Page 68 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

He frowned. “Of course. We'll be fine. Go. Have fun.”

“Do you think I could take a shower, too?”

He waved me off. “Go. I've got this.”

I hurried upstairs before he changed his mind or Sophie started screaming or both. Sophie was sleeping in her bassinet, where I'd moved her when she'd fallen asleep after the present wrapping, so I quietly stripped off my clothes and hurried into the en-suite bathroom. I took a fast shower, not wanting to miss a moment with Mimi. I toweled dry, wrapped my wet hair up on top of my head and hurried into the bedroom to change. Except the bedroom wasn't empty. Noah was standing by the bed and facing the bathroom door, Sophie in his arms. She wasn't screaming because he had her drinking from a bottle. And he wasn't focused on her, because I had just walked into the room and into his line of sight, completely naked.

Noah had seen me naked, but that had been before the extra baby weight and stretch marks. Not to mention, I'd been feeling way less than sexy wearing comfy clothes, usually with some sort of baby fluid on them, and rarely having time to shower or even brush my hair. I'd been feeling like a mom, a frumpy mom, so when Noah looked at me and his jaw went slack and his eyes heated like he'd never seen anyone so sexy or beautiful, it did things to me. Sexy, warm, yearning things. I just stood there for three beats of my heart before my senses returned and I spun back into the bathroom, grabbed another towel, and wrapped it around myself.

“I'm sorry,” I said. “I didn't realize you were in here.”

He swallowed hard. “No…” His voice was scratchy and gruff. He cleared his throat and tried again. “No reason to apologize. I…Sophie needed a diaper change. I'll just take her downstairs so you can get dressed.”

It was stupid, but I experienced a pang of regret when he turned and walked away. I wasn't ready for sex and I definitely wasn't ready for sex with him, but it would have been flattering if the sight of my naked body had driven him so mad with lust he'd crossed the room and kissed me. It had been a long time since I'd been kissed and he was such a good kisser. My body tingled at the memory. I kicked myself as he closed the door behind him. I'd told him to stop flirting and to stop talking about us as more than friends. He was doing what I wanted. What I still wanted, dammit.

I dressed and even put on make-up and combed my hair. I didn't take the time to dry it, but I was happy to discover my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. I hurried downstairs and found my aunt cooing at Sophie while Nora held her.

Mimi stood as soon as she saw me. May leaped up, too, and grinned. “Mind if I join?”

“Of course not,” I said.

We grabbed our coats and we left. In my short time in Catalpa Creek, I'd gotten to know the area pretty well, so I was able to show Mimi some great views, some fun shops, and a good restaurant for an early dinner. May took us to the local shop that was selling her photographs and Mimi liked them so much she bought one. I was amazed by the beauty of May's photographs and by the choices she'd made. My favorite was a close-up of Sophie's tiny ear, wisps of her baby soft hair swirling around it. I fully planned to return and buy it after the holidays. I missed Sophie every moment I was away from her, but it was fun to hang out with adults.

“Noah is certainly the doting father,” Mimi said. “Are you still pretending the two of you are just friends?” We were having a quick dinner at a local bar that served burgers and salads.

May snorted and almost sprayed us with her soda. Her eyes widened and she pinched her mouth shut tight like if she was quiet enough I'd forget she was there and talk about her brother.

“First of all,” I said. “I'm not pretending. We really are just friends. And second of all, we are never going to be more than friends. You need to let go of this fantasy that Nora lured the two of you into.”

“Why?” Mimi asked. “You've been hung up on him for years and he's clearly crazy about you.”

“He's crazy about Sophie,” I said. “He thinks he wants a relationship with me, but that's only because he's got some fantasy about the three of us being a family or because he feels obligated to take care of us. He doesn't really wantme.”

Both women just stared at me. Mimi was clearly shocked, but May just looked sad. What I was saying wasn't news to her. “He's watching Sophie so you can spend the day with us,” Mimi said. “He knew you needed to get out of the house and he helped you to do it. That was thinking about you, not Sophie.”

I rolled my eyes. “Any basically decent person would do that. It doesn't mean he's in love with me.”

“It means he's a good guy and you probably ought to at least give him a chance,” Mimi said.

“He had years to fall for me, to even see me, and he never looked at me as more than a friend until I had his baby. He's excited about us both now, but I won't take advantage of that and allow him to be burdened with us. He doesn't really want me.”

Mimi and May stared at me and tears welled in Mimi's eyes.

“Sweetie, you know I love you right?” May asked.

I nodded, because of course she loved me. She'd become more than a friend to me, she was my sister in feeling if not reality.

She didn't look convinced. “I love you enough to tell you that you are talking complete bullshit right now.”

“May,” Mimi said, her tone was sharp and I waited for her to defend me. “Aubrey is severely fucked up by the fact that she was passed from family to family as a kid and never felt wanted anywhere.”

“Mimi,” I screeched. “What the fuck?”

People in the restaurant were starting to look at us, but neither Mimi nor May appeared to care. “You never told me that,” May said, looking honestly hurt. May and I hadn't had a ton of heart-to-hearts but she'd told me how she hated that no one in her family took her seriously, about how every romantic experience she'd had ended because she hadn't found anyone who saw her as capable, as strong, as the person she wanted to be.

“Mimi's exaggerating,” I said. “Besides, it's in the past, it doesn't matter now.”

“It matters,” Mimi said. “Because you're afraid to let Noah in and you're blind to the fact that the man wants you so bad he's one step away from dropping to his knees and begging you.”

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