“Hey…” I mumbled to myself, biting into a cannoli as they walked away. Chewing, I frowned. That was my guy’s ass they were talking about.
Taking my plate, I went back to the room where I could keep a close eye on said ass and make sure no one else was trying to get a peek at the new sexy father of the year. Hale was finally sleeping.
I sat on the chair and finished my cannoli and brownies. Since no one was awake, I used my finger to dab up all the sugary crumbs. Waste not, want not.
I stilled when there was a strange little sound. Looking left then right, I put my plate down and slowly rose. Yup, that was one wide awake baby. Her little head turned and she made another sound and I took a step back.
I looked at Hale, but he was still asleep.
Silently, I went to the door and looked into the hall. “Hello? Nurse people?”
No one was around. They were all down the hall with the food. I poked a thumb over my shoulder. “The little person is making noise.”
I waited, but no one appeared. “Shit.”
Going back to the bassinette, I stared at Elara. “Shh. Your daddy’s sleeping.” She didn’t seem to care.
Glancing to the door and back at Hale, I tried some negotiation tactics I’d picked up over the last few weeks. “If you stop crying I’ll get your daddy to buy you a pony. Every girl wants a pony.”
Her little chirps got louder.
“Okay, no pony. How about a Lamborghini? Do you want a Lamborghini?”
Her face flushed and she made a little hiccup sound, her mouth opened wide flashing a good set of gums.
“Delinquent,” I hissed, reaching into the little baby bed. My hands sifted under her little glowworm wrap and gently lifted. “Shh. Shh. Shh…” I cradled her to my chest and slowly bobbed in place. “I don’t know what you want.”
One of those little bottles sat in the corner of the bassinette. “Are you hungry? Sometimes I cry when I’m hungry.”
I took the bottle and gently lowered myself in the chair, angling her in my arms in a comfortable position. A sense of warmth stole through me like a fast summer rain, warm and full of rainbows. Was this what a biological tick felt like? I’d always assumed it would hit like a gong, but this feeling was subtly potent and nice, sort of like laughing gas.
I tipped the bottle to her pert mouth and she opened. “You’re a little thing. Someday you’ll appreciate compliments like that.”
I watched her suckle and had flashbacks to the time my mother rescued a litter of kittens. They were blind, little fuzz balls and we had to nurse them from bottles. This was sort of like that.
Once she latched on, she really started to tug. “Wow. A girl after my own heart.”
As her little mouth pulled at the bottle, my tension eased a bit. This wasn’t too bad. I watched her drink and wondered about things like breast-feeding. Though I never gave it much thought, I bet it was pretty cool to provide for your young in such a way.
“You’re like a little kangaroo in your little pouch,” I whispered, admiring her burrito wrap blanket. “I have a snuggie.”
The longer she ate, the heavier her eyes grew. She had so many miniature features, pencil thin eyebrows, soft little lashes. I didn’t expect her to come out missing parts but seeing these little characteristics mesmerized me.
“You look like a natural.”
My head turned toward the bed where Hale still laid on his side, his half lidded gaze focused on me.
“She made noise.”
“She does that.”
“I gave her the bottle that was in the crib thing.”
He smiled. “Do you want me to take her?”
My hold turned protective by the slightest degree. “That’s okay.” It wouldn’t hurt to hold her a little while longer.
My pinky finger gently brushed over her tiny digits and I sucked in a breath as she gripped me. “We’re holding hands.” Her fingernails were so petite. “Do you see her holding my—”
As I glanced back at him, I saw he’d fallen back to sleep. Lowering my voice, I whispered, “We’ll call this our secret handshake.”
Hale slept for over an hour and Elara was ready to party. I told her about The Lady Parr and warned her about her crotchety old grandfather. I might have embellished a tad when I explained he was fighting a scary demon that broke the heart of his princess, but I promised her as soon as he found his way out of the woods he’d come and see her because she was the new princess in town.
I never knew babies could have so much personality when they were only a day old. Elara made faces and watched me closely as I made them back. She moved her arms and cooed sweetly. She also made a hell of a stink when she poodled. I could have woken Hale, but he needed sleep, so I laid her on her little baby bed and nearly fell to pieces when I discovered her itty-bitty diapers.
“Well, this is just absolutely ridiculous,” I said, examining the tiny diaper. My Cabbage Patch dolls had bigger bottoms.
My voice took on a new tenor as I spoke to her, a sort of singsong quality that was similar to the one I used at the zoo when speaking for the animals. Not for the lions, of course, because everyone knew lions sounded like New Yorkers, but all the little fuzzy critters got the singsong voice.
“Look at these little chicken legs! I’m gonna bite them.” She started to cry, and I cursed. “Sorry. I won’t eat you. I mean, come on, there’s a tray of brownies out there, and we aren’t stranded in the Andes.”
Her cries got louder and I rushed to wrap her back up in her blanket, but I had no idea how they got it so tight before.
“Is she okay?” Hale rasped in a waking voice.
Panicked, I turned to him. “I swear she was happy the whole time you slept.”
He laughed and slowly sat up. “I believe you.”
