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He hadn’t seen John Thomas since the night he'd been born, and he suddenly wondered if it had been a bad idea to bring Alexa here. They hadn’t talked much about the revelation that she couldn't have children, but he knew from the way she’d told him that the wound was still raw. Did it hurt being around newborns and their mothers? Was it hard to see pregnant women walking the street?
He wanted to understand, to share her pain, help her carry its burden, but the time hadn't been right to ask.
Julia turned to Alexa and smiled. She held out her hand. “You must be Alexa. I’d give you a hug, but we’d have to work around this little man.”
Alexa smiled. If it pained her to see the baby, she didn’t show it. “It’s nice to meet you.” She peered around the cloth carrier strapped to Julia’s body and looked at the sleeping infant. “Oh my god… he’s the most beautiful thing.”
“Thank you,” Julia said. “I agree, except maybe when he’s gnawing on my nipples.”
Alexa laughed. “That part doesn’t sound fun.” She held out the bottle of fancy French lemonade. “I wasn’t sure if you were nursing so I didn’t want to bring wine…”
Julia looked at the bottle. “Oh my god, this is perfect. Thank you.”
Nick looked at Declan, standing in front of the closed door of the fridge, holding a beer. “That’s Declan.” He turned to Ronan. “And this is Ronan. Dec, Ro… this is Alexa Nash.”
“Hi, Alexa. Want a beer?” Declan asked.
“Sure.” She looked at Ronan. “Thank you for having me in your home.”
Ronan studied her for a minute, then held out his hand. “I’m assuming we don’t have to check you for a wire?”
She looked stricken. “Um… no, but you can if you want…”
His face broke into a tight smile. “I’m just messing with you. Sort of.”
“I can’t say that I blame you.”
Declan handed Alexa a beer, then passed one to Nick.
Julia moved back to the island and gave the potato salad one more stir. “You should probably put that meat on the grill,” she said.
“I can do it,” Nick said.
Julia walked to the fridge and removed a plate of burgers and steaks. “That’s okay. Ronan’s going crazy in here.”
Ronan took the plate from her hands. “What she means is that I’m driving her crazy in here.”
Julia laughed but didn’t deny it. Nick had no doubt that Ronan had tried to get Julia to sit and let the rest of the household do the work of preparing dinner. He also had no doubt Julia had insisted on helping out.
Ronan headed for the patio and Alexa turned to Julia. “What can I do to help?”
“There are some bowls and trays covered with plastic in the fridge,” Julia said. “It would be great if you could get them out and take them to the table outside.”
“No problem.” Alexa opened the fridge and started setting the food on the island.
“Hey, Nick, could you slice these tomatoes and stuff for the burgers? I need to feed this little guy.”
He looked nervously at Alexa as she headed for the courtyard carrying a large bowl holding pasta salad in one hand and a tray with olives and raw vegetables in the other.
Julia put a hand on his arm. “Let her go. She and Ronan will have to have it out eventually. Let it be now so she can enjoy dinner.”
He had to fight the urge to chase after her, to put himself between her and Ronan.
“She’s a big girl,” Julia said, as if reading his thoughts. “She can handle Ronan.”
Julia was right, and not only was she right, Nick knew Alexa would hate it if she thought he felt the need to protect her.
He cast one more glance at the door leading to the patio, then picked up one of the tomatoes on the counter and started slicing.
