As she wandered around the grocery store, mindlessly grabbing items off the shelves, Mel’s thoughts swirled in her head. It was no surprise that her divorce had done a number on her heart. Her ex may not have abused her in any way, but the emotional distress they went through trying to conceive, and then his abandoning her when it was all ‘too much’ for him, was damaging enough. Toss in the unpleasant surprise that he had been cheating on her throughout their divorce proceedings—and who knows how long before that—and he had really done a number on Mel’s faith in men. In the years since, Mel had made a vow to herself never to open her heart to another man. How could she trust someone to love her, unconditionally, when her own husband of almost ten years couldn’t? Mel would have been content without children, happy in her marriage and in her life. When Darren had decided he couldn’t accept that, he had walked out without looking back, and gone straight into the arms of another woman who evidently could give him what he wanted. Eventually, she had realized that his leaving was a good thing. If he couldn’t love her in spite of her infertility, he clearly didn’t love her at all. Still, by turning his back on their marriage over something that was completely out of her control, Darren had broken Melanie’s heart in a way she wasn’t sure would ever fully heal.
Now she found herself in the surprising situation of having not only a baby at home, but a man who seemed so deeply committed to the child, she couldn’t help but wonder if he would show that same commitment to her. Noah knew the basics, that Mel had been unable to conceive children and that was the cause of her divorce, but she wondered if he had ever stopped to realize that her ‘affliction’ meant she would never have children of her own—with anyone. He had admitted his attraction to her, and there was no denying she was attracted to him. He seemed like such a great guy, the best she knew.
But did that mean he could be trusted with her heart? No, it was safer to just stay in the friend zone. Mel had accepted long ago that she didn’t need a man in her life for more than sex, and that need could be met with the odd random hook up where she was fully in control and there was no risk of her heart being involved. Noah was the perfect guy friend, and she couldn’t screw that up.
Mel blinked her eyes back to full awareness to realize she had been standing in front of a bin full of apples for several minutes. As she looked around, shaking her head to clear the chaos, her phone rang. Checking it, she saw Callie was calling. She winced as she went to answer, she knew her friend would have a lot to say about things.
“Hey, Cal, I’m just finishing up at the grocery store. What’s up?
“What’s up? Seriously, Mel? Ummm, let’s see, we get this random message that Noah and a BABY are now living with you, and you say what’s up?”
Mel cracked a smile at the sound of Callie’s voice. She sounded equal parts shocked, confused, and curious. She could hear the sounds of the hospital in the background and knew Callie was calling on her break at work. After all, Mel was meant to be on shift today as well, that was before the unexpected baby situation had occurred.
Taking a deep breath, Mel decided to just rip the Band-Aid off and tell Callie everything. “That’s the basics, yeah. Noah’s baby needed a foster parent, so I offered. And, well, we may have fibbed a little bit and told the social worker we were engaged, so that she would accept Noah staying at my place with the baby.”
“WHAT?”
“Yeah, so you know, just keep up the ruse for us if anyone asks, okay? Especially at work…” Mel trailed off as she realized just how complicated it was going to be, keeping up pretenses at the hospital. She wandered away from the display of apples, not really paying attention to where she was going. All she knew was talking about everything with Callie was making her antsy, and she needed to move.
“Oh god, this is insane, you know that, right?” Callie said, concern now coloring her tone.
“I know it sounds weird, but, Callie, if you could have seen Noah’s face when he saw the baby for the first time. I never believed in love at first sight, but that’s what it was. That baby is his, and I couldn’t just stand by and let him go to a stranger’s house. Not when I had the necessary certification to take him.”
“Okay, I get that part, but why the fake engagement?”
Mel chuckled. “That was all Noah. I think he panicked, thinking they wouldn’t let him near the baby without confirmed paternity, unless there was a relationship between us. Truthfully, they might not have let me take him home without that little lie. You know how crazy our work schedule is, how would I juggle a baby by myself?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Callie said, then her voice turned wistful. “That’s why Jake and I are hesitant to start trying for a baby. Both of us have such hectic jobs, how would we cope? I’m sure Jake’s family would help, but still, it’s a lot of pressure. I don’t want our kid spending more time with grandparents or in daycare than they do with us, you know?”
Mel was silent for a moment, turning what Callie had said over in her mind. Callie’s parents were grade-A assholes, but from what Mel had heard, Jake’s parents were amazing. Family support would make all the difference in raising a child and balancing a career, but still the demands on an ER physician were immense. How did Noah plan to do it all? Sure, his job at the bar had some flexibility, but he would be a single father. Had he thought about this? Not that it would have changed his mind, she knew that the second Noah laid eyes on his son, he was lost.
When Callie spoke again, she put voice to exactly what Mel was thinking. “How is Noah going to handle a baby by himself once your fake relationship is over?”
“I have no idea,” Mel answered honestly.
“Well, I hope it all works out. Hey, I’ve got to run, break is almost over. Be glad you’re not in today, it’s been a madhouse at the hospital. Can I come and meet the little guy when I’m on days off?”
Mel smiled, thinking about baby Connor. “Yeah, of course you can, or maybe we’ll meet up with everyone at the pub for lunch soon.”
“Great. I’ll talk to you soon then. And, Mel, be careful, okay?”
“What do you mean?” Mel asked, puzzled.
“I just don’t want to see you hurt, or Noah. You guys are going to have to get really close, really fast. Just be careful.”
Mel winced at how easily Callie had seen the truth of things. “I know. It’s fine.” She gave a low laugh, to try and minimize what Callie had said. “You know me, Cal, I don’t do relationships. Noah and his adorable son are not going to change that. Trust me.”
The only question was, could Mel trust herself?
* * *
After Ryan and Anna left, Noah ran around the apartment packing everything he could think of into a bag.
“Diapers, wipes, bottles, pacifier, blanket, extra clothes, hat, damn this kid needs a lot of stuff,” he muttered to himself as he double checked everything then loaded Connor into the car seat. The straps gave him a reason to pause, as he was suddenly filled with fear about whether or not he had done it correctly. He quickly snapped a photo of Connor, asleep in his seat, and sent it to Mel.
NOAH: Does this look right? I’m about to take him to my mom’s, and I’m freaking out. What if I didn’t strap him in right?
MEL: LOL, don’t panic, Daddio. Looks good, just make sure the straps are tight enough.
