his lips.