Ellie Darkins – Newborn on Her Doorstep (страница 6)
At least all the paperwork and everything in officialdom was ticking along nicely. It was just a case of getting the right legal papers in order, and making sure that Helen had the medical help—both physical and mental—that she needed to get and stay well. There had been no talk of prosecution for abandonment—only concern for Helen and Rosie’s welfare.
A stack of half-opened parcels littered the hallway, making the apartment look less bachelor sophisticated and more like a second hand sale. Kate must have beaten her here and picked up all the internet shopping that Lily had done while she was in the hospital with Rosie. They had some work ahead of them to get the apartment baby-ready—that was clear.
She peeked into the living room and was tempted to shiver at the abundance of black leather, smoked glass and chrome. Everything in the room shone, and Lily wondered if Nic was quite mad for letting them stay here. One thing was for sure: even with Rosie on her best behaviour it wasn’t going to be easy keeping the place looking this show-home perfect.
‘Kate?’ Lily called out as she stood in the living room with Rosie in her arms, her eyes drawn to the glass walls with a view out over the river. ‘Are you here?’
A voice sounded from the end of the hallway.
‘In here!’ she shouted. ‘I’m just doing battle with the cot.’
Lily followed the sound of Kate’s swearing and found herself in a luxurious bedroom. Between the doorway and the enormous pillow-topped bed Kate’s curly head was just visible between the bars of a half-built cot.
‘Are you winning?’ Lily asked with a laugh.
‘Depends on who’s keeping score,’ came the reply, along with another string of expletives.
Lily covered Rosie’s ears and tutted.
‘Sorry, Rosie,’ Kate said, finally dropping the screwdriver and climbing out from the pile of flat-packed pieces. ‘How are we doing?’ she asked as she crossed the room to give Rosie a squeeze and Lily a kiss on the cheek.
‘She’s fine,’ Lily told her. ‘Clean bill of health. Thanks so much for getting started with this.’ She waved a hand towards the cot.
‘Don’t be daft. It’s nothing. Now, are you going to put the baby down and give me a hand?’
‘Let me just grab her carrycot and I’ll see if she’ll go down.’
As Lily walked back into the hallway she jumped against the wall at the sight of a man’s dark shadow up ahead of her.
‘Nic...?’ she said, holding Rosie a little tighter to her.
As Nic took a step forward his face came into the light and she could see the shock and surprise written across his features.
‘Lily, what the hell—?’
She wasn’t sure which of them shouted first, but as it became apparent that Nic had had no idea she was going to be there Lily felt flames of embarrassment lick up her cheeks, colouring her skin. Oh, Kate had some explaining to do.
Kate at least had the good grace to look sheepish when she emerged into the hallway.
‘What the hell is
Lily’s gaze snapped back to Nic at the anger in his voice and she felt herself physically recoil. She was as surprised to see him there as he was to find them both in the flat—Kate had promised her he would be out of town for at least a week yet—but the venom in his voice was unexpected and more than a little offensive.
‘Nic!’ Kate admonished. ‘Don’t talk about Lily like that. I promise you, I can explain. You’re not meant to
‘It’s my home, Kate. Where else would I be?’
‘Well, India, for a start. And then Bangladesh. And Rome. And...’
‘And I decided to spend a few weeks in the office before I go abroad again. I pushed some of my trips back. Not that I need to explain myself—
He threw a look at Lily that was impossible to misinterpret.
‘Look...’ Kate was using her best lawyer voice, and Lily suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Nic. When she took that tone there was little doubt that she was going to get her own way.
But it didn’t matter how Kate was planning on sweet-talking her way out of ‘stretching the truth’, as she was bound to call it. There was no way she could stay here—not with the looks of pure anger that Nic was sending their way.
‘This is how I see things: Lily needs somewhere to stay. Rosie can’t go back to Lily’s as it has no kitchen, no back wall, isn’t warm or even watertight. You have a big, ridiculous apartment that was
Nic opened his mouth to argue, but Kate held up a hand, cutting him off.
