Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
TWO WEEKS LATER
Lucas
Life with a newborn. What could I say? It had been a tough past couple of weeks.
We were sleep-deprived, and Scarlett fed every hour and refused to sleep.
Jenna started pumping into bottles so I could relieve her every now and again, especially in the middle of the night, so she could get some rest.
I worked from home the past couple of weeks to be here for Jenna and the baby. But now it was time for me to get back into the office. I tried to hire a baby nurse to help her out while I was gone, but Jenna wouldn’t hear of it. I kept the number close by just in case she changed her mind.
“I have to go now, babe. I’m sorry.” I kissed her lips as she stood in the kitchen, holding Scarlett.
“Don’t be sorry. We’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to miss you girls so much.”
“Babe, I know you’re secretly excited about getting out. You can’t fool me.”
“How dare you say that. That is not true.” I kissed her forehead and then kissed Scarlett goodbye.
Once I hit the doors to the outside, I let out a sigh of relief. I loved them both so much, and they consumed me. But fuck yeah, I was looking forward to going to the office.
Jenna
I’d finally got Scarlett down for a nap and sat behind my desk to record a podcast about the first two weeks of parenthood.
As I was talking, I started to cry. I wasn’t sure why, except I knew I was mentally and physically exhausted.
Instead of stopping the recording, I cried my way through it, for I promised my listeners I would be open and raw about my experiences.
Just as I finished recording, I decided to lie down and try to take a nap.
Grabbing the baby monitor, I quietly entered our bedroom.
Peeking into the bassinet that sat next to the bed, she looked like a peaceful little angel.
So, I carefully laid down on the bed and smiled when my head hit the pillow.
My eyes weren’t closed for a minute before the ear-piercing cries started.
“No. No. No,” I whispered as I reached over and gripped the edge of the bassinet and slowly rocked it back and forth, which only made her scream more.
Picking her up from the bassinet, I unbuttoned my shirt and fed her for the hundredth time today.
When she was finished, I changed her diaper, took her downstairs, and set her in her swing.
Immediately she started to scream, and the moment I picked her up and held her, she stopped.
An hour later, she finally fell asleep, and I desperately needed some coffee, so I set her in her swing, turned it on, and headed to the kitchen.
My coffee had just finished brewing when I heard the elevator ding.
As I ran to the foyer, Lucas had just stepped out, and I immediately placed my hand over his mouth before he could say anything.
“Wake her up and die,” I whispered.
He nodded, so I removed my hand. He gave me a tender kiss and then pointed toward the bedroom. After I grabbed my coffee from the kitchen, I walked to the bedroom, shut the door, and talked to him as he changed out of his suit.
“You didn’t shower today?” he asked.
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“I said, you can take a shower now that I’m home.”
“That’s what I thought you said.”
“Come here.” He held his arms out to me, and I immediately fell into them.
“How was work?” I asked.
“It was okay. I missed the two of you terribly.”
“We missed you too, babe.”
“So, what about dinner? Did you?—”
“What about dinner? And did I what?” I cocked my head at him.
“Did you decide what you’re in the mood for? Your choice. Anything you want.”
“Pizza?”
“Excellent choice. I’ll call it in right now.”
After Lucas called in the pizza, we walked to the living room, and I saw his wide grin when he saw Scarlett was awake.
“Your daddy’s home, princess,” he spoke to her as he took her from the swing and sat down on the couch. “Daddy missed his sweet girl so much,” he said, kissing her cheeks.
Watching him with her melted me in every way possible. Especially when I thought back to a time not so long ago when he told me he couldn’t be a father. Every time I saw him with her and that thought popped into my head, I would start to tear up.
We had just finished dinner when Scarlett started to cry.
“Do you think she’s hungry?” Lucas asked as he held her.
“Probably. When isn’t she hungry?”
“Here. You better take her then.”
“Oh no. I’m going to take a hot relaxing bath. You can grab a bottle from the refrigerator and feed her since you haven’t seen her all day.” I placed my hand on his chest and smiled.
