Devaney’s Doctor Daddy by Honey Meyer
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next morning, he woke in his bed with Devy snuggled into his side, her head on his shoulder and their legs tangled together. She was still asleep and the sweetest damn thing with her soft, even breathing and her fingers twitching on his chest. No way was he going to wake her up. She was too adorable like this and besides, she must be exhausted after last night.
Last night.
Last night had been incredible. She’d been incredible, coming apart under his hands half a dozen times, submitting to him, trusting him, and turning him on like no one’s business. His little darling was so goddamn sexy it hurt.
He reached for his phone, finding a few texts there and used his free hand to open them while Devy slumbered on.
The first one was from Jethro.
Hudson’s a good cook but Ian is a menace in the kitchen. Had to call a hazmat team to dispose of the enchiladas he made last night. Any way you could drop by some food today? No worries if you’ve got a full schedule, we’ll survive. Probably.
He had to smother a snort. Yeah, he was familiar with Ian’s attempts in the kitchen and they were, without fail, not good. Guy could turn out some decent rice cereal and not fuck up a box of mac and cheese but anything much more complicated seemed beyond him. That’s why Hudson was permanently in charge of sustenance for poker night.
Eric flicked over to his schedule to double check, but yeah, he only had a couple patients later this afternoon. Plus, the situation seemed pretty dire.
I can come by with lunch no problem. Might bring a friend.
Jethro must’ve been up because a message flashed across Eric’s screen only a few seconds later.
A friend, huh? This “friend” wouldn’t happen to be the lovely Devaney Bishop would it?
Eric shook his head and texted back.
Which one of those assholes couldn’t keep their big mouth shut, huh? My money’s on Ian.
No, it was Cosima. She was practically giddy about your new girlfriend. Bring her by, I’m sure Sable would be happy to have another mom to talk to.
They agreed on details and then Eric flicked to the next message, this one from Brae.
You propose yet?
Fucker. And the really irritating thing was he wasn’t far off. If Eric thought she’d say yes, he’d wake Devy up by asking her to be his wife and then he’d celebrate by burying his head between her legs. Her pussy was delicious and the noises she made, unf. He oughta be careful with those thoughts though because he was getting hard just thinking about it and he wasn’t going to wake her up to fuck. Yet. She needed her sleep.
Not yet. Gimme a couple days.
Given the hour on the west coast, he thought Brae was probably asleep but his friend surprised him by texting back right away.
How long does it take to get ordained in CT? Speaking of, you’ll never guess where I’m filming in a few months. Clover City’s apparently lobbying to be the next Wilmington or Vancouver. Idk what my schedule will be like—crazy probably—but I’m sure I’ll have some time to fuck around, I’ll let you know.
That was great news—it’d be fun to have his old buddy back in town even for just a little while. Brae could meet Devy, and who knew? Maybe he’d rack up some cool points with Logan and Chase if they were fans. Which they probably were. Brae’s films were almost all blockbusters these days and with a mix of military thrillers and superhero action flicks he had a wide audience.
Devy stirred next to him, and he tapped out a reply before she could fully wake.
Good times. Send more details when you have them. Gotta go, my girl’s waking up.
You’re besotted, Southerland. It’s disgusting. Also nice to see.
Couldn’t argue with that. Any of it. Like he’d told Devy, she was his jam.
He put the phone aside just in time for her to rub her face into his chest and murmur a sleepy “good morning.”
“Morning to you, buttercup. How you feeling?”
“Sore,” she croaked, but with a smile in her voice. “In the best way, but yeah, definitely sore.”
“I think that just means you need more practice,” he told her with a kiss to the top of her head, smiling against her hair. He’d give her a bath this morning if she had time, his little princess deserved to be spoiled. “Build up your stamina.”
“That sounds like a real hardship. But needs must,” she muttered, and he laughed. So cute.
He gathered her into his arms and shifted so she was lying in a straddle on top of him. He loved the weight of her, how her breasts pressed against his torso through the thin cotton of the nightgown he’d put her in last night, and how his dick nestled into the soft padding of her diaper between her legs. Maybe she’d have time for a fuck and a bath…
* * *
After fucking her silly and giving her an absolutely decadent bath, Eric dropped her off at her apartment so she could deal with some laundry and cleaning like they’d discussed.
