Page 51 of His Best Friend's Baby

‘Good morning.’

Polly was in the kitchen, helping Summer to manage her spoon as she breakfasted on yoghurt and blueberries, when Seth appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of pyjama shorts.

He yawned and stretched and sent them a grin that rippled through Polly, spreading heat and happiness.

‘How’s the birthday girl?’

‘Wide awake and raring to go,’ Polly responded and then she yawned too.

Seth’s smile softened, as if he was remembering exactly why they were both yawning, and if Polly had been just a little braver, she would have quickly crossed the room to give him a good-morning kiss. Instead, they shared a heart-piercing smile, and then Seth headed for the coffee maker.

‘We haven’t actually talked about your plans for today,’ he said. ‘How do you want to celebrate?’

‘Good question.’ Polly hadn’t really planned much for Summer’s birthday past making the cakes and driving to Wirralong. It wasn’t as if her little girl even knew the day’s significance.

‘I was wondering about a trip to the park,’ Seth suggested. ‘There are swings and slippery slides.’

‘That’s a great idea. And we can save the cake for this afternoon, after Summer’s nap.’

Seth’s eyebrows rose. ‘Summer has an afternoon nap?’

‘Usually. Why?’

He merely smiled and shrugged, all innocence, and Polly found herself blushing as she realised where his thoughts were probably headed.

‘When do we give her our present?’ he asked next.

‘You’ve bought a present?’

‘A couple, actually. I haven’t wrapped them, I’m afraid. I only realised too late that she probably would have loved ripping the paper off.’

Polly grinned, but then shrugged. ‘No big deal.’

‘Anyway, there’s the wading pool we can set up on the deck and I also got a xylophone she can smash the hell out of.’

‘Oh, Seth, they’re perfect gifts. That’s so sweet of you.’ And again it took all of her willpower not to rush across the room to give him a great big kiss and a hug. But this morning she felt shy again and it occurred to her that negotiating the aftermath of a night of unbelievable bliss might be just as excruciatingly awkward for her as the lead-in. But this was certainly a conversation she and Seth needed to have before this weekend was over.

*

It was onlywhen they reached the park and saw the other mothers and even a couple of fathers gathered with assorted children, that Seth realised this outing might not have been his brightest idea.

They were in Polly’s car. Her vehicle was already set up with Summer’s seat, and Seth had driven as he knew the way to this new playground. ‘I hope you don’t mind,’ he said as he parked in the shade of a tree and nodded towards the swings and the happy gathering that included the Langes and the Hargreaves.

Polly didn’t look as worried as he’d feared she might. ‘This is Wirralong,’ she said. ‘You can’t go anywhere without running into people you know. And you’ve already told everyone we’re not an item, haven’t you?’

‘I have,’ he said, although ‘everyone’ was a slight exaggeration. ‘I made it quite clear.’

She turned to him now and, as her blue gaze met his, Seth was conscious of a flock of yet-to-be-answered questions hovering in the car’s confined airspace. Questions like their no-strings proclamation for starters. He really needed to revisit that issue.

And he needed to know if last night had achieved all that Polly hoped for. Had it taken the pressure off? Would she head over to America now?

Unfortunately, this was not the time for any of these questions.

‘If they know we’re just friends,’ Polly was saying. ‘We shouldn’t have a problem, should we?’ But she had dropped her gaze and Seth hadn’t a clue about how she might really be feeling.

*

As Polly unclippedher excited little munchkin from her car seat, she realised she was actually quite comfortable about reconnecting with these women and showing off her baby. Given her own lack of family, there weren’t too many people who had seen Summer as a newborn and who might be interested to see her again now.

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