“Now I think you need to be in a few of them,” Olivia said as she moved the infants to another spot on the grass and laid out a blanket for Jake to sit on. She talked to herself as she got everything situated exactly where she wanted them, and her movements were swift and efficient. Without looking at him she said, “I’ll want you to sit down on the blankets, and then I’m going to move their seats on either side of you.” She walked over to pick up each of the babies and placed them into position. “We’ll do a few shots like this, and then we’ll take them out of the seats and have you holding them. Some shots, you’ll hold the both of them; and then I’ll take a couple of one-on-one shots so that they’ll each have a daddy-and-me shot for when they get older.”
Jake had no idea what to even say to all of that. He’d never given much thought to pictures – taking them or taking them out to look at them. He knew that there were photo albums in his house from throughout his life that his mother had made, but no one ever made a big deal about them. Maybe he’d have to take them out and give them another look and see the kinds of things that maybe he should think about documenting in Ben and Maddie’s lives. What Olivia was doing right now was great, but she wasn’t going to be here forever to make sure that pictures got taken when they should.
For a moment he let that thought settle in as he watched her continue to set the scene for this next round of photos. She wasn’t going to be here forever. This month – that was starting to move way too quickly for his liking – was going to be all that they had. Did he really want to spend it walking around wishing that things were different? Lying awake at night wondering what it would be like to hold her, kiss her, love her? Was that the life that he wanted?
“Okay, why don’t you put a hand on each of their seats and look at me and smile?” Olivia suggested as she crouched down into position just off of the blanket. She turned the camera this way and that and moved around as she directed him where to look and what to do. Olivia knew that she should be focusing on the picture as a whole, but the image of Jake sitting there looking relaxed and happy surrounded by his kids just twisted her up in knots. How was it possible that something as innocent as sitting with his babies made him look so sexy?
Clearing her throat, she instructed him to pick up Ben while she moved Maddie out of view and then removed Ben’s seat. “What should I do with him?” Jake asked, holding his son awkwardly for a moment.
“Well, first you want to hold him as if he doesn’t smell like poop,” she laughed. “Then just…do whatever seems natural. You hold him all the time. Talk to him, play with him…you know, try to make him smile.” She watched for a few minutes and even managed to take a couple of shots before she had to put a stop to the torture. “For crying out loud, Jake,” she said with a huff. “What is the problem?”
“It’s weird,” he said and sat back with Ben casually resting in his lap.
Not wanting to spook him, Olivia engaged him in conversation and kept him distracted while she took a couple of shots. “How is it weird?”
“I know that I interact with them every day, but no one’s watching, you know?” He looked down and let Ben wrap one of his tiny hands around his finger. He shook it and smiled at how the baby’s grip tightened. “It doesn’t feel natural to have someone snapping away while I’m trying to get him to smile.”
“But you’re doing it,” she said lightly and managed to catch the look of surprise on his face when he looked up and realized that she had been taking pictures the entire time. “See?”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at himself. “Wow…you’re good.”
Standing, Olivia curtsied and then walked over to take Ben from his arms and replace him with Maddie. When she had them situated exactly as she wanted them – but different from how she had Jake and Ben – Olivia began snapping pictures and talking to Jake the entire time. “When they get a little bit older, it will be easier because they’ll interact with you. Right now it’s a lot of serious faces on their part so you’re the one who has to look animated.”
Jake looked up and confusion was written all over his face. “Animated? Like a cartoon?”
Olivia nearly dropped her camera as she laughed. “No, not like a cartoon. I mean that you have to be the one that is showing the emotion and having to be a little more over the top than you’re used to in order to try and get a response from them.”
“Ah,” he said and then turned to make funny faces at Maddie. “I can’t wait until they actually smile for real. Earlier it looked that Maddie was doing that, but I know she’s too young for that. Right?”
“She’ll be doing it before you know it, and then she’s going to learn how to use that smile to wrap you around her little finger.”
“No way,” Jake said with fake indignation. “Not my sweet girl. There’s no way that she’ll try and manipulate me.”
Olivia could only chuckle. “Remind me to check in with you in about a year or two. We’ll see who’s running the show around here then.”
Jake was having a hard enough time wrapping his brain around the here and now. Hearing Olivia talk about two years down the road had him feeling a little sick.
“Jake?” Olivia asked, concern marking her face as she lowered the camera. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? What?” He swallowed hard. “Why do you ask?”
“You sort of paled there for a minute. I haven’t seen that happen to you in almost a week. What’s going on?”
Turning, Jake placed Maddie back in her seat before collapsing back on the blanket and laying down. “It’s just…when you mentioned life for us two years down the road…it hit me. I’m having trouble just getting through one day at a time. I haven’t even thought about the future. But I really need to be doing that, don’t I?”
She took pity on him. After a quick check that the kids were still content, she sat down on the blanket beside him and then, just because, she lay down on her side and faced him. “Eventually you will,” she said simply. “But for right now, you’re doing just fine. Don’t go looking for trouble. With babies, especially when they’re little like this, all new parents simply do one day at a time. You’re not any different from the other millions of parents out there. And believe it or not, you’re not the only single dad with twins.”
