Page 45 of Break Me: Smith and Belle

She cut him off, “I’m not thinking about it. You two shouldn’t be, either. Let Smith do some digging. Let me look into things. Stop jumping to conclusions.”

I threw my hands in the air and marched off. “I’m going to check on Penny.”

“When are we going to the village?” Edward suggested in a quiet voice, joining me in the nursery.

I watched Penny dozing in her crib. She’d managed to roll over on her stomach. I didn’t even know she could do that yet. I’d missed so much of her first few weeks. I couldn’t stand the thought of missing more of her life. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t live with what I’d done if I’d hurt Nora.

“She made it past your husband,” Edward reminded me.

“That doesn’t give me the right to hurt her. Fire her? Yes. Murder her? No.” I choked back a sob. “Maybe I am crazy.” I had just begun to believe I wasn’t. I had thought I was turning a corner. Instead, I found myself right back where I had started. It felt like an unholy limbo, and there was no escape.

Penny lifted her head, blinking her eyes blearily, and smiled to find us there. Edward took a step closer and picked up the baby bag.

“You need to get away from Thornham,” he decided for me. “Let’s go buy Georgia a fake birthday present.”

“She doesn’t want one,” I said flatly.

“Then take joy in giving her one anyway. How often do you get to piss Georgia Kincaid off?”

He was trying to cheer me up or distract me. I appreciated the effort, so I went along with it. After all, how much time did I have left to spend with him?

Buying a fake birthday present for someone who didn’t want one proved to be harder than we had anticipated. Perhaps, it was down to the meager selection in the Briarshead shops, or maybe it was that I didn’t know Georgia well enough to pick out something for her.

“Maybe we should ask Clara what she got her for her birthday,” Edward suggested as we stared at a selection of locally crocheted tea cozies.

“The only thing I’m sure she likes are guns and leather.” I picked up a teacup from the display. “If she doesn’t want a present, why are we worrying about what we get her?”

He shrugged, and Penny moved along with his shoulders. He’d placed her in a baby carrier so that we would have our hands free. Most of the shops in the village weren’t suited to prams. Of course, that meant he’d been getting a lot of interested looks. I had no doubt there would be a picture on a tabloid by tomorrow morning of the Prince of England wearing a mysterious infant.

“Well, I don’t think we should get her any of this,” he said. “Should we try next door?”

I nodded. At the door, I checked the blanket we’d thrown over Penny, making sure it was tucked around her small feet. The weather was warmer than it had been the last few weeks, but the sky was darkening overhead. A storm was moving in from the coast and would reach us any moment. We needed to hurry up. As we ducked into the shop next door—a quaint bookstore—we ran directly into Tomas.

He feigned surprise at seeing Edward and pointed to the baby. “You could’ve told me I knocked you up.”

“I don’t think that’s how this works,” Edward said, grinning despite himself.

Thomas leaned over and air kissed both my cheeks. Then, he turned and laid one on my friend. “You didn’t call me.”

Edward looked over at me, sending an SOS with his eyes. I shrugged. “Don’t look at me.”

“I meant to,” Edward said quickly. “We’ve been really busy at Thornham.”

“Don’t worry about it. It sounds like your aunt and my uncle are having a good time in Paris,” he said.

“I haven’t heard much from her,” I admitted.

“Exactly,” Thomas said with a wink. “That means they’re having a good time. Well—” he held up a shopping bag “—I need to get back to the restaurant. I’ll see you around?” He posed the question casually but I knew it was intended for Edward.

“Yeah,” Edward said. Tomas ducked out of the shop and I immediately smacked my best friend’s shoulder. He rubbed it gingerly. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“You didn’t call him?” I demanded.

“I haven’t really dated anyone,” he said.

“No one expects you to move on this quickly,” I began, but he held up a hand.

“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. I’ve never dated anyone but David.” His Adam’s apple bobbed, and I realized he was holding back tears. “I don’t know how to do this.”