Ashley’shumor made him smile as he turned the car off in front of the fountains on the driveway and said, “No Bat Mobile, so yeah.”
She opened her own door and got out as she shook her head. He followed and she immediately went to the car seat as he retrieved the bags. “Do you know who drives that?”
Now that he thought about it, yes, that car was a bit much. He nodded. “My friend Ben-”
“Don’t tell me the last name!” she interrupted and lifted the baby out of the seat as she bounced him. “I don’t want to lose the mystic aura around my movie heroes.”
He moved the bags onto the porch and then went for the rest as he said, “You probably shouldn’t work on sets then—no more illusions.”
She stayed on his heels until he opened the front door and then she passed tobe inside. “Well, if all stars are like you then I’m working in heaven.”
He took out the Pack ‘n Play as her arms might get tired from carrying the baby and headed into the living room to put it together. She sat on the edge of the couch while he went to work figuring this new puzzle out. “I’m not an angel,” he assured her. “And I like being part of my family. It’s so different than whenI grew up and had no one.”
The metal bottom didn’t want to straighten out. He pushed down in the center but it wasn’t working. She said, “I used to wish I had brothers and sisters. So I get how that feels.”
The baby began to cry and she rose to her feet. “Cosimo might be hungry.” He continued to push on the center bar but it didn’t snap into place. Once she left the room, he usedhis phone and searched for the directions online. Ah, that was it. He pushed two sides down and then the bottom did as he wanted. She returned and said, “I hope I brought enough bottles.”
Matt walked over and intended to kiss the baby’s forehead, but the baby’s small hands reached out like he wanted to be held.
So, Ashley handed him the baby.
His sister had also expected himto hold her little boy and he liked being an uncle so didn’t mind. Still, babies were fragile so he sat down on the couch and said, “I’m sure you did. It’s just for a night.”
She shrugged and backed up. “Since you’re feeding him, I’ll get lunch started. The day is going fast.”
Right. And by dinner, his brother would be here to see his son.
Ashley needed to know.
Theywouldn’t be alone tonight. He didn’t want to be without her, so he followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the small table by the counter to feed the baby. “I get to spend the day with you, and Cosimo.”
She pulled bags of vegetables from the fridge that he had no idea where they came from. Until Ashley’s arrival, he usually ate out, except for breakfast—he managed his own bread,cheese and fruit.
The Morgans in Miami had chefs.
Maybe if he was going to be home more he should hire one too.
Ashley buttered a pan and set it aside while she took the vegetables to the sink and washed them. “You look comfortable holding the baby. Did you ever want your own children?”
While the rest of the House of Morgan was now procreating, he never imagined he’djoin their number. His past flashed in his mind but he glanced down atthisbaby. Cosimo had a sweet coo to him that just made him want to hold him tighter.
The smaller the cuter it seemed. “I guess, but I never put concrete thoughts into a must have and they weren’t on the five-year plan.”
She washed the vegetables and then ran them through the food processor. The baby jumped inhis arms and Matt rocked him to keep him calm as she asked, “You have a five-year plan?”
He waited till the noise of the machine ended. “Movie careers for leading men don’t last unless he’s shown versatility and staying power at the box office. It’s pretty rare in this town, so I’ve been going between romance to action to drama to show my capabilities, but it’s no guarantee.”
“Andhopefully this new series?” The baby cooed as he held him, and she added, “Maybe you can play a dad as you’re clearly good with little ones.”
Matt was paying her to help him land the role that could make his career.
She added the vegetables into the pan and then took out chicken from his refrigerator.
Seriously his maid needed a raise if she was now stocking his fridge. Ashleywashed the chicken too as she asked, “And do you ever think about retiring?”
His skin buzzed. It was getting late for dinner and he should tell her what he’d done. He checked that the bottle was almost finished. “I think I’d be bored and I hate being bored.”
She mixed spices in a bowl and added chicken into the pan. “Why? What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror, andimagine being older?”
