“Do babies have a waist measurement or is it by pounds or what?” Shane inspected the tag on the teeny pair of blue denim overalls.
“She’s not a puppy where the chow rations are by weight.” Brandt held the overalls up to the baby in Shane’s arms, shook his head, then grabbed a slightly bigger version. Still teeny though.
“She might not be a puppy, but she could be another animal.” Shane rolled his shoulders as he too tried to find a way to relax. Brandt’s obvious enjoyment was contagious, and Shane wanted some of that fun. He held up a fuzzy brown sleeper. “She could be a little bear or—”
“A dragon.” Brandt added both Shane’s sleeper pick and another one in green with a little hood and tail.
“Maybe we’re enjoying this too much.” Shane tossed in two cheap, plain sleepers for when they ran out of funny ones.
“Probably.” Brandt shrugged. “But why not? I mean I didn’t ask for this, not gonna ever do it again if I can help it, but if I’m here, caught in a tight spot, so why not find a way to have a little fun? Either way, I gotta deal, but my way, at least I’m not miserable.”
“Good point.” Shane wished his own moods could shift so easily, wished that fun and lightness came as naturally to him as Brandt.
“I do.” Brandt bumped Shane’s shoulder, the contact far more electric than he undoubtedly intended. Oblivious, he moved on, tossing a pack of assorted small blankets in the basket. “See? I’m getting more spit-up rags, but now she can be a dragon while she pukes on you and forgets how to sleep at night.”
“True. Look! She can be a puppy, after all.” Shane added one more sleeper to the pile.
“In my house, we welcome all species.” Brandt wandered over toward a display of cribs and various baby-holding devices like swings and high chairs.
“I bet you do.” The remark came out a little flirtier than Shane intended, which might be better than judgmental and grumpy.
Brandt, though, didn’t seem to care about Shane’s tone, if he’d even noticed. In the car, he’d been rather easy about the news that there wouldn’t be a wife in Shane’s future, but that didn’t mean he’d welcome Shane trying it on with him. Not that that was Shane’s intent. He’d only revealed that much to Brandt because he’d asked, and Brandt seemed like the sort of guy to value a straight shooter.
Which Shane was. He might be discreet on tour and with what limited press he encountered, but he was generally honest with the people in his life who mattered. And besides, even if it had been a less than comfortable conversation, Shane had wanted to know now if it was going to be an issue as they worked together for the baby’s best interest.
“Okay. So now for a crib. What are we thinking?” Brandt turned to him like Shane might have an opinion that mattered when it came to where babies slept. But simply being consulted, that was nice, the warm feeling of not being all alone. And he was so used to being the responsible one, the one in charge, that it was nice to get to share some of that.
Shane scanned the prices of various options, eventually pointing to a box with a picture of a white crib with wide slats. “This one is cheaper than some but safe and with a better mattress than the cot. If you get it, you might have enough to also get a swing or something for the great room.”
“Sold.” Brandt’s decisive nod was strangely sexy, the way he knew what he wanted and went for it.
“My goodness aren’t you the most adorable thing.” The store clerk had finally taken notice of them, coming over to stand next to him, and it took Shane a moment to realize that she meant the baby in his arms, not him. “How old is the little princess?”
“Two months.” Shane adjusted the blanket so the woman could take a peek.
“What else can I help you find?” She had frizzy hair and kind eyes, but also seemed like the sort of shrewd business owner who sensed a big sale.
“We’ll take the crib. Next on the list is a harness thing—sling.” Brandt gave her the same smile he’d given the med tech with the same predictable result of the woman tripping over herself to help Brandt select a baby carrier.
“Pink, pink, or pinker?” Brandt paged through a colorful display of pouches and slings, turning his grin back on Shane. “It needs to fit you too.”
“Whatever she won’t fall out of.” Shane looked away before that grin could work its magic on his insides again. “I grew up with Shelby’s hand-me-downs, especially when funds were tight. You’re not going to scare me away with some florals.”
“Aww. You guys are so cute.” The clerk, who was still hovering too close for Shane’s taste, did a fake swoon with one hand on her chest. “How long have you been together?”
“About two days,” Brandt said absently, eyes still on the rack of slings.
A sputtering noise escaped Shane’s throat. “We’re not together.”
Brandt looked up at that, not nearly as put out as Shane would have thought. “Sorry. Misunderstood. Yeah, we’re not a couple. He’s the uncle.”
“Still sweet.” The woman continued to smile at them, perhaps even more so, as like with the med tech, she couldn’t seem to resist flirting with Brandt. “Let’s find you what else you need.”
They left with an eye-popping bill, a crib, a swing, enough outfits for a whole season of a Hollywood TV drama, and even a few toys and board books. The clerk had talked Brandt into those with a cheerful “Babies grow fast!”
Shane had opened his mouth to say that they might not be around to see that if Shelby changed her mind, but then he thought better of it. And he didn’t know what do with the weird prickle the reminder had triggered. Almost like dread, which was ridiculous. He should want Shelby to return. Or for the paternity test to show Brandt was the dad and for him to settle on some permanent childcare arrangement. Shane should want the responsibility off his shoulders. But instead he was...wistful.
Babies did grow. She already seemed a little bigger. And as exhausting as this all was, he also felt that press of time pushing forward. Snippets of lyrics about change and time danced in his head, things he’d want to write down later.
“That should do it.” Brandt wasn’t burdened by his melancholy, laughing as they loaded the last of the stuff in his Jeep. And damn, was he ever attractive in the midday sunlight, light sheen of sweat from hauling everything to the car. His hazel eyes were almost gold in this light. Messy hair. That grin.
Forget the baby. Brandt was the most adorable thing. And every single time he laughed like that, Shane’s urge to be stupid only intensified.
Chapter Six