“Are we sure about that?” he asked weakly.
Olivia chuckled and nodded. “Pretty sure.” She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. “Soon you’ll settle into a routine and they’ll sleep longer and before you know it, you’re not going to feel so completely overwhelmed.”
“I greatly doubt that. No matter how much time passes there are still two of them and only one of me.”
“You’ll just have to learn to be faster and a little more devious.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Why would he have to be devious with his own children? Which is exactly what he asked her as he leaned up on one elbow, effectively bringing him a little bit closer to her.
“I can’t speak from experience, but I’ve heard stories of twins who…shall we say…work together to try and outsmart their parents.”
“Outsmart…how?”
“You know, taking apart their cribs or baby gates. Being the lookout so they can get into things that they know they shouldn’t. You’ll learn to have eyes in the back of your head.”
Jake’s eyes closed, and he let out a weary sigh. “I’m never going to remember all of this. How am I supposed to do this all by myself?” Opening his eyes, he gazed into hers, his expression imploring.
Olivia wished that there was something she could say that would magically make him relax and feel more confident. It was still unnerving to her to sit back and watch the man who had always been the model of confidence suddenly walking around in a constant state of self-doubt. “I don’t know, Jake,” she said softly, a sad smile on her face. “I wish there was some magic book that gave you all of the answers, but there isn’t. Parenthood is one of those things in life that doesn’t come with an instructio
n manual. The important thing is that you love them and nurture them. You’re doing that now.”
“But what if it’s not enough? What if they need more than I can give them?”
She shook her head. “Not even possible. I can see the difference in you already after a week. They may not have appeared in your life in the most traditional of ways, but your immediate instinct was to take care of them. You worry about them, and you’re trying to learn and do and be everything that they need. That tells me that you’re going to be an awesome parent.”
He wished he had her confidence.
He wished he had her optimism.
He wished…ah, hell. Leaning forward, he did what he was wishing for the most. He kissed her.
It was light, almost teasing, but the moment Jake let his lips settle against Olivia’s, he felt as if everything in his world righted itself. He wasn’t going to rush it, there was no reason to. All he knew was that for right here, right now, he was going to enjoy the sensation of sipping at Olivia’s soft lips and listening to her sigh.
It was pretty damn good.
Carefully, oh-so carefully, he eased closer and then rolled her over onto her back. Olivia’s arms came up and wound their way slowly around his shoulders and then relaxed around his neck. It was in no way as frantic and wild as it had been a few nights ago, but in Jake’s mind, it was definitely better.
He could now focus on taking his time and learning the feel of her. One hand came up and caressed her cheek, and he marveled at how soft her skin was. He let that same hand skim its way down the slender column of her throat, and he felt the rapid-beat of her pulse and was humbled that he was the one to make it race that way.
Deepening the kiss a little, Jake’s tongue slowly traced its way along Olivia’s lower lip and before he knew it, hers was mimicking the action on him. Refusing to take it any further or deeper just yet, he kissed his way across her cheek to her earlobe as a way of distracting himself. But that didn’t mean that his hands were going to stay still.
His hand that had been teasing at her pulse point, slowly worked its way down her arm and then across to her waist where he forced himself to stop and to simply be content. Maybe he gripped her a little harder, maybe his fingers began to carefully tug and pull to move her shirt up so that he could feel bare skin.
Maybe he should quit while he was ahead and go back to exploring her lips.
They were definitely worth exploring.
Reluctantly, Jake lifted his head from Olivia’s neck and reclaimed her mouth. He heard her sigh and simply let himself sink into the kiss. This time he did go further – he needed to. His tongue teased at her lips for the merest of seconds before Olivia opened for him and clutched him closer.
It didn’t take much to align their bodies; for Jake to be firmly on top of Olivia and her legs slowly winding their way around his hips. He rocked gently and swallowed her soft gasp of pleasure. It inflamed him, turned him on faster than he ever thought was possible.
“Olivia,” he sighed against her lips and raised up slightly to look at her face. God she was beautiful. Right now he wanted nothing more than to make love to her. Everything was perfect – the feel of her beneath him, the soft breeze blowing around them while they lay in the grass under the shade of the large oak tree. “Olivia…I…”
Maddie let out a small cry and it was more effective than a bucket of cold water being thrown on them. Jake rested his forehead against Olivia’s and panicked when he felt her shake and tremble. Raising his head, he looked down at her and was surprised to find her laughing. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She continued to laugh until she playfully pushed him off of her and went to see what Maddie needed. “Hey, sweet girl,” she cooed, “were we neglecting you for a minute?” She lifted the baby out of her seat and stood up. Turning, Olivia looked down to where Jake was still lying flat on the ground. “Are you all right?” she asked with a big grin as her eyes wandered from his face, to the erection that was still very evident.
Jumping to his feet, Jake stood and kissed Maddie on the head before turning and checking on her brother who was now asleep. “I guess Ben’s lost interest in his photo session.”
