Surprise Package

Alicia. For a minute he’d forgotten she was with him. Now he wished she wasn’t, but he had to keep up some kind of front. “I’m sure this is a mistake.”

She let go of his arm and backed away. “Why don’t you call me when this mistake is back with its mother?”

“You don’t have to leave.”

“No, by all means stay,” Ashley insisted. “I imagine Kyle will need some help tonight. That is unless he plans to invite the baby’s mother over. Then it might get a little crowded. Of course, what’s a crowd for some people is a ménage à trois for others.”

“Call me later, Kyle, like when the baby starts college.” Alicia turned and headed toward the elevator.

“Oops. Looks like you lost that one. She’d have to be wearing skates to escape any faster.”

“Thank you, neighbor. I didn’t really want to enjoy myself tonight anyway. Now, take your borrowed baby and go home.” He leaned against the door. “Unless you’d like to take Alicia’s place. Actually, it’s the least you can do, now that I think about it.”

“You’re such a romantic. No wonder the women flock to your door.”

“No, that’s the result of my other talents. So, what do you say? Do you want to take that baby back to wherever you got her and join me for a nightcap?”

“You just don’t get it, do you? This baby is yours.”

“No way. I—”

The baby started to cry, interrupting his protests. Ashley rocked the infant in her arms until it quieted, then poked the note in his face. “This was in the basket. The message is extremely clear.”

Kyle took the note and read it slowly, panic whipping through him as the words jumped from the pages in alarming clarity.

Dear Daddy,

Mommy can’t take care of me right now, so I’m coming to live with you. All you have to do is make sure I’m fed regularly and have a warm, safe place to sleep. Mommy put an empty bottle and a plastic pouch of my formula in the back corner of the basket. Just mix it according to the directions. There’s a few diapers there, too, to get you started. You’ll need to change me when I’m soiled or wet. But most of all, Daddy, I need you to love me as much as Mommy does, and to take care of me until she comes back to get me.

Your daughter

Holy smokin’ gun. This was too crazy for words. It had to be some kind of sick joke. No one in their right mind would leave a baby in his care.

Ashley pushed the baby into his arms, leaving him no recourse but to hold it. The infant wiggled and squirmed so that he was afraid he might drop it.

“Looks like you have things under control,” Ashley said, but her voice had lost its acidic edge. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Panic struck again, this time with the force of a huge fist to the gut. Ashley was about to walk away and leave him with this—this little person. He’d never begged before, but this seemed like a real good time to start. “Please, Ashley. You can’t be heartless enough to leave me all alone with this baby. If you’re not worried about me, think of the baby. I don’t have a clue what to do.”

“Then I guess you better call 911.”

“What? And have the cops come out and arrest her?”

“They don’t arrest babies.”

“Well, she’s a little young for the cops to give her an ice-cream cone and have her wait at the station house until her mother shows up to claim her.”

“They won’t do that, either. They’ll call the authorities.”

“What authorities?”

“How would I know.”

“You’re the one who said to call 911. You shouldn’t give advice if you don’t know what you’re talking about.” This was ridiculous. He was standing in the hall arguing about what to do with a baby someone had abandoned at his door. Still, the mother had asked him to take care of this baby until she came back to get her. With luck that would be in the next minute, but he sure couldn’t count on it. And now she was starting to cry again.

“What do you think’s wrong with her?”

“She’s probably hungry, for one thing.”

“Then don’t you think we should feed her?”

“We?” She spread her hands palms up and her gorgeous green eyes flashed fire. “There is no we, Kyle. Never has been. Never will be.”

The baby’s cries became a loud wail. His muscles tightened and his insides bucked as if someone had force-fed him a jar of jalapeños dipped in chili powder. “Please, Ashley. I’ll owe you one, anything. Just help me feed her and get her quiet.”

“Anything?”

“You name it.”

“Clean the grout on my kitchen floor?”

“You’ll have the cleanest grout in the building,” he promised. “I’ll scrub it with my own toothbrush if necessary.”

“Deal.” Ashley took the baby from him. She didn’t look much more adept at holding her than he’d felt, but she settled the baby on her shoulder, and after a few pats on the back, the baby stopped crying.

“That’s right, sweetie. Ashley has you now, and she’s going to help your daddy fix your formula.”

“I’m not her daddy,” he said, but he opened the door, grabbed the basket and followed Ashley inside his apartment. Amazing. He’d been trying to get Ashley inside his place for months. One crying baby had accomplished the task in mere minutes. A crying baby and a promise to clean her grout.

Ashley Garrett was definitely not easy.

* * *

ASHLEY COULDN’T imagine that she was going to be much help. She knew less than nothing about taking care of infants. Even when she was little, she hadn’t been much of a doll person. Books, computer games and puzzles had been more to her liking. But a bargain was a bargain, and her grout could use a good cleaning. Besides, she couldn’t trust Kyle with the care of this poor baby. He’d probably feed her cold pizza and beer.

“I’ll prepare the formula,” Ashley said, walking straight to the kitchen. “You change her.”

“Change her into what?”

“Change her diaper. She’s probably wet, maybe worse.”

“Oh, no. I don’t do dirty diapers. I draw the line there.”

“Then you’re going to have a very smelly apartment.”

“If I’m doing the grout, the least you can do is change diapers.”

“I don’t think so, Daddy. The deal is just that I help you get her fed and quieted down until you hand her over to someone who’ll know how to take care of her properly.” She passed the baby to Kyle. The darling wailed in protest, not that Ashley blamed her. He held her like a sack of potatoes. Still, he did look a little different with a baby in his arms. Less suave. More vulnerable. Sexier than ever. Not that she’d admit that to him.