"Oh, she's wet," Melissa says, coming out into the hall.
"She could get prizes for peeing, this kid."
"Give her to me." Melissa reaches out for the baby and holds her and carries her through into the living room. Lucy instantly calms down. What the fuck!
I try my best with Lucy when she's crying, but it doesn't seem to matter what I do-changing, feeding, rocking, pulling funny faces. I may as well not bother. Lucy is the most unresponsive female I ever met, even if she is only seven months old. But she's quiet with just a hug from Melissa.
"You do know what you're doing, don't you?" I ask Melissa, though she looks like she knows exactly what she's doing-more than I do, anyway. I hope so, because otherwise I don't know what I'll do for the next few weeks.
"Did Dad not say? I'm used to looking after my little brother."
"He did, and I really needed help so it seemed okay, but Daniel's twelve now, isn't he? He hasn't needed babysitting for a while."
"The neighbors' kids did, though. Where are the diapers?"
"Diapers? I forgot you Americans speak a foreign language. The nappies are in the bathroom. I'll get you one." I get the changing mat out of the bathtub and a nappy out of the bag. The whole bathroom is crammed with baby gear, and I have Lucy's crib in my room. This place is too fucking small for three but it was all my sister and her husband could afford, and at least it has more than one bedroom, unlike my loft apartment. Julie and Mike had a huge mortgage despite the size of the cottage. Ironic that the insurance came through and the place is free of debt now they are no longer here.
Melissa looks at the plastic changing mat. "Do you have a towel? The changing mat will be cold." The girl thinks of stuff I wouldn't. Good.
She undoes the snaps on Lucy's little pink baby outfit. "No wonder she's leaking. You have to fasten the tapes on the diaper tighter than that."
"I didn't want to hurt her." Life is fucking fragile enough as it is without being crushed to death in paper wadding and plastic.
"Commendable, but babies like the diaper to be close fitting. It makes them feel more secure. And it saves on the laundry." She nods at my T-shirt with a giggle.
She's kneeling there on my floor looking all kinds of sexy, the curve of her behind in the air as she leans over the baby, and that giggle goes right to my groin.
"I'll just get changed. Will you be okay with her?"
"We'll be fine, won't we?" She tickles Lucy's tummy and the baby laughs.
Yes, I think she will be fine. But will I? Somehow, I've got to get my mind off the babysitter. She's Duncan's daughter. Here to look after Lucy. The thoughts going through my head about her right now are not fine at all.
CHAPTER 5
Melissa
Oh god, Andrew with Lucy. The tiny baby with the big burly fireman. Take away the damp patch on his T-shirt when he came in just now and they could sell posters. And I'd totally buy one. But he hasn't a clue what to do with her. That's pretty clear.
"Has she had a bath today?" I ask.
"No, I save baths for the really messy events. Sometimes I just look and there's nothing else for it."
I have to laugh. He has to be kidding me. "You have a baby bath, right?"
"Yes, there's one in the bathroom. Everything is in the bathtub. Toys, bath, changing mat. It takes two weeks to clear it to have a shower. Sorry about that. It drove Angela crazy."
"Angela?" Did he say drove? Past tense? Is that the Angela he mentioned in the car, owner of the CDs? For some reason, since I saw him with Lucy, I don't like the idea of another woman being involved. With Lucy. Or with him.
"My ex-girlfriend." He doesn't say more, though I want to ask about her. If she was here with him, they haven't been broken up long. I shrug. He'll tell me if he wants to. It's really none of my business. I can't imagine we'll ever have a heart to heart about it.
"The bathroom sink works for bathing Lucy too," he says. "Holding her while she screams and filling that baby bath is too much. I just sponge her down in the sink. Then wash the sink. And me." He shrugs.
I guess he's doing his best. "Right, if you fill the baby bath with warm water and bring it through here in front of the fireplace, I'll bathe her where it's warmer."
The baby is gorgeous. I could totally cuddle that little bundle to bits. But I want to cry. She'll never know her mom and dad. I fight with mine sometimes, but that means nothing. I'd hate to lose them.
Andrew carries the tub full of water like it weighs nothing and my heart skips a beat.