“Give him time,” she said and gently bounced Maddie against her. “By the time we get all of this stuff together and get back in the house, he’ll be stirring again. He was just bored.”
Jake laughed. “Aren’t they usually bored? I mean, they can’t do anything.”
She gave him a bland look. “They are busing growing and developing. It’s exhausting. Don’t be so quick to judge.”
He held up his hands in surrender and began folding up the blanket and gathering their things. “Hey, I wasn’t judging,” he said with a laugh. “I’m just thinking that they have it pretty good right now.”
“It’s the calm before the storm.”
Jake wasn’t sure if there was a double entendre there, but he wouldn’t doubt it. Olivia carefully placed Maddie back in her seat and scooped up her camera equipment in one hand, and Maddie’s seat in the other. Jake stood back and marveled. She was a natural. Did anything phase her? Trip her up? How could she have gone from being so pliant and soft and sexy in his arms one minute to this efficient…woman on the go the next? Did their kiss mean anything to her? Was she effected by it at all?
Scooping up Ben and their blankets, he followed her into the house and chuckled when he looked down and found his son staring back at him. “She thinks she’s so smart,” he whispered to Ben. “She thinks she knows everything, but I’m thinking that there’s a thing or two that I can teach her.”
Olivia looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Jake had no idea if she heard what he was saying or not, but just the look of pure happiness on her face was enough for him. She may know a lot about babies and taking care of them and even about photography. But Jake knew that he was going to teach her that he was a man who enjoyed making a woman forget herself a little. While he appreciated her dedication to the babies, he wouldn’t have minded if she had been just as lost as him – if even for a minute.
It was now his goal.
One way or another, he was going to find what it took to make Olivia forget everything around her – except him.
Chapter Seven
The kids were clean, bathed, fed and all that was left was to put them to bed. Olivia was both looking forward to it and dreading it. In a perfect world, she and Jake would pick up where they’d left off in the yard earlier, and finally – finally! – she’d know what it was like to spend the night with him.
Unfortunately, she felt that she was really getting to know him a lot better in the last week, and she had a sinking feeling that he was going to pull a full-blown retreat once the babies were asleep. Olivia fidgeted with Ben’s pajamas and out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jake rocking Maddie. It was such a simple and domestic scene, and yet there was something to be said for it. Doing these every-day, mundane tasks with Jake didn’t diminish anything. She still felt the pull of attraction to him as strongly as ever. If anything, she found watching him take care of his kids to be oddly sexy.
Clearly she needed therapy.
“Okay, big guy,” she whispered to Ben with a smile, “time for bed.” She lifted him off of the changing table and walked across the room toward his crib. The digital clock in the corner showed it to be close to ten o’clock which was their usual bed time. They’d have to work on getting it a little earlier eventually and getting them to sleep a little longer. All in good time, she mused silently.
Laying Ben down, she made sure he was snug and swaddled to his liking, and when he started to fuss, she quietly hummed to him while stroking his head and patting his belly. He was a pushover for a good belly rub. Olivia almost laughed because it seemed so ridiculous; that was normally something reserved for puppies, but it worked well on the sweet little boy in front of her. “Whatever works,” she whispered when his eyes started to drift closed.
“Is he okay?” Jake whispere
d from beside her as he went through the routine of getting Maddie settled. Her wide blue eyes told Olivia that she wasn’t quite ready for bed yet, but they were desperately trying to keep them on a routine of going to sleep and waking up at the same time.
“He’s fine,” she finally said quietly. “You know he always fights it a little bit. He’s a snuggler, and he likes to be in somebody’s arms.”
Jake knew the feeling. “Nothing wrong with that,” he said as he found Maddie’s pacifier and did his best to get his daughter to take it.
“No,” Olivia agreed, “there’s not. But if you don’t break the habit, he’ll never learn to go to sleep without someone holding him. Then you’ll be in trouble when you’re here by yourself and they’re both fussing and you can’t put him down. Trust me.” She looked down at the twins and smiled. Maddie’s eyes were beginning to droop and Ben’s were already closed. “See? He didn’t put up too much of a fight.”
The lights in the bedroom were already dimmed, and Jake took Olivia by the hand and led her out to the living room – partially closing the door behind them. They walked over to the sofa and Olivia sat first. “I’m going to get something to drink. You want something?” It was a question he asked her every night, and it was starting to become a habit. Normally she wondered if he was really thirsty or if he was trying to find something to do to keep him away from her for a little longer.
She was hoping that he was thirsty tonight.
“No, thanks,” she forced herself to say when really all she wanted to know was if he was going to come back and sit with her and then finish what they started earlier. Olivia had never been the aggressor in a relationship – especially where sex was concerned – but she was beginning to think that there was no other way to make things happen with Jake. It was beyond frustrating. All she needed to do was to come up with something flirty or something sexy to say to take them back to the way they were feeling earlier.
Baby, Be Mine (Life, Love And Babies Book 3) Page 8