I stepped back and let him handle the blanket, studying his technique. “It’s like wrapping a hoagie,” I observed.
As I watched him, I realized a few things. One, we only spoke in whispers since the baby was born. Two, Hale was a natural. Three, babies weren’t so scary. And four, Remington was missing so much.
Hale was scheduled to leave the following morning and it broke my heart that his dad would never be able to say he was at the hospital the day his first grandchild was born.
I was over the whole scandal. This was absolutely Hale’s baby. If he could make this amazing compromise and adapt his entire life accordingly, why the hell couldn’t Remington?
He wouldn’t have to do anything but be a grandfather. That required slipping kids candy and making pull my finger jokes. Elara could pull a finger, but she was years away from candy. So why couldn’t he be here for that?
When it got late, I went home. The room only had one bed and Hale needed to get all the sleep he could while he had the hospital nurses there to help. I also wanted to take another crack at Remington.
When I walked in the house, Miles was standing in the kitchen. “Hey,” I greeted, putting my purse on the counter.
“I’m glad you’re back. He’s been in a mood all day. Do you think you can finish the night for me?”
Taking pity on the man I nodded. “Sure. I wanted to talk to him anyway.”
I found Remington already in bed, but still surrounded by work. “Hi.”
He glanced at me over the rim of his reading glasses, but then looked back at his paperwork. “Where’s Miles?”
“I told him I’d finish up for him.”
He grumbled something under his breath and I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Her name’s Elara.” I waited for him to comment, but he didn’t. “She looks like a Davenport.” When he still didn’t respond my chest got that tight pinch again. I sighed. “You’ll eventually have to meet her, Remington. Hale’s in love with her.”
“Maybe Hale falls in love a little too easily.”
My expression faltered as I slowly drew back. My eyes tingled and, if I allowed it, I could have cried in that instant, but I absolutely forbade it.
Rising to my
feet, I asked, “Do you need anything else?”
He sighed and removed his glasses. “That was cruel of me.”
And that was no apology. Keeping my jaw locked, I waited, but that was all he apparently had to say.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I mumbled, and left.
I don’t think my jaw unlocked the entire time I showered and prepared for bed. At one point I was so irritated, I considered storming back into his room and asking what game he was playing.
Though I’d been talking about the baby, I had no doubt his comment was a barb toward me. And it hurt.
He’d been the one to hire me and he’d orchestrated a great deal of the interactions Hale and I shared. The benefits and family dinners, why do all of that if he didn’t want his son to fall in love with someone like me?
He had a lot of nerve. The man had four wives and chances were this wasn’t the first of his illegitimate offspring. Why could he love whoever he wanted, but Hale couldn’t?
I didn’t find calm as I lay in bed and I wasn’t sure I would in the days that followed. Remington was my boss and from now on he’d get an employee out of me and that was it. I refused to let him hurt me because he couldn’t come to terms with his own issues.
Also, now that I admitted I loved Hale, I wasn’t taking it back. Screw anyone who had a problem with my feelings. They were mine. So was Hale.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Too Close to Home
Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who planned on evoking some distance. The following morning I found Remington on the veranda already enjoying his breakfast with his daughter. Sliding open the door, I paused as she finished telling him something about the baby. Though I wasn’t sure what Barrett knew, it was clear Seraphina believed Elara was Hale’s biological child.
“Rayne, come join us,” she called as she finished her story.
Prepared to make an excuse, I opened my mouth, but Remington spoke first. “I’ll need you to confirm with all the rentals that the balances from the party have been paid and I want you to take a ride into town today and meet with the interior designer working on the Riverton Estate.”
The Riverton Estate was one of Remington’s many homes, this one located in New England. “Yes, sir.”
“Barrett went to get Hale,” Seraphina said, face alight with joy. “I wish I’d known this was happening. I would have made arrangements to stay longer.” She twisted her lips. “Maybe I could manage a few more days.”
“You have people depending on you, Phina,” Remington commented, and my eyes narrowed. I really disliked him lately.
Phina sighed. “I know. Maybe I’ll plan a trip back in a few weeks.”
When Remington ignored his daughter’s enthusiasm for the baby, I said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll contact the vendors and be back in a bit to get the address for the meeting.”
He waved a hand, dismissing me.
I didn’t understand why his indifference crushed me. My anger faded into upset and as I worked through the list of the contracts I found myself distracted to the verge of tears.
By the time I finished calling everyone Seraphina was gone. I knew she was likely at Hale’s welcoming home the baby and part of me envied the freedom they had to take part in that moment. Another part of me thought it was best I leave such events to the family and stay out of it.
“I’m finished. All the balances have been paid and the contracts are all in your office in a file labeled Casino Royale Party.”
Remington nodded. “I’ll text you the address. You can take the SUV in the garage.”
“I’ll just call a cab.”
“Or you could argue with me, the one thing you seem to excel at above all else.”
There was that crushing feeling again. “Where are the keys?”
As I sat behind the wheel of the very sophisticated Mercedes GLE, I tried to wipe the sweat off my palms. This car was easily over a hundred thousand dollars. I wasn’t on the insurance policy and I hadn’t driven anywhere in weeks. There was a seventy-five percent chance I would be returning the car bruised.
