“I watched some videos,” she said with a grin after Annie complimented her.
At ten, Miles arrived with a knock at the door.Annie opened it, determined not to gape at him again.
It was no easy feat.He was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt that clung to his muscles, and a pair of paint-splattered jeans that accentuated his long legs.
He offered her a smile when their eyes met, and the warmth of it shot an electric jolt through her body.
“Hi, Miles,” she said, averting her eyes and stepping to the side.
“Hey!Don’t mind me.I’ll stay out of your way,” he said, disappearing with a shower seat and an arm full of grab bars.
As he worked and Bella laughed with the kids in the living room, Annie was able to make lunch for everyone.Mac and cheese for the twins, one of their favorites, and chicken sandwiches and egg salad for everyone else.
The rolls were fresh, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.Sandwiches were her usual go-to during the week for lunch, and she’d perfected a few – cranberry turkey with a honey mustard; caprese with a balsamic and olive oil drizzle; Italian sub with pepperoni.
All she had today was chicken and cheese with dijon and crispy lettuce.She wished she had something else to offer but she hadn’t thought of it when grocery shopping.
Annie set a platter of sandwiches on the table, adding, “I can make something else if you aren’t fond of sandwiches.”
Bella already had taken a bite.“No way.This issogood, like a professional sub.”
Annie smiled.This one, though simple, was one of her favorites—a thick slab of butter on each side of the bread, creamy muenster cheese, and pepper-roasted chicken breast.The dijon had taken her ages to find; it had the perfect amount of heat and tartness to round out the flavor.
Miles nodded in agreement.“This is excellent.Are you sure you’re a scientist and not a sandwich artist?”
She laughed, peeking at him as she took a seat.“I sleep so little that I don’t know what I am anymore.”
His shoulders shifted with a laugh.“Fair.I get that.”
She’d even had time to clean up the kitchen before sitting down.Thatneverhappened.She was always running around, the mess in the house reaching unfathomable levels until she tackled it in the hours between the twins falling asleep at bedtime and waking in the night for whatever the reason of the week was.
“So, Annie,” Bella said, leaning forward, “we’re putting the twins down for their nap next, right?”
“That’s right.”
Bella pulled out a notebook and opened to a page with looping pink handwriting.“I see for their age, their wake window should be no more than six hours.”
Annie looked at Miles, her eyes wide.“Wake window?”
“How long they’re supposed to be awake,” Bella added.
Miles hid his smile behind his sandwich.
“Right.I’ve sort of forgotten about all those rules,” Annie said.“I need to revisit them, though.Good thinking.”
She’d been having issues with both kids having meltdowns at bedtime.Maybe they were too tired?She and Roy used to talk these things out together.The target moved every month they got older, shifting with teeth and introducing foods and new illnesses.It was so much harder to do by herself.
Bella went on.“If they woke up at five, they need to be asleep by…” She sighed.“They’re supposed to be asleep already.”
She cast a wide-eyed look at the twins, sitting happily in their dual high chairs.
Annie smiled.“I think you’re on to something.The more tired they are – ”
“The harder it’ll be to put them to sleep!”Bella finished.
“We’ll get them in their cribs quickly after they finish eating.”
Bella nodded.“I think if this goes well, you should just keep me here all day.I can do bath time, and a time-appropriate bedtime, then stay through the night in case there are any night wake-ups.”
