Read Online That's Amore by Erin McCarthy - Free Book Online Page B

been in this apartment for three weeks instead of eight hours.
    “Yeah, I guess I should get started on that chicken. I’m sure you’re starving.”
    His stomach growled dutifully. “You don’t have to cook, Paige. We can order a pizza or something. After sitting around the ER holding Justin for three hours, I’m sure you’re tired.”
    She stopped in the kitchen doorway and looked at him in surprise. Then she smiled. “You know something? You can be really sweet when you want to.”
    “Is that a good thing?” While he had her relaxed and confessing, he might as well fish for more.
    “It’s a very good thing,” she said in a soft voice as she reached her arms out over her head and stretched with a yawn.
    The belly shirt rose up, up, up, until Jeff could see the swell of the underside of Paige’s breasts, covered in white lace.
    Time to put the baby to bed.
    Uncle Jeff wanted to play with Auntie Paige.
    “Can you order the pizza while I put him to bed? On a blanket on the floor,” Jeff added, thinking of their disastrous mistake earlier.
    Hey, they couldn’t be expected to know these things. Paige had laid Justin on the bed for his nap and it had made perfect sense to Jeff. A bed is where
he
slept, after all. It had never occurred to him that a one-year old could roll off and clobber his chin on the nightstand. But that still didn’t keep him from feeling guilty as hell.
    “Okay, I’ll call Antonio’s. Sound good?”
    “Sure.” Jeff went into the bedroom and assessed the situation. He was a smart guy. He could figure this out.
    First he laid Justin dead center in the middle of the bed, eyeing him for any spontaneous rolling while sleeping that might go on.
    Then he grabbed the entire blanket and folded it over Justin. He picked the bundle up, careful not to jostle him and wake him up, then laid him on the floor, smoothing the blanket back out and tucking the bottom over him to cover him up.
    Justin’s grimy, blood stained shirt marred the innocence of the image. Jeff reached over and slipped the shirt off the kid’s head and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t cry.
    There. Much better. He looked downright adorable.
    Except for the glaring bandage on his chin that pointed accusingly at Jeff.
    “I’m sorry, big guy.” Jeff leaned over and brushed his fingers through Justin’s soft black hair, studying the amazing image of a tiny face, with miniature features.
    “Good idea, putting him on the floor,” Paige whispered from behind him.
    He grunted, embarrassed to have been caught caressing Justin.
    Paige looked over his shoulder at Justin. “He’s such a cute kid.”
    He was pretty adorable. “That’s because he takes after our side of the family instead of Frank’s.”
    Then Paige’s hands dropped onto his shoulders and the word flashing through his head was not
adorable
.
    Paige, with no clue as to his guttural thoughts said, “Come on, I ordered the pizza.”
    While he was content just to sit there on his haunches, feeling Paige pressing lightly down on him, he was hungry. First he could feed his stomach and then maybe another appetite or two.
    He stood and said, “Do you think he’ll just sleep all night?”
    Paige looked at Justin in doubt. “I guess so. He’s a baby. They sleep a lot, right?
    Hell if he knew. “I don’t know.”
    What he did know is that he was experiencing some strange feelings whenever he looked at Paige. Feelings that were no longer just about attraction and the memory of her warm body beneath his.
    Though that was part of it.
    It also had to do with the way Paige had handled the emergency with Justin, and the way she looked warmly at the baby. And then there was the smile that played across her face when she looked at him, Jeff.
    He wanted to make love to Paige. Desperately. Tonight.
    Sitting next to her on the couch, he scarfed down three pieces of pizza then leaned back with a sigh. “I’m exhausted. What about you?”
    He was tempted to add,