Page 7 of One Unexpected Gift

Nick chuckled and leaned in closer to her. “Dinner some night? When you’re free?”

No. She couldn’t. It was one thing to have sex with him, going out to dinner would lead to other things. Like conversation. Dating as a single mom was a whole new world. Especially a single mom who wouldn’t be sticking around Maine for long and had the potential of being deployed overseas in six months.

As a field nurse, her skills were in high demand. As a new mother, she’d been dropped to the bottom of the list, so it gave her more time to deal with having to leave Gabriella.

Leaving. Who would take care of her when she left? Maybe she did need a man in her life. Or rather, a father for her daughter.

Too bad Nick wasn’t father material. Not with his daredevil reputation. She hadn’t asked, but she listened well when Owen and Bryce talked about Nick’s love for risk-taking.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time to... go out.” Which was true. She had Gabriella to care for.

Sky dropped her gaze from his ridiculously gorgeous eyes and noticed her friends giving her precarious scowls. Avoiding their gazes as well, she grabbed a roll from the basket. Screw the carbs. She’d push herself through an extra mile tomorrow. She’d need to anyway if she wanted to get Nick out of her mind.

“That’s too bad. If your schedule clears up, give me a call. Your friends know how to get in touch with me.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she did all she could not to pull away. Not from disgust but because it had been too long since she’d felt the touch of a man. “Or stop by.”

Stopping by sounded like a euphemism for sex. While her body hummed when she was around Nick, sleeping with him wouldn’t help her situation any and would only complicate matters.

“Sure.” She smiled politely at him and returned to her roll, as if it was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

“Drinks are on me tonight, ladies. Let me know if I can get you anything else.”

When he was gone, her too-observant friends stayed quiet and gave her the stink eye. She tore off a chunk of bread. “You’ll have to put me to work on the camp while I’m here. I’m excited to actually be able to do something with my hands.” She popped the bread in her mouth and chewed.

“It looks to us like you’ve been busy with your hands already. Maybe with a sexy bowling alley owner.”

Sky furrowed her brows. “I’ve been with you guys and Gabriella every second since I’ve been here.”

“If you two haven’t hooked up before, it’s pretty damn obvious Nick wants to hook up now.”

“Seriously, Charlie. What’s your obsession with me hooking up anyway?” She shoved the rest of her roll in her mouth.

“Please,” Brooke said. “The sexual chemistry between you two melted the ice in your iced tea.”

Sky stirred the melting cubes with her straw. “Come on, you guys. I didn’t come to Maine to have sex. I came here to spend time with my sisters.”

“We love you too.” Gina curled her arm around her shoulders. “I’m happy you and Gabriella are here with us.”

They let her off the hook for the rest of the evening. They reminisced about boot camp, laughed over some of their past gatherings, and brainstormed ideas for the camps next summer. Skylar’s role would still be limited, but she was thankful she could keep up with her marketing and fundraising contributions online, no matter if she was in Maine or Virginia, and even with her hands busy with a baby.

By the time she got back to Charlie’s, she was exhausted. Olivia gave a glowing report of her time with Gabriella and told Sky about every little thing she did from the books she read to the songs she sang, to how she bundled her up in her blankets and brought her for a walk down the road with the dog and Owen.

Olivia continued her babysitting role with the help of Charlie while Sky took a long shower. By the time she was out and dressed in her pajamas, she was fully engorged. Right on cue, Gabby started crying.

“Perfect timing.” She took her from Charlie. Gabby settled down and rooted for her nighttime snack. “I’m praying she conks out like she usually does after her ten o’clock feeding.”

“If she doesn’t, I’ll look after her so you can sleep.”

“You’re the one who has to be up at five to open the diner.” She patted Gabby’s back.

“I’ll stay up with her,” Olivia offered.

“You have school in the morning and have already done more than enough. Thank you, Olivia. I had a really fun time tonight knowing Gabby was in good hands.” She rocked Gabby to soothe her little whimpers.

Olivia beamed. “Does that mean I can babysit her again?”

“Absolutely,” Charlie said before Sky could say the same. “Your Aunt Skylar plans on going out at least once a week while she’s here.”

“Once a week with my girlfriends sounds perfect.” She gave Charlie a stern raised eyebrow indicating she had no plans to go out with Nick or any other guy her friends wanted to set her up with.