Chapter 19
NINETEEN
The baby was quiet in my arms as I walked through the hallway to answer the front door.
She had squirmed and fought all through dinner, and finally, needing to put a stop to the unbearable sound, I had offered to take her under the guise of enabling Jade to eat her meal.
The look of relief on Jade’s face had been instant.
As I’d held Amala against my chest, she’d let out an almighty burp and then settled.
Jade had commented that she had smiled at me, but I’d brushed it off, sure it couldn’t be true.
I peered through the peephole and saw Aaron waiting on the step.
I hesitated, not wanting another uncomfortable conversation, but I needed a few things from the shop and didn’t want him to stop offering once Jade had gone.
I relied on him, despite my reluctance to lean on a man.
He was my only lifeline. And despite his reaction to Jade being here, the hurt I’d felt at his harsh words, I missed him.
Missed the way he looked at me, the awareness that he wanted more from me than we’d previously explored.
My skin felt like it was too tight for my body whenever his eyes met mine like that, and I wished I could let myself give in to the pull of him, to sink into something that I already knew would be exceptional .
I took a breath, shaking off the thought, knowing I was flushed from picturing it, then opened the door slowly, unsure of what to expect.
His eyes narrowed the instant he saw Amala.
‘Where’s her mother?’ he asked, his tone far more demanding than I was used to from him, making me step back instinctively, my hand spreading protectively across the baby’s back.
There was no flirtation in his expression today, and the heat turned to ice as if he’d thrown a bucket of cold water in my face.
‘She’s in the kitchen.’
‘I want to talk to you, Annie.’
I raised an eyebrow at his tone, and he held up his hands as if in apology. ‘Please? Will you step out here for a second so we can speak in private?’
I glanced over my shoulder. ‘She can’t hear you from the kitchen, but fine.’ I stepped out, pulling the door closed on the latch. Aaron stared at Amala as if she were some alien creature. ‘Go on,’ I said, needing it to be over with.
‘That woman isn’t an old friend of yours. You lied to me.’
I’d expected as much. I’d seen the curiosity in his expression when they’d met in the garden, known he would worry. Would dig deeper. ‘Aaron, I know you’re only being like this because you care. But please, I need you to back off.’
‘How can I, Annie? How can I just stand by and watch while you—’ He broke off, pointing to the baby.
‘What are you playing at?’ he hissed. ‘Acting like some doting auntie to that child. Are you even thinking straight? I don’t know who that girl is, but she’s clearly vulnerable. And she’s lying for you.’
I tensed. ‘So?’ I replied, silently daring him to continue.
He stepped closer, and I squared my shoulders, refusing to break eye contact, to be cowed by a man as I’d been so many times in my past. ‘We both know what happened to the last baby you brought here,’ he whispered, his words conjuring memories I’d failed to slice from my mind.
‘You cannot play mother to this baby, Annie. It isn’t right. It’s not good for you.’
‘How dare you!’ The words came through me like a breath of fire, and I shoved open the front door, stepping back inside. I turned to slam it in his face, but he held out an arm, preventing me from shutting him out.
‘It’s not healthy, Annie. And if she doesn’t know the truth, you’re playing a dangerous game.’ He stepped back, clearly satisfied that he’d said what he’d come to say.
I swung the door closed, bolting it from the inside and breathing heavily.
I was shaking, my stomach churning, the pasta I’d just eaten threatening to come back up.
How dare he suggest I wasn’t fit to care for this baby.
That I might be a danger to her, to her mother.
How fucking dare he, of all people. I had thought he was on my side!
I wrapped my trembling arms tighter around Amala, looking down at her sweet little face to find her dark eyes staring back at me.
I let out a long, shaky breath, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
I was doing just fine. And Jade didn’t have a right to know any of my secrets when she’d been so careful about sharing hers.
Aaron might be right about a lot of things, but this wasn’t one of them.
I wasn’t going to tell her a thing!