It was nearly unbelievable that he wanted to be with her so much he hated to let her go do chores for only a few hours, but he was so earnest and sincere and the way he kissed her—yeah, none of that left any room for doubt that he really did like her.
And though she was hardly some naive teenage girl, this incredibly kind and handsome and sexy as all hell man had her flustered like she hadn’t been since her very first crush. It had been a long time since anyone or anything had given her butterflies and she felt like Cinderella with her helpful menagerie of forest creatures as she flitted through her chores, humming and smiling to herself as she replayed last night in her mind.
It seemed like both forever and only minutes before Eric was knocking at her door again, and he handed her into his car before buckling her seatbelt. It was silly because she was a grown-ass woman and had been buckling other people into the car for going on fifteen years, but she loved the way he did small things like that for her. Opened doors, led her with a steady hand at the small of her back, fed her from his hand. Made her feel small and cared for.
“What smells so good in here?” she asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
Devaney craned her neck to look in the backseat where there were a few covered containers.
“Jethro texted me this morning asking if I could bring food today. Ian—who you met, the crazy redhead—is one of the people helping them out but he really shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen. Not because he’s messy—although he is—but because I don’t know how he manages it, but he turns perfectly normal ingredients into some sort of toxic sludge. I’m saving the day with a couple quiches and a salad.”
He put a hand on her thigh and glanced over at her. “You don’t mind if we stop by the Del Bosques’, do you? We don’t have to stay for long—I know you’ve got a job search you want to get on—but we can drop off the food, say hi, see the girls. Do you like dogs? They’ve got these two basset hounds…”
Eric chattered at her as he drove them across town and it was nice. She wished she didn’t have her stupid job search on the brain because wouldn’t it be nice to go over to meet more of Eric’s friends, hold a baby or two, eat some quiche? A normal Saturday afternoon that wasn’t full of stress, that didn’t feel like she was on the edge of failing?
Maybe she’d at least have a little respite from her worries. Maybe she’d get to hold one of the girls—it’d been a long time since she held a newborn in her arms. Oh, maybe she’d get to see Eric hold a baby. And wouldn’t that send her ovaries into overdrive? She didn’t know whether she wanted to see that or not.
Pfft, who was she kidding? She would give a lot to see Eric fussing over a little baby. She’d give even more if someday maybe he’d like to coo at a baby of their own. Devaney wanted that so badly she could taste it—no, more like smell it. Those familiar baby scents of tear-free shampoo and wipes plus that warm, earthy smell of Eric’s skin? Add in the sounds of Chase and Logan playing some tabletop game they’d argue over good-naturedly and that would be bliss.
They pulled into a big driveway between Del Bosque’s Garden Center and a well-kept rambling farmhouse where there were already a few SUVs and a couple of trucks from the garden center. She could hear people inside before they even got to the door. Eric knocked but didn’t wait for an answer before he ushered her inside.
It was the kind of well-loved and cozy house that looked like a baby bomb had gone off inside with boxes of wipes, stuffed toys, and blankets strewn over every surface. Yep, she remembered those first days after both Logan and Chase had arrived, and they’d been singletons. She didn’t know what she would’ve done if there’d been two of them. Twice.
A tall, broad white man with salt and pepper hair and scruff wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, plus what appeared to be a de rigueur burp cloth slung over his shoulder approached and greeted them with a smile, offered her a hand.
“Welcome to the circus,” he said, gesturing to the chaos around him. “We’re all friends here, just try not to step on anyone. Yasmin and Calla can walk but they can still crawl faster, it’s easy to trip over Rhodie and Marigold since they’re so low to the ground, and Ian…well, I’ve got no excuse for Ian. He just rolls around on the floor a lot. I’m Jethro, by the way, and you must be Devaney. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh. Well, I’ve heard all about your little girls. And of course I’ve shopped at the garden center a million times. Is there anything I can do to help? It’s been a while since I had babies but—”
“Devy’s a great mom,” Eric chimed in, using the hand that wasn’t balancing the quiches to steer her toward the kitchen that looked equally homey and riotous. “Her boys have been coming to me for years and they’re good kids.”
“Well, I think Sable is finishing up feeding Hyacinth and Briar so if you don’t mind taking over baby-holding duty, I’m sure she’d love a shower. I’ve been trying to get things tidied up if you can believe it, and Hudson and Ian are attempting to occupy the big sisters.”
