by Karla Doyle
“Leigh’s amazing,” he said, answering Brian’s unspoken request for elaboration. “She’s more understanding and patient about everything than I have any right to hope for. But this isn’t the kind of relationship she wants—us barely having time to see each other. Hell, it’s been three days since I’ve had time to say more than a couple of generic words to her on the phone. I won’t be surprised if I get a ‘this isn’t working, have a nice life’ text.”
“You think she’d do that? Break things off via text?”
He shook his head. “No. She’s more mature and personal than that. She’ll dump me face-to-face.” A reality so possible and, just like everything else in is life, so completely out of his control, he couldn’t help laughing. Then laughing some more when Brian joined in.
The volume of their combined hilarity drew every eye in the club. Sam forced a cough to cut off his laughter. Brian employed a similar tactic, bringing an end to their ruckus.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Brian said. “Laughing is a good thing. And for the record, I’m betting she sticks around. Only dumps you if you do something stupid. Something else that’s stupid.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Sam snorted a single laugh. With his track record, the point was valid. But he was done making stupid choices. As for the ones he’d already made, he was done regretting them. After all, the stupid thing he’d done with Michelle that weekend in Toronto had brought Sachi into his life. Something he would never undo, even if he could.
LEIGH
“Mommy!”
If it were physically possible to jump out of one’s skin, Leigh would’ve left hers behind the instant she heard Lennox’s high-pitched voice. Her feet didn’t touch the bottom three treads as she leapt from the third step, stuck the landing and rounded the banister, en route to the source of the shriek.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, crossing to the couch where Lennox sat, wide-eyed and gape-mouthed.
“I found something between the cushions.”
Leigh’s racing heart skidded to a halt. Oh God. Not the condom. It couldn’t be—Sam would’ve disposed of that properly, she was positive. But the wrapper…maybe. She held her breath as Lennox brought her hand around from behind her back.
“Are you going to have another baby?” Lennox thrust a tiny white sock forward in a gesture that could’ve been accusation or proof, subject to interpretation.
Closing her eyes momentarily, she sent a string of thank-yous to the universe. And one to Sam, for taking care of that wrapper.
“No, honey, I’m not having another baby.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you should check again.”
Leigh smiled. “I don’t need to check. I’m one hundred percent sure I’m not pregnant.”
“Oh.” With that single word, everything on Lennox’s face drooped.
She stroked Lennox’s silky, blonde hair and pulled her into a hug. “I know you’re disappointed. I’m sorry.”
“I wish you were having another baby. I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl, I promise I’ll help take care of it, just like I help with Ladybug.”
“Babies are a lot more work than puppies.” A fact Sam had become acutely aware of since Sachi’s arrival.
Lennox sighed, then wiggled out of the embrace to foist the found item forward again. “If you’re not having a baby, then why is there a baby sock in our couch?”
Leigh knew better than to attempt lying her way out of the situation. Not to her daughter, a human astute beyond her years. “The sock belongs to Sam’s baby. They were here on the weekend, while you were at the cottage.”
“Sam has a baby?” Lennox’s eyes returned to their previous, popping-wide state. “How did he get a baby?”
It took everything she had not to burst out laughing at the indignation in Lennox’s tone. The nerve of Sam, having a baby when Lennox wasn’t allowed to get one.
“A woman Sam used to be involved with got pregnant. He didn’t know about it until the night the baby was born. That’s how he got a baby.”
“Is that why Sam didn’t come over for a while?”
“It was because of the baby, yes.” She wouldn’t lie to her daughter, but a ten-year-old didn’t need every detail of the truth, either.
“Did Sam have to break up with you to be with the baby’s mother?”
“No, honey. Sam and I are still dating. He won’t see the baby’s mother again because she mother moved away to another city.”
“Then how will she help take care of the baby?” Seriously, this child. So full of questions. Good, mature questions.
“She doesn’t want to be a mother, so she won’t be helping. Sam is on his own with the baby.”
“He’s not on his own, he has us. We’ll help him with the baby, won’t we?”
Leigh hadn’t planted the tiny sock in her couch, but she couldn’t have asked for a better seed of opportunity. “Would you like it if we help Sam with his baby?”
“I would love it, Mommy. Can they come over now?”
“I don’t kn—”
Tiny sock still clutched in one hand, Lennox bounded from the couch. “Is the baby a girl or a boy?”
“A girl.”
“A girl!” Lennox’s face lit up as if it were Christmas morning. “Will she sleep in my room, or will she have Daddy’s old room? Does Daddy know about Sam’s baby? Is that the thing he needed to talk to you about soon?”
“He needs to talk to me about something?”
Lennox nodded before launching into a twirl. “That’s what he said on the way home. Will it be okay if I call the baby my sister, even though she’s not really my sister? Will she call you Mommy or Leigh?”
Lennox’s twirling wasn’t the only thing making Leigh dizzy. She leaned back and closed her eyes. Focused on breathing. Tried to, anyway. But good grief, the questions. So many questions, most of which, she couldn’t answer. Hadn’t even considered having to answer. Certainly not yet.
