Charlotte stared at her phone screen in disbelief. The one time her sitter had dared to cancel on her in all these months just had to be an hour before her sister’s surprise wedding shower.
She groaned as she looked at Audrey, who was sitting in her car seat on the kitchen counter, her face covered in oatmeal. At the sight of Charlotte’s distress, the baby started giggling in glee, revealing a mouth full of the food, which soon was dispensed all over her bib.
Great. Now Charlotte would have to bathe her before she figured out what to do next. Kate wouldn’t mind if Audrey was a guest. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Except that Charlotte had been really looking forward to just one night out with the girls. Just one.
Her mind went darkly back to Jake again. Jake, who was never on duty, but before she dwelled on that too much, she grabbed a paper towel and began wiping Audrey’s face. It was a privilege to be able to spend time with her daughter, after all. One that Jake could never understand.
There was that maternal guilt again. Maybe it was for the best if Audrey came along to the shower. Then she wouldn’t have to feel guilty over being happy to leave her for a few hours.
“Everything okay in here?”
Other than for the fact that yet again, I’m wondering how fit I am to be a mother? Charlotte turned to see Greg standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking a little too handsome for a guy who had been holed up in his office working all day. She averted her gaze, lest she get any ideas, and continued cleaning up Audrey, who was started to squirm in protest.
“Oh, fine, fine. You know that party I mentioned I had tonight?” She’d been sure to mention it when she saw him for the five minutes that morning before he shut himself off in the den. “Well, my sitter canceled. But it’s fine, really. No big deal. I’ll just bring Audrey with me.”
“But isn’t it your sister’s wedding shower?” he asked.
Now Audrey was really fighting her. Moving her head and scrunching up her nose and…It was no use. Charlotte stopped wiping her face, closed her eyes for three calming breaths, and turned to Greg with an overly bright smile. She had a bad feeling she looked as deranged as she was starting to feel. Audrey had been fussy all day, and she hadn’t napped. No doubt those teeth were finally about to poke through…And the only thing that kept her patience from snapping was the thought of putting on a pretty outfit and enjoying some girl time tonight.
So much for that.
“It’s fine,” she told Greg. “My sister won’t mind.”
“Well, let me see if Marlene can help—”
“She went Christmas shopping,” Charlotte replied. She’d thought of that, too.
“Huh.” Greg’s face was pulled into a frown, and he seemed to hover behind her as she cleaned up the oatmeal and rinsed the bowl out in the sink. “You know, I can always watch her while you go.”
Charlotte’s gasp was audible. “You?”
“What? Is that such a crazy idea?” Greg’s grin was a little bashful. Or maybe just uncertain.
Still…he was a grown adult. He was successful. Capable. Functioning. And Audrey would probably fall asleep as soon as Charlotte left anyway, considering she hadn’t napped all day.
“Are you sure?” she asked, eyeing him warily.
“Sure. You already fed her, and if you write down what I need to do, I’m sure I can handle it.”
“You’d just need to give her a bedtime bottle. I’ll get it ready. She goes to bed at seven, and she might even be asleep before that. I’ll try to only stay out for three or four hours in case she wakes up needing a change.”
“A change?” Greg asked.
Charlotte gave a little smile. “A diaper change.”
She thought she saw Greg gulp.
“Are you sure you can handle this?”
“Of course. She’s what…about one?”
“Seven months.”
“Seven months.” Greg looked slightly perplexed, but then gave an affable shrug. “It’s just a few hours. What’s the big deal?”
* * *
What had he gotten himself into?
Charlotte hadn’t even gotten out of the driveway before the smell filled the room. Greg turned in desperation to the back door, but he knew he couldn’t chase her down even if he wanted to, and really, what kind of man would that make him? Afraid of an infant!
The child’s face was a strange shade of red that was starting to border on purple and the smell…Greg covered his nose with the sleeve of his shirt, taking breaths through his mouth.
