14. Cecelia
Isnapped and yelled at Sterling. He was so close when it came to doing the right thing, but then he messed up and hadn’t restocked the diaper bag. And part of me felt that was my fault. How was I supposed to do my job objectively when I let his lack of information make me so irritated?
Was I going to be like this for all my future clients, or was Sterling a special case?
It didn’t help when he was such a constant flirt. Or that I couldn’t resist him.
He tore the tag from the small shirt as he walked back from the gift shop. He handed it to me. It was yellow.
I got Georgie dressed and settled back in the car seat with a bottle.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded, and he put an arm over my shoulder and pulled me against his chest. He placed a kiss on my temple. “We’re both learning. Let’s get some lunch. Georgie isn’t the only one getting tired.”
I nodded. I was disappointed in myself and overwhelmed. He kissed me. It didn’t matter that it was a comforting gesture. He kissed me, and my brain short-circuited.
I followed behind as Sterling pushed the stroller back to the front gate. The limo was waiting. Sterling strapped in the car seat, and I folded up the stroller like an umbrella. The driver put the frame in the trunk and handed the other bags inside before holding the door for me to climb in.
“Do you want to stop on the way back, or should I have something delivered?”
I glanced at Georgie. Her lids were heavy. She fought off the nap that was in process of claiming her. A car nap seemed like a good idea. I stretched out on the wide backseat, curling my feet up behind me and resting my head on Sterling’s lap. I was too tired to care about professionalism.
“Have something delivered. I’m going to close my eyes. We’ve got a lot to work on when we get back.”
I think I felt Sterling stroke my hair, but I was asleep in moments, lulled there by the movement of the car. I woke up a few moments before the limo pulled in front of Sterling’s building.
“Rested?” he asked.
I stretched and sat up. Realization of what I had done dawned on me. I groaned. “I am so sorry, that was so unprofessional. I did not mean to use you as a pillow.”
“You’re fine. You can use me as your pillow anytime.”
I felt a blush burn my cheeks.
I didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, the driver stopped the limo, and it was time to unpack Georgie and all of her things and lug it all up to the top floor.
“How was this morning’s excursion?” Wayne greeted us as the elevator doors slid open.
“Tiring,” Sterling said. He stepped out of the elevator and carried the car seat with the sleeping baby toward her room.
“It was a bit more than we expected.” I didn’t have to tell him I lost my cool, and that we didn’t have a properly packed diaper bag. I handed Wayne the stroller frame. I didn’t know where to put it.
“Your lunches have arrived,” he said.
I nodded and followed him to the kitchen. I was starving.
Sterling came in and set down a white monitor on the table before he sat.
“When did you get a baby monitor?” I asked.
Sterling shrugged. “It was on your original shopping list. I purchased everything from that list after your initial visit.”
I nodded. I was still tired, more mentally weary than physically. The brief nap in the car was refreshing, but I felt so stupid for first having yelled at Sterling and then having used him as a pillow. I shouldn’t have done that.
Wayne served lunch and placed our plates in front of us. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
I nodded. “We’re going to need a notepad and a pen, please.”
He handed me a lined notepad and a pen moments later.
“Okay,” I started. “We need to make some lists.”
“You like lists, don’t you?” Sterling teased me.
“They are useful. You were able to shop for Georgie because I left you with lists.”
He smirked, or was that half-grin more of a smolder? Whatever the expression was he gave me, it was gone a split second later when he put a fork full of food in his mouth.
“What were today’s challenges?”
“Don’t you mean what we need to fix?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Challenges don’t necessarily need to be fixed. You need to learn how to approach the problem so that it’s not a problem.”
“The stroller.”
I wrote down what he said, followed by local resources.
Sterling tapped that item. “What do you mean?”
“You can’t order everything online. Georgie will sometimes have immediate needs. You should know what’s available to you. Do you have a twenty-four-hour pharmacy?”
Sterling’s brow twisted, making his eyebrows cock up. “That’s a good question. I don’t take any prescription meds, so…”
I nodded. “Find out. Maybe Wayne has a resource for you that you aren’t aware of. High fevers and ear infections never seem to happen in the middle of the afternoon.” I drew an arrow from local resources and wrote down Pharmacy and then Emergency Room. “Find out if the local ER has a pediatric ward, or which children’s hospital is closest.”
Sterling ran his hand through his hair and let out a breath. “I thought we were going to write down what needed to go into a diaper bag. I didn’t think about needing to take her to the emergency room. Add to your list to find her a pediatrician.”
“There’s so much to learn and do. It’s why even after spending as much time with you as I have, it feels like you’re behind. Did I forget to tell you to restock the diaper bag? Yes, but with everything else, did I really need to?”
Sterling shook his head. “You shouldn’t have needed to tell me to restock a diaper bag. I should have known better. I should have thought about putting together an emergency plan. I’ve been reacting to the situation. This morning was really nice. I didn’t have to worry about not being prepared.” He shrugged. “At least until the diaper bag fiasco.”
He put his hand over mine, and every time he did that, it sent zaps of electricity up my arm.
We continued to build the list. It grew and took over multiple pages. Wayne took away the lunch dishes. Georgie woke up, but we kept working on the list.
After hours of brainstorming, Sterling had an emergency plan and a task list that involved calling pediatricians in the morning to find Georgie a doctor. And I had a shopping list of items for the diaper bag and for a pediatric medicine cabinet. There wasn’t even baby aspirin in the apartment.
Sterling offered to order everything, but he needed everything immediately. What if tonight was the night Georgie got sick?
I thought about asking him to come with me. Had someone who had grown up as rich as Sterling ever been in a big box store? Did he know what discount shopping was? But Georgie was acting tired. She was a little clingy and hugging her stuffed cat toy. Maybe the zoo had been too much for her?
I wanted to be near the two of them.
That thought was what made me realize I needed to leave and do the shopping on my own. “If you think of anything while I’m out…” I started.
“I know, I’ll text you. Georgie and I will be fine. She is going to help me with the stroller again, like this morning. This time, without a deadline, I think we’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” I was nervous about leaving them. He was her guardian, and as difficult as it started off, Sterling’s abilities to care for Georgie and know what she needed were improving every day. He didn’t need me to hold his hand through the process.
The problem was, I wanted to hold his hand. I liked it far too much when he held mine. I lacked professional distance from the situation. Greta had warned me not to fall in love with the children. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the guardian. That went without saying.
I couldn’t help myself. Sterling was charming, and kind, and seeing him with Georgie twisted up my insides. I looked at the picture on my phone. Georgie looked like she was his child. Why wouldn’t she? And in our coordinating outfits, we looked like a family.
My heart hurt. It was a family I would do anything to be a part of. It was a family I shouldn’t be thinking about and should be distancing myself from. But it was the closest to being in a family I had felt in forever, and I liked that feeling. I should have said something about wearing yellow like Georgie the second I walked out that elevator. I should have told Sterling to put a different shirt on. Should have, would have, could have. But I didn’t, and now I had a little family photo that shouldn’t exist.
Afternoon traffic getting to the store was a mess. But I took my time. I needed to think. What was I going to do? I was falling in love with Sterling. He was a client, and off limits.