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‘There’s no need.’ Naomi shook her head. ‘I really want to walk. The baby may well be home tomorrow or the day after that so I want to see as much as I can today. I can give you a hand tonight with the tree, though...’
‘A hand?’ Barb checked. ‘I shan’t be decorating it...’ She laughed at the very thought. ‘We’ll leave that to the experts. You just enjoy your day and don’t worry about us.’
Abe carried on reading as Barb and Naomi chatted and it would seem she had rather high expectations of all she could cram in today.
Especially on foot.
‘I want to see the tree at the Rockefeller Center, and I want to see the window displays...’ She reeled things off as Abe sat there, reading. ‘I really wanted to see feed the squirrels in Central Park but they’ll be hibernating—oh, and I want to walk over Brooklyn Bridge.’
‘Today?’ Barb checked.
‘Well, notallof it today,’ Naomi said. ‘I’ll have to get a map and plot it out. I’m useless at following directions on my phone.’
‘I’ve got one somewhere.’
As Barb bustled off to find it she was left with Abe, and Naomi had to remind herself there was nothing to feel awkward about.
She just did.
The air felt a little warmer, so much so that as she pulled on her hat she decided the scarf could wait until she was at the front door.
And then, without looking up, Abe spoke.
‘Squirrels don’t hibernate.’
It took a moment to register he was commenting on her conversation with Barb.
‘I think you’ll find that they do,’ Naomi said, and now he looked up, those gorgeous black eyes meeting hers.
‘And I’m certain you’ll find that they don’t.’
There was a small stand-off.
Abe watched her lips open to argue, but he was more than sure he was right. ‘You can apologise to me tonight once you’ve found out I’m right.’
Two things in that statement surprised Abe.
That he could be bothered to debate the hibernation habits of squirrels.
And that he was already thinking about tonight.
Especially when she gave up arguing and a smile spread over her lips.
‘So Icanfeed them?’ Naomi checked, nerves forgotten now, for he made conversation so easy and despite his officious tone he simply made her smile.
‘Yes.’
‘What should I get?’
‘Get?’
‘For them to eat?’
‘You can buy nuts there.’
‘Oh.’
‘Hot ones. Fit for human consumption.’
