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“Relax, Grace. They know me here.” He frowned at the sling, examining it from various angles. “How the hell does this thing work?”
“Maybe if we read the directions?” she suggested.
“Directions are for amateurs.”
“We are amateurs,” she reminded gently. She picked up the box. “It looks like you fasten the two top straps around your neck and the bottom two around your waist.”
“I know that, but it doesn’t show which is the top and which is the bottom. Wait a sec . . . Got it.” He fastened the belts and snaps and grinned, spreading his arms wide. “What do you think? Is Toni ready for her first ride?”
Grace bit her lip to keep from smiling. “No.”
He frowned. “No?”
“You put her in the way it is now and you’ll dump your precious niece right on her cute little head.”
He peered down at the pouch. Sure enough, the opening for the head pointed south, the leg holes pointed north. “Well, shoot,” he muttered, nonplussed.
A salesgirl appeared at his elbow, white teeth flashing, lashes fluttering. She flipped her long, bleached hair over one shoulder and planted a hand on her trim hip. Her name tag read, “Hi! Debbi can’t wait to assist you!”
“Why, Mr. Salvatore,” Debbi-who-couldn’t-wait-to-assist squealed. At least it sounded like a squeal to Grace. A squeal reminiscent of those emitted by the porcine family. “You haven’t visited for ages. Is there something I can help you with?”
He gestured at the baby sling strapped to his chest. “What am I doing wrong?” he asked with a helpless, men-are-all-thumbs-when-it-comes-to-baby-contraptions grin.
“You put it on upside down,” Grace pointed out acerbically.
Debbi pursed her lips. “I think you put it on upside down.” She made the proclamation as though she’d just invented the thought.
Removing the sling, she flipped it around and then re-fastened it. In the process her hands managed to investigate every square inch of Luc’s torso. Clearly satisfied with the results of her investigation, as well as the position of the sling, she gave the pouch a final pat.
Unable, or unwilling, to explain her reaction to dear Debbi, Grace stepped forward the second the salesgirl stepped back. She helped Luc slip Toni into the sling, all the while doing her level best to flash her engagement ring under Debbi’s nose. “That’s perfect,” she announced and even managed a friendly smile in the salesgirl’s direction. “Antonia’s the first Salvatore girl in... how many generations, Luc?”
“A lot.”
“The family’s thrilled. Absolutely thrilled. Aren’t they, Luc?”
“Oh, they’re thrilled, all right.”
Debbi’s gaze bounced from Luc to Antonia to Grace to Grace’s ring and she sighed. “How thrilling.” For some reason, she sounded less than thrilled. “Well, if I can help you with anything else, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Oh, we will,” Grace assured her. Yes, they’d definitely hesitate before calling. “Buh-bye.”
With a final, wistful glance in Luc’s direction, Debbi trotted down the aisle.
“Grace, Grace, Grace.” Luc shook his head, his eyes glittering with laughter. “What happened to my cool, aloof assistant?”
She lifted her chin. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.” A long moment of silence stretched between them, and she could feel the hot color mount her cheeks. Desperate to escape his probing gaze, she made a pretense of checking to be certain Toni rested comfortably in the sling. Not that she fooled anyone. The baby, tucked close to Luc’s heart, slept peacefully in her little pouch.
“What’s next on the list?” Grace asked, unable to stand the strained silence for another instant.
“You.”
Her eyes widened and she took a hasty step back. “Wh—what?”
He cupped her elbow in one hand and pushed the cart with his other. “All good temporary mothers need a stroller. So next we get you a stroller.” A wicked grin curving his mouth. “What did you think I meant?”
She cleared her throat. “Why, precisely that, of course.”
He released a gusty sigh. “I see you haven’t used them all up.”
