Page 85 of Love Bomb

“Five, probably. No doubt Conall will invite himself back for dinner.”

Rona pulled the ingredients out of the fridge. All the while, her eyes kept straying back to Bain.

“You’re really good with him,” she said. “How come you know how to handle a baby?”

“It isn’t because I have kids scattered all over Scotland, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said.

“I wasn’t actually.” The thought hadn’t even occurred to her, which was kinda surprising.

“It’s no big secret,” Bain said. “I have four younger brothers and about a million cousins. I’ve handled a fair few babies in my time.”

“Huh,” Rona said as she put some water on to boil for the spaghetti.

But her attention kept straying to Bain. This was a side of him she’d never seen before, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. All she knew was that she liked the sight of him caring for the baby. She liked it a lot.

“So, I’m guessing we aren’t going to blow up the folly tonight.” Rona flashed Bain a smile, letting him know she understood that the situation was out of his control.

“Don’t worry,” Bain said. “I’ve been going over the folly specs and I have a plan for bringing it down. We’ll get it done tomorrow night.”

“We have to,” Rona said. “My parents go to court the following morning.”

The baby burped loudly, and Bain grinned at Rona. “Noisy wee thing, isn’t he?”

Rona came over to stand behind Bain’s shoulder, she stroked the baby’s face. So soft. And cuddly. He was just too tempting to resist.

“Can I hold him?” she said.

“Sure.” Bain handed the baby over. “Don’t forget to support his head. And keep an eye out for eruptions. There’s a chance he might have a bit of spit up, or worse. If it’s worse, you’ll smell it first.”

Rona chuckled with delight as she took the baby in her arms. It was the first time she’d ever held one, and she was fascinated.

“It’s different from carrying Tom Cat,” she said as she sat down.

“A lot less hair for a start,” Bain agreed with a grin.

Rona was fascinated with the baby’s chubby cheeks and big blue eyes. “I should call Dougal and ask him to feed Tom,” she said absently.

“I’ll do it,” Bain said as she began cooing to the baby.

In the end, Bain made the spaghetti too.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

By the time the social worker arrived the following morning, Rona had downed three mugs of coffee and was starting a fresh pot. It turned out, babies were nothing like cats. Nothing. They didn’t wash themselves, they weren’t toilet trained, and they couldn’t go out to hunt their own food. And they were a helluva lot more vocal. Neither she nor Bain had gotten much sleep, but now thanks to too much caffeine, she was tired and wired. A delightful combination.

“Where are you taking him?” Bain asked the social worker.

He had a death grip on the baby. And had started interrogating the poor woman the minute she’d entered the house. It didn’t matter that Officer Donaldson had come to oversee the handover. Bain had no intention of letting the infant go until he was satisfied with the answers he received.

“He’ll be placed with a fantastic couple who specialize in caring for babies,” the woman said kindly, showing far more patience than Rona would have done under the circumstances. “Don’t worry, he’ll be in very good hands.”

Rona liked her. She had a kind face and seemed to understand that Bain was in protector mode.

“I’ve heard about foster homes,” he said with suspicion. “I don’t like what I’ve heard.”

“That’s probably from TV dramas,” the social worker said. “They tend to focus on fiction more than reality. I can absolutely assure you that this little chap will be well taken care of.”

Bain turned to Rona. “Is that right? Does TV make them look worse?”