“Mommy?” Lennox’s sweet voice eased the throbbing pulse in her temple. “Are you feeling sick?”
Head still resting on the back of the couch, Leigh turned to face her little girl. “I’m not sick, sweetie. Just overwhelmed.”
Lennox’s fair eyebrows drew together. “I don’t know what that means, but it sounds bad.”
“In this case, it means there’s a lot of important stuff happening and I don’t know the right way to handle it. But that’s for me to worry about, not you.” She gathered a fortifying breath and sat up straight. “I’ll do my best to answer as many of your questions as I can, but you need to ask them one at a time and wait for me to answer, okay?”
“I’m just so excited.”
“Yes, I can tell.” Despite the Pandora’s box she was about to open with the upcoming question period, she couldn’t help smiling. She hadn’t seen Lennox this excited since, well, ever. Not even about the puppy, and that had garnered a lot of excitement. “Okay, I’m ready for the first question.”
“What’s the baby’s name?”
An easy one, thankfully. “Sachi.”
“Sachi?” Lennox screwed up her cute little face. “What kind of name is that?”
“Japanese.”
“Sam’s baby is Japanese?”
“Partly, yes.”
“Because the baby’s mother is Japanese.”
“Yes,” she said, opting to keep it simple. “Since the baby’s mother won’t be part of her life, Sam wants to make sure Sachi knows about that part of her heritage.”
Lennox considered the answer, then nodded. “Sam is nice.”
“Yes, he is.”
“Do you love him?”
“What?”
Lennox squinted at her as if ‘duh.’ “Sam. Do you love him?”
So much for easy questions. Or maybe it was the easiest question of all. She just had to be willing to answer it.
“Yes, I love him.”
Lennox nodded again. A my-suspicions-have-been-con
firmed type of nod, if Leigh had to guess. “And baby Sachi, do you love her too?”
“Yes.” The answer left Leigh’s lips without thinking or hesitation, surprising the hell out of her and making her stomach knot up at the same time. “Lennox, honey, how do you feel about that? If you’re upset, I want you to tell me.”
“I’m not upset, Mommy, I’m happy.”
“You are?”
No speculation required for Lennox’s nod this time, because her head was bobbing as if her favorite song was playing. The big smile on her face spoke volumes too. “I’ve always wanted a baby, but especially a baby sister.”
Oh God, her heart. They were getting in deeper by the minute. Much deeper and getting out would be hazardous to both their hearts.
“My turn for a question,” she said, giving her daughter’s hand a gentle squeeze. “This is big, grownup stuff we’re talking about. Important stuff that affects both our lives, not just mine.”
“That’s not a question, Mommy.”
Laughing, she pulled Lennox into a hug. “I love you so much. How did I ever get so lucky?”
“Is that your question?” Lennox asked, in the purest deadpan. So straight-faced, even Leigh wasn’t entirely sure if her mini-me was being serious or sarcastic.
“No.” She pressed a kiss to Lennox’s soft cheek before releasing her. “What do you want me to do about Sam and Sachi, that’s the question. And you don’t have to answer it now. Take as long as you need. Whenever you’re ready, let me know.”
“I’m ready.”
“Are you sure, sweetie? There’s no rush to answer.”
“But I already have an answer.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“I told you already.” Lennox rolled her eyes, sighing as if she were the adult, talking to a child who hadn’t been listening. One more time, she held up Sachi’s tiny sock. “I’ve always wanted a baby sister.”
SAM
Sam held Marguerite’s elbow as they walked through the club. An act of chivalry, not support. His favorite feisty older client didn’t need to lean on him anymore. Not the way she had in the beginning. Made him damn proud, this spirited, determined lady.
“Great job today, Marguerite. And thank you again for rearranging your schedule for me while I try to organize babysitting arrangements.”
“Happy to do it, Daddy.” Red flushed her delicate cheeks as her lips puckered into an O. “My goodness, I suppose I shouldn’t be calling you that. I read those spicy romance novels, I know what ‘Daddy’ means these days. I hope you’re not offended by a harmless old woman.”
He gave her a big smile. Added a wink, for good measure. “You can call me whatever you want.” He squeezed her hand between his body and his biceps, the way he knew she liked.
“You’re teasing me with those muscles again.”
“You teased me first, with that ‘harmless old woman’ comment. I know you’re a firecracker. You probably have men courting you everywhere you go.”
“Even here, at the gym?” she asked, returning his wink.
“If I wasn’t in a relationship, I’d have already asked for your number.”
“Oh, you charmer, you,” she said, shaking her head.
As they approached the front of the club, Frances rose from a stool. The club’s future physiotherapist was still in the process of setting up her workspace in the rear of the building, but she’d taken a break from measuring and painting to watch her grandmother’s personal training session. Like a hawk.
Fine by him, he had nothing to hide. From anybody.
“Frances, darling, it’s wonderful to see you here.” Love and pride filled Marguerite’s voice. “I’m so glad you’ve joined these delightful young men in their mission to fitten people up. See what I did there?” She elbowed Sam’s ribs. “Maybe you should hire me as your marketing department.”
