Tessa put her down next to the toy basket. Veronica removed each item to display it proudly, spending a few minutes playing before quickly losing interest. The doorbell surprised her. She frowned, hitching the baby onto her hip. “Hmm, who could that be?” Tessa headed to the door and peered out the side window. Then froze.
What was he doing here?
Unlocking the door, she eased it open. “Hey. What’s up?”
Ford blinked. “Where’s Chiara?”
Irritation hit. They’d never gotten along since the first time they were introduced. Being around Ford Maddox was like mixing expensive, rare extra-virgin olive oil with cheap-ass water. They just didn’t blend. “Out with Ryder. I’m babysitting.”
Dex ran out with enthusiasm, giving him a greeting reserved for his favorite people. “Hey, buddy! Miss me?” Tessa noticed he also knew the perfect places to scratch, his ease with the dog showing him as a regular visitor.
When Ford looked back up, annoyance skittered across his craggy face, as if she was the one who’d ruined his plans. “This doesn’t make sense,” he muttered under his breath. He crashed into the house like he owned the place, ignoring her protests and shutting the door behind him. “Ryder wanted to surprise Chiara so she could go to this retirement party. I’m here to watch Ronnie.”
She clutched the cooing baby to her chest as if he were a kidnapper. “Chiara decided to surprise him, so she made arrangements for me to babysit.”
His face cleared at the explanation and his shoulders relaxed. “Oh, okay. For a moment I thought I’d screwed up. That’s kind of cute they had the same idea. Well, feel free to head out—I got this covered.”
Tessa regarded him like an insect who’d managed to slip under the door. “Excuse me?”
“You can leave now. Me and my girl here are going to spend some quality time together.”
Her eyebrows climbed to her forehead and she took a step back. “Sorry, I think you misunderstood. I have this covered and you can leave. Veronica and I already have our evening well planned, and it’s girls only. I’m sure you have plenty of other things you can do.”
Unbelievably, the man scowled at her like she’d done something wrong. “I told Ryder I’d be here tonight to babysit. I’m staying.”
“I told Chiara I’d be here! Don’t you have a sports thing to watch or some other important task?”
“No. Don’t you have some type of makeover to do?” he asked.
Oh, she despised his slight sneer and judgmental tone. Her hot temper flared. She raised her chin and glowered. “There’s nothing more important than spending time with my goddaughter.”
Ford’s gaze narrowed. “Same.”
They stared at one another in an old-fashioned high noon showdown.
Veronica burst into tears, and Dex let out a concerned whine.
Startled, Tessa began rocking and cooing, and Ford closed the distance to chuck her under the chin, his giant thumb gentle as he sang Veronica’s name, getting her to calm down. “Ronnie doesn’t like when we fight,” he said, stretching his face into a fake grin. “Neither does Dex. If you insist on staying, you need to be nice.”
Veronica chewed on her fist in worry, forcing Tessa to give him a strained smile back. She practically choked on her words. “Her name is Veronica, not Ronnie. We’re not living in an Archie comic book. And I’m staying. I’ll allow you to visit because I am nice and don’t want to bother Chiara or Ryder.”
“Good, then it’s settled. You can stay.” With a quick movement, he scooped up Veronica and headed toward the kitchen. “How about some Cheerios, kiddo? A little nighttime snack?”
Tessa trotted after him, almost catching her heel on the battered rug. “Snacks are if she gets cranky—she’s teething.”
“I know. She likes the yellow teething ring in the freezer. It’s her favorite.”
Oh, how she despised his haughty response, as if he knew Veronica’s habits better than her. She refused to validate him. “There are also natural drops to rub on her gums, which reduce some of the swelling. She’s going down by eight, so I planned to let her go through my makeup bag, then read to her. Here, why don’t you give her back to me and—what are you doing?”
Her jaw dropped as Ford cranked up the Echo Dot and ordered Alexa to play Def Leppard. “Reading is boring. So is makeup. She needs to burn off some energy before she’s ready to sleep. Right, darling? Let’s boogie.”
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” belted out in all its old-school sexual glory. Holding Veronica against his broad chest, Ford grasped her tiny hand and began dancing around the kitchen, his gravelly voice booming through the room.
Tessa watched in horror as her quiet babysitting night with her goddaughter exploded into shreds of chaos. Veronica giggled madly at his antics, and even Dex got in the act, barking and leaping around the two, as if dancing with them. Ford waltzed around the kitchen, ignoring her obvious disapproval, while she wondered how she’d gotten stuck with the only man who pushed all her buttons. In the wrong way.
She took a moment to study him. Average height at just under six foot. Long, shaggy, brown hair that didn’t seem to hold a style. She always had a weakness for a goatee, but Ford’s was a bit unruly, as if he couldn’t seem to find the time to properly trim and sculpt it to fit his face. His clothes were always casual—ranging from humorous T-shirts with zany sayings or classic concert ones, as if he were stuck in the eighties. He preferred worn jeans and generic sneakers. He was the male equivalent of a plain Jane.
His best features were his eyes and voice. Hazel eyes, the most beautiful color of brown and green, could be mesmerizing, but Ford’s got lost in all the facial hair and his hooded eyelids. His voice was legendary, but it didn’t surprise her—it was the core asset of his job. Deep and hypnotic, like sand and gravel wrapped in satin. Alone, Tessa admitted a woman would practically swoon, imagining that sexy voice whispering commands in her ear. Until she saw him and realized he probably wouldn’t know what to say.
Ford had never struck her as a smooth operator. The few times he showed up at a gathering of their friends with a date, he seemed to be the one more invested. At the last party, he’d actually lost his companion to another guy. Tessa felt bad when he discovered his date had gone home with someone else without telling him.
The music ended and she shook off her thoughts. It didn’t matter what type of dating or social life Ford dealt with. She only needed to get along with him enough for Veronica’s sake, and to please Chiara and Ryder. Being a co-godparent was a job she took seriously, so she reminded herself to be patient and just get through the evening the best she could.
Ford laughed, staring down at Veronica’s joyous face. Tessa grudgingly admitted the two were adorable together even if she didn’t approve of his babysitting methods.
She snapped her voice to crisp attention. “Okay, concert’s over. If you get her all revved up, she’s going to crash too early, then wake up in the middle of the night.” She plucked the baby out of Ford’s arms and tapped Veronica’s nose. “You need to chill, girlfriend. Let’s get you a small snack.” She used her chin to motion toward the cabinet. “Can you grab some Cheerios and her sippy cup?”