"Oh, I should have said. You don't need to fill it right up. I thought you'd know. She could go swimming in that."
"No one gives you lessons in baby care when you get one out of the blue."
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything." I test the temperature of the water with my elbow the way Mom taught me. "You'll get the hang of it eventually. Though just when you do, they are often onto the next stage."
He sighs. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask you if you were hungry. Have you eaten dinner? Meals just seem to get fitted in around Lucy somehow."
"I couldn't eat anything on the plane." I lower Lucy into the water and she laughs.
"Too excited to eat?"
"Nerves." I grin at him. Lucy being here seems to make everything easier between Andrew and me. She kicks her legs and splashes me in the face. "Hey! She's making the most of the deep water."
"Olympic swimmer in the making. We'd never have known if I hadn't put too much water in. I'll make dinner if you'll be okay."
"I'll be okay. No need to keep asking."
"Right." He smiles and goes off into the kitchen. "Any funny dietary requirements?" he shouts through. "I forgot to ask."
"Vegan, lactose intolerant and I don't like veggies."
He comes back into the living room a look of horror on his face. "I ...er ..."
"Just kidding. Mom always said I was like a garbage disposal because I would eat anything. I draw the line at mushrooms, though. Slimy things."
"I won't give you snails either, then."
"Nope. I won't eat them."
"Right, anything but snail and mushroom stew then. Let's see. What do I have?" He goes back to the kitchen and I think for a moment we are going to be okay. It's only six weeks, after all, then I am out of here.
Baby Lucy gurgles up at me and splashes me again and I already have a pang of regret that this is a temporary arrangement. I have to keep my cool, but how can I with Lucy so adorable and Andrew turning my insides to mush in a way that spells trouble?
CHAPTER 6
Andrew
I might not be great at baby care, but I can cook. And I can make bottles, endless bottles. I'm used to that routine now. I heat one up for Melissa to feed Lucy after her bath and I take it out to the living room where Melissa is walking around with Lucy over her shoulder, singing gently in her ear.
Back in the kitchen, making dinner, I find myself smiling. It's the most relaxed I've been for weeks. I'm making a risotto. It feels good to have time to chop and stir ingredients, rather than shoving something in the microwave and calling it good.
Twenty minutes later, Melissa comes into the kitchen. "Smells good."
"Where's Lucy?"
"She's fast asleep in her crib."
"There's not much room in there, is there? Sorry, you must be used to much more space. I guess my sister thought it was big enough for now. I'll probably have to sell this place and mine and buy something bigger."
"It's a pity, because it's a lovely cottage."
"You'd call it quaint, though, wouldn't you?"
"Yes." She grins at me. "I feel like posting everything on Instagram. This is really England."
"It is, but there are plenty of decaying tower blocks and much less picturesque places than here."
"I'm not thinking of them at all. This has to be England right here. It's this or Buckingham Palace."
"I can't offer you a palace, but you can go and see one on your days off."
She laughs at that. So young, so carefree. It's refreshing after all the shit that has happened lately.
"I called home after I put Lucy to bed. Dad says hello. He'll catch you next time he's over. He's got a trip planned for April."
"I should have reminded you to call earlier. Your dad worries about you. And your mum."
"I already texted, so they know I arrived."
"We go back a long way, me and your dad."
"I know."
The lights in the kitchen cast a glow on her hair. Usually, I'm just shoveling food into me here so I can get finished fast before Lucy wakes up, but I take the time to set the table tonight.
"Would you like wine? You're old enough, right, even with your odd American drinking laws?"
"I am. Just. Twenty-one."
"How do people do crazy things over there if you don't drink? Is that not what college is all about?"
"We find ways."
"Of having fun or drinking?"
"Both, usually." She laughs. I love the sound of that in this kitchen. It's been a rare occurrence lately.
I test the rice. "Dinner's ready. Take a seat." I'm sure we'll get over all this formality but for now, it's like having a guest here. Even a date. No, not a date. I can't afford to think like that. Not the way she looks, her curves, her sweet smile, the kind of person she seems to be-easy-going, intelligent, without a care in the world.