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Mum’s expression took on a pleading look. “I’ve missed my grandson, and I know that sounds silly, but I want to spend more time with him. Get to know him a little better. Give Seb a chance to get to know me.”
Nancy nudged Mum with a short, sharp elbow, and Mum closed her eyes to take a deep breath before she focussed on me again. “And the last few weeks have been challenging for everyone. You two must be exhausted. You need time to yourselves, to rest and, uh…
“Get to know each other better,” Nancy offered.
“Mum!” Abbie shifted uncomfortably as she glanced at her father.
So did I, my heart beating so hard it hurt because it wasn’t hard to read between the lines, and the message clearly said, “We’re giving you two time alone to make thisreallyofficial.” But Arthur had tactfully picked up a menu and was reading it with great concentration, so I averted my gaze and took his attitude to mean it was smarter to play dumb.
“Oh my God,” Abbie muttered beside me, raising her fingers to her forehead and turning her head so she could lower her voice. “This is the most blatant fix-up in the history of parental interference ever.”
“What?” Mum assumed an offended posture. “Are you telling me I can’t take care of a baby for one night? It’s not even twenty-four hours. I can bring him home after breakfast unless you’dlike to visit in the morning, Nancy? We could put him in the stroller and take him to the park.”
“You bought a stroller too?” I asked in surprise. At the same time, Nancy replied, “Oh yes, I’d love to.”
Jesus. I wished this didn’t feel so much like an ambush. It was hard to think with five pairs of eyes staring at me. But I didn’t have time to consider this with a cool head, and all I could do was look for an answer in Abbie’s eyes. She met my expression with raised palms as if to saythe decision is yours,but I knew her better than that, and the message in her gaze screamed, “Hand that baby over now, and let’s go do bad things in the dark.”
Okay. Maybe I was projecting.
Fifteen minutes later, I was securing Seb in the back of Mum’s car and handing over the baby bag with a long list of instructions that went some way to settling my unease.
“Bath, bottle, and straight to bed,” I told her. “He might wake anytime between midnight and two a.m., but then he should sleep until six. There’s a pot of applesauce in the bag, and he’ll have that for breakfast after his formula. Do you have a highchair?” I frowned, wanting a reason to call this whole thing off just as badly as I wanted it to go off without a hitch. “Look, maybe this is a bad idea.”
“We have a highchair.” Mum reached up and set her hands on my shoulders, squeezing them before she rose on her toes to press a kiss on my cheek. “It’s normal to be nervous. It’s what makes you a good parent, and I hate to break it to you, but it never gets easier. Never.”
It was a simple thing to say, but the idea that my anxiety was proof that I might actually be doing a good job eased the tension across my chest. Mum must have felt my muscles loosen because she gave me a pleased grin and dropped her hands.
“Seb will be fine,” she said. “More than fine. He’s going to have a great time with his grandma.”
“Hm.” I rolled my lips against a smile. “You’ll call if there’s a problem? I don’t care how late it is. I’ll come right over and get him.”
“I’ll call.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Abbie stood with me on the lamp-lit street out front of The Stop as we watched Mum pull her car away from the kerb. I waved as they disappeared, and Abbie lifted my hand. Her thumb moved in tight circles over my skin.
“You sure you’re okay with this?” she asked.
I had to think about it to make sure my answer was an honest one. “Yeah. I want what’s best for Seb, and that means family. That kid deserves all the love in the world, and I like the idea of Seb and Mum having a close relationship. He’s lucky to have a grandmother like her.”
“Agreed. Lori’s a special woman.”
The heat of Abbie’s body suddenly registered against my skin, and the possibility of an entire night alone with her stretched out before me. I let my eyes roam over her face, and my skin prickled with heat as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
“What do you say I ask Steph to work the rest of my shift tonight?” I whispered.
“What do I say?” she murmured, eyes dark and distant as she was distracted by thoughts of her own.
I fought a smile as I moved close enough for her nipples to brush against my chest. “Mm-hm. What do you say?”
Her gaze dropped to my mouth, and I hoped to God she was imagining what I might have in store for her over the next twelve hours because nothing she could come up with would ever compare. “I say yes.”
28
Abbie
