Baby, Oh Baby! (30 page)

Jake scooped her up in his arms and swung her around. Madeline giggled gleefully. Jake's heart felt as full and warm as his arms.

"I hope you can stay for dinner," Annie said. "I was hoping you'd ask."

An hour later. Annie grinned at Jake across the remnants of a baked chicken. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Annie's eyes flickered mischievously. "I've discovered your deepest, darkest secret."

Jake tensed. Oh, damn—surely she hadn't discovered how much he wanted her. He eyed her warily.

Her smile widened. "It's something you've probably wanted every time you came out here, but didn't think you could have."

Oh, Lord. He grinned uncertainly.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Afraid not."

"Well, close your eyes."

What was she going. to do? Surely not a striptease—not in front of the baby! All the same, his palms grew damp and his heart thumped hard in anticipation.

"Close your eyes," she repeated.

He did as she requested. He heard her chair scrape back and heard the pantry door open, then close. He felt her arm brush his shoulder and smelled the enticing scent of her perfume as she placed something on the kitchen table in front of him.

"Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Jake blinked. Sitting in front of him was a plate piled high with Twinkies. Two, four, six ... good grief, there were a half-dozen stacked there on the plate!

Annie stood back, her arms folded, looking very pleased with herself. "I found two empty cartons of Twinkies boxes in the pantry, along with one that was still half full. I hadn't realized you had such a sweet tooth, but since you apparently do, well, I want you to feel free to indulge it."

For a brief moment, he considered eating them. It would probably be easier to force down six Twinkies in one sitting than to tell her the truth.

Just then Madeline caught sight of the snack cakes and frantically kicked her legs against the high chair. "Ink! Ink! Ink!"

The gig was up. Jake drew a deep breath. "Um, Annie, I have an embarrassing confession to make."

Annie patted Jake's shoulder and shot him a reassuring smile. "Hey, it's okay. Lots of people are secret junk food junkies. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Go ahead. Dive in." She picked up an empty platter and carried it to the sink.

From the corner of his eye, Jake saw the baby straining toward the Twinkies, her hands outstretched, her brow furrowed with determination. "I've been meaning to tell you this, Annie, but..

Madeline had worked up a full head of steam by now. Kicking furiously, she banged her tiny fists on her tray and screeched, "Ink! Ink! INK!"

Oh, jeeze. He'd better hurry up and just spit it out. "When you were in the hospital and Madeline was crying, you said to give her a Binky. I—I'm afraid I misunderstood."

Annie's back was toward him, but he saw her freeze. Madeline was now screaming at the top of her lungs, her face an alarming shade of red. Jake quickly placed two Twinkies on her tray. She stopped in mid-yowl, grabbed one in each hand and crammed them both in her mouth.

Jake used the ensuing silence to finish his confession. "When she says `Ink,' she's trying to say Twinkie. The truth is, she's a Twinkie addict, and I'm her supplier."

Annie still stood at the sink. He wished she would turn around so he could he could see her expression.

"I'm really sorry." His words tumbled out in a rush. "I know you go to a lot of trouble to make sure she eats healthy foods. I haven't given her any in weeks—not since I figured out you were talking about her pacifier.

I wanted to tell you, but it was such a numbskull thing to do, and I didn't want you to think I was totally incompetent when it came to caring for her...."

Annie just stood there, her back toward him. He wished she would say something. He rose and walked toward her. "Aw, Annie, it couldn't have done any real harm. Come on, now—don't be mad at me." He put his hand on her shoulder.

She turned toward him. She wasn't angry, he realized with relief. She was cracking up with laughter. She leaned against him, laughing until tears ran down her face.

She finally drew a breath and wiped her eyes. "Well, you get points for coming clean about it."

He looked at her accusingly. "You knew."

The remark set off a fresh round of giggles. Annie looked at Madeline, who was holding the stubs of two snack cakes in her fists, her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk's. "Madeline gave it away. She went nuts when I found the Twinkie boxes in the pantry."

Jake rubbed his head, feeling like an idiot. "I should have told you," he admitted. "It was just such a stupid thing to do...."

