Page 160 of Set Me On Fire

He was talking faster and faster, as if putting a wall of words between us, but he didn’t need to. I laughed, even as I felt the tears forming.

“Thank you. I…” I shook my head. “Thank you. I can’t believe you did that, but I’m glad you did.”

“So…?” Brent asked. “What do you think? I can put someone in the role temporarily until you’re ready to come back to work…”

I looked down at Chloe and knew two things: that she was my entire world and that living that life as a full-time stay-at-home mum would be too much for me. Being out of the house, interacting with people, having adult conversations, I needed all that too. I jiggled my baby as she started to fret a little, then looked up.

“Yes,” I told Brent. “Yes, I’d love to accept.”

Chapter 69

Millie

Nine months later

“Millie, babe…” I groaned, finding Noah leaning over me. Chloe was well and truly moving towards becoming a toddler but was also going through a major sleep regression. My eyes opened unwillingly, then stared into his.

“What’s up?” That question had my pulse racing as I considered possible answers. “Where’s Chloe? Is she OK?”

“Here she is!” Knox came romping in through the door, a giggling child in his arms. “But she seems to have something on her belly. I better blow it off.” He rubbed his face into her stomach, blowing loud zerbits to the sound of her cackles. As soon as she recovered, though, she turned and reached for me.

“Ma… ma!”

“Hey, baby.” I took her from Knox and tucked her into my side, loving her little sigh as she settled against me. “Had Daddy been looking after you?”

“Dada,” she said with a definite nod.

“So, what did we have planned for today?” I asked.

The answer needed to be lazing around in bed. I’d started back at work once Chloe was six months old, just a couple days a week, but now we were ramping it up to full time. I was so damn tired.

“Well…” Noah glanced at Knox, and there was a look shared between them. “You said before our princess was born that you wanted us to remember that you were a woman, not just a mother.”

“Yeah, scratch that,” I sighed, settling back against the pillow. Chloe wiggled down next to me with a smile. She put her head on the pillow and pretended to sleep. “Mumma wants more sleep.”

“More than going with Jamie to get your nails done?”

“Jamie’s going to get her nails done?”

My head was jerked up off the pillow.

“Jay!” Chloe cried. “Jay!”

“We had to cancel date night the other night due to an emergency call out,” Noah said, “and we wanted to make it up to you.”

“You didn’t need to do that.”

“Yes, we did.” I knew that look in Knox’s eye. He was famously hard to move the moment he made a decision. “Have a shower and get ready. Jamie will be here in about thirty minutes.”

“And we’ve got a date with Cocomelon,” Noah said, reaching for our daughter.

“Coco!” she crowed, flinging herself into his arms.

Sold out for a cartoon baby. I did as Knox requested since I wanted to see what the hell my bestie had planned, only to find her sitting in my kitchen when I got dressed.

“You’re getting your nails done?” I asked.

“I’ve been researching it,” she said proudly. “French tips, gel versus acrylic.”

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