He stared at her, wondering if she could sit there like that, in her car seat, which was all buckled over her fresh pajamas, as if she could fall out at any minute, even though it was sitting on the floor of the back den, where he had planned to watch a little football and maybe even enjoy a beer. So much for that.
Deciding he couldn’t avoid the inevitable much longer, he grabbed the car seat by the handle and carried the baby up to Charlotte’s guest room. There, in the corner of the en suite bathroom, was a changing mat set out on top of an Egyptian cotton bath mat, a stack of all sorts of creams and diapers stacked beside it.
He hadn’t felt such dread since he was in the ninth grade and working up the courage to ask Nina Catanzariti to the spring dance.
The baby was starting to cry now. He eyed her, and she seemed to sober up for a moment, as if understanding that this wasn’t easy for him, either, that they were sort of in this mess together.
It was bizarre that those little eyes could see the world, sense things, just like he could. As he continued to watch her, she blinked at him, her crying subsided now, until her chin began to quiver and then her lower lip and then…
A door slammed.
Marlene!
He burst out into the hall, leaving Audrey in the car seat in the bathroom and called out to her, his voice almost strangled in panic.
“My God!” she exclaimed, hurrying up the stairs with her coat and shoes still on. “What is going on? Greg? Is everything okay?”
He pointed, into the guest room, and Marlene stared at him in brief confusion before pushing past him into the room. She swung her head around the empty room but it didn’t take her long to follow the trail of the baby’s wails.
The next thing Greg heard was a burst of laughter.
“Afraid of a little baby, are you, Greg?” She was shaking her head when he came back into the room. The baby was already out of her car seat, cuddled in Marlene’s arms, who was cooing soothing words to her as she bounced her on her hip. “I think she needs a change.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Greg rubbed a hand over his forehead. He was getting a headache from all this noise.
“Where’s her mother?” Marlene asked.
“At her sister’s wedding shower,” Greg replied. Or on her way there, perhaps. It was going to be a long night.
“Well, why don’t I get this little girl settled, and then maybe you can read her a story?”
Greg stared at Marlene, wondering if she had hit her head on her outing. The child wasn’t even one. What could she understand of a story? But fine. Okay, he would read her a story.
“Go on, now. I think Charlotte has a stack of books on the desk chair near the crib.”
Greg closed the bathroom door behind him and went off in search of the books. Sure enough, a bunch of colorful cardboard options were stacked on the antique writing chair. He decided on one about a snowman and hurried downstairs.
Marlene came down a few minutes later, the child on her hip rather than buckled into the car seat. Before he could protest, she set the child on his lap. “There now. Uncle Greg is going to read you a nice bedtime story.”
Uncle Greg? Greg picked up the book, surprised that the child could sit up on her own, and rather impressed by it, in fact. Stiffly, he set a hand on the armrest, just in case she fell backward. Wouldn’t want her hurting her head or anything.
“Well.” He turned uneasily to the first page, slanting a glance at Marlene, who seemed to be suppressing a smile as she slipped out of the room.
He stared at the page. There were three words to the sole sentence on the page. He read them quickly, then turned to the next page, realizing with a start there were only two more page turns to go before the ending.
Read the child the book? He’d be finished in less than fourteen seconds!
He heard Marlene clear her throat from the doorway. “Just a hint? Improvise. Talk about what’s on the page.”
Greg suppressed a groan. If they expected the parents to elaborate the story, why didn’t they just add more to it?
“There’s a little white fluffy snowman. See the snowman?” God, he felt like a fool. No doubt Marlene was around the corner, wishing she had her video camera handy.
He startled when the baby let out a gurgle of sounds that seemed something like a giggle and began slapping at the snowman excitedly.
He stared at her, a smile creeping over his own face. She was actually enjoying this!
“See his hat?” He touched it, noticing that it had a felty feel. Sure enough, the child touched the hat.
Amazing!
