‘Well I’m happy to hold and jiggle if you want to have some you time,’ he said.
I didn’t think twice. ‘Thank you.’ I almost teared up. ‘I’ll be upstairs having a soak.’
The bath felt amazing. I was fortunate to have escaped with minimal damage below the belt, but I’d been doing my pelvic floor exercises at Kate’s insistence, religiously. I don’t know why I’d thought about that so much. Maybe I was hoping something might happen with Andrew once day, though I wasn’t sure I could even bear to even think about that for a very long time.
When I went downstairs half an hour later, Penelope was fast asleep, curled up in a little ball on Andrew’s chest, and he was holding her in one of his strong arms watching The Deadliest Catch.
‘You have the magic touch!’ I said quietly, so as not to wake her.
‘I’m the baby whisperer.’ He smiled. ‘She did a big burp, then a huge yawn, and that was it.’
It usually was something simple, but days like that often had me in a tizz to the point where my imagination got the better of me and built up the problem to something huge or life-threatening because nobody healthy should ever need to cry that much.
‘Pass me over the Moses basket,’ he said and placed Penelope in it carefully when I’d placed it down. ‘I’m going to go now she’s asleep and give you chance to have a rest.’ My eyes welled up. It was such a small gesture but exactly what I needed.
My words burst out in an only-just-decipherable sob. ‘Thank you.’ He wrapped me in his arms and I finally got that cuddle. I felt small, protected, and wanted to stay there for ever.
‘Get some rest.’ He kissed me on the head and I thanked him again before he left.
I spent a glorious few hours sleeping on the sofa and was only woken up when my phone shrilled.
‘Hi, Kate,’ I said, yawning after my blissful nap. She was phoning to check in. She and Carl had been in each other’s pockets. Since everything that had happened with James, Mike, and Samantha, I think Kate had realised she’d actually found a keeper in Carl after all he’d done to help with her various plans and schemes.
‘How do you fancy a night out?’ she said.
‘A night in bed sounds better.’
‘Who with?’ she shrieked. Clearly, she had no idea how tired new mothers could be.
‘Alone, just me and a huge super king, made with luxury Egyptian cotton of at least a four-hundred-thread c—’
‘Let me stop you there before you bore me to death with what I can only describe as the crappiest fantasy ever!’ She took a deep breath and I sensed she was nervous, which was very unlike Kate. ‘Anyway, I know most people my age are packing their kids off to senior school, but Carl has suggested trying for a baby . . .’
She paused to allow me time to digest (or squeal, which is actually what I did). ‘That’s amazing!’
‘Well, I’m not convinced, so we thought we’d test-run your baby.’
‘Oh, thanks, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?’ I said to the least enthusiastic babysitter of all time.
‘Oh, come on, I’m really keen to try. You know I’ve not been around babies much. I don’t even know any and so many people have them that I’m sure there’s more to the appeal than nappies and vomit. And I do love spending time with Penelope.’
I thought about it for a moment. It had been nice when Andrew came to give me a break, and I was sure visits wouldn’t always be enough for James and Frances; they’d eventually want to take her away for a night or two so I’d have to get used to being apart from her. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘On one condition . . .’
‘Don’t give her champagne?’
‘Not funny! The condition is, you have her during the day. You’re not just bathing her and putting her to bed then buggering off before the night feed. You do the daytime, you watch her laugh, soothe her tears, feed her, and change her nappy. Only then you’ll be qualified to make the decision.’
The phone went so quiet I wasn’t sure she was still there until I heard her draw a breath. ‘Okay. It can’t be that hard.’
‘Super, I’ll let you know about dates.’
Once I’d finished on the phone, I noticed a text message from Andrew.
You looked like you needed a break today but when you’re feeling up to it, I’d love a second date if you’d fancy it. Probably something low-key and definitely less dramatic than our first date. A xx
My heart bulged.
I’d love to, but I’m not sure we could top the first one. C xx
***
I walked back in from having a much-needed colour touch-up at the hairdresser’s and Kate was already picking up her coat and bag. ‘Got to dash, Penelope is napping. She’s fine. Bye.’ She kissed me on the cheek as she barged past to the front door. It wasn’t until I turned towards the kitchen, her odd behaviour made sense.
‘Low-key.’ Andrew smiled as he lit a candle, placing it on the kitchen counter.
‘Ahh, this explains Kate’s behaviour. Although, Kate explains Kate’s behaviour.’ I laughed to myself as Andrew walked around the counter and stood facing me. ‘Charlotte?’ he said, intertwining his fingers with mine. I looked up at him and he took a step closer, so his chest was pressed against me. ‘You are incredibly strong, and I admire that in a woman. You’re determined and that’s sexy as hell. You’re beautiful and you’re a fantastic mummy. For all these reasons, I’ve wanted to do this.’
He wrapped a strong arm around my back, pulling me in and rested his forehead on mine. ‘I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,’ he whispered, pressing his hot lips against mine,