Once I figured out how to use the GPS I plugged in the address and a polite British voice directed me. The drive was about twenty minutes and when I reached the posh office complex, I wondered what I was supposed to do there. Remington hadn’t been very specific.
I followed the lobby kiosk map to the office of Lynette Jones, Remington’s designer on the project. Lynette was a young woman, about my age, only she’d nailed the responsible and thirty look. Her pencil skirt and silk blouse were at total odds with my boho sundress.
“You must be Ms. Meyers,” she greeted, shaking my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
She led me into a small conference room with a polished table and several stacks of sample flooring off to the side. “I suppose Remington sent a woman since the house is for a female client.”
I frowned as she took a seat and opened a portfolio. “Aren’t we doing something with the Riverton Estate?”
She nodded. “The far end of the estate, his son’s portion of the land.” She made an apologetic face. “I always get their names confused. Which one’s the older one?”
“Hale,” I supplied, still puzzled.
“Yes. I need to remember that. So this is Hale’s portion of the land. He’s selling it to a client. The major renovations were completed last week and now it’s just a matter of the final details.”
I shook my head, totally lost. This was a family property. “He’s selling his entire portion?”
“I believe so. The new tenant’s deed is for twenty-six acres.”
Why would he do that? His siblings each had a stake in that estate and… An unwelcome sense of nausea stole over me. “Who’s the buyer?”
“Well, Hale is, but the client’s name is Jasmine Wacom.”
I blinked at the table, wondering how I could have misread a person so severely. Remington sent me here on purpose. This wasn’t his project. It was Hale’s, and Hale was preoccupied at the moment.
Swallowing, I rasped, “Will you excuse me for a minute? I need to make a phone call.”
“Of course.” She stood and left the conference room.
Sliding out my phone, I stared at the screen, debating if I should bother Hale with this matter or go right to Remington. I had so many questions.
What message was Remington trying to send? Why hadn’t Hale bought her a different house, somewhere away from his family? It was completely inappropriate for me to pick out this woman’s drapes and flooring. I had no personal issues with her, but I didn’t want to know what her kitchen counters looked like.
Swallowing again, I dialed Hale. Maybe I’d just feel him out. He might not even answer.
“Hey, baby.”
Crap. “Hey. What are you doing?”
“We just got home. Phina’s giving Elara a bottle and Barrett’s helping me put together the baby swing.” It sounded like such a lovely family moment.
“Oh. Good. I just wanted to say hi and make sure everything went okay at the hospital.”
“Everything’s great. How’s your day going?”
“Fine.” I kept it simple because I was a terrible liar and I absolutely hated lying to Hale, but I didn’t want to interfere with his happy day. “Do you want me to come over tonight?”
“I was planning on it. It’s Phina’s last night here, so I thought we could order in and just hang out.”
“Are you sure you want me there?”
He laughed. “Of course I do. I’ll see you around five.”
When I hung up the phone a steady rage washed over me. The Davenports were happy—all but one. Remington sent me here to tamper with his son’s happiness and that infuriated me. Anger had never been my source of motivation in life, but I was fucking angry now and I’d had enough.
Rising, I found Lynette and told her I was ready. I decorated the fuck out of that house. The blueprints were incredible and this woman was walkin
g away with everything due her.
Part of me wanted to villainize Jasmine, but that was wrong. She’d done nothing to hurt the people I cared about. She’d only found herself in a position plenty of women had been in before. She had every right to be a parent, give the child up for adoption, or even terminate the pregnancy. Hale said she would have gone through with the latter had he not intercepted. In all truth, it was big of her to consent to the adoption when it wasn’t her first choice. And in turn, her cooperation made Hale incredibly happy. So I did my best to make her home nice.
I chose the best of the best, pretending I was picking for myself and the sky was the limit. Lynette was great. She made wonderful points about color schemes and had swatches and samples for everything from bathroom fixtures to wood flooring. We wrapped up around five o’clock and that was when the punch line hit me right in the face.
“So I’ll just need Hale’s signature on all of this and then we’ll get started on the installation.”
I wasn’t sure if Remington’s intention was to hurt his son or me. The only thing I was clear on was the fact that my boss was a callous asshole.
“I’ll make sure he signs them. I can run them back in a few days. Will that be soon enough?”
“Oh, we have plenty of time. The client’s in France until November.” She leaned in and smiled. “Could you imagine living in Europe for half a year? I’m telling you, I must be doing something wrong because that’s doing it right.”
My grin was forced. “It must be nice.”
I left the paperwork on the front seat of the Benz where it taunted me the entire ride home. When I reached the house, I went in search for Remington, who was in the process of explaining something to Miles.
Stepping into the room, I interrupted, “Will you excuse us for a minute, Miles?”
Remington scowled. “We’re in the middle of something, Meyers.”
“This will only take a second.”
Miles looked from me to Remington, who nodded so the other assistant could be momentarily excused. Once we were alone, Remington folded his arms over his chest and continued to scowl. “You misjudge your position in this household, Meyers.”
Calamity Rayne: Gets A Life Page 32
