Bite Me Read online

  Then again, he’s not a total stranger. I forget. He’s a celebrity.

  “Did Mrs. Hurley recognize you, by any chance?”

  Milo scrunches his lips and looks up as he thinks back, and it’s so cute I want to capture his bottom lip between my teeth. Good thing there’s a baby between us at the moment.

  “Hard to tell,” he answers. “Does she normally play with her hair and giggle when she talks to strangers?”

  “Most definitely not. She recognized you. Good thing, because she gets really uptight when she sees a car she doesn’t like. She probably didn’t take too kindly to you parking on the street until she knew who you were.”

  I invite him inside. “I would offer to jump your bones, but as you can see, I’m babysitting, and she’s wide awake. You want some coffee? Fruitcake?”

  Milo narrows his eyes at me. “Show me to the coffee but give me a crucifix to ward off the fruitcake.”

  I snort, and he follows me inside the house into the kitchen.

  He’s going to fit right in in this family.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cecily

  It feels nice to be outside, walking amongst the trees and crunching in the snow with Milo by my side and a baby nestled against me for warmth. I was at first put off when Milo asked if I wanted to go for a walk, thinking he had no idea what it takes to just get out the door with a baby. But then I grew pleasantly shocked as I watched him do all the baby things. Milo stocked the diaper bag full of all the necessities, even an extra change of clothes for the little one and an extra blanket. I took care to mark a small tree near the cabin by tying one of my spare winter scarves around the trunk.

  As we wander through the snow, Milo carries the diaper bag for me and points out icy patches on the footpath. He keeps his pace slow despite his usual long stride.

  “How do you know so much about babies?”

  His hands are stuffed into his pockets, and he shrugs. “I babysit for my brother sometimes.”

  “You do not! Are you trying to give me baby fever?”

  He laughs and tells me about his family in Philly, his two younger brothers and a sister. The middle brother has two kids under the age of 5, and whenever Milo is in town, he watches the kids so his brother and his wife can have a day date.

  “That’s so nice of you to fit it in,” I say.

  “Suzy struggled with postpartum depression after the second baby was born. They didn’t know a lot about it, but I just wanted to help, so I work it into my schedule.”

  How could I not fall in love with this man?

  I reach over and grasp his bare hand in my mittened one and say, “Your hands must be freezing.”

  He squeezes. “All good now.”

  Just then, Freya starts to fuss.

  I wait for the fussing to pass, but then I feel the thing I’ve been dreading. A rumble near her bottom vibrates through the carrier’s layers of fabric, and it’s so powerful I feel it through the blanket that’s wrapped around us.

  “Oh shit, better head back,” I say, shivering. “It’s getting colder; I don’t want to change her diaper out here in the woods. Well, I don’t want to change her at all; I’ve never done it before.”

  After we turn around and start heading back to the cabin, we pass a fork in the footpath that I don’t recall seeing before. Uh oh. Scanning the distance, I don’t see the cabin anywhere. Judging by where the sun is, I can tell we’re headed in the right direction. I think.

  “How long have we been gone?” I ask.

  Milo checks his watch. “About an hour?”

  I know we’ve been ambling, but that could mean we could be two miles away from the cabin at this point. “We’d better pick up the pace, or it’ll be dark by the time we get back. I don’t want Chloe and Phillip to worry.”

  Fortunately, my parents have always been a little bit adventurous with us kids ever since they were young. Maybe because they were so young when they got married, they were clueless and fearless. I take after both of them.

  “They showed me how to tell the direction by the sun’s location so I would never get lost. And it works. I can’t tell you how many times my GPS has failed me because of traffic jams or closed roads, and I find my way home because I just know I have to head east or west.”

  We continue onward for some time. Freya’s fussing starts to turn into crying and eventually into wailing.

  “I know we’re headed in the right direction, but I don’t know how much longer. How much time has passed?”

  He answers that only fifteen minutes have passed since we turned around, which means even at this pace, it could be thirty or forty minutes before we reach the cabin. If we’re even on the correct trail.

  “I know that kind of cry,” Milo says. “She’s really uncomfortable.”

  “What should we do? I don’t want to change her out here in the cold,” I say.

  Milo stops to takes charge, and does a lot of things in quick succession. He spreads the blanket on the ground, opens the diaper bag, finds the changing mat, and lays it out on the blanket, along with the baby wipes, clean diaper, and hand sanitizer.

  “Better to be a little cold for sixty seconds than get diaper rash.”

  I laugh. “Sixty seconds. Right.”

  He kneels down and reaches up. “Hand me the kid.”

  What happens next utterly floors me. Milo has the soiled diaper off in seconds, but he lets me do the deed of wiping. He then has the entire dirty business wrapped up in a tight ball and a clean diaper on her so fast I’m astounded.

  Her little body shivers as she cries, but soon she’s bundled up tight and back into the harness. Milo sweetly wraps the blanket around the baby and me and ties it at my back.

  He even finds the little washable pouch inside the diaper bag to stow the soiled one until we return to the cabin.

