Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

brADEN

Waking up with Dani in my arms was the best fucking thing in the world.

Funny how I used to absolutely dread the morning after and the awkwardness that would ensue. Turned out it was so fucking different with someone I cared about. Being able to open my eyes and see the woman I loved first thing in the morning felt like a little slice of heaven on earth.

Even though I'd just been lying here watching her sleep – feeling the rise and fall of her chest next to me as she used my shoulder for a pillow – for the past twenty minutes, I couldn't bring myself to get up. Because that would have meant possibly waking her, and she'd only just gotten back to sleep about an hour and a half ago after waking up to take care of Isaac for the third time. She'd only let me get up to change his diaper once; every other time, she'd insisted on taking care of him herself.

Almost as if I'd woken my little dude up just by thinking about him, I heard crying over the monitor. And right on cue, Dani groaned as she opened her eyes.

"I've got him," I murmured, kissing her forehead before gently moving her head to a pillow. "Go back to sleep, beautiful."

"Mm-mm. Can't," she grumbled as she rolled over and sat up. "I have to make him a bottle. And Lina's gonna be here soon."

As much as I wanted to help her, to prove that I'd meant what I said about her not doing this alone anymore, I knew I couldn't argue with her about it. She'd been caring for him overnight alone ever since he was born, and she needed time to get used to the idea of sharing that responsibility with me. But maybe we could compromise. Share the work.

Sitting up, I wrapped my arms around her and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Okay, you go mix up his formula and I'll get him out of his crib. Deal?"

She let out the most adorable sleep-filled snort as she turned and gave me a peck on the lips. "Okay."

Stealing one more kiss, I got out of bed and headed into the nursery, where I found a very grumpy Isaac, kicking his little legs and squirming around in his bassinet. I chuckled as I lifted him up…and immediately felt a wet onesie.

"Hey, bud," I said softly as I took him to the changing table. "Let's get you changed before I take you to your mama."

I'd never been so grateful that I'd given up several Friday nights to Jameson babysitting his kids while they were still in diapers as I was now. It meant I wasn't starting at zero when it came to caring for Isaac.

I made quick work out of changing his diaper and getting him into a fresh onesie, then carried him out into the kitchen, where I found Dani wearing my t-shirt from last night and a pair of leggings, grooving and singing along to the same song that had caught me by surprise last night while she put something that looked like a very small coffee percolator on the stove. And as I watched and listened, the lyrics hit home for me even more.

"What's this song?" I asked. "It's amazing."

She looked up and flushed the most breathtaking shade of pink as she smiled at me. "Did I just hear you admit to liking a Taylor Swift song?"

I laughed. "I never said I didn't like her. She's not my favorite, but I don't hate her. But this song feels like it was written for us."

"I thought that too. Even before you kissed me when it came on last night. The second you said your flight was awful, it made me think about that line in the first verse," she chuckled. "It's called ‘Snow on the Beach.'"

"You just got another one of my firsts, beautiful," I teased as I shifted our son to one arm and pulled her in for a kiss. "I've never had a song with someone before."

"If the tabloids are to be believed, you've never had someone to have a song with," she teased. "You've never really done the relationship thing, from what I hear."

I groaned quietly. She was right.

"You're right. I haven't," I sighed. "And if I'm being honest, I'm terrified I'm going to fuck this up with you because this is entirely new territory for me. But I can promise you those days are behind me. You're my whole world now, Daniela Ramos. You and this little man."

"I'm scared too," she confessed. "I've only had two boyfriends before you, and those relationships only lasted a couple of months. Basically up until the point when they found out I wouldn't sleep with them unless I really got to know them. This feels so different. So much bigger."

"Because it is. Because it's real. We'll probably both make mistakes, but we can learn and grow from them together." I took a deep breath. "We just need to be open and honest with each other. No more secrets. No more keeping things bottled up until we explode."

"No more going to rage rooms instead of talking," she snickered, standing on her toes to kiss me just as a beep sounded from an appliance on the counter. "Do you want to give him his bottle?"

"Hell yes," I said with a grin as I looked down at Isaac. "You ready for breakfast, little man?"

He made the cutest little gurgling coo sound, and I chuckled as I took the warmed bottle from Dani and placed the rubber against his lips. Immediately opening his mouth, he latched on and started to drink.

A knock sounded on the door, and Dani rushed out of the kitchen to answer…while I thanked every known deity that I'd thought to grab my gym bag from my car last night and thrown on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before we went to bed. I hadn't been expecting Lina quite this early, but I guessed Dani had probably just kept her on the same schedule they'd established while she was still in school. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays had been early days for her then.

I followed her out to the living room and sat on the couch, making myself comfortable as I made sure Isaac didn't slurp his formula down too fast and just marveled at the miracle of this life I'd helped create. I hated the circumstances surrounding how he'd come into this world and I wasn't sure I'd ever really forgive myself for them, but if things had been different, I probably wouldn't have met Dani. And that was too painful to even think about because I honestly didn't know what I'd do without her now.

"Buenos días," I heard Lina say as she came in, then her tone changed to one of surprise. "Braden. Hi."

I looked up at her and smiled. "Morning, Lina."

She looked over at Dani with a slightly raised eyebrow, and Dani blushed crimson, which made me smile. I loved that Dani had found not only someone to share the load caring for Isaac, but someone she genuinely connected with. While Lina was technically an employee, I could tell already that their relationship went way beyond that now. They were true friends. And that was what I'd been hoping for all along, even before I really got to know Dani.

"Shut up," Dani mumbled. "Yes, he spent the night."

Lina laughed. "I didn't say anything. This just means I have an easy morning."