Annie's eyes danced. "It would have been stupider if you'd sat there and actually eaten six of them to keep me from finding out."

Jake grinned back. "You would have let me do that, too, wouldn't you?"

"I would have. But I didn't think Madeline would."

He laughed and gazed into her eyes—into her laughing, impish, blue eyes—and felt an almost overwhelming surge of attraction.

"Twinkie." Annie cocked her head as she said the word, as if she were testing it on her tongue. "You know, I kind of like the name. Maybe I should start calling you that, too."

"Don't you dare."

"I just might, just to see what you'll do."

"I know what I'd like to do." His words came out low.. and husky and full of innuendo. The ever-present chemistry between them began to smoke. He gazed at her, and she gazed back. The air in the room suddenly grew several degrees warmer.and strangely harder to breathe.. `. "Annie ..." he murmured.

"Ink! Ink! Ink!"

The jarring interruption made them both turn toward the high chair, where a cream-covered Madeline was , straining to reach the plate of remaining Twinkies.

Annie scurried to the table and picked up the plate. "That's more than enough, sweetheart," she told the baby. She turned to Jake. "Since you're the one responsible for the layer of cream filling Madeline's wearing, I think you should be the one to wash it off. So why don't you take over bath duty tonight"—she shot him a mischievous smile—"Twinkie?"

By the time Jake got the baby out of the tub thirty minutes later, he was nearly as soaked as she was. He'd managed to carry her to the nursery, dry her off and put on her diaper, but his hair was still dripping in his eyes. as he squatted on the floor, struggling to work the child's arm through her nightgown. Annie walked into the baby's bedroom and smiled.

"What did she do—pull you into the tub with her?"

"Almost." With a final tug, he managed to get the night gown on the squirming toddler. Madeline immediately waddled over to a basket of stuffed animals and began pulling them out onto the floor.

Jake started to rise from his crouched position, thenfroze as something soft touched his head. He looked up to find that Annie had picked up the towel and was using it to dry his hair. The gentleness of her hands jolted him.

It had been a long time since someone had touched him like this. A handshake, an occasional pat on the back, a kiss on the cheek from Susanna-those were the only types of physical contact he'd had since. Rachel had died. He'd never realized how important the sense of touch was, until it was suddenly missing from his life.

"How did you get so drenched?" Annie asked.

Her fingers were weaving a spell. Her breasts were just above eye level. Jake found it hard to. breathe, much less to talk. "Madeline hit me with a loaded sponge toy;'

Annie's breasts swayed mesmerizingly above his forehead. He tried to focus on what he was saying, but all he could think about was the beauty of those breasts, .so close to his face. He could lean up and kiss them. He could reach up and touch them. He wondered what she'd do if he did.

Annie gave his hair a final tousle, then stepped back, the towel in her hand. "There. That's better."

No, it's rat. It was much better when you were touching me.

Madeline toddled over, a stuffed toy dachshund in her hand. "Aw Dah," she announced.

Annie looked at Jake, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"She just said `Hot Dog.'

Madeline gave a gummy smile and waved the stuffed toy. Jake looked from the child to Annie and shook his head. "You're imagining things. She's just making baby sounds."

"No, she said it. She misses Hot Dog since he's gone back home, now that Ben and Helen are back." Annie crouched down beside the child and gave her an encouraging smile. "Who have you got there, Madeline? What's the name of your puppy?"

"Aw Dab."

"See?" Annie's face beamed with pride. She scooped the child into a big hug. "What a smart girl, Madeline! That toy looks like Hot Dog, doesn't it?"

"Aw Dab," Madeline confirmed.

"She did say it!" Jake exclaimed. "She said Hot Dog, clear as day." Jake jubilantly lifted the child in his arms and swung her around. "You're one smart little cupcake, aren't you?"

Madeline grinned up. "Aw Dab."

Annie caught Jake's eye and laughed. Madeline did, too. Jake's heart filled to bursting. His fifteen-month-old daughter had said hot dog! He couldn't have felt prouder

if he'd won the Nobel Peace Prize, snagged a Pulitzer, ,.. and finished first in the Boston Marathon, all at the same time.

