Page 51 of Test the Ice
“You should have never droppedout of college.” Zoe tosses the paper back to me where my neat handwriting remains, with a list of boundaries that Malaki and I have to follow in order for this whole thing to work out.
“Well, I wouldn’t have, but…” I look at Charleigh, who’s crawling all over the kitchen.
Zoe bends and kisses Char on the head before moving toward the door. “I’m heading out to catch the bus. I have class in an hour.”
I glance at the clock.
Malaki said we had breakfast plans at eight, and I have no idea what that entails. Are we going somewhere? He remembers that I have a daughter, right? She’s pretty much with me all the time unless I’m working, and even then, she sometimes has to tag along.
“If you want to wait, I can probably drop you off,” I say.
“You have plans.” She walks backward toward the door. “With yourfiancé.” She says this with a French accent, and I can’t help but laugh.
“That’s the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”
She gives me the finger and disappears through the back door. It’s just me and Charleigh in the kitchen, waiting for Malaki. Nerves lie quietly in the pit of my stomach at the thought of him meeting her. It’s silly, but what if he changes his mind and doesn’t want to go through with this anymore after learning what it’s like to have a baby around?
Charleigh is a good baby. She’s happy, and her giggle is infectious, but she’s still a baby. She cries sometimes. Is he going to be okay with that? Benedict wasn’t. The first time he held her, she screamed bloody murder, and he quickly shoved her back into my arms.
I nibble on my thumbnail and get on the floor with Charleigh. Sweet potato-flavored puffs are scattered around her, so I pick one up and hand it to her. She gnaws on it with her gums before taking it out of her mouth and trying to feed me.
“No, thank you.” I laugh. “That’s yours.”
Charleigh puts it back into her mouth and then looks over my shoulder to stare.
My heart stalls.
I follow her line of sight and peer at Malaki standing in the hallway with a pink box in his hands.
His boy-next-door smile appears. “We’ve just met, and she’s already ratting me out.”
I quickly stand up, leaving Charleigh on the floor with her soggy puffs.
Malaki walks farther into the kitchen and places the pink box on the table, his attention remaining on Charleigh the majority of the time. “I was waiting to see if you were going to put that in your mouth,” he says to me.
I choke out a laugh, but words fail me when I watch Charleigh hold out another soggy puff. Malaki and I share aquick look as he squats down in front of her. She cranes her head, the crazy wisps of her dark hair flying backward.
Malaki gasps dramatically. “Forme?”
Charleigh wiggles against the tiled floor and scoots closer to him, which is her way of saying yes. The soggy snack, falling apart in her tiny fingers, remains outstretched between them.
“Charleigh, I don’t think he wants–”
Malaki opens his mouth and allows Charleigh to shove the puff inside. My hand comes up to cover my own mouth.
Charleigh squeals with excitement after Malaki sits back on his heels, pretending to chew the puff that no-doubt fell apart the second it touched his tongue.
“Mmmm,” he says as he nods. “That is delicious.”
I laugh so loud they both look at me. Charleigh giggles, and Malaki smiles proudly, like he’s passed some test.
And okay, fine. Maybe he did.
“I can’t believe you just ate that,” I say through a laugh.
“When a girl as cute as her offers you something, you take it.” He heads over to the pink box on the table. “I learned that the hard way from Volkova’s daughter.”
I scoop Charleigh up in my arms, along with the container of puffs. She bucks against me, wanting down again. I sigh, place her back on the ground, and stand to see Malaki holding out the pink box for me.
