Chapter 19 #2
‘I see you all blooming day. Lunch is a good chance to get away from you.’
Vidya listened to them bicker like an old couple and smiled.
Sarah was right. They were lovely when you got used to them.
Vidya sneaked a glance at Leo, looking incongruous in his buttoned-up suit and long coat, and sitting ramrod straight on a rock.
His mouth was set in a thin line, but his eyes were laughing.
Maybe Angie had a point? Maybe she should forget all the reasons she shouldn’t try with Leo and just see what happened.
Leo looked at his phone. ‘We should get back.’
Everyone sighed, but they stood up and dusted the sand off their bums anyway.
Back on the promenade, as Vidya reached the top of the steps, the two men parted in front of her and a little boy ran in between them.
Vidya moved out of the way too. The boy reached the top of the stairs.
He was dressed in what looked like swimming shorts, a jumper and sandals. In his hand was a tiny bucket.
Someone shouted, ‘Archie! Wait!’ And the little boy stopped at the top of the steps and turned around.
Vidya turned too. A young woman was hurriedly pushing a pushchair with bags on it where the child should be.
A baby was strapped to her chest. ‘Sorry,’ she said, as she passed Leo and Caleb.
‘Archie, you’re supposed to wait for me and not run off. ’ She took the boy’s hand.
‘Do you need some help?’ Leo said. ‘I could carry the pushchair down for you. Might be safer.’
The woman looked at him, her expression one of profound gratitude. ‘Could you? That would be so kind.’
‘Of course. No problem.’ He stepped closer to her and picked up the pushchair, bags and all.
‘Thank you so much.’ The woman started descending the steps, the toddler taking them slowly.
Vidya watched. Would Udeni be like this soon? The woman was young and pretty, but her hair was escaping her ponytail and fluttering around. There were bags under her eyes and a stain on her shoulder. Anxiety radiated off her, even as she helped her son jump down the last step.
How would Udeni deal with being a mother? Her life was about to change dramatically and she didn’t even know it. Drinks and dancing would be replaced by sleepless nights and a baby who depended on her for their every need. How on earth would Udeni cope?
Then, in a flash of realisation, Vidya understood that she would never be the same again either.
It wasn’t her baby, but she was going to be involved.
She had been so focused on Udeni and the practical aspects of it all that she hadn’t really absorbed her own feelings about the baby.
She was going to be an aunty. There was going to be a child and she would love him or her with everything she had.
The enormity of it hurt her throat. The beach blurred behind tears.
A baby was coming into their lives. Not one of them was ready for it.
‘Aw,’ Caleb said. ‘That’s a cute kid.’
Vidya glanced sideways at him. If only he knew. She looked back at the little boy, now hopping around on the sand. How could anyone prepare for that?
Leo walked across the sand behind the boy and his mother and deposited the pushchair. Vidya blinked away tears. She saw him hunker down and say something to the boy, then give him a high five, before he walked back, his coat flapping in the breeze.
He would make a good dad.
She glanced at Caleb, who was looking at his phone. What kind of dad would Caleb be if Udeni gave him the chance?
When Leo reached the top of the steps, he stopped. ‘Vidya? Is everything okay?’
To her horror, she realised that there were tears on her face. ‘What? Oh. Yes. Just sand. In my eyes.’ She quickly brushed her knuckles across her face and made a show of blinking rapidly. ‘I think I’ve got it now.’
Leo nodded.
‘So, good Samaritan thing done for the day?’ Caleb teased him. ‘And it wasn’t a little old lady this time.’
‘It would have been dangerous for her to try and drag the pushchair down and keep an eye on the kid and hold the baby,’ Leo said.
They started walking back. He kept looking at Vidya. She turned her face towards the sea until she had her emotions under control.
‘What did you say to the little kid?’ Caleb asked. ‘He looked very serious about it.’
‘Oh, nothing much. I just told him to be good,’ said Leo.
‘Why would he listen to you?’
‘Because I’m a stranger in a big coat,’ said Leo. ‘You always listen when a stranger in a big coat tells you to listen to your mum. You never know who they report to.’
Caleb laughed. ‘Really?’
‘That’s what my nephew tells me. I think he’s afraid they might work for Santa.’
They walked back along the seafront, past various stalls selling food and postcards and random things.
‘You should see him with his nephews,’ Caleb said to Vidya. ‘They’ve got him wrapped around their little fingers.’
She grabbed the opportunity to find out more. ‘How about you? Do you like kids?’
Caleb shrugged.
‘Do you want to have kids of your own some day?’
