Baby Lessons

and shot him a puzzled look. “Isn’t that my job? You’ve got kittens and ducklings to save tomorrow. You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at her description of his workday. Thanks a lot, Wade.
“I’m not that tired yet.” Another lie. He’d been chugging so much maple coffee from the Bean that the blood in his veins had probably been replaced with a mixture of caffeine and pancake syrup. “I can help you get the twins down and still get a few good hours of sleep in.”
“Okay, then.” Her gaze strayed toward his mouth, and a pink flush washed over her porcelain features before she looked away. “Great.”
“Great,” he echoed.
It was almost like he’d forgotten how to talk to a woman all of a sudden. He’d definitely forgotten what it was like to have one standing in his kitchen, other than his mom. He’d forgotten how a woman’s presence could make everything seem brighter and full of light. The tension between his shoulder blades eased for the first time all day, and somewhere deep down he knew there wasn’t another woman alive who had this effect on him.
Only her. Only Madison.
They spent the next hour or so feeding the twins, weaving around the high chairs, the sink and the butcher-block island as if they were part of some intimate, domestic dance. And despite the very real reasons why he shouldn’t even be entertaining any sort of relationship with Madison, he loved the way she’d started to fit right into his life with the girls. He could have never predicted it when he’d answered the call out at her aunt’s farmhouse and she’d had no idea her hair straightener had nearly started an electrical fire. But maybe that was just one of the things that made her special—she surprised him in the best possible ways, and it had been a long time since surprises had been kind to Jack.
He cleaned up the kitchen while Madison got Emma and Ella ready for their baths, trying his hardest to get his head screwed on straight while he scrubbed strained peas and carrots off the walls, the floor and himself. Thus far, his fact-finding mission had been an abysmal failure. He hadn’t managed to ask Madison a single personal question, but mealtimes with the twins were always crazy. Surely, he could sneak in some adult conversation while they watched Emma and Ella splash in their bath seats. Trying to second-guess her every word and deed to see if it fit his imaginary profile of Queen Bee was going to be the end of him.
Maybe he should just come out and ask if it was her.
He considered this possibility as he tucked the twins’ matching high chairs into the breakfast nook and flipped off the kitchen light. It was certainly direct. He just wasn’t sure how to handle things afterward. Did he admit he was Fired Up in Lovestruck or just stick to his letter-writing embargo and keep his mouth shut?
Neither, he hoped. Because she’s not Queen Bee.
Ella and Emma were snug in their bath seats in the tub, facing each other and kicking at the shallow water when Jack reached the bathroom. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight of Madison kneeling beside the tub, piling bubbles on top of a giggling Ella’s head. His breathing grew slower. Calmer.
Madison caught sight of him over her shoulder and bit her lip. “You’ve got baby food on your shirt.”
“Story of my life,” he said, lowering himself next to her beside the tub.
She laughed far louder than he’d have expected.
“Are peas and carrots really so funny?” he said, dipping a finger into the bathwater and depositing a lavender-scented bubble on the tip of Madison’s nose.
“Hey!” She blew at the bubble and it went airborne, capturing the attention of Emma and Ella’s big blue eyes as it drifted overhead. “For your information, I wasn’t laughing at the stain on your shirt. Not exactly, anyway. I was just thinking that I never, ever could have imagined you as a dad until that day we met at the Bean and you had Ella and Emma strapped to your chest in those cute sling carriers.”
“You mean the day you caught me hiding from you?”
“Ha! I knew it!” She scooped a generous handful of bubbles from the tub and mashed them into his face.
The twins giggled in unison. As long as Jack lived, he’d never grow tired of his daughters’ laughter. It was his favorite sound.
He shook his head, and bubbles flew everywhere. “Fine. I admit it. I kind of panicked when I realized you were the one interviewing for the night nanny job. The only reason I’m owning up to it now is that I’m fully prepared to admit how wrong I was. You’re great with the girls.”
“Really?” She blinked, clearly stunned by the compliment. “You think so?”
“I do.” The second the words left his mouth, Jack realized they were straight from a wedding ceremony.
Do you take this woman, to have and to hold?
I do.
He cleared his throat. “I mean, yes. Definitely. I thought so that very first night.” He felt one corner of his mouth lift into a half grin. “Baby powder explosion aside, I could just tell you were the perfect person for the job.”
“Wow. That...” She inhaled a shaky breath. “That might just be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Surely, that’s not true.” He hoped to hell it wasn’t. There had to be people in her life who believed in her and told her so on a regular basis. Everyone deserved that kind of support, especially someone as lovely and earnest as Madison.
He searched her gaze, trying desperately to unravel the complicated truth of who exactly she was as a shimmer of unshed tears gathered in her eyes.
“Sorry.” She waved a hand and pasted on a smile that seemed a little too wide. “Don’t mind me and my silly emotions.”
“Please don’t apologize,” he said, and his voice sounded