Chapter Thirteen #2
Ava laughs. “And you, little lady,” she says to Amelia. “I hear you want to meet baby Jordan.”
Amelia claps. “Yes!”
“Right this way.” Ava escorts us behind the counter, through the back, and into an office, where Bug is holding a baby.
“Bug?” I ask. “You work here?”
She looks up. “Oh, hey, guys. Yeah.”
“She’s been a godsend,” Ava says. “She not only helps out front, but back here with Jordan.” She walks over and picks up her daughter. “I’ve got her now. Thanks, Bug.”
“I see some teenagers get up early,” I say, teasing Carter.
“Oh, he’ll get up early for work.”
I raise a curious brow. “Christian has a job?”
“He helps man the desk at the shop. Mostly in the summer. Occasionally on Saturday mornings.”
“I’m impressed,” I say. I look back out into the storage room where Bug is unboxing napkins. “And I’m surprised Bug even works at all.”
“You mean because she’s in a position to inherit a crap-ton of money?”
I shrug.
“You won’t find a Montana kid who hasn’t had to work and pay their dues. Chris, Allie’s dad, was never one for silver-spooning his kids.”
Somehow knowing this makes me like Allie even more.
“Would you like to hold her?” Ava asks Amelia.
Amelia’s whole face lights up, ignoring my protest. Jordan is so tiny. And Amelia… well, she drops things like her hands are made of butter.
“It’s okay.” Ava waves me off. “She’ll be fine.”
Ava has Amelia sit in the large office chair then places Jordan in her lap. It looks awkward, and Jordan squirms, her little arms flailing about. But as soon as Amelia speaks to her, she calms and looks up.
“Hey, little baby,” Amelia coos in the same motherly tone I use on her sometimes. “You are a cutie-patootie.” Amelia looks up at Ava. “Does she like Dr. Seuss? I could read to her.”
“Well now, I don’t exactly know. I haven’t read any Dr. Seuss books to her yet. But I’m sure she’d love it if you wanted to bring one by sometime in the future.”
Amelia’s face lights up even more as she asks, “Can I Mommy? Can I?”
I don’t have the heart to remind her that we’ll be gone before the end of the week. “We’ll see, baby.”
After a few minutes of Amelia fawning over her, all the while my ovaries reminding me there’s still plenty of time to replicate this scene with a little brother or sister for Amelia, Jordan starts crying.
Carter chuckles. “That’s our cue to get out of Dodge and grab some breakfast.”
“It’s time for her morning nap,” Ava says. “You guys head on out and order.” She turns to Amelia. “Thanks for holding her. You did a great job.”
Amelia beams. “That other lady said I was a good babysitter.”
“Other lady?”
“We had dinner at Allie and Asher’s last night,” Carter explains.
This brings a huge smile to Ava’s face. “We?”
I don’t miss how the way she says it is totally different than how Carolyn did—with amusement rather than disdain.
Carter tugs on my elbow. “Come on, let’s go order those croissants.”
“And a donut?” Amelia suggests.
I smile and inhale deeply, loving the incredible smells. “And coffee.” I turn to Ava. “You have the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.”
“Thanks. Hopefully it’ll keep you coming back for more.” She winks at Carter and then turns her attention back to Jordan.
Why do I get the feeling it’s not just Allie who’s interested in setting Carter up?
~ ~ ~
Our bellies full and my addiction satiated, we’re heading back home.
Home. Did I seriously just call it that? After only six nights of being there?
Amelia skips along playfully while holding Carter’s hand. At the corner, she looks up at him reverently. She’s getting attached. To him. To Christian. To Bug. To this town.
Common sense would have me spending all our remaining time here in the basement. Pulling back before we have to pull away. But I’m the first one to point out how I’ve proven time and time again that I don’t seem to have much common sense. Not when it comes to men anyway.
We’re barely two steps in the front door when Christian appears. “You didn’t forget about today, did you?”
Carter checks his watch. “Hey, now, I’m home with thirty minutes to spare. Is Bug not coming along this time? We just saw her at the coffee house.”
Christian’s lips part in a toothy smile. “She’s coming. She gets off work in fifteen minutes.”
“Where are you going?” Amelia asks.
“We’re going swimming.”
Amelia wraps her arms around herself and pretends to shiver. “But it’s freezing outside!”
Christian laughs. “We’re going to an indoor pool. It’s very warm. You guys should come.”
“Yes!” Amelia grabs my leg. “Mommy, can we?”
I don’t miss how Carter is looking at me. It’s as if he’s challenging me to accept the invitation.
“We couldn’t,” I say.
“It’s open to everyone,” Christian tells me. “You just have to sign a waiver thing.”
“We don’t have bathing suits.”
Carter looks at me suspiciously. “You mean to tell me in all those boxes we carted downstairs—the ones that contain all your worldly belongings—there aren’t any swimsuits?”
The truth is, I do have a bathing suit. One. A bikini. I got it early last summer when I took Amelia to the beach, before things got crazy. Thinking back on it, that was the last time I really experienced joy. God, has it been that long?
“Okay, so I might have one. But Amelia can’t swim.” Excuses, excuses.
Carter opens his arms wide. “I taught Christian, I can teach Amelia.”
“Please, Mommy. Please?”
Everyone in this room, including me, knows I’m going to give in.
Carter steps closer, his hot breath whispering against my ear in that seductive way he seems to have perfected. “Say yes.”
I look down at Amelia, who’s still staring up at me with expectant eyes. If I haven’t experienced joy in over eight months, what has it been like for her? What am I doing to my daughter?
For Amelia’s sake, I say yes.
It’s another lie I tell myself. Because if I’m being honest, I really just want to spend more time with Carter.
And it’s this very moment when I realize something.
My heart may be toast. But at this point, I’m just hoping for lightly scorched versus full-on burned.