  “We don’t have time for this, but…” I stand up on my tiptoes and curl my arm around Milo’s neck, and he responds by kindly leaning down to meet me in the middle. His nose is cold, but his lips are warm, and our kiss heats me all over.

  “Thank you,” I say, my relieved sigh coming out in clouds around us.

  He smiles and only replies with another kiss. “Lead the way.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Milo

  I’m such a city boy that I’ve been quietly freaking out. At one point, I take the baby off Cecily’s hands so she can move more quickly up the trail.

  My nerves settle when I see Cecily jump up and down ahead of me, pointing to the left. Her scarf is there where she left it.

  We cheer as we begin to mount the hill and then laugh as Freya mimics our cheering.

  All our laughter and relief dissipates when we crest the hill, however, at the sight of a sheriff deputy Jeep parked in the cabin’s driveway, blocking in my car.

  “Oh shit,” I say. “I hope everything is okay.”

  Cecily picks the pace up, and when we approach the scene, an officer comes into view. My stomach twists into a knot. The officer appears to be taking notes and talking to one frantic woman and a stone-faced older man who seems to be trying to keep the distraught woman from collapsing. The other four women are chattering with the three other men, and it looks as though they are conferring on some emergency.

  The oldest man speaks up. “I’m sure they’re all fine, nobody panic. Everyone calm down.”

  “My brothers can get a helicopter and be here in an hour to help with search and rescue.”

  A taller, slender man, about the same age as the man who must be Cecily’s dad, says, “Listen, I know this area like the back of my hand; I’ll lead the first search party.”

  The dark-haired man disagrees, “But you’ve never led a search party. Let my brothers handle it; they’ll know what to do first.”

  The patriarch insists, “I think what we do now is let the police tell us what to do. No disrespect to your family, Leo, but I feel like the police should be in charge.”

  “All I’m saying is—”

  The one who looks like the group’s matriarch suddenly makes eye contact with me as my feet crunch in the snow. She screams, holding her hands to her cheeks. Everyone spins around and gapes at me, a look of complete shock on their faces, mixed with anger, amusement, understanding, and relief.

  Oh. Shit. I think I know what this looks like. It’s me, a giant bear of a man who’s known to be harassing their daughter, holding a thought-to-be-missing baby, tromping through the woods, hand in hand with the woman I’m sort of stalking.

  It’s now that I notice the man who must be this baby’s father is charging toward me. In the most surreal turn of events, I know this man. Phillip Wildwood, that English guy from that baking show I watched once and never again. I think we met once or twice at a public television fundraiser. I would not be surprised if he deadass punched me in the face.

  As he approaches, he seems to know who I am as well.

  “You!?” The look on the man’s face is part incredulous, part rage, part confusion, and part relief.

  And then I say the truly dumbest thing I could have thought to say.

  “Hi! I’m Milo St. Germaine, and I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cecily

  “So that happened.”

  That was a typical Williams family clusterfuck if there ever was one.

  And Milo is never going to live this down. In fact, he looks as if he’s ready to skip town right now, and I wouldn’t blame him if he did.

  “Dude. Next time you want to steal a baby, just ask. We’ve got plenty. No need to involve the police,” Diana teases as we all sprawl on the floor and on the huge sectional sofa in front of the fire.

  Leo, his legs taking up half the faux bearskin rug, stifles a laugh and pulls Diana into his lap. He’s always hugging her, caging her in with his arms. Today, though, he seems extra handsy with her, and he murmurs something into her ear only she can hear.

  I glance over at Cherise, peering at her phone with a look on her face I can only describe as aggrieved. I nudge her with my foot to get her attention. At the same time, Michael and Phillip continue to bust Milo’s chops good-naturedly.

  “Hey,” I whisper to Cherise. She stuffs her phone back into her pocket and smiles at me. But I know my sister, my best friend. “What’s going on?”

  She shakes her head. “Nothing. I think I got my feelings hurt over nothing.” Her voice is thick despite her insistent smile.

  “This is not the Cherise I know. What did he say to you?”

  She quirks an eyebrow. “How did you know it was Aug—I mean, him?”

  I loll my head back and roll my eyes. “Because I’ve known you my whole life.”

  Cherise breathes out a sigh. “I thought Augie would be happy about my new job. But he had some troubling things to say about—” Cherise cuts her eyes at Milo. I check on him and see that he’s not listening to Cherise or me but laughing and blushing adorably and taking lighthearted barb after barb from the entire family.

  I mouth, “About Milo? What did he say?”

  “Let’s go talk in the kitchen.”

  Once there, out of everyone’s earshot, she says, “I was surprised, but he has strong opinions about Milo. He called him a playboy and how he’s going to try to steal me away, and that he only hired me to get into my pants.”

  “Whoa!”

  “Yeah, it almost got heated for a minute. But I told him I don’t get that vibe at all from Milo.”

  I shake my head. “Not at all. He told me about that thing on the yacht.”

  Cherise puts her hand up. “Listen, you don’t have to explain. What your boyfriend did in his past doesn’t matter, as long as he’s good to you.”

  I chuckle and look at the steaming crockpot of hot cider. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  Cherise levels me. “He’s more your boyfriend than Augie is mine.”