‘You, Mr Humanitarian, having spent the last decade saving the world one child factory worker at a time, have the opportunity to practise what you preach here. Charity begins at home, you know.’
Lily rolled her eyes at the cliché, and from the corner of her eye caught just the hint of a smirk starting at the corner of Nic’s lips. When she built up the courage to look at him straight she saw that the tension had dropped from his face and he was smiling openly at his sister.
‘Oh, you’re good,’ he said. ‘
‘And I’m worth every penny,’ she confirmed. ‘Now, seeing as you’re home, I don’t want to step on any toes.’ She thrust the screwdriver into his hand and Nic had no choice but to take it. ‘I’ll leave you two to work out the details.’
And before Lily could pick up her jaw from the floor Kate had disappeared out of the front door, leaving her holding the baby and Nic staring at the screwdriver.
‘I’m
Nic gave her a long look, and she watched, fascinated, as emotions chased over his face, first creasing his forehead and his eyes, then smoothing across his cheeks with something like resignation.
‘Where will you go?’
‘Oh...’ Lily flapped a hand, hoping that the distraction would cover the fact that she didn’t have a clue what her next move was. ‘Back to mine, of course. It’s not that bad. I’m sure I can come up with another plan.’
Nic rubbed his hand across his forehead.
‘What plan?’
‘A hotel,’ Lily said, improvising wildly. ‘Maybe a temporary rental.’
He let out a long sigh and shook his head slowly.
‘Stay here.’
‘Nic, I couldn’t—’
Lily started to speak, but Nic’s raised hand stopped her.
‘Kate’s right. You need a place to stay. I have loads of room here.’
A warm flood of relief passed through Lily. For a moment she’d thought that she might be out on the streets—worse, that she wouldn’t be able to provide Rosie with the home she so desperately needed. And it was the thought that Rosie needed somewhere safe to stay that had her swallowing her pride and nodding to agree with what was almost certainly a terrible idea.
‘Thank you. I promise we’ll keep out of your way.’
* * *
Lily stood in the kitchen, coffee cup in hand, surveying the vast array of knobs and buttons on the espresso machine built into the kitchen wall. She’d already boiled the kettle, intimidated by the levers and chrome of the machine, but in the absence of a jar of good old instant coffee she was going to have to do battle with this beast. She tried the sleek-looking knob on the left—and jumped back from the torrent of steam that leapt from the nozzle hidden beneath. Thank God she’d left Rosie safely sleeping in their room.
A lightly haired forearm appeared over her shoulder and turned off the knob, shutting down the steam and leaving her red-faced and perspiring.
‘Here,’ Nic said, taking the cup from her hand. ‘Let me.’
‘Thanks.’ Lily handed over coffee responsibility gratefully, and leaned back against the kitchen counter.
Embarrassment sat in the air between them, and Lily’s mind couldn’t help but fly back to that kiss in the hospital. The way that Nic’s lips had pressed so firmly against hers, as if he was fighting himself even as he was kissing her. He’d known that it was a bad idea at the time—she was sure of that. And yet he’d done it anyway. Now they were living together—and apparently they were just going to ignore that it had happened. But even with them saying nothing, it was there, in the atmosphere between them, making them awkward with each other.
She wondered whether she should say something, try and clear the air, but then she heard a cry from the bedroom.
‘You go and get Rosie. I’ll sort the coffee.’
Was that an invitation? Were they going to sit down and drink a cup of coffee like civilised adults? And if they did would he bring up the kiss? Would she? Surely they couldn’t just carry on as if nothing had happened. It was making her clumsy around him, and she could never feel relaxed or at home unless they both loosened up. Maybe that was what he was hoping for. That he’d be able to make things awkward enough that she’d have no choice but to leave. Then he’d get his apartment back without having to be the big bad wolf in the story.
* * *
Lily had returned to the kitchen with the baby in one arm, and set about making up a bottle for her. Nic watched them carefully, knowing that a gentleman would offer to help, but finding himself not quite able to live up to that ideal.