“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked, leaning forward so his big arms rested on his desk.
The muscles in his biceps were testing the strength of his dress shirt—when had he taken his suit jacket off?
My eyes traveled over his chest, and wetness started to leak out of my breasts.
I groaned and looked down to see two huge wet spots on my shirt.
“Shit,” I grumbled.
He took in my predicament, then said, “I’ll go get him. You can feed him here, then I’ll send someone to bring you a shirt.”
“I have one in my purse,” I muttered. “I’m used to this. But I wouldn’t say no to you bringing him to me.”
He winked and left, leaving me to leak some more on my shirt.
Shit.
If I had the capacity to feel embarrassed right now, my cheeks would be flaming.
Instead, I just felt…indifference.
It was just like any other day.
Why would I think this one would be any different?
Copper came back with my kid on his shoulder five minutes later, walking straight to me.
“You need anything else?” he asked as he handed Holt off to me.
I took Holt and stared into his happy eyes.
So often, I was used to him crying that I’d never gotten the chance to really study his face.
“Does it make me a bad mom that I didn’t think of taking him to the chiropractor?” I asked. “I went to his pediatrician literally once a week since he was born, sure there was something wrong with him. They always said he just had colic.”
I ran my finger over my nose that just so happened to be in my baby’s face.
“You’re not the expert. They are. They didn’t mention it, it’s their bad, not yours.”
“He looks nothing like his father,” I mumbled. “He’s all me.”
“Good.” Copper retook his seat. “Maybe he’ll have your personality and your smarts, too. Then you can say it was truly you that put all the work into makin’ him.”
“Are you hungry?” I asked Holt.
“They said they were about to feed him his first bottle,” Copper said as he swung his desk chair around to face the Dallas skyline.
I took that as my cue to get my boobs situated, and laid Holt down on his side.
We’d done this a thousand times before, but this time felt different. Like I was looking at things through a clear glass window instead of a foggy one.
“I contemplated suicide,” I said softly, knowing Copper would hear. “The only thing that stopped me was the idea of leaving Holt to a man like Joey. He’d have a horrible life.”
“If you ever feel like that again,” Copper said fiercely. “You’ll tell me immediately. I’ll give you everything in my power to give, and make sure that you never feel like that ever again.”
The fierceness in his tone had me looking away from my son for the first time and up at Copper.
He looked like an avenging angel on the warpath.
