The Bad Boy's Baby (Hope Springs) by Cindi Madsen

go thinking you’ve won. But before I forget, I wanted to ask one more question about Zoey. Any problems getting her to go to bed?”
    “Nope, it went just like you said. I put in the movie, listened to a whole bunch of singing, and she crashed out halfway through.”
    Emma glanced at the television screen, which had finished scrolling through the credits and was now on the DVD menu, the same obnoxious notes playing over and over. “But you finished the movie anyway?”
    He hooked his thumbs in his pockets as a crooked grin curved his lips, the boyish gesture from such a burly guy sending another surge of attraction through her. “I figured I might as well see how it turned out. In case Zoey needed to discuss it later.”
    “Of course,” she said, grinning at him. He grinned back, and butterflies erupted in her stomach.
    Okay. I’m going to need to cut myself off before I lose my mind and fling myself into his arms—or before I decide to actually go digging through his pockets. Right now the focus was Zoey. If she and Cam crossed lines—if he even wanted to, which was unlikely—it’d only make a mess of an already messy situation.
    Time to employ my self-control. “Well, thanks again. Now, my keys, please, so I can take in my car to get it repaired.” She extended her palm.
    He smacked it like she’d asked for five, not her keys. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at Mountain Ridge.” He hesitated as he started past, and she thought he’d tell her he was kidding about the car and hand her the keys.
    But then he ran his hand down her arm and gave her hand a quick squeeze that made her temporarily forget not only her car, but also that she’d decided against lusting after the father of her child. “I’m totally exhausted after a few hours with Zoey. Not sure how you do it all the time, but I swear, I’m going to try to figure out this whole dad thing.”
    “So that’s still the plan? Tonight didn’t scare you away?” She was mostly kidding, but part of her expected him to back out. Things would never go back to the same, but she and Zoey could deal better if they found out now, as opposed to dragging it out and getting attached, only to have him change his mind.
    “Oh, it scared me a little,” he said with a laugh. “And it might take me some time to adjust, but I’m still on board with the plan to get to know my daughter.”
    With the attraction vibes rising, she needed that reminder. He was here because of Zoey. This talk was good, because it put it all in perspective again.
    But it didn’t stop her from checking out his butt or thinking about how nicely he filled out his jeans as she watched him walk out the door.

Chapter Nine
    Emma sat across from Sadie and Quinn on Friday night and sagged against the back of the wooden bench, sitting down for the first time today, with the exception of driving, which was never as relaxing as it should be.
    “Yay, you made it!” Sadie signaled for the waitress passing by and asked her to add one more to their order. Emma didn’t even care what the one more was, she’d take it.
    “Yeah, Zoey loves Madison so much now that I can hardly get a kiss good-bye, because she’s too excited to play.” The fourteen-year-old babysitter and Zoey had quickly bonded, which made it so much easier to relax and enjoy her worry-free girls’ night out.
    “How’s your week been?” Quinn asked, leaning in.
    “Like the craziest week ever. I have a feeling that you knew that, though.”
    Quinn shrugged. “Yeah, but I want to hear it from you. Remember how Sadie and I decided that we missed out in high school because we were too busy blathering on and on to each other to stop and get to know you? I’m trying to learn from my mistakes.”
    Having girlfriends was still new for Emma. She’d had a few decent friends in high school, but none that she’d ever felt super close to, and while girls’ night out was new, she was starting to get used to it. She was also finding it