“I’ve got her,” he had mumbled, already pushing back the covers. “Sleep.”
And he had gone himself to check on her. Had rocked her and soothed her and brought her back to me when she needed to eat. Had done it all without complaint, without resentment, without making me feel guilty for needing rest.
This morning, I had been ready to pack up Blake and head back to our house. But Sarah had pouted. Actually pouted, her lower lip sticking out like a child denied dessert.
“Can I have her for a bit more time?” she had asked, reaching for the baby. “Just a few more hours. I barely got to hold her yesterday.”
“Sarah, you held her for three hours straight.”
“That’s not enough.”
I had been about to argue when the front door swung open and Serena walked in without knocking.
“I’m ready for shopping day!” Knox’s mother announced, her arms full of catalogues and her expression bright with anticipation. She spotted Sarah and the baby and immediately made a beeline for them. “Oh, look at her. Look at that precious face. Sarah, isn’t she the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
“She is,” Sarah agreed. “Lina was just about to let me keep her for a few more hours.”
I blinked. “I was?”
“You were,” Sarah said firmly.
Serena clapped her hands together. “Perfect! That gives us plenty of time.”
I looked between the two women, confused. “Time for what?”
“Shopping, dear. Sarah and I agreed. We’re getting clothes and toys and everything Blake and the twins could possibly need. And you’re coming with us.”
“When did you two become such good friends?”
Sarah and Serena exchanged a look. The kind of look that suggested they had been conspiring behind my back for longer than I realized.
“We bonded over grandchildren,” Sarah said simply.
“And the shared experience of raising difficult sons,” Serena added with a pointed glance at Knox, who had been hovering in the doorway.
“Hey,” he protested. “I’m not difficult.”
“You kicked down a bathroom door because your wife dropped a bottle of conditioner.”
Knox’s eyes narrowed. “Who told you?!”
Without waiting for an answer, his expression darkened further. “Fucking Noah.”
I snorted. Knox shot me a betrayed look.
“Anyway,” he said loudly, “I actually need to borrow Lina for a bit. I have something to show her.”
Sarah’s eyebrows rose. “Something more important than shopping?”
“Much more important.”
“Fine. But we’re taking Blake and you’re bringing Lina back within two hours. We have stores to visit.”
Knox rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t promise that. We might get... busy.”
Sarah lifted an eyebrow.
Serena grimaced. “Just leave,” she said, shooing us toward the door with both hands.
