Assumed Identity(35)

“Jake, she’s okay.” Robin’s smile probably meant his inexperience handling a baby amused her. But her hand on his arm softened the sting of overreacting and feeling out of his element. She guided his hand to the baby’s back and pulled the clinging fingers from his mouth. “Babies like to feel different textures. Touch is a big part of how they learn.”

They also didn’t seem to care a whit for how big and ugly the man was behind those textures. Emma flashed him those sweet blue eyes and squealed with delight as she rubbed both tiny palms along his scarred jaw. Oh, man. He was screwed.

He wasn’t the only one in the bar to notice that, either.

Robbie’s gut shook as he laughed and winked at Jake. “I see how it is. The heart of the beast has been smitten by the wee beauty.” He reached over to tickle the back of Emma’s neck and then pat Jake on the arm. “I’ll take the trash out for you and leave you be with your friends. You’ve got about twenty minutes before the first round of customers stops by after work.” He had a wink for Robin, too. “Nice to meet you both. Now that I know we’re practically neighbors, you come visit again, anytime.”

“Nice to meet you.” After Robbie had picked up the boxes and exited into the back hallway, Robin peeked around Jake’s shoulder and confirmed that the detective was on the phone to someone at precinct headquarters. She had that determined tilt to her chin again when she looked at Jake. “Are you done talking with Detective Montgomery?”

The woman just wouldn’t leave him alone and give him the chance to get her out of his head, would she.

“Didn’t have much to say. Here.” He leaned in and carefully handed Emma over, pulling away just as quickly as it took for him to know Robin had a good grip on her daughter. “You get her out of here. A bar is no place for a baby.”

“I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want. But I need to talk to you first. Will you listen?”

He wasn’t getting rid of the Carter girls until he did, Jake suspected, so he reluctantly pointed to a booth away from the main bar. “I’ll give you ten minutes.”

“Robbie said we had twenty.”

“I’ll give you ten.” Especially since his shirt now smelled faintly of baby, and he wanted to swap it out for a clean shirt he kept in his locker in the back room before he had to spend the entire night getting whiffs of the “wee beauty” who had somehow gotten under his skin.

At Robin’s request, he retrieved the stroller and followed them over to the booth. With Emma propped up on her mother’s shoulder, smiling at him the entire way, Jake had to wonder if the little minx knew she was casting a spell over him.

He’d let Robin have her say. But then he’d make it clear that helping her the night before had been a one-time thing. As far as he was concerned, their paths need never cross again.

Jake waited for Robin to strap Emma into the stroller at the end of the table, and pull out a set of colorful plastic keys for her to play with before they slipped into opposite sides of the booth. He leaned back, folded his arms over his chest and waited for Robin to start the conversation.

He had to give the woman credit for getting straight to the point. “I’d like to take you to dinner to thank you for what you did for us. Better yet, I’d like to fix you a meal. I’m guessing you’re not a man who gets much home cooking.”

Jake patted his stomach. “You don’t think I eat?” So what if most of his meals came from a microwave or were takeout? It didn’t mean he was starving. Or that he wanted to become a charity project for her. “You already said thank you. More than once.”

She tucked one of those chin-length strands of hair behind her ear and breathed deeply, gearing up to try a different approach. “It doesn’t seem like enough. You didn’t just water my plants while I was on vacation—you saved our lives. I’d like to do something a little more tangible to express our gratitude. I think you’d be insulted if I offered you money—”

“I would.”

“—and you don’t strike me as a man who’d appreciate a big bouquet of flowers. Besides, up until thirty minutes ago, I had no idea where I’d have my man deliver it. I thought you’d appreciate something practical. You have to eat. I cook. Pretty well, I think. And I almost always fix more than...”

Robin stopped mid-sentence with a soft gasp and looked down. She pulled out her cell phone and Jake heard another, almost inaudible, gasp. She was doing it again—that little shake of the head, as though she was dismissing something unpleasant. She closed the phone in her fist and set it down in her lap, out of sight beneath the table.