Page 32 of Stealing Home

Gavin

Looks exhausting.

Dom

Apparently.

There was something refreshingly honest about Gavin. He never pretended to know more than he did. When Dom had confessed during one of their conversations that he’d spent twenty minutes trying to figure out why Lucia wouldn’t stop crying before realizing she’d simply kicked off one sock and was protesting having cold feet, Gavin hadn’t laughed. He’d simply texted back: Sounds like you’re both learning. It had been exactly what Dom needed to hear.

Dom smiled to himself as he slipped his phone into his pocket and reached for the diaper bag. It wasn’t until he zipped it closed that he realized he’d stopped thinking of Gavin as just his contractor a while ago. Now he was just…Gavin. Someone he looked forward to hearing from, who seemed to know exactly what to say without trying too hard. Someone who knew him as more than just the baseball player.

The truth was, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Gavin since the day they met. He’d cataloged every detail about him without meaning to. Gavin’s hair was somewhere between dark blond and light brown, streaked lighter by the sun, and Dom hadn’t missed the way his blue-green eyes had gone soft the second Lucky looked at him. He was built like someone who spent his days lifting heavy things, broad through the shoulders and solid through the chest, with forearms that flexed beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his flannel. Dom had spent an embarrassing amount of that walkthrough wondering what else those arms could do, and none of the answers had been appropriate for a man holding his daughter.

The thought lingered just enough to be uncomfortable.

He’d just picked Lucia up when a sharp knock echoed through the room. Before he could answer, the door opened, and CJ stuck his head inside.

“You decent?”

Dom laughed. “Would that have actually stopped you?”

“Nope.” CJ pushed the door the rest of the way open with his shoulder. “Just trying to give you the illusion of privacy.”

He walked in carrying a cardboard drink tray holding three large coffees. He held one out to Dom. “Peace offering.”

Dom looked at him suspiciously. “For what?”

“I haven’t done anything,” CJ answered. He paused, tilting his head. “Yet.”

He accepted the cup with a sigh that was part gratitude and part resignation. “You’re planning to.” It wasn’t a question.

“Obviously.” CJ wandered over to him, making an exaggerated face that earned him an immediate smile from Lucia. His own grin softened as he carefully lifted her from Dom’s arms. “Morning, Lucky.”

She grabbed one of his fingers with surprising strength, and CJ looked at Dom triumphantly. “See? Favorite uncle.”

“In all fairness, her other uncle isn’t here yet,” Dom pointed out.

“Minor detail,” CJ answered without taking his eyes off Lucia.

Dom smirked, then he took his first sip of coffee and closed his eyes for a second. “You’re my favorite person.”

“I know.”

There was another knock. It had to be Evan, but unlike CJ, he waited for someone to answer instead of just barging in. Dom crossed the room and opened the door to find Evan holding up a paper bag from the deli down the street.

“I figured you probably hadn’t eaten.”

Dom accepted the breakfast with enough enthusiasm that Evan laughed. “Now you’re my favorite person.”

CJ looked up from Lucia. “Excuse me?”

“I brought food. You brought caffeine.” Evan shrugged. “Clearly food is more valuable in this ranking system.”

“I can have two favorite people,” Dom interjected. “And to be fair, neither of you is over Lucky.” Dom unwrapped the sandwich, and the smell of bacon and eggs made his stomach growl so loud that CJ and Evan both heard it.

Evan smirked. “So I was right.”

“I was going to eat,” he protested.