Chapter Twenty-One

“Nice work, you two!” Olivia walked toward them, clapping loudly. She adjusted her sun hat, teasing Derrick. “Who knew this was one of your talents?”

He rubbed the side of his neck, avoiding Meredith’s gaze. She’d been looking at him in a way he wasn’t sure of, but now the spell was broken.

Derrick smiled politely at Olivia. “A man has to have some secrets.”

Olivia laughed and Meredith addressed the two of them, her face flushed. “I think I’ll go and ask Sally if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“She seems to have things pretty much under control,” Derrick said.

Meredith had already collected her stash of dirty wipes and rolled everything, including the baby doll, up in the beach towel. “Pretty much, yeah. But something tells me this one needs a bath.” She patted the baby doll’s bottom through the towel and Derrick chuckled.

“Probably so,” he said.

Meredith departed and he turned to Olivia, who was wearing a frown. “Talk about a nasty game. That peanut butter—yuck.”

“But it was only peanut butter,” he said. “Try to imagine the real thing.”

Olivia made a grossed-out face. “No, thanks.”

“Come on, Olivia,” he said as they started walking back to the house. “Surely you’ve changed a baby?”

“Uh, no. Why? Have you?”

Derrick cleared his throat. “Not exactly. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t.”

Her eyebrows arched. “I’d love to see you try.”

Derrick didn’t exactly care for the way she said that. He knew she’d been kidding, but still. It wasn’t like her pre-parenting skills were any better than his. She’d admitted herself she’d never babysat. At least he’d done a little of that. Sally was four years younger and he’d sometimes looked after her when his parents were out and his older brothers had other plans. She’d been way out of diapers by that time, though, so it was true he’d never changed any. That didn’t mean he couldn’t figure things out with a real child if he had to.

They reached the porch and William stuck his head out the back door, holding Julia.

“Julia needs changing,” he said. “I’m going to just take her upstairs and—”

“I’ll do it!” Derrick said, stepping forward. The rest of the group swapped curious glances, but Meredith wasn’t around. She was in the kitchen helping Sally and Grandmother Margaret with something.

His brother didn’t totally trust him because he followed him all the way up to the guest room where he and Sofia were staying. There was a diaper bag on the bed and a bath towel had been stretched out beside it. A stack of diapers and a container of wipes sat on the dresser.

William still held Julia. “You really want to do this, huh?”

“Sure, why not? I’ve just warmed up.”

“Uh.”

Derrick laughed at William’s nervous expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”

“You don’t even know what to do.”

“I have a general idea.”

“Not based on the way you were manhandling that doll. How about I show you?”

That actually sounded better to Derrick than him doing it himself, but then he wouldn’t have risen to Olivia’s challenge. “How about you direct me?” he said, holding out his arms.

William tentatively handed him Julia and the precious baby cooed. Derrick chuckled in spite of himself. “Hey, I think she likes me.” As amazing as it seemed, he’d never held a baby before, apart from Sally when she was born and he was still a kid. Weirdly, he’d been afraid to as an adult man. He’d had opportunities before with Julia, but had never jumped right in.

“Relax,” William’s brown eyes twinkled. “You won’t break her.”

Derrick held her closer, jostling Julia gently in his arms and she made another sweet baby sound. “You like this, huh?” he whispered softly. “You like your Uncle Derrick?”

She made a little gurgling noise, but it came from the bottom end. And then there was that rank stench. Definitely not peanut butter. “Maybe we need to get on with it?” he said, staring pleadingly at William.

William chortled, holding his sides. “If a picture’s worth a million bucks it would be of your face.”

Derrick set his jaw, telling himself he could do this. He could do just about anything when he put his mind to it.

“Support her head when you lay her down,” William said.

Derrick nodded and held his breath. Then he tenderly removed the diaper and got to work.

…

Meredith carried two of the newly cleaned up baby dolls through the hall and toward the den. Sally was a few steps ahead of her. The two of them had bathed the dolls in dish soap and warm water before drying them off and giving them fresh diapers. While they did that, Grandmother Margaret had tended to her dinner preparations. She’d ordered a huge lasagna from a caterer’s and now had it warming in the oven. Since she knew she’d be busy with the baby shower this afternoon, she’d thought to plan ahead.

Sally walked into the den as Meredith heard footsteps on the stairs. She peered up the staircase and suddenly couldn’t believe her eyes. William and Derrick were coming toward her, but it wasn’t William holding Julia. It was Derrick.

“Well, hello,” she said with unmasked surprise. “What’s going on?”

Derrick held Julia protectively against his strong shoulder. “Just doing a little diaper duty.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Diapering? You?”