This garnered a surprised glance from Leo. It must have sounded like a weird question to ask a work colleague. Oh, well, she had already established her nosy-cow credentials. May as well lean into it.
Caleb took it in his stride. ‘Not really thought about it,’ he said. ‘When the time comes … with the right woman, I guess.’ She noticed his glance at Leo, who merely looked down and carried on walking.
Oh, yeah. It would be weird if she didn’t ask him too. ‘How about you, Leo?’
‘Never thought about it,’ he said, gruffly. ‘You?’
Her? Had she ever wanted to be a mum? She wasn’t sure she had.
‘A bit like Caleb said. It’s not something I’ve desperately wanted, but …
when the time comes.’ The time was coming in about seven and a half months.
Vidya would be the co-parent to this baby, no matter how much Udeni insisted she would do things on her own.
She always needed help. Vidya always helped.
Because she loved her sister and she would love the baby too.
The smell of doughnuts wafted past. Vidya turned her head to follow it. She was feeling raw and fragile. Hot sugary carbs might be just the thing.
‘Oh, look, doughnuts.’ She changed direction and headed towards the red-and-white-striped cart.
The guys followed her. They had the choice between large doughnuts or a bag of mini ones.
They all chose the mini ones. The walk back to the hotel was conducted in happy sugary silence.
Having the mini doughnuts in the bag meant that they were easier to keep safe from marauding seagulls too.
When they reached the hotel, Caleb went on ahead, while Leo and Vidya paused to dispose of their empty doughnut bags.
‘I guess it’s back to the grindstone,’ said Vidya. She crumpled the bag up and dropped it in the bin. She still had sugar on her fingers. Without thinking, she licked it off. Hearing a small sound from Leo, she looked up and her eyes met his. She slowly moved her hand down.
He cleared his throat. ‘You … er …’ He indicated his cheek. ‘There’s some sugar.’
‘Oh. Right.’ That’s what he’d been looking at. She rubbed her cheek with the side of her hand and looked back at him. ‘Did I get it?’
He shook his head. ‘May I?’
‘Please.’
Leo stepped closer. His hair was tousled from the wind.
This close, she could smell a faint trace of his aftershave.
Suddenly, the air felt thicker and heavier.
He had the most beautiful eyes. Today was the last day that she would get to see them.
Angie’s words about jumping on him and seeing his reaction echoed in Vidya’s mind.
Leo raised his hand and brushed her cheek, the touch of his warm fingertips sent tingles down her spine.
She raised her eyes to look into his. He was so close now that it would take almost no effort to close the space between them and kiss him.
Or for him to kiss her. She really, really wanted him to kiss her.
His lips were slightly parted and so tempting.
For a second his fingertips hovered just above the skin on her cheek.
Vidya’s heart pounded. The world narrowed until there were only the two of them, the teasing warmth of his fingertips millimetres away from her skin.
Then, he tilted his head and gently rested the tips of his fingers against her face.
Her heartbeat was almost deafening now. His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips and, very gently, he stroked his thumb across her lower lip.
The sensation that flashed from her lips to her belly was so strong that Vidya gasped.
The sound seemed to startle Leo. With a sharp breath, he jumped back. ‘I … I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘That was—’ His eyes were wide and panicky. He shook his head. ‘That was so inappropriate of me. I’m sorry.’
‘Leo.’ She shook her head. ‘Leo, it’s fine.’
‘No. It’s not.’ He seemed to have recovered himself now, his usual guarded expression back in place. ‘If you want to make a report to HR, please do. I shouldn’t have touched you like that. I’m so sorry.’
‘Le—’
‘I’ll leave you in peace to get back to work.’ He turned away.
No. This won’t do. ‘Leo.’ She grabbed his arm. He turned back and looked down at her hand in surprise. She let go.
‘Leo,’ she said, firmly. ‘You asked. I gave you permission.’
How was it best to play this? What she wanted to tell him was that she was fine with him touching her face.
That if he wanted to kiss her, she really wouldn’t object.
But his reaction to his own actions had been so extreme that she didn’t think that would help right now.
‘So. Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. Shall we go back to work? ’
Leo gave a look that she couldn’t read. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Let’s do that. And … thanks for understanding.’
She followed him back inside and peeled off to go wash the last of the sugar off her hands …
and her cheek if there was any still there.
In the bathroom, it took a few minutes for her heart to stop hammering.
Putting her hands on the sink, she looked at her flushed face in the mirror and swore.
Disappointment plumbed through her. She had come this close to kissing him.
So close. So. Damn. Close. How could she keep resisting him?