"An easy day, actually," I said, then looked at my girlfriend. Fuck, that felt good to finally be able to say. "Unless you have plans, beautiful?"

"Nope," Dani said with a yawn. "Other than drinking lots of coffee. Someone whose name is not Isaac wore me out last night."

I snorted as I took the now-finished bottle out of Isaac's mouth. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not."

"I'm not either," she said with a shy smile. "So, I've been kind of obsessed with overnight oats recently. I've been experimenting with a bunch of different recipes. Is that okay for breakfast?"

"Absolutely, it is," I assured her. "I've been wanting to see what all the hype is about."

"Lina, are you hungry?"

"No, I'm okay. But if you have an extra cup of coffee in the pot, I'll take it."

"I was actually making café cubano, but I'll start a pot of regular coffee too," Dani told her, then headed back to the kitchen.

Suddenly remembering that there was something I'd meant to talk to Dani about last night before the evening took an extremely pleasant detour, I turned to Lina.

"Do you mind burping him? I need to talk to Dani for a minute."

"Not at all. That's what I'm here for," she assured me as she took Isaac from my arms with a huge smile. "Hola, nene. ?Cómo estás hoy?"

As I caught sight of my phone on the coffee table, I grabbed it, groaning quietly when I discovered it was dead. Hopefully Dani had something I could charge it with. Even though I needed to spend the day here and get some quality time in with my girl and my son, I did need to check in with Bobbi and the detectives handling my case at some point too.

I headed into the kitchen, wrapping my arms around Dani's waist and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. She let out a contented sigh as she leaned back into my embrace, and I tightened my arms around her and kissed her neck, then lightly grazed my teeth over her earlobe, smiling when I felt a shudder go through her.

"Behave, B. This apartment is too small," she chuckled quietly.

"I know," I assured her, turning her head for a kiss. "I just couldn't resist the opportunity to have you in my arms again. Can I do anything to help you?"

"Coffee and filters are in the pantry if you don't mind starting a pot. I usually make it with an extra scoop of grounds since Lina and I both like it strong, but we can deal if you're a wimp," she teased.

"Sweetheart, there is nothing wimpy about me," I snickered as I let go of her. "Do you happen to have a spare charging cord? My phone's dead."

"Yeah, you can use my computer charger. It's a C-type cord and it'll charge your phone in like forty-five minutes."

She walked out to the small dining area and grabbed her laptop bag, retrieving the cord and adapter and plugging it into the wall.

"Thanks, beautiful." I quickly plugged my phone in, then headed to start the coffee. "So, there's something I meant to talk to you about last night. Ian, Ky, and Melissa are coming down here a few days before the premiere, and they really want to meet you and Isaac. I thought maybe we could do dinner at my place, and if you have a travel bassinet for Isaac, you can spend the night if you want. Are you up for that?"

Dani slid a small ceramic mug in front of me that was about half-full of very strong-smelling coffee. "I'd love to meet them, and I've got a pack and play for Isaac. I'm sure Morgan and Mal will want to come too since Melissa's going to be there."

"I was already planning on asking them." I picked up the cup. "What's this?"

"It's called a café cubano. Cuban espresso infused with sugar. We usually drink it like a shot, but I don't have shot glasses."

I picked up the mug and downed its contents…and for a solid few seconds, I could hear colors and see sounds. But goddamn, was it worth it. The absolute strongest coffee I'd ever tasted, but the sweetness of the sugar offset it so it wasn't bitter. I was going to have to learn how to make this myself for mornings when I needed a little extra push.

"Holy shit," I chuckled. "I think I can actually see this Taylor Swift music now."

She laughed. "Yeah, it packs a punch. Want another one? Or a café con leche? It's that same espresso, but with steamed milk."

"Let's do a café con leche. I think I might end up having a heart attack if I do another straight shot like that."

"Fair," she giggled. "Also, I've got tiramisu, carrot cake, sticky mango, and spiced pear overnight oats. Which one do you want?"

I turned to look at her, raising my eyebrows in shock. "And here I thought I was just going to be eating boring cold oatmeal. Surprise me."

Just as she grabbed two mason jars out of the fridge, there was a knock at the door. She furrowed her brow before heading out of the kitchen with me on her tail. I knew she would have told me if she was expecting anyone else, and with us still not being able to prove definitively that Vicki was my stalker, I wasn't about to take chances.

"Let me look and see who it is before you answer," I murmured. "Just to be safe."

Dani nodded and stepped aside, and I glanced through the peephole to find a very worried-looking Leo on the other side. I opened the door, and he immediately stepped inside before I quickly closed and locked it behind him.

"What's wrong, Leo?" Dani asked before I could.

He sighed and looked back and forth between us. "Brian and I just clocked a red Tesla driving through the parking lot. It happened too fast for us to get a shot of the plate to confirm, but… Anyway, just to be safe, for the time being, I think we need to change the protocol to have one person up here with you and the other down in the parking lot."

Fuck.

My stomach dropped to the floor and my head started spinning as I realized I'd been the cause of this. By confronting Vicki, by getting her fired from her job, I'd made her even more dangerous. At least when she'd been working as my publicist, she'd had to be in the office forty hours a week. But now? Now she had nothing but time. Time and an unhealthy, dangerous obsession with me.

I turned and strode back over to the table, turning my partially charged phone back on. As soon as it powered up, my text notification sounded. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I checked it and found a picture of my Escalade parked downstairs, accompanied by a message.

Blocked

I told you to stay away from that whore, Braden. I told you I don't share. But you didn't listen. Maybe you'll finally understand when I get rid of her and that little sniveling brat. I won't let ANYONE stand in the way of our love.