He chuckled at her reaction and so did William.

“No worries,” William said. “He was very gentle. A lot gentler than”—he paused to laugh some more—“he was outdoors.”

“That’s a relief!” she replied, chuckling.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and Meredith scanned Julia from top to bottom. The infant appeared contented, even a little drowsy, sagging against Derrick in a relaxed way. Her heart melted at the scene, because it was so easy to picture Derrick adoring a child of his own. He was going to make a really great daddy someday. She felt a tug at her heartstrings, when she realized that any babies he’d be making wouldn’t be with her.

She glanced down at the plastic baby dolls she held, getting a grip on reality and the moment at hand. “I’d better get the twins back outside,” she said lightly. “Sally says they’re needed on the porch.”

“Oh boy,” William said. “Not more changing games?”

“Don’t think so.” Meredith laughed. “Just as decorations at this point.”

William went into the den and Derrick paused in the hall with Meredith, while holding his sweet baby bundle.

“You seem to be doing very well with her,” she said about Julia.

“I was only getting warmed up outside.” He winked, and her face felt flushed as she thought again about what a great dad he would make.

Julia gave a soft coo and he chuckled, patting her back. “Hey, little nugget. You having a good baby shower?”

Meredith grinned up at him. “I think she’s having the best.”

“How about you?” he asked. “Having fun?”

“Yeah.” Heat swept her cheeks. “You?”

“Loved the diapering game.”

“Did not.”

His voice got husky. “Loved working with you.”

He stared down and into her eyes in such an honest, telling way, she couldn’t help but wonder…no, hope…that maybe more was going on. Was he starting to like her? Really like her, like she was beginning to fall for him? When they’d been outside in the yard, there’d been that moment after the games. But no. That would be terrible. She couldn’t ruin things for Derrick and Olivia.

“There you are!” Sofia said, discovering them in the hall. “I was just looking for Julia.” Her gaze fell on Derrick and she shot him an admiring look. “Well, well, well. What’s this?”

Derrick and Meredith followed Sofia back into the den, where William laid his hand on Derrick’s free shoulder. “Announcement, everyone! My little brother just changed a baby. A real one this time, and he did a great job.”

Olivia entered the den from outdoors and her mouth fell open. Surprised by Derrick’s baby-tending skills, perhaps? Surprised and probably pleased. Of course she would be. What a happy snapshot of the future Derrick made, holding his tiny niece. Meredith’s heart thudded in a dull ache when a stunning realization hit her. She was starting to wish that would be her future, and not Olivia’s.

…

Derrick sat next to Olivia again at dinner, but his gaze kept wandering across the table to Meredith. He’d never seen her laughing as much as she had this afternoon, and he’d liked it. She’d been spontaneous and carefree, diving in with both feet and getting soaking wet. Olivia had participated, too, but every other second, it seemed, she was complaining. Which was fine. Boisterous group games weren’t everyone’s scene. It was the Albrights’ family’s scene, though.

Olivia should know that. While she hadn’t been around them in years, Derrick’s family basically hadn’t changed. Then again, Olivia had never totally fit in, not even back then. But that was pretty minor in the scale of things. What mattered was that she’d fit in with him. She’d been his first love. He’d never fallen harder. Until… He shifted in his chair recalling the look in Meredith’s eyes when she’d seen him in the hall holding Julia.

It had been a short moment but had somehow felt special between them. Intimate. He was proud of the job he’d done in taking care of Julia. He could tell Meredith admired him for it, and her admiration had warmed his heart.

Meredith laughed at some joke William made, and her eyes sparkled in the candlelight. He’d always known she was attractive, but he’d never fully given her credit for how beautiful she was with her long dark hair and that bold, beautiful smile of hers. Then again, Olivia was really great-looking, too, and she was the one he was supposed to be making an effort with.

She leaned toward him and whispered, “I love being around your family. They’re so much fun.”

Did she mean that? “Yeah, but a little rowdy sometimes.”

“A lot rowdy,” she said, her tone bordering on disapproval and Derrick winced. “Not that I mind it!” she self-corrected. “I think they’re—great.”

After the meal, Derrick and Sally offered to carry the dirty dishes into the kitchen. Once it was just the two of them there, Sally said, “Interesting seeing you and Olivia back together.”

“We’re not ‘back together’ yet.”

“She’s here. That must mean something.”

“Mostly, it means she came for Julia’s christening.”

Sally set her stack of dishes by the sink and began rinsing them off. Derrick opened the dishwasher and started loading it as she handed him things. “Grandmother says Meredith’s mission is two-fold. Is it true that her show might get syndicated?”

