Page 20 of For Your Consideration

I smiled as Sophie leaned her head on Asher’s chest, putting her thumb in her mouth. She suddenly looked tired, which made sense since she’d slept less today. The car seat wasn’t ideal for her nap and I had been keeping her busy all day. I was sure she was a little overstimulated too.

She nuzzled into him and let out a sigh.

“Just you?” He moved slightly from side to side, almost like it was a natural instinct.

She was clearly content in his arms. Not that I could blame her. His muscles weren’t visible but they filled out the arms of his jacket so nicely, you could basically see the definition through the material. I was sure being wrapped in his arms would feel pretty incredible. Maybe even safe.

I shook my head to get those thoughts out.

“Yeah, just me.”

He nodded, a serious look on his face. “Quinn said you were going to be in her office.”

“Did she tell you about Sophie?” I asked, biting my lip. I was fine with people knowing, but getting pregnant accidentally by a man you thought you loved, only for him to go and abandon you, wasn’t something I wanted to shout for the world to hear. Quinn hadn’t asked why I was alone yet but I was sure the question was on her mind.

He shook his head and looked down at her. “Just mentioned she told you to use her office. Thought it was an odd comment till now.”

“I know but I have all of Soph’s stuff and it seemed easier out here.” I knew it was a lame reason and I could tell he thought the same thing. But I didn’t want to say I felt weird sitting in her office. Taking up her space.

“You brought all this shit?” His eyes darted around.

I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, and pushed my thumb into my bicep to try and help me relax.

Did he think it was too much? I didn’t want to be stuck without something she needed but it was taking up a lot of space. It didn’t look very organized in here.

I hadn’t ever had to do this with her before, so it wasn’t exactly a skill I had honed. Since Quinn wasn’t here today I had no meetings so I didn’t think it was a big deal.

But maybe it was.

“My babysitter is sick today and I hate the idea of leaving her at daycare—she’s a little young for that, you know. But I’ll make sure I clean it all up and not leave anything behind. Quinn said it was fine but—”

A thumb brushing along my jaw stopped my spiral. His hand was gone in an instant, so quick I almost thought I imagined it.

“Sutton.”

I locked eyes with him. My name sounded better when he said it in that soft tone.

“I wasn’t judging you.”

“Sorry.” I bit my lip, a little embarrassed. “I’m used to having to explain myself. And I just want to do a good job here. This job matters to me, for a lot of reasons.” I tipped my chin to Sophie.

“Quinn says you’re doing a good job.”

I blushed and looked down. Stupid that such a small compliment turned me bright red but that was where I was at these days.

“Well…thanks.”

He leaned back against my desk, still holding Sophie.

Sophie may be a sweet little baby but she was usually slow to warm up to strangers. She had tried to cling to me the first few times I passed her off to Iris and cried so much I felt like the worst person in the world. These days if I was talking to someone in public, she’d tuck herself into my neck and hold me tighter.

But with Asher, she didn’t seem to be having any problems. Her head was on his chest and her blinking was slow, her thumb still in her mouth. I knew I only had a few minutes before she fell asleep. And if that happened, she would get very cranky when she woke up from being pulled away from Asher. She had never transferred well.

“You didn’t have anyone else that could watch her? Not a judgment,” he clarified quickly.

“No, I only moved here about six months ago and with her being so young I haven’t had a lot of time to build a system. All my friends from before I was pregnant were also my ex’s friends. One thing he was good at was being a manipulative jerk, so he got them in our breakup. I don’t talk to any of them.”

I was oversharing but something about his quiet demeanor really threw me off kilter. I noticed his jaw tightened throughout my story.