Eric slid the quiches and the salad bowl onto a counter crowded with drying bottles, pacis, and what looked like the remains of some peanut butter sandwiches and quartered grapes. Yes, she was more than familiar with toddler detritus.
They went through to what looked like the living room where Ian and Hudson looked up from their place on the floor where each of them had one of the older girls in their laps and Ian was reading a story with a great deal of animation. Greetings and pleasantries were exchanged until the dark-haired cutie on Ian’s lap patted the book and exclaimed, “E, mo!”
Which was obviously twin for “Ian, more!” and of course he obliged while they crossed the room to where a gorgeous brunette had two tiny bundles in her arms. Devaney didn’t remember looking so beautiful and serene after giving birth although maybe she would’ve fared a bit better if she’d had as much help as Sable did. Or much at all.
Carter had had little interest in the boys when they were infants and had left most of the diaper-changing, middle-of-the-night feedings, and myriad doctors appointments to her on top of her usual slate of cooking and cleaning. She couldn’t imagine Eric doing the same thing ever, but especially if this is what his friends did when someone had a baby. They seemed to take that whole “it takes a village” thing to heart.
“Hey, Sabes, how you feeling?”
Sable gave Eric a small smile. “Tired, but these two are nursing like champs. And you know, wondering if we’re insane.”
Eric chuckled. “You definitely are but it looks like you guys are holding down the fort just fine. And I wanted you to meet my girl, Devy. Devy this is Sable, twin mama super star.”
Devaney couldn’t help but go closer to see the babies’ faces. They were both rosebud-mouthed with heads full of dark hair. Absolutely precious.
“Oh my goodness, they are just the sweetest things. Congratulations.”
Sable gave her one of those exhausted but proud smiles. “Thanks. I think it’s actually easier the second time around. Eric said you have two boys, how old are they?”
“Logan’s fourteen, and Chase is nine so it’s been a while since the newborn stage.”
“Can we take those two off your hands so you can take a shower, grab something to eat, maybe get a little sleep, whatever sounds good?” Eric asked.
“That would be amazing.”
“Here, lemme grab this little bundle—and don’t tell me, I bet I can guess.”
Eric scooped up one of the babies from Sable and cradled her in his arms and Devaney’s heart almost exploded. It was too much, the way he looked so comfortable, started to walk and sway as he studied the little face peeking out from under a hand knit hat.
“This is Briar,” he pronounced with certainty. “Her face is a little rounder than Hyacinth’s.”
“Got it in one. And for anyone who has a harder time telling them apart, Briar’s in pink this afternoon and Hyacinth is in blue,” Jethro said, giving Devaney a friendly wink.
Devaney moved a few steps closer to pick up Hyacinth who was a sweet-smelling curled up little ball, and got the baby nestled perfectly in her arms. It made her so happy and also desperately sad all at once.
Happy because there were few things she enjoyed as much as cuddling babies but also sad because she doubted she’d get to do this with a baby of her own ever again. She tried to tell herself it was fine, there would be other babies to hold, but it ached nonetheless.
Sable stood and stretched, and at least the woman was human enough to be in soft, drapy lounge clothes instead of something more fashionable. Jethro came up behind her, circled his arms around her and murmured something in his wife’s ear Devaney couldn’t make out.
“Hey Eric, I know you offered to manage these two so Sable could take a shower. Can you stick around long enough for me to give my little miss a bath?”
Eric looked to her since yes, he had a couple patients this afternoon but not for a couple hours. She was the one who’d been in a rush to get back to his place to work on her job search. But there was no way she was going to pass up the chance to snuggle a sleeping infant and watch Eric do the same.
“That’s fine. My job search will still be there,” she said, and also registered that Jethro had called Sable his little miss. That could just be any old nickname, but there was something about the way Sable leaned into her husband, something about the way he’d said he was going to give Sable a bath instead of just that she was going to take one that made her think maybe Jethro was Sable’s daddy too.
Or maybe since being with Eric she just had daddies and littles on the brain.
When Jethro picked Sable up like a damsel in distress, Devaney expected her to argue since she seemed like the kind of woman who could do it her damn self, thank you, or at least slap his chest and give a playful protest. But no—Sable circled her arms around her husband’s neck and seemed to melt. Maybe she’d been right after all.