“Wilma, it’s not like you’re never going to see me again,” I mumble as the air is almost squeezed out of me in a death-defying bear hug. “Seriously, you’re squishing the baby. Let me go.” I laugh.
She finally releases me, and I can breathe freely again.
“Ohh, sweetheart, I’m just going to miss having you around. I’m going to go certifiably insane with only Ken here. We both know I need you. Are we taking bets as to how long it will take until I poison his coffee?” She raises an eyebrow and then gives me a wink.
“I heard that,” Ken says as he walks out from his office.
“Good. You’ll do well to remember it then.”
“Gonna miss having you ‘round here all the time, love,” Ken says as he wraps me in his arms and then releases me, unlike his wife. They really are opposites. But hey, it works.
“I’ll miss you guys too, but it won’t be for that long. I’m going to need the income after this baby is born.”
“Don’t you worry about that. We’ve got you covered,” Ken says as he hands me an envelope. “Open it,” he prompts.
I look at him in confusion then lift the corner of the envelope and tear it open. The only noise comes from the ripping paper. Reaching inside, I pluck out what seems like another piece of paper. Okay. I turn it over and then simply stare at it in disbelief for what feels like an eternity. Just when I thought my days of crying were over, red hot tears start flowing in streams down my cheeks. I cup my hands to my face and try to stop them in their tracks. The gesture is so generous and unexpected that I need a minute to sort my emotions out.
The tears finally slow, and I remove my hands from my face and nab some tissues off my desk behind me. After mopping my wet cheeks up, I look at Wilma and Ken then grab them both, pulling them into a group hug. They make me feel like I have someone watching out for me again. After my grandparents had passed, I felt so empty. Like I didn’t have a family anymore. Zeke helped to fill that void—until he left. Since then, I’m finding family in people and places I never thought possible.
Breaking away from Ken and Wilma, I look at them with a wobbly smile. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this. It’s a lot of money to just throw away.”
“You’re more than an employee to us, Olive, so we’re not throwing it away. Call it a bonus if you will. You deserve it. And we may not have children, but we know that when you’re buying diapers all the time, a couple of thousand dollars will disappear quicker than you think.” She nudges her head in Ken’s direction. “Besides, it’s not like we need the money. Ken never wants to go on vacation, the damn homebody.” Wilma throws a glare at him while Ken sends her an apologetic smile. I learned early on in my job that Ken has a fear of heights, and he also hates flying, so vacations for Ken are few and far between. I don’t blame him; I’m not really a great flyer either.
“Thank you again.” I sniff. “I’m so glad to have found you two.” And I am.
Not just because of their generosity, but because their support and dysfunctional relationship add color to any gray day. And Lord knows I’ve had plenty of them over the past several months. They send me a warm smile and more goodbyes before returning to their offices.
I shove the envelope into the purse hanging across my shoulder and throw on my oversized coat to stave off the winter air before walking out to my car to head to the grocery store. It seemed stupid to drive to work this morning, but I’m immensely thankful that I did. This pregnancy gig is getting harder by the month. I need to steer clear from wearing black and white together for fear I’m starting to resemble a penguin.
Picking up what I need for the next few days from the store, I finally pull up outside my house to find Millie sitting on my front porch. Why is she sitting out in the cold when she has a key?
“Hey, Mil, come help me with this crap,” I yell out to her. She gets up from where she’s sitting in my grandpa’s chair. When she rounds the car and peers into the trunk, she flashes her wide, blue eyes my way.
“Did you buy the whole store, Liv?”
“I’m eating for two, remember? And I figure with you coming over all the damn time, I’d better get extra.”
“God, at this rate, my belly will be as big as yours,” she says as she grabs a handful of bags and heads for the door. I grab the remaining bags and slam the trunk as I try to juggle the bags at the same time.
Once inside, I dump the bags in the kitchen and quickly run to the bathroom before I pee myself. Finishing up, I can hear Mil unpacking the groceries for me and putting them away in the kitchen. I knew I kept her around for a reason.
As I head back down the small hallway, I see something that has me stopping dead in my tracks. The baby’s room.
What the hell?
I spin on the spot to face the doorway of the room, placing my hands on my hips as I silently watch my new handy friend put my baby’s crib together. I don’t think he even realizes I’m standing here, watching those muscles move around under the sleeves covering his arms as he bends and screws something into place. My eyes find that ass in his trademark dark denim jeans. I hear my breath hitch as said jeans lower a fraction, exposing a sliver of lean hip and his sexy dark green boxer briefs. He must hear it, too, because he looks up from where he is on the floor.
“Hey, Liv.” He looks a little sheepish, as if he’s been caught doing something that might upset me. “Hope you don’t mind. Millie let me in.”
I shake my head in an effort to ward off my lusty thoughts.
“That’s okay.” I gesture to the crib. “But you do know that Millie and I had that under control, right?” I smirk at him.
