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And Carrie, sitting in the semi-dark room, knowing, just knowing, that life was about to change in an unimaginable way. Placing her hands on her stomach, ignoring the gel, and just talking to her baby. Telling her that Mummy loved her. Forever and ever.
Ruby’s name had been picked weeks before. The hand-painted letters already adorned the door of the room in their flat that had been dedicated as the nursery. The nursery that Ruby would never see—never live in.
She could see the empathy on Dan’s face. He understood. He understood the pure frustration of having no reason, no answer to the worst thing that could happen to her.
He lifted his heavy eyelids with caution. ‘What about Ruby’s dad?’
‘What about Ruby’s dad?’ She shook her head. A small bit of guilt still weighed on her soul. ‘Mark was a good guy. But neither of us could cope with what happened. Things just fell apart. He got another job and moved away. He’s met someone now. And I’m happy for him. We just couldn’t stay together—it was far too hard. Like having a permanent reminder etched on your brain.’
‘Seems to me that Ruby will be permanently etched on your brain anyhow. Whether you’re with Mark or not.’
She stared at him. That was blunt and to the point. And for the first time Dan had a deep crease across his forehead. A crease she wanted to reach up and smooth away with her fingers.
She was feeling it. This connection to Dan. Just as he was feeling it, too.
Mark was a chapter of her life that was over. And although she thought about Ruby frequently, she barely ever thought about Mark.
Dan’s last remark seemed almost protective, and a tiny bit territorial. And the strangest thing was she didn’t mind. Why had she been so scared to talk about this?
It wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t comfortable at all. But Dan seemed to understand more than she would have expected him to.
And Dan was everything Mark wasn’t. Mark couldn’t bear to be around her once she’d lost Ruby. It was too hard. Too hard for them both. But Dan was nothing like that. She couldn’t imagine Mark in this situation. Looking after an abandoned baby. Mark would have wanted nothing to do with that at all. But Dan had taken it all in his stride. A totally different kind of man.
And timing was everything. If New York hadn’t been hit by this freak snowstorm she and Dan might never have talked. Might never have got to know each other and started to show these little glimmers of trust.
She sagged back on the sofa as Abraham let out a little sigh, his warm breath against her neck. ‘I don’t ever want to forget my daughter, Daniel. I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t ever want to. I have things in the box, her first scan, her scan at twenty weeks. A few little things that I’d bought for her that she never got to wear.’ She stared off into the distance. ‘I had to buy something new. Something for very premature babies to put on her. And some photos. I have some photos. But—’
She broke off, unable to finish. The photographs were just too painful.
His hand was wrapped back around hers again. ‘So, how do you feel about helping me with Abraham? I know it’s hard for you, Carrie. But I really need your help.’ His words were said with caution, as if he didn’t want to cause her any more pain.
She took a few moments before she answered, trying to sort it all out in her brain. ‘It’s strange. It’s not quite what I’d expected. I’ve avoided babies for months. Any of my friends who were pregnant and delivered, I just made excuses not to see them and sent a present. I think they all understood. Most of them felt awkward around me anyway. I thought Abraham would be my worst nightmare.’
‘And?’
‘And—’ she looked down at the little face, snuggled against her shoulder ‘—I won’t pretend it’s not hard. I won’t pretend that I don’t sometimes just need a minute. Just need a little space. But it’s not as bad as I expected.’
The heat from Abraham’s little body was penetrating through her dressing gown, like an additional hot-water bottle. But it felt good. It felt natural. It didn’t make her want to run screaming from the room. Not in the way she would have expected.
‘Then can you do this, Carrie? Can you keep helping me for the next day or so?’ He pointed to the TV. ‘It doesn’t look like New York is opening back up for business any time soon.’ He touched her arm, and she could sense the frustration he was trying to hide from her. ‘I’ll understand, Carrie. I’ll understand if you say no and want to go back up to your apartment and stay there.’
She thought about it. There was no hiding the fact that for a few moments she actually considered it. But just at that point Abraham moved and snuggled even closer to her neck.
What was up there for her? An empty apartment with no one to talk to. There was only so much news she could watch on TV saying the same things over and over again.
There were only so many times she could rearrange her wardrobe and shoes. There were only so many times she could reread her favourite books.
She sucked in a deep breath. He was watching her. He was holding his breath, waiting for her response. ‘You understand now, but you didn’t understand a couple of nights ago.’ She could remember the stunned expression on his face when she’d bolted for the door.
He nodded in defeat. ‘You’re right. I thought you were distinctly weird. But I was crazy and desperate enough not to care.’ He pointed to his chest. ‘But I know, Carrie, I know in here if someone is a good person. And don’t think it’s anything about being a cop. I’ve been like this since I was a kid. I always knew who had a good heart—no matter what their appearance or surroundings. And I always knew who to steer clear of, no matter what they told me.’
There were shadows in his eyes. He was revealing a tiny part of himself here. Maybe without even knowing it. And that was the second time this had happened. First with the comment about things always staying inside you, and now about knowing people—who to stay away from. How had he learned that lesson? It was painful to even think about it.
She reached up and touched the side of his face with her free hand. Bristles. Dan hadn’t managed to shave yet and they felt good beneath her smooth skin. She even liked the sound.
‘And do you want to steer clear of me, Dan?’ He was staring at her with those dark brown eyes. Pulling her in. Thank goodness she was sitting or her legs would currently be like jelly.
There was comfort here. Because she knew what he was about to say. Didn’t doubt it for a second. This connection was the truest thing she’d felt in a long time.
He gave her that sexy smile. The one that made her stomach flip over. ‘Not for a second,’ he whispered, and leaned forward and brushed his lips against
hers.
It was beautiful. The gentlest of kisses.
Just as well. She still had Abraham in her arms. Under any other circumstances she might feel the urge to throw her dressing gown to the wind and jump up onto his lap.
He was concentrating solely on her mouth. His hand still only brushing the side of her face as their kiss deepened and his tongue edged its way into her mouth.
She could feel the heat rush through her, warming her chilled legs and feet and spreading to a whole host of other places.
She could concentrate solely on this. She could concentrate solely on Dan. Once he started kissing her nothing else mattered. Her brain didn’t have room for a single thought.
But as if sensing where this could go, Dan pulled back.
And for a second she felt lost. Until she opened her eyes again and realised he was smiling at her.
‘What do you think, Carrie McKenzie? Will you be my partner in crime? Can Abraham and I count on you?’
She narrowed her eyes at him. Boy, he was good. With his fancy words and his kisses. His help-the-baby plea. This man could charm the birds out of the trees.
Just as well she was the only bird around.
She lifted her eyebrows. ‘Are you doing this for the chocolate cake?’
He smiled. ‘I’m definitely doing it for the chocolate cake.’
‘Well, that makes us even, ’cause I’m doing this for the carrot cake—and the pancakes.’ She liked this. She liked that they could fall back into flirting so easily, even after her monumental revelation.
‘Just what I like—a woman with her priorities in order.’ He pushed himself up from the sofa and held out his hands for Abraham.
‘Don’t you want me to take a turn for a while?’
‘Oh, no.’ He shook his head firmly as he gathered Abraham into his arms and took a long look at her bare legs and painted toenails. ‘What I want is for you to put some clothes on. You’re way too distracting without them.’
