“Do you need help?”
“Let me get the little stuff first, then you can help me get the crib.”
“Okay.” She watched him make his way up the staircase to the left of the door and then turned her attention back to Katie. “Hey, you. Let’s get you unbundled.”
She unzipped the little sack that fit over the seat and acted as a coat.
“There you are,” she cooed as the baby burbled more happy little bubbles at her. “Oh, you’re going to melt some hearts, let me tell you.”
“Does she answer back?” Mac asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
“No. Babies don’t generally talk at this age.”
“I thought you weren’t an expert.”
“I’m not, but you said she was seven months. I don’t think they really talk until they’re older than that.”
“Oh.”
“I’m going to leave her in the car seat until I’m done helping you. I don’t want her to get into trouble, and I might know she doesn’t talk, but I’m not sure if babies crawl at this age.”
She hurried to the door. The faster she helped Mac get the baby settled, the faster she could get out of here. This personal glimpse at Mac’s home was leaving her feeling…unsettled. She didn’t know why.
Somehow it was easier to picture him living in a sterile, bachelor pad, than this cozy little place. It felt warm, yet lived-in here. It felt…almost comfortable.
Homey.
Homey and Larry Mackenzie?
Now those were two thoughts she never imagined going together.
They carried the box for the crib into the guest room. Again, the room didn’t fit Mia’s mental picture of what Mac should have. It had a quilt on a double bed, and old family photos decorating the walls.
There was even a sampler.
Mia would have liked a chance to study all these bits and pieces of Mac, but she couldn’t figure out why she’d want to. His house might not be what she’d imagined it to be, but that didn’t mean Mac wasn’t the most annoying human she’d ever met.
“I’ll just leave you to it,” she said and hurried back to the baby. She freed Katie from the car seat while Mac went to work on the crib.
“I love your hair, sweetie,” she cooed, toying with a tiny little ringlet. “Men have a thing for redheads.”
“They like blondes too,” Mac said.
Mia looked up and saw Mac standing at the bottom of the stairway.
The man moved like a cat.
“What are you doing now?” she asked, ignoring his comment on blondes.
“Going for some tools. But I hate to have you lie to the baby. Some men do have a thing for redheads, but some of us prefer blondes.”
“I…” Mia didn’t know what to say to a statement like that.
If it was any other man in the world, she’d think he was flirting with her. But Mac didn’t like her any more than she liked him, so she was sure it wasn’t flirting.
“Stop lurking and finish up. It’s going on eight. I need to get home and you need to get this baby into bed.”
Mac glanced at his watch, as if he didn’t believe she could tell time. “I can’t believe it’s this late already.”
He walked through the room and into the kitchen. She could hear a door open and then the sound of his footsteps on stairs.
“What do you think of him?” she asked the baby.
Katie gurgled a response and stiffened.
“Oh, you want to stand up, do you?” Mia held the baby under her arms and Katie pushed herself up. “It won’t be long until you’re toddling all over the place. I wonder if you’re crawling yet?”
She looked at the pile of shopping bags Mac had brought in.
“I know we bought a couple blankets,” she told Katie. Still holding the baby, she dug through the bags and found one. “Here you go.”
She laid it on the floor and placed Katie on it. Then put a few of her new toys down as well, just a little out of reach. The baby crept right up to them.
“Well, look at that. You do crawl,” Mia said with a laugh, just as Mac came back into the room.
“She crawls,” she told him.
“Yeah?” He knelt down beside Mia, close, but not quite touching her.
“Watch.” She moved a few of the toys farther away and Katie immediately inched her way toward them.
They both admired her progress. His hand draped carelessly over Mia’s shoulder, as if he was using her to prop himself up. She snuck a peek. His eyes were glued to the baby’s movements, a slight smile played on his lips.
The moment felt special…almost intimate.
The thought shook Mia. So she leaned over and picked up Katie and wrinkled her nose.
“Have you ever changed a diaper before?” she asked Mac.
He clutched the toolbox as if it were a shield. “No, but that’s okay, you go ahead. I’ll just go set up her crib so we can take you to your car.”
“Oh, no. I’m supposed to help you get settled. What are you going to do when I’m not here? I don’t have to be an expert to know that babies need changing…a lot.”
Mac looked as if she’d told him he was about to face a firing squad. Mia couldn’t contain a small chuckle. “Come on, you need to learn.”
“I’ll just watch this time. Then I can figure it out later.”
“No, I’ll watch while you figure it out.”
“I uh…”
“Put down the toolbox and come here.”
Mac complied, but with obvious reluctance. Slowly, he sat on the floor next to her and stared at the baby as if she were some wild, dangerous animal.
Mia dug out a diaper and a box of wipes they’d just bought. “Here, start with these.”
Mac straightened his shoulders and looked determined. “I deal with complex legal issues and distraught clients all day. I can learn to do this.”
Mia held back her smile as he diapered the baby with all the seriousness of a lawyer giving a closing argument.
“Now, just use those little tapes to hold it in place,” she said as he finished.
“It’s not tape, it’s Velcro,” he said as he finished with flourish. “There. One happily diapered baby.”
“Velcro?” Mia said. “Back in my day, it was tape. Now, I’m feeling old.”
He gave a little scoff. “You’re not old.”
“I didn’t say I was, Larry. I just said I felt old. Now, you, you’re old.”
He shot her a look. “You make me sound ancient.”
“Aren’t you?” she asked, grinning.
“Thirty isn’t exactly ancient.”
“Thirty. My, my, my.” She clutched a hand to her chest. “You’re almost beyond ancient.”
“And just how old are you?” he asked.
“Twenty-seven.”