I walk into the room and plonk my pregnant ass on the floor beside him. He knows full well that we didn’t have it under control, not even a little.
The laugh that escapes him is deep and loud and does nothing to calm my raging hormones.
“Seriously? You had the rail and the base of the crib mixed up, and the end piece was completely back to front. You’re lucky you came out of it alive.” He continues to laugh, shaking his head. I’m thinking he really needs to stop that if he doesn’t want a pregnant chick to climb into his lap right about now.
“Well, we tried. But thank you for doing this for me. It looks amazing.” I trail off as I look around the nursery. “When will you be done?”
“Two minutes. I’ve just gotta screw this last one in then it’s done, and I can put it wherever you want.” He starts driving the screw in as he talks.
“Sweet. I’ll wait here then. There’s no way I’ll be able to get up on my own anyway.”
He chuckles at that but then goes quiet as he returns his concentration to the crib. At least that’s what I thought he was going quiet for.
“So forgive me if I’m being nosy and shit, but you’ve only talked about your grandparents …” he trails off as he looks over at me. “Where’s your mom?”
It’s not exactly a secret what my mom did, but it’s old news in this town, so I’m not surprised he doesn’t know. “She committed suicide after dropping me off at my grandparents’ one summer when I was six.” I look down at my stomach, not being able to comprehend how she did it, even if I haven’t met my baby yet. I look over at him to find he’s put the screwdriver down and is rubbing a hand through his thick brown hair. “Fuck, I’m a dick. I’m sorry, Liv.”
I smile reassuringly at him. “It’s okay, really. I was really young and don’t remember much of her. Just that she was always troubled and a bit wild. I was lucky to end up with my grandparents and had an awesome childhood, so I made peace with it a long time ago. I think it was harder for them than it was for me, especially my grandpa.” I often found myself wondering if that was why he was always tinkering with inventions in the back shed. Maybe it helped him cope.
“And your dad?” he asks hesitantly
I shrug. “I have no idea. I don’t think my mom even knew from what my grandparents told me.”
He blows out a breath and just stares at me for a heartbeat or ten before he stands. I glance over at the crib, and a pang of resentment hits me. Yet another thing Zeke should’ve done. He should have been sitting where Seb was just now. But I also can’t say that I’m sad about Seb being exactly where he is at this moment. Awkward questions and all.
He clears his throat from above me; I look up, and our eyes lock for a moment as he thrusts his hand out so that he can help me up.
I grab his large hand with both of mine as he wraps his other around them and pulls gently. I find myself savoring the feeling of having my small hands cradled by his large ones. Once upright, I wobble a bit, but he reacts quickly and grabs my elbow to steady me. I look up into his dark eyes, about to thank him, when I realize how close we are. Overwhelmed by the distance between us, I can’t decide if it feels like too little or too much. He moves closer; one step that has my pulse racing in my ears as I take a step closer, too.
Holy shit.
I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I can’t seem to stop myself. My eyes have a mind of their own as they move down to his lips. He shifts even closer, placing a hand on my hip …
“Whoa, easy there, Bob the Builder. Who knew putting a crib together would get you a little somethin’ somethin’?” Millie laughs from the doorway as we turn to see her waggle her eyebrows. I honestly don’t know whether to feel relieved or be pissed off by the interruption. Seb clears his throat and takes a step back.
I end up settling on a combination of both. “Nothing was happening, Mil.” I tuck some hair behind my ear and glance pointedly at her. “Need something?”
She rolls her eyes. “Just wanted to see what you guys wanted for dinner?”
Her lips turn into a pout as she whines, “I really want pizza.”
Takeout is limited in Ivy Falls, so it’s usually pizza, unless we dine out at the cute little restaurant, Kathy’s, in town.
“Okay, as long as Seb’s okay with it, too.” I look over at him.
“Fine with me.” He shrugs. “As long as you order pepperoni with jalapeños.” He bends down and packs away his tools.
“Ahh, a man after your own heart, Liv,” Millie teases as she walks out of the room.
“I’m guessing you like spicy shit, too.” He grins while standing back up and throwing a hand into his thick brown hair again, which makes it stand on end in a way that looks like he spent hours styling it that way.
“It’s my favorite, especially jalapeños. Go hard or go home, I say.”
“Damn right. So where do you want it?” He points his thumb toward the crib in the middle of the room.
I motion to the far corner of the room. “Just there, thanks.”
Seb lifts the crib with ease, and I shamelessly watch again as his muscles bulge and bunch under his tight Henley. Placing the crib back down, he gently shuffles it into the perfect position.
“Thank you, so much, Seb,” I murmur softly as I walk over and run my hand over the dark wood of the crib railing.
“Anytime.”
We kind of just stand there for a minute, looking anywhere but each other. Awkward. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking earlier. Okay, that’s a lie. I knew exactly what I was about to do. And the truth that I’m trying desperately to wrap my conscience around is that if given the opportunity again, I’d more than likely do the exact same thing.