Karen Rose - A Match Made by Baby

The silence between them grew awkward, and Kaitlyn reached for a contraption hanging on a hook. “This is something else you need.”

“I’m afraid to ask what it is,” he said in a wry tone.

She looked at Erica and saw that her eyes were wide-open. “It’s as good a time as any to try this out.” She gave it to Adam and said, “Hang this part around your neck.”

Adam did as she suggested, looking wary.

Scooping Erica from her car seat, Kaitlyn placed her in the sling, close to Adam’s chest. She had to touch his chest and that reminded her of touching it once before. When her fingers brushed against him, the look in his eyes said he remembered, too.

“I can get it,” he decided, taking a step away from her. “Now that I think about it, I’ve seen women wearing these.”

“Daddies, too,” she assured him. “That keeps Erica close to your body heat, and she feels more secure.”

Their eyes met. She remembered his body heat, feeling secure, but so much more, too.

“Kaitlyn!” She was never so glad to hear her name called.

She knew the voice, and it was a welcome relief, interrupting the too-knowing moment between her and Adam. She turned and saw her friend Marissa Lopez strolling down the aisle, her one-year-old sitting in the basket kicking his legs.

She gave them both a wide smile. “Hi, Marissa.” She went over to Jordan and tickled his tummy. “And how are you, big boy?”

He grinned at her and stuck a finger in his mouth. Kaitlyn had babysat Jordan many times. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed diapers again,” Marissa added, brushing her black curls away from her face.

Kaitlyn introduced Adam and said, “Marissa works at Raintree Winery.”

“Jase is your boss?” Adam asked.

Marissa nodded with a wide smile. “Yes. More than that, really. He and Sara have become good friends.”

“I met Jase when we crossed paths in Africa a few years ago.”

“That’s when he was photographing children in refugee camps?” Kaitlyn asked.

Adam nodded. “I was in the area with a humanitarian group that was trying to bring safe water to some of the villages.”

Erica gave a little cry, and Marissa came over to her. “What a sweetie. Is she about two months old?”

“About,” Adam confirmed. “She’s my sister’s baby. I’m taking care of her for a while. The Mommy Club sent Kaitlyn to give me a few instructions.”

That was one way of putting it, Kaitlyn supposed.

“The Mommy Club’s been a lifesaver for me, too,” Marissa told him. “I’m a single mom and they’ve been a great help. We all try to give back when we can. Sara is watching Jordan while I volunteer at Thrifty Solutions, The Mommy Club thrift store, tomorrow night.”

“I’m there on Monday evening,” Kaitlyn said.

Adam eyed Jordan. “Is he walking yet?”

“Oh, yes, and running. He helps me get my exercise every day.”

They all laughed and Adam shook his head. “I’ve learned respect for all new moms.”

Marissa checked her watch. “I have to get going. I had the morning off because I worked some long hours last week. But now I have to take Jordan to day care and get to the winery.” She studied Adam and Erica. “Good luck. If you have Kaitlyn advising you, you will be okay.”

After a hug for Kaitlyn, she wheeled her cart away.

“So she’s a single mom?” Adam asked reflectively as they watched Marissa walk away. He was trying to put himself in his sister’s place, trying to imagine what she’d been thinking and feeling before she’d left.

“Yes, she is.”

“And you became friends because of The Mommy Club?” He’d imagined The Mommy Club was mostly a group of women looking out for each other. It was a nice concept really.

“We did.”

“I don’t see how you have time for it all.”

“I think we all make time for what we want to do.”

He wondered if The Mommy Club filled a need Kaitlyn had to help and nurture. What did that need come from? He found he was awfully curious about her and wanted to know.

He pointed to a portable crib. “I guess I’ll get one of those, too. I can donate it to The Mommy Club when Tina returns. I’m sure she’ll be back before the week’s out.”

Kaitlyn stood a little closer so their conversation was private. “It could be longer than a week. If your sister is in the throes of postpartum depression, she might need a doctor’s help to emerge from it.”

Adam’s brow furrowed. “How am I going to get her help when she won’t answer my calls?”

“All you can do is hope that she contacts you soon.”

“I have to do more than hope. I’m supposed to be on a plane to Thailand in a month.”

Erica started crying, and Adam’s arms went around her with a protective gesture, but it didn’t help.

“If you’re tense and upset, it can affect her. Babies pick up moods.”

He exhaled, took Erica out of the sling and laid her in her car seat. “Maybe she’s hungry again. Let’s get what we need and head back to the condo.”

Taking care of Erica was complicated enough. Tackling the vibrations between him and Kaitlyn added to the unnerving situation.

Once he had everything he needed for his niece, Kaitlyn would be out of his life once more.

* * *

Back at Adam’s condo, Kaitlyn watched Adam as he held and walked Erica and readied a bottle with the new formula she’d chosen. Four hands were better than two in this kind of situation.

She asked, “Would you like me to feed her?”

He shook his head. “No. I have to learn how to do this and do it right.” He took the bottle from Kaitlyn, their fingers brushing. They avoided each other’s gazes, and he went to the living room, this time sitting in the armchair.

And to her dismay, he was still as sexy as could be—a six-foot-two, broad-shouldered, handsome man feeding a baby intently. Her heart gave a little trip. Erica was greedily sucking on the nipple, and Adam looked as if he’d conquered the world.

“If this formula is better suited to her, she might start sleeping for you,” Kaitlyn assured him.

“That’s an awfully big ‘if’ and ‘might.’”

“There are never any guarantees with babies.”

“How come you don’t have a slew of your own? You seem to really love children.”

The stark sincerity in his question took her breath away. Usually sure of herself, right now, she didn’t know how to answer him.

He must have realized something was wrong, because he looked up from the baby, and his gaze met hers. “Kaitlyn?”

Their evening together and what had almost happened between them flashed before her eyes again. It seemed to require some kind of honesty, though she didn’t know why. But she couldn’t be honest with this man. She didn’t really know him.

So she fell back on the usual excuse. “I work so many hours—”

Suddenly, a beeping came from Adam’s hip. It was his phone. “That could be Tina,” he said with some desperation in his voice.

Kaitlyn stood immediately and scooped Erica from his arms. Her hand brushed against his chest, and she could feel his hardness under the material of his shirt. She knew there was springy, dark brown hair there. But she concentrated on the baby and the bottle and settling on the sofa with Erica to feed her some more while he took his call.

He checked the screen. “Not Tina. It’s my father. He might know where she is.”

“Hello, Dad,” he said with a little more distance than Kaitlyn would expect between father and son.

She unabashedly listened, curious about Adam’s family connections.

“Where are you?” Adam asked.

He paused for an obvious few moments of explanation.

“So you’re in Ireland, but you plan to fly to England tomorrow?”