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Jessica owned the bakery in town, Delicious Delicacies, and had taken on the responsibility of providing desserts for the B&B’s haunted house. And like Sarah, Jessica was all in.
Whitney shuddered as she glanced at the image of the realistic-looking eyeballs floating on top of bloodred martinis. “That’s disgusting.”
“You should see the zombie-themed cake I’m making,” Jessica said, her eyes lighting up.
Whitney shook her head as she laughed. “It’s so hard to reconcile my bubbly, sweet friend with this horror fanatic you turn into this time of year.” As delicious as Jessica’s baking was, Whitney would not be eating the desserts at the event.
She wished she could get into the spirit the way her friends did, but she was mentally already on to Christmas…and by Christmas, she’d be moved on to planning for spring. Working in the marketing industry, she was constantly a season or two ahead of reality, never really having time to stop and enjoy the one she was in. By the time she hit Submit on these materials and they were on their way to the printer, she’d be lucky to even notice the pumpkins popping up on porches all over town in the coming weeks, as she buried herself in festive images on stock photo sites and prepped all the brochures and posters for the local holiday schedule.
A cry sounded on the baby monitor next to her, and she jumped.
Sarah laughed, her face instantly taking on that love-crazed look only a new mom would have. “It’s Henry. I’ll be right back.”
Jess jumped up and said, “I can get him.”
But Sarah shook her head. “He’ll need to be changed first.”
“Okay.” Jess sat back down with a grin. “You can get him.”
Jess would have no trouble changing the baby, but they both knew Sarah was still in that protective new-mom stage where she liked to do everything the baby needed herself. She and Wes hadn’t even had a real date night since the baby was born, but they didn’t seem to be in a rush to leave baby Henry and his older sister, Marissa, with a sitter. They loved their family time, and it was endearing to see the four of them together.
A moment later, Sarah returned with the adorable four-month-old bundled in a soft, knitted blue blanket, his little foot sticking out one end. Jessica instantly reached for him.
Sarah pouted. “I just got him.”
“He’s yours. You can have him anytime. Auntie Jess only gets to cuddle him a few times a week. Don’t be selfish,” Jess teased.
Coupled up since Christmas with the local doctor, Jess was likely to be starting a family anytime now, too. Her best friends would probably race her to the altar as well. Though Whitney was already engaged, her wedding plans hadn’t been firmed up. And sometimes it felt like they never would be.
Sarah reluctantly handed the baby boy to Jess, but instead of going back to her chair, she sat on the edge of theirs. Being two feet away from the baby would be too far. She gently touched his cheek. “Isn’t he the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen?” she asked, staring lovingly at the tiny face poking out of the blanket.
Jessica agreed. “So perfect it hurts.”
“He’s smiling now, too,” Sarah said. “Real smiles. Not the gas grimaces we thought were smiles a few weeks ago.”
Jessica cooed and cawed at the child, trying to draw out one of those smiles, but the baby wasn’t having it. Sarah tickled his chin, but still nothing.
“He’s selective,” Sarah said with a laugh.
Jessica cuddled the baby and begrudgingly glanced at Whitney. “Want to hold him?”
Whitney shook her head, checking her watch. “I actually have to get back to the office.” She closed her laptop, stood, and collected her things. “Sarah, I’ll finalize these event promo brochures and send you the digitals for the website and social media this afternoon.”
Sarah nodded, still distracted by the baby. “Sounds great. No rush.”
What didn’t sound so great was Whitney’s abrupt refusal to hold the baby. She knew her friend was a little hurt by Whitney’s standoffish way when it came to her child…but it was just difficult for a lot of reasons she wasn’t quite ready to share with her friends yet.
But she bent to look at baby Henry and gently touched his toes peeking out from under the blanket. “Such a cutie,” she said sincerely.
And the baby blessed her with a smile that had her chest knotting.
Sarah’s shoulders relaxed a little. “See? He likes you,” she said, and Whitney heard the slight note in her friend’s voice that secretly pleaded for her to show more instances of affectionate Auntie Whitney.
“Talk to you both later,” Whitney said, descending the stairs and heading toward her new car. It wasn’t the banana-yellow two-seater convertible that had once beenherbaby, before she’d totaled it in a car accident the Christmas before. This one was a basic black SUV. Safe, dependable, better handling on slippery roads. And plenty of seats for the family her fiancé Trent envisioned in the not-so-distant future.
Whitney waved to her friends, and her hand shook slightly as she reached for the door handle.
Be cool in front of them.
