The Baby Bargain

Embarrassment engulfed the trio—or at least two out of three—and silence reigned until Liberty tossed her pillow aside, stretched her legs then slapped both hands on her thighs.

“Well! Seems like a terrible time for me to leave, doesn’t it?” She stood and looked cheerfully between Eden and LJ. “I’m heading to First Cup for a double shot. Maybe you two will still be here when I get back.” She considered them a moment. “Possibly even in the same positions. Can I bring you anything? Latte? Chai? Iron supplement? You’re looking a little peaked. No? All righty.” She walked to the door, turned sideways to edge past LJ and whispered loudly to him in parting, “This isn’t that embarrassing, you know. You should laugh about it when I leave.”

Eden heard the scrape of her keys as she scooped them off the dining room table and then the creaky opening and closing of the screen door.

“I wonder why I didn’t hear it when you came in?” Eden murmured.

“Because I tried very hard to be quiet,” LJ responded. “I thought you’d gotten the baby back to sleep and didn’t want to wake him.”

His gaze began to drift lower again until he jerked it back up. Somehow his discomfort began to lessen hers.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen a woman breastfeed?” It seemed unlikely in this day and age, but he tugged on his loose tie as if he felt a bit choked.

“It’s not the first time I’ve seen it. It’s the first time I’ve watched.”

Eden felt another blush coming on, then reminded herself she was a doula, for pity’s sake. A woman’s body and the way it operated before, during and after pregnancy was her area of expertise. Breast feeding was more natural than nine-tenths of the things people did in public. She’d breastfed comfortably and inconspicuously in her doctor’s office, in a restaurant booth and, once, in a cozy chair tucked into a corner of the public library.

And now she really needed to change breasts. She gave herself a quick pop quiz. Multiple choice.

When confronted by a gorgeous man watching you breastfeed, do you:

A) Cover yourself and tell him to scram?

B) Continue to breastfeed, but drape yourself with diapers, baby blanket and, if available, a pup tent?

C) Pause to call the La Leche League and ask someone there for emergency advice? Or,

D) Behave as the mature, self-actualized woman you are and proceed with confidence?

She chose D.

Fortunately, she had large hands for a woman, which facilitated holding and maneuvering Liam securely.

Offering Liam a little encouragement to detach from her right breast, she let him rest atop the Boppy while she refastened her bra and allowed the T-shirt to drop into place. Giving his belly a brief, loud nuzzle as she transferred him to her left side, she settled him, lifted her T-shirt, unfastened the bra and kept her head down while she helped him latch on.

She didn’t have to look up to know LJ watched her every move. She felt his frank gaze.

“If you’re thinking about putting this in a commercial, forget about it.”

She spoke lightly, to relieve some of the tension. When no response came, she did glance up and found him staring at her rather solemnly. Their gazes locked and suddenly, shockingly, the silence didn’t seem unnatural at all.

Somewhere in Oregon, some poor shmuck is missing this moment.

That was LJ’s uncensored thought as he watched Eden nuzzle her baby, put him against her breast and gently, gently twirl a finger through his baby curls. It was a surprising thought from a man who didn’t want kids, but he figured that anyone out there in the world who had one sure as hell ought to witness this.

I really should put this in the commercial. No one would think of Robbie Logan or lawsuits or scandals while they’re watching Eden. He’d never seen anything so perfectly natural, so quintessentially pure and female in all his life.

“Ow!” Eden jumped and pulled her son away from her bosom. “No biting!” She continued to cradle him, but LJ saw her eyes water. “He’s getting teeth,” she explained, “so he likes to experiment.”

LJ winced on her behalf. Then, without thinking at all—if he had, he never would have made the move—he stepped closer, reached for the baby and lifted him to eye level. “Looks like you’re going to need a lesson or two in how to treat your mother, my friend.”

It occurred to LJ belatedly that he could have instigated quite a scene, but Liam didn’t cry. His chubby hands reached for LJ’s nose, his chubby feet kicked merrily at LJ’s chest, and his cheeks dimpled as he grinned.

The baby certainly had her eyes and nose, but not her hair. LJ looked around Liam’s squirming body. “Do you have a freckle on your neck, too?”