Strollers & Stilettos: A Sexy Contemporary Romance (In Stilettos Book 4) (9 page)

She scrunched her nose up as she cried, and her whole face turned beet red, as if to tell him what he could do with his little peacock and platitudes.

“Hush, hush.” He rolled the stroller back and forth like he’d seen Jaya do a dozen times. But that didn’t seem to work.
Damn it.
What the hell was he supposed to do?

Comfort her, you idiot.

Right. Comfort. He tried again with the birdie, but she hollered louder. “Okay, okay. Sorry. No birdie. Bad birdie. Um. Damn, kid, I don’t know what to do.”

Maybe she was wet? Hungry? He rooted around in the diaper bag and found one of the bottles Jaya had in a thermal container. She’d labeled it with the time she’d mixed it, and he was still within the timeframe to give it to the baby. If ever he loved his wife’s hyper-organized nature, it was now.

He popped off the top and placed it at Alexa’s lips, but instead of drinking, she swatted it away with her fists.

“Okay, not hungry then.” Was she wet? What a time to wish he’d been paying better attention to Jaya’s diapering technique.

“Okay, kid, I’m going to check and see if you’re wet. Let’s hope for number one, because I don’t think we’re close enough yet for anything else.” Gingerly, he reached under the blanket and scooped a hand under her bottom. The diaper felt dry, and there was no mind-bending, offending odor, so they were good there.

“She needs you to pick her up.”

Alec whipped his head up to find Adele at his door. “I, um. I don’t know how.”

His mother rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. Pretend she’s a football, a very squirmy football, and hold her to your chest.”

His hands shook. Damn, it was just a baby. Yeah, possibly
his
baby. “It probably won’t help. Why don’t you do it, Mimi? You’ve at least had experience. Can’t babies tell when you’re uncomfortable holding them or something?”

She crossed her arms and stood her ground. “Right now, all she knows is that she is upset and she has no one to hold her. You remember being in that position before, don’t you, Alec? All alone in the world? Now imagine, you can’t walk or talk or get food for yourself, and the one person who’s supposed to love you left you all alone in a public place.”

All right, yeah, when she put it like that—he peered in at Alexa. “Okay, look here, kid. You and me, we’re the same. I don’t know what I’m doing here, but I figure, like the date plans, you’ll tell me.”

Tears welled, and she cried louder. With every wail, his heart broke. He scooped her up, blankets and all, and tucked her tiny body against his.

The tears stopped abruptly.

Adele gave him a self-satisfied smile. “See, now that’s not so bad, is it?”

Alec stood frozen, unsure of what to do next. He stared down at Alexa, who blinked up at him. “I don’t know what to do.”

With a chuckle, his mother said, “Bounce a little and pat her back. Max always used to like it when I did that. Maybe she’s gassy.”

Alexa nuzzled into him. Her soft, baby powder scent wafted into his nostrils. She smelled good. Like really good. The scent alone was enough to make him feel protective. He patted her back gently as he bounced. She stuck one tiny thumb into her mouth and patted his chest with her other hand. The little reciprocal motion made him smile. As if she were trying to reassure him that he was doing a good job.

“God, she’s so tiny.”

Mimi strolled in and took a seat. “Imagine, you were that tiny once. But look at you now. You’re holding the baby, and you haven’t burst into flames.”

He gritted his teeth. “I see you’ve been talking to Jaya.”

Adele waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, calm down. She wasn’t complaining.”

He cracked his neck. “Well, she has every right to, I guess. I haven’t exactly been helpful.”

“Whether she has a right to or not, she wasn’t complaining. She was worried that she was alienating you with the baby and putting too much stress on you.”

“So you came to see how I was doing, only to find me failing miserably.”

Her smile was soft. It was the one she reserved for him and his brother. “On the contrary. You looked like a frazzled parent trying to figure out what to do for his child. It’s totally natural.”

He looked down at Alexa’s now sleeping form. “Except she’s not mine.”

