Nanny Makes Three(61)

“And he’s out there somewhere,” Hadley said with what she hoped was a convincing amount of enthusiasm.

“What time do you want me to come get you tomorrow?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She figured Liam would stay at the hospital with Maggie until she was ready to go home, and that would give Hadley a chance to collect her things from the house without the risk of running into him.

“I’m meeting a client at eight. We can either go before or after.”

“I guess I’d rather go early.” The sooner she collected all her things, the sooner she could put all her mistakes behind her.

Maggie’s new nanny was set to start the day after tomorrow, and Hadley doubted Dr. Davison would release her before that, so she didn’t have to worry about seeing Liam ever again. The thought sent a stabbing pain through her.

“How about seven?”

“That would be perfect,” Hadley said and then switched to the less emotionally charged topic of their upcoming girls’ night out.

After a few more minutes, Hadley hung up. It took about ten seconds to go back to thinking about Liam. How was Maggie doing? Had her test results come back yet? Liam must be frantic waiting to hear something.

She brought up the messaging app on her phone, but stopped as she realized what she was doing. Contacting Liam would undo what little peace she’d found during the afternoon. It might be agonizing to cut ties with Liam and Maggie, but in the long run it would be better for all of them.

Yet no matter how many times she reminded herself of that fact as the evening dragged on, she wasn’t able to put the baby or Liam out of her mind. Finally, she broke down and sent Liam a text around ten thirty, then shut off her phone and went to bed. But sleep eluded her. Despite having reached out to Liam, she couldn’t put concern aside.

Around six, Hadley awoke. Feeling sluggish, her thoughts a jittery mess, she dragged herself out of bed and climbed into the shower. The closer it got to Kori’s arrival, the more out of sorts Hadley became. Despite how unlikely it was that she’d run into Liam, she couldn’t stop the anxiety that crept up her spine and sent a rush of goose bumps down her arm. By the time Hadley eased into Kori’s passenger seat, she was a ball of nerves.

“You okay?” Kori asked, steering the car away from Hadley’s apartment building.

“Fine. I didn’t sleep very well. I couldn’t stop thinking about Maggie and wondering how she’s doing.”

“You should call or text Liam and find out. I don’t think he would have a problem with you letting him know you’re worried.”

“I did last night. He never got back to me.” Hadley sounded as deflated as she felt. What had she expected? That Liam would fall all over himself telling her how much he missed her and that he regretted letting her go?

“Oh,” Kori said, obviously stumped for an answer. “Well, then to hell with him.”

That made Hadley smile. “Yeah,” she agreed with fake bravado. “To hell with him.”

But she didn’t really mean it. She didn’t even know if Liam had received her text. His focus was 100 percent fixed on Maggie, as was right. He’d answer in due time.

Twenty minutes later, Kori dropped her off at Wade Ranch. Hadley was relieved that her car was the only one in the driveway. She wouldn’t have to run into Liam and make awkward conversation.

As soon as Hadley opened the front door she was assailed by the mouthwatering scent of cinnamon and sugar. She followed her nose to the kitchen and found Candace putting caramel rolls into a plastic container. Forgetting her intention had been to pack her suitcase with the few belongings she’d brought to the ranch house and get out as soon as possible, Hadley succumbed to the lure of Candace’s incomparable pastries and sat down on one of the stools next to the island, fixing the housekeeper with a hopeful gaze.

“Those smell incredible.”

“I thought I’d take them over to Liam at the hospital and give him a break so he could come home and clean up.”

“That’s really nice of you.”

“But now that you’re here, maybe you could take them to him instead.” Candace caught Hadley’s grimace and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know that Liam is going to want to see me.” At Candace’s puzzled expression, Hadley explained, “We broke off our engagement and I left him all alone at the hospital yesterday.” After freaking out on him, she finished silently.

“I don’t understand. Did you have a fight?”

“Not exactly. It’s more that we rushed into things. I mean, we’ve only known each other a short time, and who gets engaged after three weeks?”