  It takes a lot to stun me into silence, but that works on me.

  “I’m worried he’ll break my heart. He’s got family in Philly, his flagship in New York. Restaurants in five cities, an internet series to film, and a cookbook to promote. He’s not interested in having a nobody girlfriend in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina.”

  Milo strolls into the kitchen just then with two toddlers and a six-year-old trailing behind him, peppering him with questions.

  “Where were you taking our brother?”

  “Nowhere.”

  “I’m glad you decided to come back. Mama said you kidnapped Freya and Auntie Cecily. Daddy always says you should do the right thing and turn yourself in when you do something you know is bad.”

  “You know what?” Milo gets down in a squatting position and looks Katie right in the eye. “You’re right. I should always do the right thing and confess when I’ve done something wrong.”

  Milo stands up straight, turns to me, and says, “Cecily. I owe you an apology. I came here to tell you I’m sorry if I let you leave the other night without telling you how I really feel.”

  “Don’t think you could have stopped me but go on.”

  “I should have been straight with you right away instead of seeing where things go. What I should have said, and I’m saying right now at great risk of emotional injury, is that I’m crazy about you. I love you. There’s no one else, and there won’t ever be anyone else.”

  If my life were a cheesy movie, this is the part where I turn around to see my family watching from the kitchen doorway and demanding that I accept the gentleman’s offer of marriage. But when I look around, it’s only Katie and Cherise, and some toddlers wandering around.

  I instantly feel bad. Cherise isn’t happy, and here I am getting a declaration of commitment from fricking Milo St. Germaine. That, right after telling her I have concerns about her dating situation.

  As if reading my mind, Cherise points at me. “Don’t you dare. Don’t deny yourself this amazing romantic moment just because you feel sorry for me. And while we’re at it, don’t feel sorry for me at all. It’s awkward. That man gave me a huge opportunity and I’m happy things are going my way. Go and live your life.”

  I bite my lip to keep from crying. I hate that she feels my pity. I don’t want our relationship to be like that. And I don’t want to flat out hate Augie because what if they get married someday, and he has to be my brother-in-law? Then everything will be awkward. So far, I’ve loved all my brothers-in-law, even Phillip, when he mutters about all of us people who can’t understand the metric system and who drive on the wrong side of the road. There’s still plenty to love. I’m lucky, and there’s bound to be one dud-in-law in the family eventually.

  And best-case scenario, they break up, and I won’t have to coax her into it. After all, it’s none of my business.

  “I love you, sis.” We hug, and over her shoulder, I see Milo watching the whole thing, leaning against the kitchen counter. He appears to have sat little Katie onto the counter to sip cider with him to watch the scene unfold.

  When we’re finished hugging, Cherise squeezes my shoulder. “Get on out of here now. You two need some privacy, and it’s not going to happen here. The cabin might have six bedrooms, but there’s a reason why every room has a white noise machine.”

  “What reason is that, Auntie Ceese?” Katie queries, using her more pronounceable version of Cherise’s name.

  Cherise scoops Katie up and says, “Come on, we’re all going to watch The Grinch and then go to bed.”

  When they’re gone, Milo crosses his arms and watches me for my response. “I didn’t come here to make you leave. I just wanted to say that, and to see you. I got the gift of spending the whole afternoon with you, which is more than I expected. Thank you.”

  I sidle up to him and rest my hand on his arm. “It’s not a party until the cops show up,” I say.

  He laughs. “True.”

  “Just remember. We together kidnapped the baby. You were under my thrall.”

  “I’m never going to live this down.”

  “You’ve been officially baptized as a boyfriend of a Williams girl.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Milo

  “Where did those come from?”

  Cecily smiles shyly as she bites into a chocolate-covered strawberry from the mini cooler in her lap. Her family loaded us up with all kinds of Christmas goodies before we made our escape from the remote cabin. I would have rather slipped out without any fanfare, but I’m quickly learning that family goodbyes can take up to an hour. I’m currently driving us out of the Blue Ridge mountains and back to Charlotte, and the drive is a slow descent in the dark. I have to watch carefully for ice patches on the winding roads.

  “Your new pastry chef insisted that I take these with us.”

  I know she remembers how our date ended at the restaurant.

  “You want one?” Cecily reaches over and lifts one up close to my lips.

  I grip the wheel, wondering if there’s a quicker way down this mountain other than tumbling down into the gorge.

  “Why do you look upset?”

  I try to relax my jaw.

  “I just really want to get where we’re going,” I say, my voice raspy.

  Finally, the road spills out onto the slightly wider highway that will lead us back to I-40. Checking my GPS, we’re still hours from Cecily’s house.

  “Mmm, these are delicious. Are you sure you don’t want one?”

  Finally, I see the lights and signs for a little touristy village tucked away in the hills, and I can’t wait any longer. I stop at the first roadside mountain lodge I see.

  Cecily looks around. “This is cute, but why are we stopping?”

  “It’s been a long day, baby. And I’m not gonna make it if I have to wait another second to get you alone.”

  She eyes the “no vacancy” sign and grimaces. “They’re full, though.”