Page 46 of His Best Friend's Baby

‘No, please, not just yet. There’s something else I wanted to ask you. If you don’t mind waiting, I’ll only be a tick.’ Quickly she switched the phone to speaker and put it down on the bed, then unbuckled her baby. Summer let out a crow of delight as Polly lifted her into her arms.

‘Mum-Mum!’

‘Oh, my God,’ came Seth’s voice from the phone on the bed. ‘That wasn’t Summer talking, was it?’

Polly was grinning as she settled her little girl onto her hip and picked up the phone again. ‘Yep,’ she said proudly. ‘Just a couple of days ago Summer said her first words—Mum-Mum. Of course, I’d been coaching her to say that for ages.’

‘Clever girl, Summer!’ said Seth.

‘She’s grinning and waving like mad. Maybe she recognises your voice, Seth.’

‘But that’s amazing. She’s growing up so fast.’

‘I know. She’s also standing up and hanging onto furniture.’

‘You mean she’ll be walking soon?’

‘Possibly.’

‘Gosh, Pollz, I think I need to see this kid.’

Warmth flooded Polly, washing through her, bubbling and gushing. ‘Well, actually, that’s the other thing I wanted to mention,’ she said. ‘I’ve been thinking it would be rather nice to bring Summer back to Wirralong to celebrate her first birthday.’ Bravely, Polly added, ‘It—it doesn’t really feel right to celebrate the big day without you, Seth. And it’s even on a weekend, which makes it convenient. What do you reckon?’

Chapter Fifteen

Seth kept himselflevel-headed and calm as he prepared for Polly and Summer’s arrival. Luckily, the six weeks following Christmas seemed to fly and he carried on with life as usual, but when February rolled round again, he told himself it was only natural to feel slightly emotional about the anniversary of that big event last year.

No sense in getting carried away, of course. Polly would only spend a few days in Wirralong, and as with her previous visits, she was bound to throw a whirlwind pivot at some point.

At least he’d been able to assure her that his friends were now well acquainted with the facts—or, at least, as many facts as they needed. Wirralong folk in the know had accepted that Seth was not Summer’s father and that he and Polly were just good friends from way back. So she should be comfortable about her return.

As for as any planning for the trip, Polly had insisted that she would bring a birthday cake for Summer. She didn’t want Seth to go to any trouble, but of course he couldn’t resist making a few sneaky online purchases that wouldn’t draw attention and gossip.

So he now had a blow-up wading pool ready to set up on the deck for Summer, plus a flock of multi-coloured rubber ducks to float in said pool. And he hadn’t been able to resist also buying a xylophone for her to bang away on. Thanks to Polly’s videos, he knew the baby had a mighty talent for wielding a rubber hammer.

Seth thought about getting in a few board story books as well. He remembered Archie’s first birthday and how he’d enjoyed brightly coloured books with textured pages that he could run his chubby little fingers over. But Seth didn’t want to alarm Polly by going too over the top.

Her bedroom was also ready. It was the same room his parents had used at Christmas, with the addition of side tables and lamps that his mother had bought. Thoughtfully, his mum had sent Seth the furniture store’s brochure before she made the purchase.

‘It’s a combination of housewarming gift and a thank you for your wonderful hospitality,’ she said. ‘But I’d like to choose something you think suits the room.’

Selecting furniture wasn’t exactly Seth’s forte. He could have done with an interior designer, but he was happy enough with the result. The room would be for guests such as his parents, after all, so the bedside tables were classic silky oak with a handy drawer and a shelf beneath, and the lamps were in a vintage style comprising elegantly shaped, linen shades and bases of bronze and delicate glass.

Remembering everything that had happened on the occasion Polly had sat in one of his camping chairs, Seth had also taken the plunge to buy a sofa for the living room. Just one sofa would do to start with, although there was space for more. Big and lush, it was upholstered in soft creamy leather. A safe colour scheme, unpretentious, but with a hint of luxury. Seth reckoned it looked just right.

The only nuisance was that he kept thinking of Polly as he made these purchases. Polly lying in that bed and reaching to turn out the lamp. Polly curled on the sofa, relaxed with her shoes kicked off.

But it made no sense to link the woman to these pieces of furniture. He hadn’t any real idea of Polly’s tastes and her visits would only ever be fleeting at best.

*

By the timePolly actually arrived in Wirralong, Seth was working extra hard on his calm and level-headed demeanour. Seemed he wasn’t all that successful, though.

‘Something up with you, Seth?’ LeeAnne asked in much the same tone Mandy had used at Christmas.

Naturally, he’d frowned at her and assured her he was fine. Totally.

‘Okay.’ LeeAnne’s tone quite clearly suggested she didn’t believe him, and she had an all-too-knowing smile the next day when she learned that Polly and Summer were due to arrive later that afternoon.

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