Page 23 of Best Kept Secret

“Today?”

“Yeah. I figured I might run into her when she was dropping off Annie.”

“Oh. Well, she was only here for a few minutes. She had a work thing to go to.”

“Maybe next time, then.”

He nodded as he bounced Annie on his lap and waved a set of toy keys in front of her. Her pretty blue eyes followed the keys back and forth, and she looked like she might try to reach for them.

“Would you like to hold her?” he asked, looking amused.

“How’d you know?”

“I’ve become pretty good at reading facial expressions. Here you go.”

He held out the baby, and Kelsey carefully took her from him. Then she sat Annie on her lap, facing him, thinking she might feel more secure if she saw her uncle’s face instead of hers.

“I fed and changed her before you got here, so hopefully, she’ll stay clean for a while.”

“You’re becoming a pro at this,” she said, gently bouncing Annie on her lap like he had.

“Not really. After I changed her, I realized I put her pants on backward and forgot to snap her onesie.”

She laughed. “Well, she doesn’t seem too upset about it, so I think you’re doing okay.”

Then his phone rang, and he quickly fished it out of his pocket. He glanced at the screen, stood up, and said, “I need to take this.” Then he turned and walked away.

She watched him go, admiring the view. He was wearing cargo shorts and a black T-shirt. The clothes were nothing special, but the way they formed to his fit body…

“She’s fine. No, you don’t need to come back. I have an extra bottle in the fridge, remember?”

The apartment was small enough that she heard every word. She deduced that he was talking to his sister, who was worried Annie didn’t have enough to eat. Feeling her compact, slightly pudgy body in her hands, Kelsey didn’t think there was anything to worry about. Besides, he’d just fed her.

“You have nothing to worry about. She’s in good hands,” he said, sounding frustrated.

She suddenly felt defensive on his behalf. She wished she could get on the phone and assure Emily that Annie was being well taken care of, but she didn’t think that would go over well, especially since Emily didn’t even know her.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he hissed. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my…Annie.”

She stopped bouncing Annie and looked toward the kitchen. She couldn’t see him because of the wall dividing it from the living room, but she heard him pacing.

“Yes. I’ll call you if I need to,” he said. “But I won’t need to,” he added.

The next thing she knew, he reentered the living room, his face lined with tension.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, even though it obviously wasn’t.

He sat down beside her, and Annie cooed happily. He held out his hands, and she transferred the baby over to him. Once she was back in his arms, his tension seemed to drain away.

“It’s fine. She just gets like that sometimes.”

“Your sister.”

He nodded. “It’s like she doesn’t completely trust me to take care of Annie.”

“This is her first child, right?”

“Yeah.”