“Yes. Of course. Go take your bath, babe.” He kissed my forehead.
I went to the bathroom and locked the door.
After pouring some lavender-scented bubbles under the stream of hot water, I climbed in and sighed in relief as I took in the silence around me.
Closing my eyes, I took myself to a peaceful place and released all the tension in my body.
I was fully relaxed until I heard him walk into the bedroom with a screaming baby and jiggle the doorknob to the bathroom.
“Hey, babe?”
“What?”
“She won’t stop crying. I don’t know what to do for her.”
“Did you burp her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you change her diaper?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t know what to tell you. Figure it out! But whatever you do, don’t let her fall asleep, or she’ll be up the entire night.”
“Okay. I won’t.”
I closed my eyes again and took in the silence.
“Hey, babe. You’ve been in there for over an hour.”
“What’s your point, Lucas?” I shouted.
“I miss you.”
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I rolled my eyes.
After drying off and slipping into my robe, I opened the door and saw Lucas sitting on the bed on his laptop.
“Did you enjoy your bath?” He smiled and closed his laptop.
“Very much.”
I climbed on the bed and right into his arms. He felt so good, and I wanted to stay like this forever.
“Lucas?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Where’s the baby?”
“I put her down in her crib for now so we can spend some time alone, and I put on the star projector for her. That should keep her quiet for a few minutes. I have a surprise for you.”
“If it isn’t at least twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep, I don’t want it.”
He let out a chuckle and reached into the drawer of his nightstand.
“I think you’ll enjoy this.” He held an envelope in front of my face as my head lay on his chest.
Taking the envelope from him, I sat up and opened it.
“A day at the spa for this Saturday?”
“Yep. Saturday is your day to be pampered.”
“And you’re going to be home with Scarlett all day, alone?” I arched my brow.
“Of course. She’s my daughter. We’re going to have a lot of daddy/daughter time.”
“You are the best baby daddy ever, and I love you so much.” I leaned over and kissed his lips.
Spa Day
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I asked Lucas as I put my shoes on.
“We’re going to be just fine. Go enjoy your day, and don’t worry about us. Today is all about you relaxing.” He kissed my forehead.
“I don’t know what time I’ll be home.”
“You take as long as you want. We are going to have so much fun today, aren’t we, princess?” Lucas spoke to her as he held her in his arms.
After kissing him on the lips, I kissed Scarlett and stepped into the elevator.
The moment I stepped outside the building, I threw my hands up in the air.
Freedom was mine for a day, and I would enjoy every minute of it.
But as I was on my way to the spa, I felt this tremendous feeling of guilt wash over me.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I need to be home with my baby.
I was gone ten minutes, and I had already missed her terribly.
This wasn’t a good idea, and I needed to go back home.
“Thaddeus, turn around and take me back to the penthouse.”
“I’m sorry, Jenna, but I can’t do that.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Lucas knew you’d probably say that, and he gave me strict instructions not to listen to you.”
“Oh, come on. I need to go home.”
“You need this day more. It’s important you take care of yourself, Jenna. Consider it a mental health day and a chance to regroup so you can continue being the amazing mother you are.”
“Thanks, Thaddeus.” I smiled.
A two-hour body massage, some reflexology, facial, manicure, pedicure, and an invigorating essential oil steam treatment made up my day. I felt renewed and relaxed, and my mind was clear for the first time in two weeks.
“Well?” Thaddeus smiled as he opened the car door for me.
“Best day ever, Thaddeus.” I grinned.
When I stepped off the elevator, all was quiet.
Too quiet, in fact. Setting my purse down, I walked into the kitchen, and it was a disaster.
Bottles and dishes were everywhere. Walking to the bedroom, I smiled when I saw Lucas asleep with Scarlett sleeping on his chest. I softly kissed his forehead, and his eyes opened.
“Wake her up and die,” he whispered.