‘But what if they discharge Gracie? I won’t be here to take her home.’
‘Then she can call. We’ll keep a phone close and on full volume just in case. Besides, I’m sure she can wait for an hour, even if they do discharge her. Or maybe Florentina will come to pick her up.’
Lizzie shook her head uncertainly. ‘If it’s only going to be a couple of hours more then I’d rather stay.’
‘Let me go and ask one of the nurses to see if they know.’
Jude got up and Lizzie was about to ask him not to bother them when her attention was caught by a figure marching up the corridor towards them. His face was almost obscured by a huge bouquet of white and pink roses and carnations, but Lizzie would have known that walk anywhere.
‘Frank!’ she breathed.
Jude’s head snapped up. ‘Gracie’s ex?’
In the seconds it had taken for Lizzie to express her surprise, Frank had reached them.
‘Lizzie.’ He nodded, his dark eyes as arrogant as ever, but Lizzie thought she detected something else in there, something she hadn’t seen before. Was he nervous? Feeling a little vulnerable and unsure of himself? She shook herself – she must be more tired than she’d thought. ‘Gracie through here?’ he added, nodding at the door to her room.
‘Well, yes, but… I don’t think it’s a good idea to go in.’
‘She’ll want to see me.’
‘I don’t think she will,’ Jude cut in. Frank stared at him, the old steel in his expression back again.
‘And you are…?’
‘A friend of Gracie’s.’
‘Well, I’m the father of her child so I rather think I win,’ Frank said.
‘I’m not looking for trouble, I just know what Gracie has been saying for the past nine months and it’s that she doesn’t want to see you.’
‘She must have changed her mind because I happen to know that she does.’
‘Hang on…’ Lizzie shook her head. ‘Frank, how did you know Gracie is here?’
‘She phoned me. I’ve been driving like a bat out of hell for the past couple of hours. And you have no idea how hard it is to find somewhere that sells decent flowers at this time of the morning. I had to phone a florist and make them open up.’
Lizzie blinked. What on earth he could have said to make a florist open up especially for him she couldn’t imagine, but it sounded like the Frank she knew only too well. ‘She phoned you? When?’
‘I suppose it must have been during labour. There was quite a lot of squealing and panting.’
‘And she just told you about her baby? Just like that?’
‘Our baby.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I have a right to know.’
‘I don’t mean that. I mean, why now? Like Jude said, she didn’t want anything more to do with you after… well, you know—’
‘My indiscretion?’
‘I was going to say shagging about. Let’s call a spade a spade, that’s what I say.’ Lizzie glanced at Jude who gave her a quick, surreptitious grin.
‘I’m not with that particular girl anymore.’
‘That doesn’t make a bit of difference. I just don’t understand what’s changed for Gracie.’
Frank gave a vague shrug. ‘She said she didn’t feel she could keep it from me any longer and she thought I had a right to know that I was going to be a father. I think she rather wanted me here for the birth.’
‘And why weren’t you?’
‘Because I only picked up the message on my answer machine a couple of hours ago. I jumped in my car and drove straight here – after the detour for flowers – and this is me, fresh from a night at the theatre with some clients. I realise that I must have completely missed the birth.’
‘I’m sure Gracie could have managed without the flowers.’
‘Yes, but it’s what one does in these situations, isn’t it? Bring flowers, I mean. So I missed the birth?’
‘You did.’
‘Was it…’ Frank paused. He looked unfamiliar, uncertain again. ‘Was it awful? Was she in a lot of pain?’
‘Well, you do expect a certain amount of pain when you give birth. That’s what all the squealing and panting is about. But it was beautiful and Alexander is beautiful.’
He nodded slowly. ‘Can I see her? Please? I just want to leave these and then I’ll go.’
‘She’s asleep right now.’
‘Oh. So I can’t go in?’
Lizzie looked at Jude for some kind of sign. What would he do? What was the right thing to do in this situation? Gracie had clearly relented and decided to tell Frank, but did that mean she really wanted to invite him back into her life? Or had she just been feeling emotional and irrational while in the throes of labour? Lizzie hadn’t even realised she’d had access to a phone, and she had to wonder at what point in the proceedings this had happened, but it was a question she’d have to clear up with her sister later.
‘Lizzie, perhaps you could go in and see if Gracie is awake and if she wants to see Frank?’ Jude offered. ‘If you’d care to wait for a minute,’ he added, turning to Frank himself.
‘I would be more than happy to,’ Frank replied smoothly. He was doing his best to look as if he had the situation under control, and he was used to having any situation under control, but Lizzie could tell that he was bluffing this time. It gave her a strange sort of satisfaction that probably wasn’t entirely appropriate, but she decided to enjoy the feeling anyway.
