Page 14 of Fall

The little boy has wavy, black hair and a cute, little face. He is dressed in jeans and a white top with a car on it. He is so sweet and loud. How can someone so small be shouting so loud?

“Hey, Jake,” Harley says as he picks Jake up from Sebastian, and Jake wraps his little arms around Harley’s neck and hugs him. Jake rests his head on his shoulder and looks at me, making me smile, and I stick my tongue out at him, which makes him giggle.

“How old is he?” I ask Sebastian.

“Ten months,” he tells me, waving a hand inside the house. “Come in, it’s cold out here.”

I walk in and slide my heels off as Harley takes his shoes off.

“This way,” Sebastian says, and I follow him through the house.

There’s a small, cosy-looking lounge and then a dining room before we get to the kitchen, where a girl my age is pulling something out of the oven. She places a tray of what looks like enchiladas down and puts the stove mitts down as she turns to smile at me.

“You must be Tilly,” she says, walking over and pulling me into a hug.

I’m a little shocked at her friendly introduction, but I don’t mind a hug so I return it. When she leans back, I can’t help but think how unfair it is that she has had a baby and is pregnant again and looks amazing. Her long, black hair is up in a messy bun, and she’s wearing casual clothes, which show off the tiny, little bump she has.

“I have to say, you look amazing for someone who is pregnant and has a little one already,” I say.

“Oh, I don’t, but thank you.” She laughs as Sebastian wraps an arm around her and kisses the side of her head.

“You’re crazy beautiful,” he tells her, making her blush a little. “Why don’t you two take Jake to the lounge to play with his toys while I help Maisy serve up dinner?” Sebastian says.

“Sounds good,” Harley replies, and Jake tightens his hands around Harley’s neck as he hugs him again. It’s clear Jake loves Harley.

“Here, go and sit with him and I will get some toys out,” Harley says and hands me the toddler.

“Err, sure, I mean, yes. I just have never held a little one before.”

“You might need the experience one day,” he tells me gently as I accept Jake. I manage to place him on my hip, and he reaches up, taking my glasses off and tries to put them into his mouth.

“Nope, these aren’t food.” I chuckle, and he gives me a toothy grin as I take the glasses from him.

“Har-har,” he says, pointing at the door Harley just left through.

“I know, you love Har-har,” I say as I hold Jake, and I am surprised by how heavy he is.

I walk over to the rug in the room and sit down with Jake in my lap. Jake tries to crawl away the moment I try to sit him down, and I have to pick him up again. It’s only a few minutes of trying to keep his attention before Harley comes in with two trucks in his arms. He puts the trucks in front of Jake, and he crawls over and starts pushing them around the rug.

“Do you like children?” I ask Harley, watching how he looks at Jake.

“Yes, you?” he replies.

“No idea, well, not yet.”

“I think you will be a natural,” he tells me gently, but he doesn’t say anything else as he watches me play with Jake.

I hope Harley is right.

Chapter Seven

Tilly

“Can I have a word with you before you go to bed?” Harley asks me when we get back from Sebastian and Maisy’s house after a lovely meal.

I was surprised by how much information about Harley they managed to tell me over the dinner. I think they both suspect something is going on, so they decided to tell me every good thing they could think of about Harley. I learnt that he always babysits for Jake, and that he helped them so much when Jake was teething and no one was getting any sleep. That Harley’s favourite colour is blue, and he likes strawberry cheesecake. They gave me a lot to think about.

I was hoping to avoid any conversation with Harley, so I planned on rushing up the stairs as soon as we got home, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. I pause, with my hand on the bannister, and look back at him.

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