AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She winks at me, then stoops down to my daughter’s level.
“Lady Pippa, I’m so happy you could join us this evening.”
“I have questions, Alex.” Pippa sounds so very serious and it’s hard not to laugh because her idea of serious and mine are very different.
“Then you must ask them. What would you like to know?”
“Can you make sure it’s a girl? I would prefer a little sister to a brother.”
“Unfortunately, whether it’s a girl or boy isn’t up to me.” She shoots me a mischievous look.
Oh. Shit.
“Babies are made of chromosomes. Half come from the mummy and half come from the daddy. The daddy half are what decide whether it’s a girl or a boy.”
“Daddy!”
“Yes, Poppet?”
“You need to get your chromosomes with the program. Girl babies only. I know they can do it becauseI’ma girl.”
I shoot Alex a look that lets her know in no uncertain terms just how much she’s going to pay for this later.
“Xandra,” Duncan admonishes. “Did you really need to throw poor Alfred under the bus like that?”
“Yes,” she replies. “I’ll not be taking any responsibility for anything that I have zero control over. And this baby’s sex falls smack in the middle of that category. I won’t lie to Pippa about anything, but you have to give me credit, I was also careful to keep it all pretty clinical.”
“What’s the betting she spends the next week talking about chromosomes at school?”
“Don’t take that bet,” I say. “She’s staying home for a week or two, depending on how long it takes for things to die down.”
“That’s a wise decision. Let me double-check with Charlotte, but how would you feel if she came to stay with us at Finleigh Park for that week or two? She could bring her pony.”
“If that’s okay with Charlotte, I think that’s an excellent plan.”
“What’s an excellent plan?” Charlotte asks as she sidles up to Duncan.
Her face lights up as he fills her in, and my stress lifts a little. “We could take her home with us tonight, and you could drop the pony off tomorrow. Maybe with Xandra?”
25
Alex
“The press already knows about us,”Freddy murmurs in my ear. “And by tomorrow, they’re going to know about the baby. Pippa will be having the time of her life with Duncan and Charlotte for the next couple of weeks, so what do you think about using that time to see how we do together?”
My heart says yes, but my head is holding me back.
Two weeks, where it’s just Freddy and me, to figure out how things could work with us before including Pippa to the dynamic.
“On one condition. We visit Pippa regularly. Two whole weeks is too long for you to be apart.”
“That’s a deal.”
It’s only Duncan and Charlotte joining us.
Pippa sat next to my father and everyone else was supposed to be situated so Freddy was as far from either of my parents as possible. That all went out the window when Freddy held the chair for my mother, then took a seat next to her. So much for my attempt to provide him with what little protection distance might provide.
“Did you know that daddies decide whether babies are girls or boys?” Pippa asks my father as soon as she’s seated. “How come you decided to only have one girl baby?” From the corner of my eye, I can see my mother fighting not to laugh. My father doesn’t bother to fight it. And the twinkle in his eye is a sure-fire indicator that he is quite taken with our wee Pippa.
