Page 68 of Prudence
The following day, I joined Nuala to go visit Charli and the baby. She’d had a little girl and named her after her biological mother and Nuala’s aunt, Nadine. As far as I knew, she’d died young, so passing on the name was particularly emotional for the whole family. I adored babies and was excited to hold her, as well as help Charli out around the house if needed.
What I wasn’t anticipating was for Derek to be the one to answer the door. He was clearly on his lunch break because he wore his usual work suit and in his arms was the cutest little baby girl I’d ever seen. She had a tuft of sandy brown hair and big brown eyes that were a replica of Charli’s. Seeing Derek with a newborn, not to mention how he was holding her as if he’d done it a thousand times—which he probably had with Gigi and Pablo—had a heady effect on me.
Derek glanced at his sister before his gaze landed on me, managing to be both tender and heated at the same time.
“Come on in,” a voice called before Charli appeared, waving us into the house.
As I moved by Derek, our gazes connected once again, and I fought the urge to swoon at the sight of him carefully holding such a precious little bundle in his arms.
22.
Derek
It was only meant to be a flying visit. I told Rhys I’d stop by with some items from the pharmacy that he and Charli needed, but then suddenly I was being handed a newborn by my best friend while Charli went to shower and Rhys dipped out for groceries. Now Milly and my sister were here, and though Charli was just out of the shower, fully dressed and her wet hair combed out, I was still holding the baby.
I didn’t mind, only it was bringing back memories of my own kids at this age, and the nostalgia was getting to me.
“Oh, my goodness, she’s so precious,” Nuala cooed, holding her little finger out for baby Nadine to grip as all three women gathered round to gaze tenderly at the infant in my arms. “Charli, she looks just like you, and look at those big eyes. Definitely an old soul. You’ve been here before, haven’t you, Nadine?”
“I can’t believe how thick her hair is,” Milly put in.
“She’s so beautiful,” Charli added. “But so fragile. Rhys and I just sit around staring at her, terrified that if we tear our eyes away for even a second something awful might happen.”
Milly cast her a sympathetic look. “How much sleep have you been getting?”
“Not a lot, but we weren’t expecting to sleep much,” Charli replied on a yawn. “Well, at least not for the first couple of weeks.” At her statement, Milly and I shared a look, both of us knowing that it would be a lot longer than a few weeks, but we didn’t have the heart to break it to her.
Nuala reached out to touch Charli’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go upstairs and take a little nap? I’ll tidy the kitchen and make some lunch while Milly and Derek watch Nadine.”
Charli looked torn, but then Milly cast her a gentle smile. “Take the nap, You’ll feel much better afterward. Besides, when’s the next time you’ll have a qualified doctor to babysit?”
“I did hear how great you were with Uncle Padraig when he fainted,” Charli allowed, chewing on her lip as she decided. “All right, then, but make sure you wake me up in an hour when she needs to be fed”
“Of course,” Nuala said, shooing her up the stairs to her bedroom before glancing back to Milly and me. “Right, I’ll make a start in the kitchen.”
Then I was alone with Milly, my gaze softening when I saw her smiling down at the baby. “I almost forgot how small they are at this age,” she murmured.
“Do you want to hold her?” I asked, and she nodded eagerly.
Carefully, I transferred Nadine into her arms and felt my lungs constrict at the sight of Milly holding her. Nadine made a little gurgling noise, like she might start crying, but then Milly gently swayed her as she went to sit on an armchair, her entire attention focused on the infant. Nadine quietened back down. She stared up at Milly in quiet fascination, and again, I felt that tightening in my lungs. I’d always thought I wouldn’t have more kids, but gazing at Milly had my mind wandering to places it had no business wandering. I’d been so busy I hadn’t even had a chance to take her out on a proper dinner date yet, but here I was, imagining a scenario where she was holdingourchild in her arms.
I’d made the decision not to push her to come clean about her aunt and my father, about why she truly hadn’t wanted to marry me all those years ago. I didn’t want to stress her out, andwe were in such a tentative place. I’d decided I’d let her reveal the truth to me in her own time.
A very soft knock at the front door distracted me. “I’ll go get that. Will you be all right alone with her?”
Milly nodded, not taking her eyes off Nadine as she waved me away, and I went to see who was at the door. When I opened it, I found my mother on the front step, several food containers stacked in her arms. “Oh, Derek, I didn’t know you’d be here,” she said, keeping her voice to a whisper. “I wanted to stop by with some pre-made dinners for Charli and Rhys. I was just going to drop them off and go.”
My lips twitched. “Why are you talking so quietly?”
“Well,” she replied, still whispering. “I don’t want to wake the baby if they’ve just put her down for a nap.”
“She’s awake. Milly has her at the moment, and Nuala’s cleaning the kitchen while Charli rests upstairs. Rhys is out grabbing groceries.”
Mam brightened. “Oh, well, in that case, I might just pop in for a very quick visit.”
I smiled as I moved aside to let her in. She set the containers in my arms. “Pop these in the fridge for me. There’s a good lad.”
Once in the living room, Mam made a beeline for Milly, sitting next to her and beaming down at the baby like she was the most fascinating being in the entire world. I went into the kitchen and found Nuala mopping the floor. “You don’t have to clean the place from top to bottom. A quick freshening up is all that’s needed,” I told her as I placed the food Mam brought in the fridge.
