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Mom and Farrah hug Amber, probably tighter and longer than they did me. Which is fine. Everyone knows brief hugs work better for me.
“Thank you both for coming. We really appreciate it,” Amber says, moving to the side, allowing them farther into the house.
Mom and Farrah walk into the living room then both cross their arms. “Are we just going to move past the fact you guys got married and didn’t invite any of us?” Farrah asks, pursing her lips.
Mom smirks, glancing at her daughter. “I agree. I would’ve loved to come. But let’s not pretend we didn’t know these two would end up together.”
Farrah laughs. “Okay, true. However, I always thought Ford held a candle for Amber, but I didn’t think the feelings were reciprocated. Boy, was I wrong!” She sighs, uncrossing her arms. “You’ve always stared at Amber like she was the only girl on earth.”
Heat moves up my neck and face. Amber takes it all in stride, looping an arm around my waist and looking up at me. She’s so much shorter than me, barely coming to my shoulder. “It took me a while to see it, but I’m pretty lucky I finally realized this big hunk was the man for me.”
Placing a hand at the small of her back, I softly move my hand up and down her spine. I’ve dreamt of touching her for ages, and I finally have an excuse to do it. “Yeah, I couldn’t take it anymore, and finally told her how I’ve felt all these years,” I lie. “And we just couldn’t wait another minute to make it official.”
Mom and Farrah’s eyes are glossy now with tears. A few tears leak out and run down my mother’s face. “It warms my heart to see you so happy, Ford.”
Farrah sniffs then waves her hand in the air. “Okay, enough with the tears. Where’s my cute little niece?”
Amber smiles and points to the video monitor. Mom and Farrah rush over to stare at the screen. Both of them aww and talk about how cute she is.
This time I hear a sniff from Amber. I’ve noticed she gets emotional when anyone is giving Nella attention, I’m not sure why. I should ask her about that tonight since we’ll be sleeping in the same bed.
A squall comes from the video monitor, and Mom claps her hands together. “Oh, can I go get her?”
Amber nods, blinking back tears. Farrah follows my mom upstairs.
Lord, help me…four crying women in one house. What, exactly, did I sign up for?
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
AMBER
Ford and I ate our entire meal without holding Nella. And Ford might not be a chef, but the man can sear a steak, I think to myself as I clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher. Ford worked so hard on our meal tonight and I know how he likes things to stay tidy, so it’s the least I can do. He’s upended his whole life for me, and even bought me a vehicle…and there’s nothing I can give to him, nothing I can offer him, besides friendship and loading the stupid dishwasher. I hate how uneven our arrangement feels. But the man seems perfectly content, so maybe it really doesn’t bother him.
I walked Sally and Farrah through Nella’s bedtime routine before leaving them to it, and they’ve been upstairs for an hour now. I hope it’s going okay. It’s been nice to have his mom and sister here, better than I imagined.
But it’s only been one evening, and I haven’t had to share Ford’s bedroom—and bed—with him yet.
Nella took to them just like she did on Thanksgiving. Good thing she’s not a shy infant, even though she barely saw anyone but me for the first three months of her life. Farrah and Grandma Sally happily took turns holding her, sitting with her beside her play mat, and even feeding her a bottle and then making sure she burped several times. I’m relieved she’s taking bottles okay. I love nursing her, but it’s really nice that other people can feed her too so I can have a break once in a while. It’s weird to go from barely having help, to having Ford’s family here. And it’s hard to think about staying overnight night at the hospital. Away from my daughter. I’m dreading being away from her that long.
A chill goes down my spine at the reminder of my impending procedure. I know everything will be okay, but the nerves are creeping in. Inhaling a deep breath, I remember that it’s a simple procedure and hopefully I’ll be back home the next day. No biggie. I turn the hot water off, remove a clean hand towel from the drawer beside the stove, and dry my hands.
“Sweetie, you look exhausted. Why don’t you head to bed?” I jump at the sound of Sally’s voice. I thought she was still upstairs. “Nella went right to sleep. She’s such a good baby.”
I smile at her comment, thankful I got the best girl. “I’ll head to bed as soon as I finish cleaning up,” I say, making excuses. Because the truth is, Ford went upstairs—to our room—to take a shower. And with the way my mind has been going lately, that’s the last place I need to be.
What if he came out in nothing but a towel? And he was all damp, and glistening, and warm…and his layered abdominal muscles were more pronounced with the moisture.
There I go again! I cannot go upstairs yet.
I open the cabinet beneath the sink and remove the all-purpose cleaner, spritzing it all over the modern, cement countertop. I hope this is what I’m supposed to use on the infinity island… maybe there’s a special cleaner for this fancy kitchen.
Ford’s mom takes the spray from my hands and gives me a gentle push toward the steps. “I’ll clean up the rest. That’s what I’m here for.” She winks. “Now go to bed, mother’s orders.”
I laugh, splaying my hands out in front of me. “Okay, okay. Thank you for finishing up.”
“I know my son likes his house spick-and-span.” She rolls her eyes. “You go get some sleep.”
