;I've never really had the scone things. What do you have them with?'
She shrugged. ;It should be jam and cream, but jam and butter will do. Do you want fruit scones or plain?'
He rolled his eyes upwards. ;I take it bacon's not an option?' He smiled at the horrified expression on her face. ;You've got a secret stash of dried fruit up there, too?'
She put her hand on her hip and gave him a sassy look. ;I've got a whole host of things you know nothing about up there.'
He let out a stream of air through his lips. ;Woman, you're going to drive me crazy.'
The toast popped behind her and she started spreading butter and marmalade, pulled out two plates and mugs and finished making breakfast in record time.
It was almost as if Abraham had an inbuilt antenna. As soon as Carrie's backside hovered above the chair he started to grizzle in his crib. She glanced at the clock. ;When did he have his last feed?'
Dan looked at his watch. ;I think it was around four. This little guy is like clockwork. He couldn't possibly let it go any more than four hours.'
;It must be my turn to feed him. Let me make up a bottle.' She picked out the bottle and teat from the sterilising solution and measured out the formula. ;I wish we could get some more of the ready-made formula. It's so much easier.' She peered into the contents of the formula tub. ;How many bottles does this make? I know it's only a small can but it seems to be going down mighty quickly.' She turned back to face him.
Dan wasn't listening. He was staring at the toast and lemon marmalade as if it had sprouted legs and run across the floor.
;Dan? Dan? What's wrong.'
He took another bite of the toast. ;This is much nicer than I remember. Or maybe it's just that I'm so hungry that I would eat anything.' He stared at the toast. ;I always thought marmalade was-you know-yeuch.' He let a shiver go down his spine. ;I don't remember it tasting like this.'
She gave him a smile. ;It's one of my secrets. You probably had orange marmalade as a child. I don't like it, either. This is much nicer, made with lemons. I brought it with me from London.'
He narrowed his eyes. ;Where do you keep the jar?'
She tapped the side of her nose. ;Aha, that's a secret. You'll never make me tell.'
;Never?' He stood up, his chair skidding across the floor and his hands on her hips in an instant. She could hardly even remember him crossing the space.
Oh, no. Those come-to-bed eyes again. The kind that gave her ideas she really shouldn't be having at this time of day.
He didn't wait. He didn't ask. He just claimed her lips as his own. His hand coming up and cupping her cheek. There was an element of ownership in his actions.
But the strange thing was, instead of being annoying, it sent little sparks of heat all the way down to the tips of her toes.
The past year had been lonely. The past year had been more than lonely. The past year had been dark and bleak and, at times, scary.
Sometimes she felt as if the black cloud around her would never lift, no matter how hard she tried.
For the first time she was feeling something other than despair. Other than hopelessness.
Maybe her senses were overreacting. Maybe it had just been too long since she'd been in a position like this, where her hormones couldn't keep themselves in check.
All she knew was she wanted Daniel Cooper's lips on hers. She wanted Daniel Cooper pressed up against her. She wanted to feel his arms around her body, touching her skin, stroking her cheek...
She wound her arms around his neck as his hands found their way to the bare skin at the small of her back. Would his fingers creep any lower? Or any higher? She wasn't quite sure which way she wanted them to go.
There was a howl from the corner of the room and they jerked apart instantly.
Baby. There was a baby in the room. She made to move towards the crib. ;Don't. I'll do it,' he said, his hands still pressed firmly against her hips.
;But you did all of last night.' She touched his shoulder. ;You're exhausted, Dan. You really should get some sleep.'
He nodded. ;And I will, as soon as you've eaten. You haven't had a chance yet. Finish breakfast, then come and take over from me.'
She eyed her toast with oodles of butter and marmalade and her steaming-hot cup of tea. How long would it take her? Five minutes? Then she could take over from Dan for a good part of the day.
From the shadows under his eyes it was clear that he needed a few hours' sleep. Could she cope with Abraham on her own for a few hours?