Leaving Jude with Frank in the corridor, Lizzie slipped into Gracie’s room and closed the door quietly behind her. Gracie was peaceful, her breathing deep and regular. In the cot next to her bed, Alexander snuffled and opened his eyes. Lizzie couldn’t help but take a closer look. There was something addictive about the way he smelt and she could have watched him stare up at her all day.
‘Hey there, mister,’ she cooed. ‘Your daddy’s here; he wants to see you, but your mummy’s asleep. So what do you reckon I should do?’
‘I want to see him.’
Lizzie looked up to see that Gracie was awake.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.’
‘It’s OK.’ Gracie pushed herself up on her pillows. She looked exhausted and bedraggled, but she radiated happiness. ‘I called him because I decided you’d all been right all along and he ought to know. But that’s all it is – just so he knows.’ She gave a tired grin. ‘That and the fact that he’s going to owe me lots of money to bring Alexander up.’
Lizzie smiled. She knew Gracie didn’t really mean the thing about the money, though there was no doubt that on a practical level she was probably going to need it. ‘So you’re actually admitting we were right? That’s a turn-up for the books.’
‘Yes. I suppose it is.’
Lizzie frowned. ‘You don’t want him back, do you?’
Gracie shook her head. ‘Surely you don’t think I’m that stupid?’
‘No,’ Lizzie replied, laughing now. ‘I don’t think you’re that stupid at all.’
‘I don’t ever want him back, but I have to give him the opportunity to be a part of his son’s life if he wants it. It’s bigger than just us, isn’t it? What if Alexander finds out I cut his dad off when he’s older? What if it upsets him? And there’s Frank’s family to consider too – his parents would want the chance to be grandparents. Think how angry they’d be finding out in years to come they’d had a grandson whose childhood they’d totally missed.’
Lizzie leaned to kiss Gracie on the forehead. ‘For the record, you’re doing the right thing.’
‘I know that – it’s why I’m doing it.’
‘Want me to come in with him and stay while you talk?’
‘I can manage. It’s probably better if we talk alone.’
‘Want me to wait outside?’
‘You look as if you’ve been outside all this time. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?’
‘I want to stay in case you’re discharged.’
‘It’ll be later. The last nurse who came in said the next ward round won’t be until this afternoon now so I’m not going anywhere until then. Go home, Lizzie, you look terrible.’
‘Thanks so much. This coming from the woman who’s just given birth. I really feel good about myself now.’
‘Silly.’ Gracie gave her a warm smile. ‘I only meant you look tired and I’m not surprised. Go and have a sleep.’
Lizzie glanced at the door uncertainly.
‘Go!’ Gracie insisted, her smile spreading. ‘Everything will be fine here. I’ll call you later.’
Lizzie began to back away towards the door. ‘Don’t let him charm you,’ she said sternly.
‘I won’t.’
‘But he has flowers. Lots of flowers. And he says he’s driven like a demon for two hours. It’s pretty romantic.’
‘It might be but shagging the office intern isn’t. Don’t worry; my heart is steel where Frank is concerned.’
‘If I hear he’s wormed his way back in…’
‘You won’t because it won’t happen. But I will be reminding him that he does have a lot of birthday and Christmas gifts to buy for his son over the next couple of decades, and they’d better be bloody good ones!’
‘God yes, of course!’ Lizzie turned and pulled at the door handle. But then she stopped as Gracie called her back. ‘What?’
‘Thank you.’
‘No problem.’
‘No, not just for this. For everything, ever. You’re the best sister a girl could ask for and I love you.’
Lizzie’s eyes misted. ‘I love you too. And everything has always been my pleasure. For what it’s worth, you’re not quite the best sister a girl could have – clearly that’s me – but you’re pretty close.’
Gracie tipped her head this way and that, as if weighing up the truth of Lizzie’s assertion. ‘Fair.’
Lizzie laughed through her tears. ‘I’ll send the new daddy in. And you’d better phone me the minute you’re allowed to go home.’
* * *
‘It makes you feel a lot easier that Frank knows about his son now, doesn’t it?’ Lizzie said to Jude as they arrived back at a dark and silent Magnolia Mill. Now, at the mill, it was just Lizzie and Jude. Usually, that would be a perfect excuse for a steamy assignation, but after the night they’d had, all they both wanted to do when they got into bed was sleep.
‘I’d have missed so much if I’d missed out on Artie growing up.’
‘But your situation isn’t quite the same as Frank’s.’
‘True.’
‘And Frank probably doesn’t care.’
‘That’s also true, but if he doesn’t even know he has a son then he isn’t being given a chance to care, or to change everyone’s opinion of him. You never know, he might be a great dad – it’s often the ones that come to fatherhood unexpectedly that rise to the challenge. Either way, it’s only fair to let the man decide. Gracie said herself that she thought it would be unfair to Alexander if he was never given the chance to get to know his dad and that he might come to resent that.’