Mimi nodded. “I’ll admit, I wondered. But that wife of yours—she can be mighty convincing.”

“Yeah, Jaya has a way of getting to people.”

His mother stroked Alexa’s cheek. “She loves you.”

Alec chuckled. “Yeah, I’m aware of that.”

“I couldn’t have chosen better for you myself.”

“Who are we kidding? Once you met her, you were after me to marry that woman.”

She smirked. “I wanted to make sure you knew what you had.”

“Oh, I knew.”

His mother slipped her battle-axe armor back on. “Where do we stand on Vancouver?”

He held Alexa one-handed as he ran through the highlights of the report. It was surprisingly easy to multitask. “I’ll have to go back several more times this month. Not to mention we’ve got Kleinman to deal with. And honestly, I’m not sure how Jaya will manage on her own.”

Adele shook her head. “Your wife is perfectly capable of managing on her own. She knows how to delegate.”

He took the dig in stride. “I’m working on it.”

She sighed. “When I gave you the position, I didn’t want it to kill you. Sooner or later, you’ll realize that you can’t do everything on your own. You have to trust someone at some point. Because you keep going at this rate, and you’ll bury yourself.”

“I hear you. But you said it yourself—I had to grow up sometime. This is my legacy. It’s got my name on it.” He’d added the Westhorpe to his legal name right before he’d married Jaya. He’d always refused the name, but once he’d agreed to step into his rightful role at his stepmother’s side, he figured it was time to let go of his past and accept his future. But sometimes, the name felt like a noose.

“I didn’t want to change you, Alec. All I wanted was for you to see what you could do. The boy I once knew used to be fun.”

“I know. But I don’t have much time for fun these days.”

“Then maybe it’s time you made some and learned to delegate.”

Chapter Nine

What a difference a couple of hours could make. Jaya stared at Alec as he unlocked Alexa’s car seat. From the moment she’d gone back to pick up the baby, he’d been hogging Alexa. It made Jaya want to laugh.

“So, Mr. Danthers-Westhorpe, are you going to give me a chance to hold that baby any time soon?”

He raised a brow but didn’t relinquish the baby. “I thought you wanted us to bond.”

“Of course. But I also wanted to get a hit of the baby smell after the meeting I had.”

He studied her more closely once they were in the house. “I take it things didn’t go well?”

Jaya shrugged, and then armed the alarm system. “The bride from hell, that’s all.”

“At the risk of sounding like a jackass husband, you look tired, baby. Are you sure you’re not doing too much?”

“Pot, meet Kettle. You two have some red hot chemistry. Besides, it’s not too much. It’s just the Gala and this wedding, then Dad called, of course, and he has a job for me. My automatic filter says yes, but I need to start finding a way to say no to some of these things.”

“I don’t want you running yourself down.”

“You know, it’s like there’s an echo in here somewhere.”

She sniggered when he narrowed his gaze at her. With Alec momentarily distracted, Jaya reached into the baby carrier and scooped Alexa up. The baby cooed at her and reached her arms out. That smile alone was enough to wash away Jaya’s stress.

Alec scowled. “Hey, I was going to give her a bath.”

“Well, you snooze you lose.” Jaya laughed. Then she added, “Did you have a chance to talk to Adele?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I see the two of you have been colluding.”

Jaya rolled her eyes. “Alec. This is important. The way you’re going, you’re going to burn out and no one wants that.” The guilt ate away at her. He’d come back for her. Taken a job that went against every bit of his natural inclinations to give her the stability she craved and needed. All of this was for her, and he was miserable. He needed more flexibility to be truly happy, but he’d wedged himself into the nine-to-five role to make
her
happy. “You know, you don’t have to do any of this for me. You don’t have to work for Adele.”

He set his jaw. “I made a commitment, and I’m keeping it. Besides, I wanted to be home. To feel like I was part of something bigger. I was done with the transient lifestyle. I also wanted to do whatever it took to have you in my bed and my life.”