This is what it's like to be a family, he thought.

The thought made him pause. The three of them were a family, at least biologically and legally. But they weren't a real family, not in the real sense of the word.

He and Annie were, married, but the marriage was just a matter of convenience. They'd made a child together, but they'd never made love.

Love—that was the key ingredient. That was what melded people into a family,, not marriage contracts or bloodlines.

A rush of confusion and something close to panic poured through Jake's veins. There was no place for love in this relationship. Love was emotional, and emotions muddied legal issues. The whole point of this marriage was to work out a legal custody arrangement—that, and to give Madeline a simple, normal, easily explainable family history.

Annie lifted Madeline from Jake's arms. "Are you ready to go to bed, sweetie pie?"

I sure am. The thought was so clear that for a moment, Jake was afraid he'd said it aloud. Crimony, he was really losing it. He needed to get out of here before he did something he regretted. "I'd better go. I've had a really long day."

"You're welcome to stay and spend the night."

Awareness pulsed between them. "In the guest bedroom, I mean," Annie added quickly. "Like usual."

Sexual energy hung in the room like volatile vapors, dangerous, capable of igniting at any moment. It was growing between them, every time he saw her. Jake needed to leave before the sparks between them set off an explosion.

"I need to get back to Tulsa. I have a meeting first thing in the morning." He leaned in and kissed Madeline. As he did, he got a delectable whiff of Annie's soft perfume. 'He started to kiss her on the cheek as well, then decided against it.

Her eyes held a funny light as he drew away. She knew, he thought uneasily. She knew he'd almost kissed her. He wondered if she knew why he hadn't—that he didn't trust himself to stop with just a friendly peck.

He took a step toward the nursery door and lifted his hand. "Well, I'll see both of you on Friday."

"Okay. We'll look forward to it, won't we, Madeline?" Annie lifted the baby's arm. The baby gave an engaging grin, but it was the picture of Annie's face as she watched him .leave that haunted him on the drive back to Tulsa—her lips parted, her eyes filled with wistful yearning.

Chapter Sixteen

Annie was closing the door to Madeline's room Friday evening when she heard the sound she'd been waiting for—the crunch of car tires in the drive. Her heart picked up speed. She quickly checked her appearance in the hall mirror, then chided herself for being foolish. Jake was coming to see Madeline, not her. Still, she'd taken an inordinate amount of time with her appearance—showering after dinner, donning a casual sage-green sundress with crisscrossed straps in the back, putting on make-up.

She was falling for Jake. She told herself that she was heading for a major heartache, that she was being ridiculous, that he wasn't interested in a long-term relationship, but her heart wouldn't listen to reason. It still raced like a greyhound as a knock sounded at the door.

Annie opened it. She knew Jake would be on the porch, but she was unprepared for the physical impact he had on her. When he smiled, she was hit by a knee-weakening, breath-catching bolt of magnetism that struck her square in the solar plexus. He'd obviously come straight from the office; he was wearing dress slacks and a blue shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck. A large cardboard box sat at his feet on the porch.

He seemed to feel the attraction, too. She saw it in his eyes, in the way his pupils dilated. For a moment they just stood, and looked at each other.

"Hi," she finally said.

"Hi, yourself." His gaze roamed over her, then returned to her face. It was an awkward moment, a moment when friends kiss cheeks or strangers shake hands. Jake made no move to do either. "You look really nice."

"Thanks." She opened the door wider. "Come on in."

He picked up the box and followed her into the living room. Setting the box on the coffee table, he seated himself beside her on the sofa.

She needed to focus on something, anything besides Jake and the almost palpable current between them. The box, she told herself. Focus on whatever is in the box.

She gestured towards it. "What's this?"

"A surprise for Madeline."

The package seemed to shift slightly on the table. Annie glanced at it curiously. She was dying to know what was in it, but Jake's guarded expression made her hesitant to ask. "Oh, gee, she just fell asleep. I guess you'll have to wait until morning to give it to her."

"Well, this is probably the kind of surprise. that's best in the morning, anyway. It's likely to get her pretty wound up."