“You made me a lot of promises, too, Ciar, and haven’t kept any of them. Holding me to a separate standard is small-minded and hurtful.”
Ouch.“I promise here and now, Gray MacGregor, to fulfill every promise I’ve ever made to you. I promise to make new promises and keep those too. Do this for me. Move in and see what I see. Make that cold two-story building into a home for our family.
“I’ll only be gone a week, but you could start. Anything you want is yours, Gray. I only need you. I’m begging you to give us a chance.”
forty-two
GRAY
Gray’s head was spinning.This day just kept escalating. And now, with nothing but her purse and the clothes on her back, Ciar wanted her to move in and nanny his child, something she’d never done for any child, while he flitted off to Japan.
Oh, and he wanted her to decorate “their” home. Before she could even drum up a response, they were outside the two-story flat, thanking the driver, and hustling through the front door.
They found Tina on the kitchen floor, propped against the lower cabinets, her left leg painfully twisted at an awkward angle.
Ciar rushed to the older woman, kneeling by her side. She answered his questions through gritted teeth. Gray heard the ambulance sirens and ran back outside to direct the paramedics.
Ciar backed off as the paramedics assessed Tina and readied her for transportation. He gestured for Gray to join him off to the side, where he was quickly scratching out a list on a notepad at the kitchen bar.
“I’m not sure how long I’m going to be, but here is a list of how to make the formula and use the bottle warmer,” Ciar said before handing her the pad.
“Imogen should wake up any time, she’ll need her nappy changed, and then she’ll want her bottle. She has a million toys in her room. She also enjoys lying on the couch next to me down here. So, you might do that.”
His desperation at her accepting the nanny position might have been endearing if she wasn’t about to be left with a child she’d never so much as touched.
Despite their current unresolved relationship, Ciar was one of her oldest friends, and even though it went against what she emotionally needed right now from him, she wouldn’t let him down. Moving in permanently, though—that wasn’t happening until he made good on his promise to tell her the truth about whatever happened after Colorado.
The paramedics had Tina on a rolling gurney and were wheeling her out. Ciar touched Tina’s arm when they passed. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Tina humphed in irritation. “That is certainly not necessary.”
“It is to me,” Ciar answered the older woman.
Gray could tell his answer surprised her. She clamped her lips together and nodded. The moment they were out the front door, Ciar turned to Gray and shocked the hell out of her when he gathered her into his arms and kissed her passionately.
Pulling back reluctantly, he said, “I’ll let you know what’s what as soon as I speak to the doctor. Call me for anything.” He hesitated, clearly wanting to say something else.
“What is it?”
“I hope…I…Imogen will love you, and I hope you will learn to love her too,” he said quickly.
There was nothing to say to that.
He placed his hands on their son, resting between them. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
And then he was gone, trusting her to care for his infant daughter. He had more faith in her than she did.
Gray leaned against the kitchen counter. Her legs suddenly felt leaden and unsteady. She had agreed to watch his daughter and live in their home for a week. Technically, she hadn’t agreed so much as not said no.
It was in that moment of silent contemplation that Gray heard the faint chuffs of a waking baby. Her spine straightened like an electrocution rod had touched her skin.
She rushed to the bottle station upstairs, neatly set up near the sink, and scanned the directions. Not sure how many ounces she was supposed to make, she decided on a full bottle. Better safe than sorry.
While mixing the formula, she texted her mother, asking her to please cancel her flight, promising to call within the hour to explain.
No sooner had she slammed the bottle into the warmer and hit start when Imogen’s surprisingly lusty wail sounded over yet another monitor. Gray tore off her coat and quickly dug a hairband from her purse, twisting her long hair into a fluffy bun on top of her head.
“You can do this, Gray,” she assured herself. Sure, she could, as soon as she called in reinforcements. She sent a text to Bébhinn and Mags, Blair was gone to Wales, and told them to bring her any clothes or toiletries she’d left behind and come to Ciar’s.