“I’ll talk to Brian about it today,” he said as Frances stepped out from behind the counter to kiss her grandmother’s cheek.
“Hi, Grandma. I’ll walk out to your car. It’ll give us a few minutes to visit and give Sam a chance to check his phone before it dings and pings itself to death.”
“That would be lovely.” Marguerite relinquished his arm to take her granddaughter’s. “See you in a few days, Sam. And congratulations on your new bundle of joy.”
“Thank you.” A nod and wave later, he had the front desk to himself—sort of. He had to share these few spare minutes with his phone. Wouldn’t be so bad if all the notifications Frances had heard originated from Leigh.
Not her style. She didn’t push, demand or chase. The big question was, did she wait?
A quick scroll through the notifications showed him exactly what he didn’t want to see—she hadn’t texted. Hadn’t called.
Ten after eight. Unless she had extra baking to do, she’d be at home right now. Probably curled on the couch with Lennox and the puppy, having a peaceful evening. Or she could be sitting at her desk near the back window, plotting and planning. Designing baked goods that looked too good to eat, but tasted too good to simply admire. Things she was passionate about. Great at. She was so damn beautiful while she worked.
Fuck, he missed her. If all he could do was watch her from across the room, he’d do it. Even that was wishful thinking. Free time of any amount was a thing of the past. It didn’t matter what he wanted or wished. He couldn’t give her what she wanted. What she deserved.
He dropped into a chair and swiveled away from the club’s main area. Closed his eyes and scrubbed his hands over his head. “Shit.”
“You gave up on ‘sugar?’”
Hands still at the back of his head, he spun the chair around to face the voice that’d awoken every cell in his body. The sight of her standing at the counter, smiling at him, took his breath away.
“If you’ve given up on sugar, I’ll have to take these away,” she said, lightly shaking a white bakery box.
“Your sugar cookies?” He stood as she nodded. “My mouth is watering just thinking about them.”
“Then I guess I’d better leave them for you.”
Their hands touched as she nudged the box forward on the counter. The smallest touch, innocent and incidental. Yet the connection was immediate. Intense. Like strong magnets drawn together, fighting not to be separated. But they did separate—because she pulled away.
“I was going to sneak in and drop off the box. I thought you’d be busy with clients.”
“Lucky for me, you caught me between appointments.” The counter between them was too much distance, so he came around to her side. “I’m glad you’re here. I was just thinking about you.”
“What were you thinking?”
Another place and time, he would’ve pulled her body against his and offered up something from the endless arsenal of sexy things he’d like to do to her. “Honestly, I was thinking about how beautiful you are when you’re working. And that I wish we could find more time together, even if we’re not doing anything specifically us, just to be around you. How much I miss you. You know, normal macho guy thoughts.”
She laughed, curbing the happy sound when a club member walked past.
The man acknowledged them with a goodbye nod. What the gentleman neglected to do was scan his card on the way out, requiring Sam to manually check him out.
He could wait and do it later. With his current exhaustion level and the beautiful distraction looking deep into his eyes, he’d forget for sure. Perfection wasn’t a requirement of his job. He did his best though. As often as possible.
“Hang on a sec,” he said, ducking behind the desk to punch the necessary keys at the computer. He stood in front of her again less than thirty seconds later. Too late, the connection of the previous moment had already passed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for working while you’re at work. You’re great at your job, I’d expect nothing less from you.”
“Thanks, but that wasn’t the only thing I’m sorry for.”
&nbs
p; Her head tilted slightly. “Then what else?”
“For being out of sync with you lately. It’s not how I want things to be between us. I know you feel the same way.”
“You’re right. That’s part of the reason I dropped off the cookies.” Judging by the pink in her cheeks and the state of her fidgety, wringing hands, she had more on her mind than delivering a few casual treats.
“I’ve got a couple minutes before my next client gets here, if you want to talk.”
“Talk. Okay.” She nodded. Took a breath. Nodded again. “I know we haven’t been trying this version of our relationship very long, but it isn’t working the way I hoped.”
There it was, the punch in the gut he’d known would come. Should’ve tightened his emotional muscles more before the hit, because it stung like hell. “Thanks for trying. And for the consolation cookies,” he said, in a last-ditch effort to be the relaxed, upbeat guy she’d wanted to be with.
She blinked up at him for several seconds, then her eyes opened wide as saucers. “You think I’m breaking up with you?”
“That’s typically what ‘this isn’t working’ means.”
“Good thing we’re not a typical couple in a typical relationship.”
He shook his head. “Maybe it’s the fatigue, but I’m not sure what that means either.”
She took a deep breath, shaking out her hands at her sides as she exhaled. “I had this all planned out—I know that must shock you,” she said, laughing nervously. “I was going to drop off the box and leave. Let the cookies do the sweet talking. Now I have to actually give a speech and I didn’t plan for that. So I’m winging it, and doing an absolutely terrible job, since you thought I brought you breakup cookies. I’m much better when I stick to a plan.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “I like you every way.”
“And I love you every way.” Everything about her got lighter. And her smile—damn. The dozens of LED bulbs in the club might as well have been nightlights compared to that smile.