“Honey, I know. I see you working yourself crazy, and I worry.”

He chuckled. “Now who’s the pot and who’s the kettle? I’ve been after you to hire some people for months.”

She didn’t want to get into an argument with him. “Okay, fine. I’ll hire someone as soon as you start delegating.”

He grinned and took the baby from her. “Well, in that case, you’d better start interviewing. I sent Beckett to Vancouver in my place today.”

Jaya blinked. “You did?”

He nodded. “Yep. See, I do listen to you. I need to delegate. And Beckett is good at the adventure fantasy stuff, but his talent is wasted. So I’m giving him more responsibility.

“I’m proud of you.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Well, I got tired of seeing it on my to do list so whatever.”

Once Alexa was down, they stood in her bedroom doorway. “It feels like she’s ours,” Jaya whispered.

Alec cleared his throat as he wrapped his arms around her. “It does feel like that. Like she belongs here. I get it now. And I should have gotten it right away. No matter what else is going on, none of it is her fault. She’s just a baby. Thank you for opening your heart to her.”

“She’s a kid, and every time I look at her, I can’t help but think of you. All alone on Adele’s doorstep. Needing someone to help you.”

He squeezed her tighter. “I’m sorry I haven’t been that helpful the last couple of days. I guess I just needed to drag my head out of the sand.”

She smirked up at him. “Is that we’re calling it now?”

“Smartass.” He swatted her on the butt.

She laughed as she closed the door to the baby’s room and sashayed down the hallway. “I’ve heard that’s why you love me.”

“That and you have very nice breasts.”

Jaya snatched up one of the living room cushions and lobbed it at him. “What was that about my breasts?”

He laughed, dodging her next throw and using his arms as defense. “Okay, okay, I love your smile too and your brain. You’re very smart. And the fact that you can outline and plan your way out of any mess is astounding.”

Jaya crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m waiting.” She tapped a foot impatiently.

Alec looked up as if trying to remember anything else he might like about her. “Let’s see, I talked about your breasts and your smile and of course your crowning glory, your planning ability. I can’t think of anything else.”

She suppressed a giggle. “Not even my ass?”

He slapped a hand on his forehead. “Oh, yeah, that gorgeous, plump piece of—”

She threw another pillow at him, hitting him full in the face. If she didn’t know him so well, she’d have mistaken the blank expression on his face for anger, but even as she turned to run, she saw the corners of his lips twitch.

She swallowed a squeal as she turned to the sunroom. No need to wake the baby. If they did, their little game would be put on hold, and she needed to feel close to him. Needed his hands on her. But it was fun to make him work for it.

“Jaya,” his voice was low as he followed her into the sunroom with its floor-to-ceiling windows. Had it been daytime, the brilliant sunshine would have made the bright white furniture look like puffs of clouds. But now, with only the moon to light the room, shadows danced in every corner. “You really shouldn’t run into a locked room. You’ll have no escape.”

She stepped out from behind the French door. “Who said I wanted to escape?”

Alec’s smile was slow and sexy. “This is exactly where you wanted to end up?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. With my husband chasing me.”

“And what was he supposed to do when he caught you?”

Jaya laughed. “Oh, I’m sure he can figure it out.”

Alec pulled her in for a kiss. No preamble. No teasing. When his lips met hers they were firm, demanding.

Jaya sighed, sinking into the familiar touch. Giving herself over to the slow burn that was Alec. His tongue traced over the seam of her lips, and she parted them. With a groan, Alec dipped his tongue into her mouth. Fusing their mouths together, he backed her up against the couch.

Reaching her hands behind her, Jaya steadied herself and sank down. Alec followed her and shifted her body until she lay against the arm. His hips fit snugly against hers, and she moaned as the hot length of him nudged her cleft.

On instinct, her body arched up, and he groaned into her mouth as she rocked her body against his. While his hips rotated into hers, he slid his hand along her thigh, tugging her blouse out of her skirt. The sound of tearing fabric filled the silence.