If she weren’t a single mother who shared office space with him, she’d be damn interested in unleashing him between the sheets. But that was impossible.
“Help yourself.” She eased away and headed into her bedroom, where Hallie lay in her lacy bassinet, little legs kicking and tiny hands flailing as she gave her lungs a workout.
“Hey, sweet pea. Good nap? You hungry?”
The sudden dampening of her shirt with Hallie’s next cry told her it was definitely time for her daughter to eat.
After scooping up the infant, she kissed her forehead and sat in the glider in the corner, opening her shirt and nursing bra as she settled in and flipped on the TV. As Hallie latched on hungrily, Tessa held her tighter and changed channels until she found a semi-entertaining cooking show.
Twenty minutes and a good burp later, she changed Hallie in her attached bathroom, then peppered her baby’s soft face with kisses. “You want to play?”
Hallie’s big eyes lit up. They were still blue, but a hint of green was creeping in. Tessa hoped her daughter got her eyes, but she still saw bits of Cash in Hallie’s darker hair and wide mouth. In fact, her baby was changing more every day, at a pace she could hardly believe. It was almost too fast for Tessa to keep up with.
She spread out Hallie’s favorite activity mat for newborns and positioned a few strategic pillows around, just in case, then set her daughter down, tummy first. “Have fun, sweet pea. Mommy is going to take a quick shower.”
Hopefully, she’d feel less dirty, but it seemed that no matter how often she grabbed a quick rinse, she still felt grungy all the time. Given her leaking breasts and having a baby who spit up more often than not, she wasn’t surprised. Throw in sporadic sleep and an unseasonably humid day, and Tessa felt positively grimy.
A few times during her shower, she peeked out to make sure Hallie was happy and okay. As usual, the baby seemed fascinated by the pink elephant with the teething ring around its neck and the bright page of the cloth book.
Funny how perspective changed everything. In college, a hot shower had merely been something she’d taken to get clean. Often, it had been her first step in getting ready to hit the bars with her girlfriends. Now, it was a lovely luxury she looked forward to each night. Hair-washing day was an extra special twice-a-week treat. But tonight, she reveled in massaging her scalp and a slow combing of her deep conditioner. The experience was almost soothing and sensual.
How much better would this shower be with Zy?
The thought blindsided Tess, and after the ridiculous thought, she rushed through her rinse.
He wouldn’t be interested in her. Hell, she didn’t recognize her own body anymore. Her breasts were heavy and subject to gravity in a way they hadn’t been before. During her last two weeks of pregnancy, the cocoa butter had quit working. Now, a handful of stretch marks spread low on her belly. Her middle looked doughy, and she still had nearly ten pounds to drop. At the follow-up appointment with her obstetrician yesterday, she’d gotten the green light to start exercising again. Now she needed to find the time and energy. Unfortunately, when Hallie went down for her evening nap, Tessa often needed one, too.
How would she find the energy to go back to work next week?
She sighed. That was a problem for tomorrow. Things would get better eventually, right? And if she never got back the kind of body that looked great in a clingy Lycra dress while she danced the night away… Well, the time to grow up had come, and she wouldn’t trade her little life with Hallie for anything.
Sure, she’d pictured having a husband and children while surrounded by her family and friends. That would have made everything so much easier and happier. Not having her mother to rely on as she’d become a mother herself had left a hole in her heart. But she couldn’t change what was. She could only start over with Hallie, and together, they’d trek this adventure called life.
Tessa prayed it would be a good one.
A few minutes later, she stepped from the shower and wrapped herself in clean towels. Hallie squealed in delight as she played on her mat, making Tessa smile. Yeah, everything would be all right. And if Zy unnerved her… Well, he wouldn’t be here for long. Not nearly long enough to make an impression in her life, much less a dent in her heart.
She slipped into the pajamas on top of the clean pile—pink cotton with a V-neck trimmed in soft lace. There was nothing sexy about them.
As she braided her wet hair, she sighed. Zy probably dated hot women. The sort people used to consider her. The ones in those stretchy dresses that clung to every sinful curve. The kind who could pull off false lashes, red lipstick, and stilettos.
Yeah, that wasn’t her anymore.
Not that it mattered. He was a temporary bodyguard and a future co-worker, period.
Once she’d secured her braid, she scooped Hallie up and kissed her pink cheeks. Her baby returned her big smile, which turned Tessa’s heart upside down. Then she took up the activity mat so she could set it in the living room while she did dishes.
But when Tessa opened her bedroom door and glanced into the kitchen, she stopped short.
Zy stood at the sink, washing her potato pan. The table had been cleared, the flower arrangement back in the middle, the overhead light off. The stove was spotless. The island, too.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, settling Hallie on her hip.
Zy flipped the water off and set the pan on the drying rack. “No sweat. You looked like you could use an extra pair of hands, and I’ve got them, so why not? Besides, if I sit too much, I get itchy.”
“Thanks, but aren’t you supposed to be healing?”
He waved her away. “I’m healed enough. These stitches will be gone soon, and the worst of the soreness is behind me. Clearly, I’m going to live, though there are a couple of Mexican cartel thugs who are bummed about that.”
Someone had tried to kill him, and he joked about it?
Maybe he had to in order to process the day-to-day danger. Or maybe it really didn’t bother him.
“Wow, and I was just wishing I could extend my showers a bit longer. Your trouble makes mine seem silly.”
“Hey, I don’t have to worry about any human but myself, so that makes my job way easier. You have precious cargo there.” He smiled softly and caressed her baby’s cheek with a big finger. “Hi, Hallie. Aren’t you a cutie?”
Tessa’s heart flipped. Sexy, protective, and good with kids?
Or he feels sorry for you and thinks babies are cute. Don’t read too much into it.
A glance down told her that Hallie stared at Zy with huge eyes. The infant didn’t interact with many men. Her pediatrician was female. Same with most of the people who had visited since she’d been born. Well, except the colonel. Was it Zy’s deep voice that had her baby girl so entranced? The flash of his white teeth? Those intense blue eyes?
“Looks like she’s a flirt, too,” Tessa quipped.
Hallie blinked and went right back to staring at Zy as if he were the eighth wonder of the world.
He laughed and stroked her chin. “She’s good at it. Aren’t you, pretty girl?”
Her baby smiled and giggled, batting her wispy lashes at Zy, which made them both laugh.
“I’m going to have to teach you to be a little less transparent about your flirting, sweet pea.” She kissed her daughter’s head. “Really, thank you for doing the dishes.”