Unforgettable: Book Three (A Hollywood Love Story #3)(83)
He gave us a thumbs up, indicating that Gloria would indeed be open to a pitch. Jennifer shot me triumphant smile, which I returned with a smirk. Sandwiched between his twins, Jaime turned to each of them. “Mommy wants to tell you how much she loves and misses you.” He held the cell phone to each baby’s ear, one after the other. Their chubby-cheeked faces lit up upon hearing Gloria’s voice.
“Give Mommy a smoochie.” Jaime placed the phone to each of the twins’ pursed mouths. They each made a loud, smacking sound. I swear, it was the cutest damn thing I’d ever seen. He put the phone back to his ear and wrapped up the call. His final words: “I love you, angel.”
I. Love. You. Three little words I had never said to a woman. That’s because I’d never loved one. Yes, I’d f*cked many. But I’d loved none. I turned to observe Jennifer.
She wore a wistful smile. I’d heard her say them to her fiancé. Had he said them back? Of course, he had. Countless times. The thought made me hate him more. And then, the hatred gave way to hallow sadness. My defenses went up. Maybe I just lusted for Jennifer. Wanted her because I couldn’t have her. Because she belonged to another.
Jaime’s voice propelled me out of my sudden gloom. “Hey, guys. I have to run to the little boys’ room. Would you mind keeping an eye on the babies for a sec?”
“Of course,” responded Jennifer instantly.
“Thanks.” Jaime jogged to the back of the restaurant. I guess he really needed to take a leak. The babies turned their little heads and tracked him. Wouldn’t you know it, the minute he disappeared, the two of them simultaneously burst into loud wails. Fuck.
“The poor little things. They have separation anxiety.” Leaping out of her chair, Jennifer unstrapped Paulette from the high chair and lifted her into her arms. Big fat tears poured down her sweet, angelic face, her rosebud lips quivering. Walking around in a circle, Jen gently shook the wailing baby and planted little kisses on her silky scalp. There was something about her holding and kissing the baby that aroused me. My skin prickled and my cock twitched.
“Shh. Daddy’s going to be right back. C’mon, let’s play a little game.” Managing to hold the baby in one arm, she put her other hand to her face and played peek-a-boo. To my amazement, Paulette’s wails morphed into whimpers, and before long, a smile splayed on her face. Meanwhile, Payton’s wails grew louder and his face beet-red.
“Blake, hold her.” She handed me the happy baby.
“What should I do?” Panic gripped me. I’d never held a baby. Not even my sister’s twins.
“Bounce her up and down. Make funny faces. Even sing to her. Think of something.”
My mind raced, and then the memory of an episode of House flashed through my mind. Bouncing the baby lightly with my knees, I pretended to be a series of animals. “Look, Paulette. I’m a horse.” I made a funny neigh, putting everything I had into it, just the way House had. And then I pretended I was a sheep and baahed. The baby was in hysterics. The laughing kind.
“You like that, baby girl, don’t you?” Her laughter was infectious. It made me laugh too.
I did another and another. Man, I was a f*cking genius. A natural born children’s entertainer. There was no sound more horrible than a baby crying. But there was no sound more beautiful than a baby laughing. Well, maybe with one exception. A woman coming.
My gaze shifted to Jennifer. She had managed to calm down Payton. Smiling, she looked my way.
“It’s really a shame. You could have had a career in children’s entertainment.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“Right.”
We held each other’s gazes. The air between us sparked with electricity and warmth. I could have stared at her all day.
“Sorry I took so long.” After ten long minutes, Jaime was back. Guess he had to take a dump too.
“Everything okay?” he asked, taking Payton from Jennifer.
“They were little angels,” she replied as he strapped the little guy back in his high chair. Taking Paulette from me, she followed suit. I’d learned something about my little tiger today. She was a natural born mother.
For the first time in my almost thirty years, the idea of having children was appealing to me. The thought of having them with Jennifer made my heart do little flips. I could picture a den full of little cubs.
A minute later, Jennifer’s cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her bag and answered it. “Oh, hi, Bradley.”
In a nano-second, my fantasy blew up in smoke.
Operation Dickwick was back in business.
Chapter 17
Jennifer
More than anything, I wanted to impress my boss, Blake Burns. And prove to him I was right about the programming slate I wanted to develop. Immediately after lunch, I started on my PowerPoint, gathering images and reviews of various books in one folder and available sales data in another. I was so excited about pitching Gloria Zander. Her lingerie chain, Gloria’s Secret, was one of the largest retailers in the world. Her support of my proposed SIN-TV daytime block could make a big difference in terms of its viability and success.
By late afternoon, my heart was no longer into it. It was somewhere else. My mind had wandered. I couldn’t stop thinking about Blake. Lunch with him and Jaime had been so much fun. When I saw him playing with little Paulette, my heart totally melted. It had shown a whole other side of him. Okay, let’s cut to the chase. Despite his annoying skepticism, I had a full-blown crush on my boss. The way a schoolgirl has on a teacher, though being home schooled, I could only imagine what that felt like.