Lizzie went to boil some water. The room was silent for a moment, save for the hissing of the kettle as it started to heat up. But then Jude broke it.
‘How would you feel about having a baby?’ he blurted out.
Lizzie spun around. ‘What?’
‘You and me, I mean. How would you feel about it?’
‘I don’t know. It’s a weird question to ask.’
‘Not really, as we’re all about the babies at the moment.’
‘There’s one reason right there not to have one. Gracie will have her hands full and will need all the help she can get, and that’s without getting the mill business up and running. Even if I thought you were remotely serious I don’t have time to have a baby.’
‘I am serious. I’ve never been more serious in my life.’
‘Jude, you haven’t even moved in here yet.’
‘That’s only a matter of time. Once I’m here… we’re practically married then.’
‘You don’t need to be married to have a baby anyway – you of all people should know that.’
Jude’s hand clutched at his breast. ‘Ouch.’
‘I wasn’t being snarky when I said that.’ Lizzie gave him a reassuring smile. ‘I’m tired and it came out wrong. Too tired to be having a conversation like this. I think you’re tired too and that’s why you started it. In the morning you’ll wonder what the hell you were thinking bringing it up.’
‘I won’t. I want to have a baby with you.’
‘I’m not saying never,’ Lizzie said gently. ‘I’m saying some day. Can you live with that?’
‘I guess so.’
‘Waiting a while won’t be all that bad. Isn’t it usually the women who get broody when there’s a new baby? At least, that’s what you men are always saying.’
Jude broke into a lopsided grin. ‘And I suppose the practice baby-making might be fun.’
‘See, there you go. Every cloud and all that. So you’re OK? You’re not upset?’
‘I’m not upset. In the end I’m happy that we’re where we are and I can work to any timetable you give me. So… about that moving in…’
‘You can do that any time you like; you know that.’
‘How about tonight?’
‘We don’t have Charlie’s room ready yet,’ Lizzie said with a giggle. She reached for two mugs from the cupboard. ‘Be serious.’
‘Then that’s my first job, tomorrow morning as soon as I wake up.’
‘I don’t have time for any of that tomorrow morning; Gracie and Alexander will be home.’ Lizzie smiled. Gracie, baby Alexander, and soon Jude and Charlie, all calling Magnolia Mill home. She liked the sound of that.
Jude took the mugs from her and placed them on the worktop, wrapping his arms around her and dipping in for a kiss. When she pulled away, her insides were on fire.
‘Wow. Where did that come from?’
‘Aren’t my kisses always good?’
‘Well, yes, but you haven’t usually been up all night waiting for a baby to arrive.’
‘It’s your doing – you get me all hot under the collar. And we’re alone for once. We might not get many more hours alone when everyone’s back here.’
‘True.’
‘So…’ His voice was hot and lazy as his hands crept to the front of her blouse and he began to pop the buttons. ‘How about we make the most of this hour alone?’
‘I thought you were tired?’
‘I was.’
Lizzie’s smile was slow as he kissed her again. Suddenly, she wasn’t quite so tired either.
If you fell in love with THE MILL ON MAGNOLIA LANE, you’ll love THE SUMMER GETAWAY, the story of single mum Ashley on holiday in the glittering French Riviera, a holiday where she gets far more than a suntan…
* * *
GET IT NOW!
A LETTER FROM TILLY
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BOOKS BY TILLY TENNANT
The Christmas Wish
The Summer Getaway
The Summer of Secrets
* * *
AN UNFORGETTABLE CHRISTMAS SERIES:
A Very Vintage Christmas
A Cosy Candlelit Christmas
* * *
FROM ITALY WITH LOVE SERIES:
Rome is Where the Heart is
A Wedding in Italy
* * *
HONEYBOURNE SERIES:
The Little Village Bakery
Christmas at the Little Village Bakery
* * *
Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
Mishaps and Mistletoe
* * *
MISHAPS IN MILLRISE SERIES:
Little Acts of Love
Just Like Rebecca
The Parent Trap
And Baby Makes Four
* * *
ONCE UPON A WINTER SERIES:
The Accidental Guest
I’m Not in Love
Ways to Say Goodbye
One Starry Night
THE SUMMER GETAWAY
Get it here!
* * *
Ashley Moon is all set for a dream holiday with her daughter in the glittering French Riviera. But nothing can prepare her for the shock of discovering who’s staying in the villa next door…
* * *
Ashley Moon got much more than a suntan on her first ever foreign holiday; one whirlwind romance and nine months later she had a daughter,Molly.
The Mill on Magnolia Lane: A gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy Page 30