“Yeah, that’s what she’s hoping.”

“Well good for her!” Sally smiled and continued working. “I like Meredith. She’s fun.”

“I’ve always liked Mer… Meredith, too,” he said, his throat going raspy.

“Liar,” Sally said, but she was laughing. “I was here last summer.”

“Yeah, and so was I.” His mind drifted back to that moment on the dock and the urge he’d had to kiss her. He’d had that same urge today after the baby game, but the timing had been so wrong and they’d been surrounded by all the others.

“How about Olivia?” he asked Sally, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

“How about her?”

“Come on, you know what I mean. Do you like her? Do you think she’s fun?”

“Um.” Sally pursed her lips. “Olivia and I have never totally seen eye to eye.”

“Yeah, and why is that?”

“I’ve never told anyone in the family this, but of course Sofia knows. When Olivia interned at our office, her work was very slipshod, Derrick. Sofia took her under her wing…cut her a lot more slack than I did. I actually don’t think her heart was in it. Going into the law.”

“That can’t be all there is.”

Sally blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll spill.” She met his eyes, looking so much like their mom, but years younger. “I never thought she was right for you.”

“What? Why not?”

“I mean, physical attraction’s fine. I get that she’s very pretty.”

“But—?”

“She doesn’t appreciate you, Derrick, and all your talents. Never has. Olivia is all about herself.”

He found that hard to believe. “Wait. Does Mom think that, too?”

Sally’s eyebrows arched but she didn’t betray whatever she and their mom had talked about.

“Well, maybe things have changed,” he said a bit too defensively.

“Hmm.” Sally shrugged, but she’d planted a seed of doubt in his heart. “Maybe.”

…

They had dessert and gifts in the den after dinner. Grandmother Margaret had ordered a sweet “It’s a Girl” baby shower cake from the same bakery where she’d picked up the other goodies, and everyone had a slice. Derrick tried not to think about Sally’s comments in the kitchen but they niggled at him just the same.

“You all right there, bro?” Brent asked quietly, leaning toward him where they sat on one of the sofas.

“Yeah, fine. Why?”

“Not sure. You just seem a little quiet.”

“It’s a baby shower, Brent.”

“Gotcha.” His brother chuckled. “It’s left me pretty speechless, too.”

Olivia was in a club chair on Derrick’s other side, fawning over each new unwrapped present, while Meredith eyed her skeptically from across the room. Sally wasn’t the only one who didn’t cotton to Olivia. He had a sneaking suspicion that Meredith didn’t like her much, either. Yet, he didn’t know why. It wasn’t like Meredith and Olivia had a history together the way Sally and Olivia did. The only thing Olivia and Meredith had in common was him.

Meredith caught Derrick looking at her and she smiled. It wasn’t a fake smile, either, but a genuine one like she was having a really great time. Olivia pasted on a sunny face but it was hard to know what was going on underneath. Her veneer wasn’t tougher than Meredith’s, because—there was no denying it—Meredith was tough. It was more like it was harder to see who Olivia really was on the inside. With Meredith, her personality bubbled up to the surface like an erupting volcano, whether she wanted it to or not.

He remembered Meredith’s advice to him about making Olivia believe he really noticed things about her. He’d not been doing such a great job with that and he needed to work harder. He’d do well to focus on the goal of them getting to know each other again, seeing if there’s something still there, instead of letting ridiculous notions pop into his head about kissing Meredith. Even though they were getting along better, Meredith didn’t like him in a romantic sense. She was putting up with him in interest of her television deal.

He needed to keep that front and center in his mind. Meredith was here for one reason and one reason only—her career. Helping him with his love life was a convenient way to further that goal. Would she be at this baby shower if she hadn’t lied to save face about her lack of relationship? No. If she’d actually been thinking about him, she’d have reached out without needing his services as a fake fiancé.

The idea that Olivia had floated about Meredith having an interest in him was flat-out wrong. Olivia didn’t know Meredith like he did. Amazingly, he was getting to know her pretty well. He knew that she was smart and funny, and that she had a great sense of humor. She was certainly a lot of fun to be around. More fun than he might have imagined last summer, when neither of them had been able to resist taking pot-shots at the other.

His mouth twitched when he realized he’d actually enjoyed some of that bantering, too. If hindsight were foresight, he might have followed through on that attraction by taking her in his arms on the dock in the moonlight. But their relationship probably wouldn’t have gone anywhere then, just like it wasn’t going anywhere now. If “Matchmaker Meredith” had a million matches to choose from, it was very unlikely she’d pick him.

He frowned. Once she hit it big, and she became more of a known celebrity than she was already, she was going to have more options than ever.