Light gleamed off the checkered tile as we walked down the hall. I really was trying to be present as JJ talked about stats that, for once, were not baseball-related. He talked about Delilah’s Apgar score, weight, and height. But I was only half-listening.
With each step I took, I realized my heart rate sped up at the knowledge that I would be seeing Harmony. It’d only been a few hours and I missed her. Really missed her. On the drive to Parrish Creek, I’d tried to get my feelings in check. To get my head, heart, and hormones all back on the same page in the Harmony is Off-Limits book. Sadly, that turned out being about as easy as standing on a grease-covered log.
Every time I thought I’d found my balance, that I’d pushed away all thoughts of the way Harmony’s soft, plump lips felt against mine, the way her curves melted into me, of how sweet she tasted, of how sexy the small gasps of pleasure she made were, I would catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye, sitting in the passenger seat beside me, and even the slightest peripheral visuals sent my feet slipping out from underneath me causing me to splash back into the emotional waters I was trying so desperately to stay out of.
I’d even tried to concentrate on the things about her that annoyed me. Or at least would annoy me if any other girl did them. Like a girl baby talking. It was, if not number one, at least in the top three list of things that turned me off faster than a teenage boy shuts off his computer when his parents come into the room. Whenever Romeo would stir, or snuggle closer to Harmony, she’d tell him he was a good, handsome boy in a goo-goo, ga-ga tone that would normally have my skin crawling.
But when the words came out of her mouth, somehow they were cute. Endearing. Adorable. Harmony Briggs defied all logic, broke every rule, and bound past every obstacle in a single leap. If I was Superman then she would be my kryptonite, no question about it.
“We’re in here.” JJ pushed the door open and my heart lodged in my throat, cutting off my oxygen.
Harmony was sitting in a chair beside Destiny’s bed, cradling the baby in her arms. Her gaze was focused on the tiny bundle as she whispered and gently rocked back and forth. She looked so natural, so peaceful, so damn beautiful. The sight squeezed my heart like a lemon being pressed for lemonade.
“She’s a baby hog.” Destiny grinned up at her husband as JJ stepped beside his wife, bent down, and kissed her sweetly on her forehead.
“I am not hogging her.” Harmony’s eyes were still trained on the bundle she was holding. “We’re just bonding.”
“Okay, Auntie Bonding.” JJ stepped around the bed and reached for his daughter. “Time’s up, I want to show off my daughter.”
Harmony kept Delilah just out of her brother’s grasp. For the first time since I’d walked in, she raised her head. “I can show her…”
Her voice trailed off when our eyes met. We stared at each other silently. Even though we weren’t actually talking, from my side of the situation, everything was being said. Things that I would never say out loud. Things like how badly I wished that it were our baby Harmony was holding. How badly I wanted to throw her over my shoulder like a caveman, take her to the nearest dark corner and make a baby with her. How badly I wanted her to want those things, too.
In some part of my brain, I was aware that we were in a hospital room. I was vaguely conscious of the fact that JJ and Destiny were also in the room and probably sensed the energy shift. I’d always tried to keep whatever I felt for Harmony to myself. My mom might’ve guessed, but I would be damn surprised if JJ had a clue. A small, sane voice in the back of my head pointed out that if I didn’t break free from the spell Harmony had cast on me, he’d have more than a clue. He’d be able to solve-the-puzzle-Pat.
Clearing my throat, I crossed the room in two strides. JJ stepped beside Destiny’s bed so I could see the baby that Harmony wasn’t willing to relinquish control of.
“Hudson, meet Delilah Rose. Lilah, meet Hud.” Harmony sing-songed the introduction.
“Wow, she is beautiful.” I wasn’t just saying that either.
I’d seen newborn babies. Twice. Both times while on the job. And to be honest, they kind of looked like aliens. They were discolored and had odd shaped heads. But, JJ and Destiny’s daughter looked like she belonged on a baby food commercial. She had long dark lashes, rosy red lips, and perfectly round cherubic cheeks.
“Yes, she is,” JJ agreed, adding, “Just like her mama.”
JJ and Destiny had only been a couple a few months longer than Cara and Trace, but being around them, I also couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t. In the same way Cara and Trace seemed to belong together, Destiny and JJ just fit.
The chair squeaked on the tile floor as Harmony stood. “Her mama looks tired. I’ll get out of your way and let you rest.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Destiny insisted, but the dark circles beneath her eyes told a different story.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, unless they release you in the morning, then I’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon when you’re home and settled.”