“Just a one sheet pan dish. Some veggies, potatoes, and chicken.”
“It looks good.”
“One of my favorite easy meals to make,” she says, spinning to place the pan in the oven. “It will be ready in about forty-five minutes.”
“Perfect,” I tell her as I stand and go over to the swing. I stare at the control panel for a moment until I figure out how to turn it off. Once it comes to a stop, I unclip Evie, thankful that the buckle on this thing didn’t require a fucking engineering degree to work, and cradle her in my arms. Holding a baby is still foreign to me, but Derek assured me today that the more I do it, the easier it will get. “Does she need to be changed or fed soon?”
“She might need to be changed, it’s been almost two hours since I last changed her, and after that, she’ll probably want a bottle. Would you like me to make you one?”
“That’d be great. I’ll go change her while you do that.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Riley says, flashing me that pretty smile again. I cradle Evie in my arms and turn for the living room. I snag a diaper, the wipes container, and a pad thing sticking out of the diaper bag and drop it on the couch. I lay her down gently and follow every step Riley taught me to properly change a diaper. Thankfully, no surprises happen during this diaper change. I’ve seen friends get peed and shit on by their kids and can only hope that never happens to me.
“Who’s a good girl?” I say quietly to Evie as I zip up her outfit. She looks up at me with big, curious eyes. With her dressed, I toss the changing pad thing and the package of wipes back towards the diaper bag then prop her up on my legs that are up on the coffee table. She looks around, content as can be. I slip my finger into her hand, and she grasps ahold of it with a death grip. A moment passes as I just take her in. I have no idea if what she’s doing is normal for babies this age, but I have to assume it is or else I’m sure Jillian or Riley would have mentioned something.
“Who’s ready for a bottle?” Riley asks in a sing-song voice as she enters the living room. Evie turns her head to the sound of her voice. I know she’s excited, as her little legs start kicking as her tongue starts peeking out of her lips like she’s about to start chomping away.
“Thanks,” I say as I take the bottle and then offer it to Evie. She accepts the nipple and immediately starts to suck it down greedily.
“Careful, if she does that too fast, she’ll get a bellyache from the air bubbles,” Riley warns. I take the bottle from her to help slow her down, and that only pisses her off and causes her to start crying. I shift her from lying on my legs to being propped in one arm like I’ve watched Riley hold her as she’s fed her a bottle. Once she’s settled in my arms, I slip the bottle back into her mouth, and she quickly quiets down as she goes back to eating.
“There’s so much to learn about taking care of such a small thing,” I lament as she finishes the bottle. I shift her up onto my shoulder and pat her back until she burps.
“There sure is, but you’ll figure it all out. In a week you’ll be a pro at all of this, I’m sure of it.”
“That might be generous,” I tell her.
“Just because you didn’t know you have a daughter a day ago doesn’t mean that you won’t be a good dad, Justin,” Riley tells me, and it doesn’t go unmissed that she used my full first name. Hardly anyone calls me Justin. Maybe my grandmother and my mom when I’m in trouble, but other than those two, everyone calls me JJ. I usually hate it when people call me Justin, but coming from Riley, I find myself not minding one bit.
“We should discuss the nanny position,” I state.
“Sure, like I said last night, I haven’t been hired yet for any of the jobs I applied for, so I’m available and willing to help you out with Evie.”
“I have no idea what nannies get paid, so you tell me what you charge, and we can set it up. I can contact my agent and see if they have any recommendations on accountants or services I can use to pay you correctly.”
“Some of that depends on hours, if you want me to be a live-in or just here when you need me. I know you don’t have a normal work schedule and that you’d need me to stay overnight at least when you’re on the road, but what about when you are home?”
I digest everything she’s just asked, and I have no fucking clue what to do. “I don’t know the answer to that. Do you have a preference? Even when I’m in town, we’ve got evening games and morning practices. My schedule is all over the place.”
“Okay, how about we do a trial month of me staying here. I’ll be on call whenever you need me. I can plan anything I need to do around your schedule. Maybe we can sit down with a calendar and at least mark down the practices, games, and road trips that you have during that month. Then we can work my days off around those. Live-in nannies usually are provided room and board on top of their pay. I also don’t mind making dinner most nights for the two of us and keeping up with some light house cleaning and laundry.”
“That all sounds reasonable, does three-thousand a month sound fair?” I ask, tossing out a number.
“To start, I think so. We can reassess after the first month,” she agrees readily to my offer.
“All right, it is settled then. I’ll see if I can get a credit card in your name, that way, you can buy things that Evie needs, or we need here at the house. I can also pay for your gas if you have to take her places.”
“That would be great. I’ll head over to my place after dinner and bring some of my things over.”
“Will you need help?” I offer.
“I should be fine, I don’t have all that much; one car full of things, as that’s all that I brought with me when I moved here a few weeks ago. I’ve just been using the furniture that Derek bought to furnish the condo with.”
“Ah, that makes sense. If you do, just let me know, and I’m sure that we can drop Evie off with your brother for an hour.”
“I’ve got it under control,” she assures me.
I move Evie from my shoulder, where she passed out after burping. I get up and place her in the pack-n-play that Riley set up in the living room. Thankfully, she stays asleep once laid down. “Okay,” I tell Riley as I grab the bottle and take it into the kitchen. I rinse it out and place it in the dishwasher. If it weren’t for Jillian this morning showing me how to put one of these together, I’d probably still be standing here looking at it as a foreign object. Who knew a baby bottle could have so many confusing parts?
“Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes,” Riley tells me as she starts to pull out plates and silverware.
“It smells amazing,” I tell her as I suck in a deep breath, the meal filling my house with its pleasant aroma.
“Just wait until you taste it.”
“If it tastes half as good as it smells, then I’m sure it will be incredible.”
“Do you have any allergies I should be aware of?” she asks, setting the table.
“Nope, but I am a tad bit picky. I won’t touch peas, so please don’t try and make me any.”
She breaks out into a giggle, and it makes my dick swell in my boxers. My eyes are drawn to the way her chest bounces up and down with each release of sound. Her tits are the perfect round size. They’d fit into my palms perfectly as my thumbs rub her nipples into tight peaks. Just large enough that I could slide my cock between them, but not too big that I’d get lost. Fuuuuuuk, I can’t be thinking about Riley like this. I shift as discreetly as possible and adjust my cock as it threatens to bust out of my shorts. “I’ll be right back,” I finally grit out as I exit the kitchen as quickly as possible and head for my room. I close the door behind me and lean my back against it. My head falls back and thunks against the closed door. I suck in a deep breath through my nose and will my body to calm the fuck down. I can’t be having these thoughts. Not only is Riley here to help me with my daughter, but Derek would kill me if I ever touched her. He’d probably kill me if he knew the thoughts running through my head.