No matter how hard she was trying here, the thought still struck fear in her heart. What if something happened? What if she did something wrong?
The truth was she felt safer when Dan was around. Even though he told her she was doing a great job she wasn't sure she wanted to do it alone.
One of the little cardigans was hanging on the side of the crib and the solution was with her in an instant. Of course! That was what she would do. She would take Abraham upstairs to visit Mrs Van Dyke-at least then she wouldn't be on her own. And even though Mrs Van Dyke was elderly she had lots of experience with babies. She might even be able to give Carrie some tips.
She looked over to the sofa. Dan was already taking the bottle out of Abraham's mouth. He was feeding really quickly. A thought crossed her mind. ;Is your internet working yet?'
Dan shrugged his shoulders. He was deep in concentration. ;Haven't checked yet. Why?'
;Do you think there's any way we could weigh Abraham? Maybe we aren't giving him enough milk. He always seems to gulp really quickly then gets lots of wind.'
The news anchor was telling the same story over and over again. Wasn't she wearing that same suit jacket a few days ago? Pictures filled the screen of stranded cars, a collapsed tree in Central Park, aerial shots of all the roads completely covered in snow. More pictures of people being rescued by police and, in some cases, helicopters. It looked as if there had been barely any improvements in the past two days. Her voice was starting to annoy Carrie.
;Snow ploughs cleared most of New York State Thruway the I-87 this morning, only for the hard work to be destroyed less than three hours later after another record deluge of snow. Some people had been waiting two days to get their cars out of the snowdrifts, only to get snowed back in a few miles down the thruway. Emergency services can't give an estimate on how much longer it will take to clear the thruway again. They are stressing that people in the area should only travel in emergency cases. Every resource possible is currently being used to try and restore the fluctuating power supplies to the city. Some areas of the city have been without power for more than twenty-four hours. Authorities assure us that all power supplies should be connected in the next twelve hours.'
Dan pointed at the screen. ;That's the bad news. Now wait for it-here comes the good news story.'
Carrie turned back to the screen. She definitely had seen that jacket before. Wardrobe at the news station must be as closed down as the rest of New York.
;And finally, community kitchens are springing up all over New York City. The latest is in Manhattan's Lower East Side at Sara D. Roosevelt Park and the locals have been enjoying the opportunity to gather somewhere with some hot food and heating.' The camera shot to children building a giant snowman in the park and several residents holding cups with something steaming hot inside.
;Wow, that snowman is enormous. There's no way a kid made that. They couldn't reach that high.'
;Do I sense a little snowman envy?' Dan had an amused expression on his face.
Carrie shrugged. ;Maybe. Can't even tell you the last time I made a snowman. I must have been around ten. Back home in London I don't even have a garden.'
Dan headed over to the back window, juggling Abraham in his arms. It was time for winding again. ;Most of the apartments around here don't have gardens. But there are gardens. Have you managed to get to Washington Square Park yet?'
She joined him at the window, looking out over the snow-covered back alley. ;If I even thought we'd have a chance of making it there I'd ask you to take me.' She reached over and touched Abraham's little hand. ;But we pretty much can't take this little guy anywhere with no proper clothes, jacket or snowsuit. I guess that means we're stranded.'
It was the wrong thing to say. Almost as soon as she said the words she wanted to pull them back. She could instantly see Dan's back and shoulders stiffen, the atmosphere changing around them in a second.
;I guess the actions of others impact on us all.'
She was still touching Abraham's hand, letting his little fingers connect with hers. ;We don't know, Dan. We don't know anything.'
He spun around to face her. ;Of course we do. Look at him. Look at this defenceless little baby. Left out in the cold with hardly any clothes. He could have died out there, Carrie. He could have died.'
;Don't. Don't say that. I don't even want to think about that. I can't think about that.'
She stared him down. He had to know how much his words impacted on her. How she couldn't even bear to think the thoughts he was putting in her head.