He turned to the next page, where the snowman was dancing. When you pressed a button at the bottom of the page, music played. And did it play! For fifteen minutes straight, thanks to Audrey’s endless enthusiasm for pressing the button.
He read the story to her five times over, amazed at how much she…understood it. There was a personality in there. A little girl whose zest and smile sort of reminded him a bit of Charlotte.
When she fell asleep in his arms twenty minutes later, he found himself strangely disappointed. They were just starting to have fun!
“It’s awfully quiet in here,” Marlene said, appearing in the doorway. She reached out her hands. “Want me to bring her up?”
“No,” Greg surprised himself by saying. “I can do it.”
He slid his arms under the baby and carefully stood. She was light, requiring little effort to hold, but he walked up the stairs as if treading on glass. He didn’t breathe until she was set down in her crib—safe and sound.
He stood for a moment, watching her eyelids flutter with sleep, before he finally turned off the lamp and closed the door.
* * *
Charlotte pushed through the swinging door into Elizabeth’s kitchen, her arms laden with the ingredients she planned to use to make tonight’s signature drink. White cranberry juice, vodka, and simple syrup. She’d also picked up some cranberries and mint leaves for a garnish.
Kate was setting out martini glasses, while Colleen put the finishing touches on her contribution for the evening: a stunning white cake that glittered as if it had been dusted with fresh snow.
Charlotte set out her ingredients, determined to make her effort match everyone else’s. It was her sister’s shower, after all. No one else could say as much. But still, she couldn’t overlook how good they had all been to her sister. Especially back when Kate needed it the most.
Right. She would make it up to Kate one step at a time, and tonight’s way was through her Winter White Cocktail, as she was calling it. She’d only be having one herself, and nursing it, considering she still had to drive back to the Frost house and no doubt Audrey would have her up throughout the night.
Frowning, she pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the screen. No missed calls. No text. Nothing. Was this a good sign or a bad one?
She’d sneak away and call to check on Audrey. Once she’d made her cocktail.
“I think my cake is ready to go to the buffet table,” Colleen announced. She stepped back to wave her hands game show host–style over the dessert and Kate and Charlotte both dutifully clapped. Clapping was indeed warranted.
Charlotte felt glum. Even though Colleen was a trained pastry chef and had gone to school to learn things like cake decorating, she couldn’t help but wish she was good for something more than bringing the alcohol tonight.
She sprinkled some sugar onto a plate. So help her, this garnish would look like it did in the picture in that magazine she’d skimmed in the grocery store checkout line. The cranberries and mint would sparkle just as bright as Colleen’s cake. And it would be the drink they would all be talking about, not about how Charlotte had gone and mucked up her sister’s first engagement.
Colleen carried her cake through the swing door, leaving the sisters alone.
“You shouldn’t worry about setting out the glasses,” Charlotte scolded gently. “This is your party. Go out there and relax.”
“I will in a bit,” Kate said. She snagged a mini quiche from a tray and leaned a hip against the counter. “This was really sweet of you guys to surprise me with the shower. Makes it all feel so real!”
“It is real,” Charlotte said. She frowned at the not-so-sugary cranberries on the plate. What was she doing wrong?
“Bree hasn’t said anything about the flowers for the Frost party,” Kate suddenly said.
Charlotte dropped the cranberries onto the plate and stared at her sister in dismay. “You’re checking up on me?”
“What? No.” Kate shook her head. “I stopped by there on my way here to check on the flowers for the Loren wedding and she mentioned it to me.”
Ah. Charlotte again felt silly. She grinned, thinking of what a bridezilla Hannah Loren was. “Now that’s one wedding where I wouldn’t want to try to catch the bouquet. No doubt by the end of the night, she’ll be slamming it into the crowd!”
Kate laughed and popped the rest of the mini quiche into her mouth. “I have to admit I’ll be happy when this one is over. And I think her fiancé will, too.”
