Page 43 of Trusting You
“Great job,” I say.
He throws me a look. “Stop being so amused.”
I open my mouth to retort, but it lodges in my throat when I meet Locke’s eye. Hair falls across his forehead, his cheeks flushed with exertion. His eyes are bright with it, an insane blue sparkle that should only belong to anime characters, and I’m thrown. Have to stick my hand out for balance before my—oh, God—are my knees actually buckling?
No way. I muster my nerve and remind myself this is a look Locke gives to many girls, with reactions he’s used to seeing—even expects. I refuse to be reduced to a puddle simply because a good-looking guy, one whom I was enamored with and drooled over all throughout college, finally has me in his sights. Knows my name.
He slept with your best friend. Made a baby with her.
“Whoa,” Locke says to me, retreating with the stroller. “Did I do something?”
I coat my voice with resolve. “Everything’s fine. Let’s go.”
Locke hesitates but doesn’t push it. He points to the couch where he’s laid Lily’s diaper bag. “Can you check that I have everything? I’ve followed your list, but I want to make sure we don’t forget a crucial item.”
He surveys Lily like he’s waiting for a meltdown to occur immediately.
I nod, happy to be given something efficient to do. A task involving Lily, which is exactly why I’m here. A thorough perusal and I’m impressed—Locke remembered everything, even extra bottles and snacks in case Lily succumbs to the demon inside her.
“Perfectly assembled,” I say, spinning around with it in my hand.
Locke smiles, and it has a worse impact on me than his instinctual come-hither expression that I doubt he even knows he deploys. I hitch in step but cover it by swinging the bag onto the stroller’s handles.
“Heavy,” I add for good measure.
“A baby comes with three times their weight in goods,” Locke says. “I’ve learned quickly.”
I laugh. “Okay, we’re ready.”
“Off we go!” Locke says with a holler, causing Lily to turn, look up at him, and laugh. He finishes with flair. “To the subway and beyond!”
He’s through the front door, but I pause in the frame. “What’d you just say?”
Locke turns at the stairway, readying to lift the stroller and Lily down one flight. “Which part? The subway?”
“Yeah, that. We’re going on it?”
“Well. Yeah. It’s the only way to get around.”
Visions of pickpockets, violent gangs, and swiping knives assail my head. “We can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s dangerous.” I say it like I’m speaking to a five-year-old. Or Lily.
Locke chuckles, and the response sparks my anger.
“It’s perfectly safe,” he says. “But the only way to prove that is for you to go on it and see for yourself. So, come on. Immerse yourself in city life.”
“I…”
Locke leaves the stroller for a moment and comes over to me. “I promise, Carter. I won’t let anything happen to Lily.”
His low tone is a balm and contains so much surety. I nod, because I know I’m being overdramatic.
“Good.” Locke squeezes my shoulder, and I tense under his grip, covering the automatic shivers dancing down to my breasts. He reads it a different way and backs off immediately. “And you,” he says over his shoulder as he goes back to Lily.
“Me?”