2
LIAM
“Good morning, Mr. Carmichael,” Jane, the stewardess, said as I finished climbing the stairs of the jet. She was standing on the little platform outside of the open door, holding a silver tray with an assortment of beverages. Her smile was wide, showing off her pearly white teeth.
“Morning,” I said, offering her one of my signature smiles.
“Can I interest you in a beverage?”
“Naw, I’m good.” I waited for Sabrina to respond, but nothing came. It was in that moment that I realized Sabrina was not behind me. I turned to see her still standing at the base of the stairs with Samuel’s car seat propped on her hip, staring up at the plane with wide eyes. I’d tried to take the car seat from her, so she didn’t have to traverse the narrow stairs with it, but she’d just waved away my offer, mumbling something about how she needed to start doing things by herself.
I understood her desire for independence. After all, my mom had been the same. I just wished she’d let me help. Carrying Samuel up the stairs wasn’t going to negate her strength to do the things that mattered.
With nothing but time, I decided the best course of action was to tease her. “Coming?” I asked, making sure to punctuate my words with a flirty wink.
She glared at me as she shifted the car seat to her left hand so she could grab the stair’s railing with her right. The narrowness of the stairs wasn’t conducive to carrying a car seat and a diaper bag, so with every step up, she had to drag the car seat along the railing. It was painful to watch her inch up to me. I sighed and headed back down to her. As soon as I reached her, I wrapped my hand around the car seat handle and lifted it up.
Sabrina parted her lips to complain, but I didn’t wait for her to get the words out. I just started climbing the stairs, effectively breaking her hold on the seat. Halfway to the top, I glanced down to see Samuel was staring up at me. His smile was so wide that it gave him three chin rolls. When he met my gaze, he started to giggle and blow spit bubbles.
I’ll admit, I was a little shocked last night when Sabrina came walking into the inn carrying a car seat. In all the times we’d talked, she’d never mentioned having a son. Good thing I loved kids. Having little man tag along made picking Sabrina to be my assistant that much better.
I didn’t wait for Sabrina at the top of the stairs. I walked into the plane and plopped down in my seat. Jane had moved inside as well and had left a can of root beer on my armrest for me—my favorite soda. After taking a swig, I moved the can to the seat next to mine to keep it out of Samuel’s reach.
I shifted my weight so I could grab Samuel’s car seat and drag it closer to me. He was lifting and lowering his clasped hands and kicking his feet.
“Wanna get out of there, little man?” I asked as I pressed the release to the chest buckle. He started to squirm as I undid the second buckle, freeing him from his constraints. I tucked my hands under his armpits and lifted him out. Samuel kicked his feet as I held him over my head and smiled up at him.
There was so much about Anastasia’s life that I had missed. With worldwide tours and Katie dictating when I could see her, Ana had moved from stage to stage of her childhood without me. And it sucked.
“Was he crying?”
I glanced past Samuel to see that Sabrina was standing in the doorway of the plane with a panicked expression. She dropped her diaper bag on the floor and took another step closer. I sat Samuel down on my lap and tucked him in the crook of my arm.
“Nope,” I said as I grabbed my can of soda. Samuel babbled as he reached forward and grabbed a hold of his feet.
“Want me to take him?” Sabrina was standing about a foot in front of me now. She was glancing from Samuel to me and then back to Samuel. Her anxiety was palpable.
I studied her from over the can as I took a long sip. I lowered the can and rested it on my thigh. “Nope,” I finally said. Then I nodded to the seat across from me. “Take a seat and relax.” I winked and flashed her my signature smile.
Sabrina didn’t melt like most women did. Instead, she sighed, rolled her eyes and then took a few steps back before she gingerly sat down. She didn’t look relaxed though. She remained perched on the edge of her seat, ready to pop up as soon as I gave her any indication that I was done with Samuel. Well, the joke was on her. Squirt had settled in, and I had no intention of passing him back.
I bounced Samuel on my lap as the flight crew prepped the plane for takeoff. My gaze kept landing on Sabrina every few minutes. She seemed so stressed, and I wanted to say something to help ease her mind, but the right words weren’t coming to me. My go-to method was to flirt, but I knew that Sabrina wouldn’t appreciate that. So we just sat there in awkward, stressed silence.
Needing something to do to ease the tension, I started to hum as I reached over and patted my hand under Samuel’s. He opened his fist and began to smack my hand with his. I chuckled as Samuel kept slapping exactly on beat to the song I was singing.
“I’m sorry.” Sabrina’s whisper made me look up.
I frowned. “For what?”
Jane closed the door and latched it as the plane’s engines roared to life.
Sabrina sighed. “For not telling you about Samuel.” Her gaze dropped down to her son.
I stared at her, confused. “Why would you be sorry for that?” I came from a single-mom household. I understood how protective mothers were over their children. I was a nobody to Sabrina. There was no way I could find fault with her for wanting to keep private something that meant so much to her.
“Would knowing about him have changed your offer?” Sabrina was sitting forward with her elbows on her knees. She was staring at her hands like she was scared to meet my gaze.
“Offer?”
