of it had clearly overwhelmed him, she rolled out of bed and sped to the crib.
“Shh. Shh.” She reached in and pulled out Bella. “I’ve got you! Give me two minutes to change your diaper and we’ll race to the kitchen to get your bottle.”
“I’ll get a bottle.”
Matt’s voice from behind almost made Claire jump out of her skin. She whispered, “You scared me!”
Matt headed for the door. “No need to whisper. With her lungs, Bella could have the whole household up by now…if anybody was here.”
She went to reply, but Matt opened the door and left before she could. No matter. She took the baby to the bathroom, found a diaper and had her changed before Matt returned with the fresh bottle of milk.
As he walked over to her, she sat on edge of her bed. But instead of handing the bottle to her, he took the baby. “We need a rocker in here.”
Shocked that he’d taken Bella and had arranged her on his arm to feed her, she gaped at him. “What are you doing?”
“Feeding her.”
“I can do it. You go back to bed.”
“I need to learn how to do this and I am.”
Respect for him rose up in her. Her father had passed everything to the various maids they’d had over the years. But Matt really wanted to care for Bella. She patted the bed beside her. “You’ll get a rocker tomorrow. Until then, you can’t stand to feed her.” She grimaced. “Well, you could. But it takes a few minutes for her to eat, so you’re better off sitting.”
He grunted, brought Bella to her bed and sat on the spot Claire had patted.
Bella gulped greedily and Claire laughed. “Are we a little piggy tonight?”
Bella grinned around the bottle’s nipple.
Matt slanted her a look. “Are we allowed to talk to her?”
“Sure. It’s like dinner conversation. It helps you to bond.” She paused, smiled at him. “Try it.”
He quickly glanced away. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say anything.” She paused. “Why not tell her about the new family she’s about to meet in Texas?”
He rose. “She’s getting done really quickly. We don’t have time to talk.”
Disappointment skittered through her. It wasn’t good for Bella to have him running hot and cold. And when it came to family he was definitely hot and cold. So she moved them off the topic of the Texas reunion and said, “You should probably burp her.”
He spun to face her. “Burp her?”
His incredulous question made her laugh. “If you don’t burp her the gas will wake her up.”
“The first thirteen years of my life I heard nothing but don’t burp…now you want me to get her to burp.”
“Your mom probably never said don’t burp. She probably said don’t burp in public.”
He snorted a half laugh. “All right. Whatever. How do I burp her?”
She hoisted herself off the bed and walked over to him. Lifting Bella from his arms, she said, “You have to put her over your shoulder.” She arranged the baby on his shoulder and he quickly put one hand beneath her bottom and one hand on her back. Their fingers brushed. Electricity skipped up her arm, reminding her of their kiss, but she ignored it.
“There. See?” She took a step back and quickly turned to walk back to the bed, far too tempted to check his face to see if he’d felt the zing, too. “Now, all you have to do is pat her back until she burps.”
He patted and Bella burped loudly. “Well, that’s interesting.”
“That’s actually great. Now, give her the bottle again.”
Bella finished her bottle, burped again, then fell asleep.
Matt whispered, “So do I put her in bed?”
“Yes, but expect to get up again soon. She’s never slept this much before.”
Sympathy for Bella flashed across his face, and Claire looked away. He was far too handsome and she was far too attracted to him to let all the sympathy and empathy she knew he felt sway her. Combining his good looks and her attraction with appreciation for his love for Bella, it wouldn’t be long before she found herself genuinely liking him—and they’d already decided they weren’t going there.
With Bella in her crib, Matt returned to his room and Claire crawled under the covers on her bed again. She nearly got out her e-reader, expecting Bella to awaken soon and not wanting to fall asleep only to have to wake up again. But she drifted off to sleep and didn’t have another thought until the sound of Bella crying caused her to bounce up. Faint light peeked in at the meeting of the drapes. It had to be at least seven!
This time, she lifted Bella from her crib, took her into the bathroom and got her cleaned up for the day without waking Matt. She put her fingers over her lips to silence giggling Bella as they sneaked through Matt’s room to the bedroom door.
She was just about done feeding Bella some of the cereal that had been delivered the night before when Matt sleepily entered the kitchen.
“I told you I want to help. You should have gotten me up for this…and when she got up again last night.”
He wore the navy blue pajamas he’d worn the night before. A big navy velour robe hung loosely on his shoulders. Untied, the belt dangled to the floor and followed behind him like a thin train.
Still, with his hair sticking out in all directions and his eyes drooping sleepily, he was incredibly sexy. Sort of messed up like a guy who’d spent the morning making love. And much more approachable than the guy in the white shirt and handmade suit.
Knowing her brain had gone in a bad, bad direction, she turned her attention away from him and onto the baby as she answered his question.
“That’s just it. Bella didn’t get up last night. After her three o’clock feeding she slept until now.”
Halfway to the counter, he stopped, faced her. “She did?”
“Yes!” She lifted Bella off her lap and nuzzled noses with her. “Our girl had a good night’s sleep. In the four days I had her she barely slept four hours. With you, she’s sleeping.”
Matt’s heart about stopped. “That’s good?”
“That’s excellent!”
He swallowed the lump of emotion that formed in his throat. He might not be brilliant at parenting. Hell, he might not be ready to parent, but it seemed Bella trusted him. That gave him such an emotional high he could have happily kissed Claire, but everything that had happened between them the day before came tumbling back and his chest tightened.
He didn’t want to get involved with her.
