Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Kinder-potamus was a pastel kaleidoscope that smelled like strawberry candy and sounded like a tinny music box lullaby. It was equal parts delightful and horrifying. It was also, conveniently enough, nearly empty.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I said to the cool blonde behind the counter. “I need your help. I—”
She turned around and blasted me with a high-octane smile. “Welcome to Kinder-potamus! I’m Kelsey. Expectant father or baby shower guest?”
“Uh.” I opened and closed my mouth like a fish. “Neither? The baby’s already born.”
“Ah. So you’ll be needing a gift, then. How old is the precious bundle? Newborn? First birthday? Second birthday?”
“Er.” I shook my head. “I don’t need a gift, exactly. More like—”
“Something for your own little one, then! How old?”
“Around nine months,” I said, bewildered. “I think. But—”
“You think?” Kelsey pursed her lips. “Shouldn’t you know, if you’re the father?”
Wow. It was incredibly annoying when people tried to answer their own questions.
“I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong idea, Kelsey. You see…” I hesitated. “I’m looking for something in the way of an apology baby basket.”
It was Kelsey’s turn to look at me in confusion. “An apology… baby basket.”
“Yes! Mmhmm. Sort of like an apology casserole, but on a larger scale. Something that says ‘I’m sorry things won’t work out, but I still want to support you and the baby.’ I’m thinking something with, like, a soft toy? And maybe also some of the bottles with the good nipples that prevent gas?”
Kelsey’s perkiness evaporated. “You’re breaking up with someone by sending them a baby basket? Seriously?”
“What? Lord, no. Not breaking up! More like…” I coughed lightly. “Saying the relationship will never happen? But with high-quality nipples, to soften the blow? And I’m going to deliver it. In person.”
She tilted her head to study me. “Sir, have you thought this through?”
I sighed. “I promise you, Kelsey, I have thought of hardly anything else in the past day. Can you help me with my nipples? And…” I remembered the day at the courthouse and Diesel saying the baby had only come with one of each accessory. “Do you have a chicken pacifier or two?”
“Sir, we only sell pacifiers for babies,” Kelsey said faintly.
I ignored her. “And one of those nondescript black diaper bags for dads? Oh, and maybe some board books? And some teethers? Some butterfly pajamas?”
By the time we were done, my order rang in at just under eight hundred dollars, and Kelsey had to haul it all to the back room so she could find a basket big enough to contain it. But unlike when I’d borrowed Miss Sara’s kitchen to make my apology casserole, buying the apology baby basket only made me feel worse; every squeeze pouch of organic baby food I’d selected had been a reminder that I was telling Diesel “no.”
Which was possibly why apology baby baskets were not a thing.
The bell over the front door chimed, and I recognized the voices of the people coming in before I could see them over the display of gift cards near the door.
“Stop trying to steal my son’s affections, Malachi Forrester!”
“Steal,” Mal scoffed. “Like I don’t already have them locked down. Your mom’s so silly, Beau. Isn’t she? Yes, she is. Say ‘Mal,’ buddy. Come on. Say ‘Mal Mal Mal.’”
The baby made a noise that sounded like “Ma ma ma,” and both Mal and Ava crowed in triumph.
“He said ‘Mama,’” Ava sniffed. “Clear as a bell.”
“Delusions. He spoke the name of his favorite uncle.”
“Nonsense. He didn’t say anything close to ‘Brooks.’”
Mal laughed out loud as they came fully into the store, Ava pushing an empty baby carriage and Mal cuddling Ava’s infant son to his chest. They both looked up in surprise when they spotted me.
“Well, hey, Parrish!” Ava Siegel’s blonde curls bounced as she came forward to give me a hug. She looked summertime perfect in a sundress printed with yellow flowers. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Morning, Ava.” I returned her hug and nodded at Mal, who had his hands full. “Mal.” Then I grinned at the drooly baby in Mal’s arms. “Beau! Cuttin’ some teeth, there, little man? How are y’all doin’?”
I’d spent plenty of time with Mal and his boyfriend, Brooks, since Uncle Beau had first gotten to know them a year ago. I knew Ava and her husband, Paul, who was Brooks’s business partner, slightly less well. But Uncle Beau adored all of them and had more or less adopted them all into our extended family… so much so that Paul and Ava had named their baby after him.
“Oh, nothing new to report for me.” Ava waved a hand airily. “But word on the street is that someone just got engaged.” She gave me a mischievous smile that made my heart beat double time.
Had she heard about Diesel’s crazy fake proposal?
What had she heard? How had she heard?