“If he doesn’t jilt her first,” Charlotte murmured, thinking of how many times she’d overheard Hannah snapping at the poor guy every time he offered up a suggestion.
She looked up at her sister, panicking. She’d done it. She’d put her foot in her mouth. Ruined what was the promise of a nice party by stirring up the past.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but Kate just reached for her wineglass and said, “I forgot to tell you Hannah’s latest request!”
Charlotte blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “Oh?” She turned uneasily back to the cranberries and mint leaves. What was the point of a signature drink without the garnish?
“She wants an ice sculpture for the cake topping.”
Now even Charlotte had to laugh. “But won’t it be rather…tiny?”
“That’s what I said!” Kate laughed. “I had to conference poor Colleen into the call to explain that either the entire cake would have to be kept frozen or the ice sculpture topping would melt in about ten minutes flat. Hannah threatened to find a cake baker who would accommodate her wishes, until Colleen was nice enough to offer up a solution.”
“Which was?”
“She’d going to make something out of sugar that will resemble ice.”
Charlotte whimpered at her not-so-sugary cranberries. Wait! She needed to make them stick. Duh. She wasn’t thinking clearly. This was her first night out with the girls since Audrey had been born and her head was in two places at once. But her heart…her heart was still with Audrey.
Was she crying right now? Hungry? Would Greg remember to drop the milk on his wrist, check the temperature before popping it into her mouth? And what if he dropped her? What if he was carrying her down the stairs and his heel slipped and…She shuddered and brought the colander over to the sink and turned on the faucet. Greg hadn’t called her. Or the police. And this was her sister’s engagement party. She tried to keep things light. “Was Hannah satisfied with that?”
“Once we pointed out that she’d have trouble finding a baker to take an order on such short notice, she was.” Kate clucked her tongue. “Please don’t let me ever become this crazy over my wedding.”
“How are the plans coming along?” Charlotte asked, feeling that familiar sensation twist inside her gut. It was bad enough that Elizabeth was hosting tonight’s shower and not her—wasn’t the sister the obvious choice, and wasn’t her role as a guest especially glaring? Weddings felt like such a touchy subject between them—even if it was their business.
“I just have a few more things to decide on, really,” Kate said, and Charlotte couldn’t help but think of the bridal party. Had her sister already decided and just chosen not to mention it? Perhaps Kate was tiptoeing around their relationship as much as she was.
It wasn’t like Kate to cut things so close. Maybe she’d already made the calls. Maybe Charlotte just hadn’t made the cut.
Could she blame her?
The familiar sense of shame weighed heavy, reminding her why she wouldn’t mention her run-in with Jake any more than she would mention that he was never involved in Audrey’s life. The past was a fact; there was no dismissing it, and maybe, no forgetting it.
Kate set down her wineglass carefully. It was clear from her hesitation that she had something to say. “If you’d like to invite someone as your guest, you know you’re more than welcome to.”
“What?” Charlotte laughed, but then immediately frowned. First Bree and now Kate! Was it this important to them that she find a man?
“I’m just saying…you don’t have to let me know yet. I can always leave a spot open, just in case.”
Charlotte shook her head firmly. “I have no intention of bringing a date. Besides, who would I invite?” Greg, she considered, but that would be a conflict of interest, considering he was technically a client. Besides, come January their agreement would be over. She’d be on her own again. Just her and Audrey.
She frowned deeper, even though she knew it was for the best.
Kate gave a smile. “No pressure. But if someone comes along…”
Charlotte turned back to her garnish. She’d already had one man disappoint her daughter; why should she give another the same opportunity? Still, everyone—except her—seemed to think that a man in her life was exactly what she needed.
Or did they just mean a traditional family, a father under the same roof?
“I have more important things to worry about than dating,” she said firmly. Like protecting my child from further pain and rejection. “Like the flowers for the Frost party.”
And some other unmentionable details her sister need not know…