Page 16 of Overnight Inheritance

Amanda turned back to Sebastian. “What’s the latest about Emily?”

“She’s doing okay. She’s gone to stay with her parents, and the doctor advised that we should wait a few days after the last time she has symptoms before she starts caring for Alfie again.”

“Glad to hear she’s okay,” Barry said. “You said you’re trying to get an agency nanny?”

Sebastian nodded, wrapping a hand behind his neck. “I’m expecting a call back soon. They said they’d have someone here by the end of the day.”

“You know,” Amanda said, “we could take him. It’s only a couple of weeks before our monthly days with him anyway, so we could bump that visit up. The nursery at our house is always ready, Sebastian, just in case you need us.”

“She means,” Barry said, “just in case she gets the chance to have an extra day or two with Alfie.”

Amanda grinned and held the baby a little tighter for a moment. “I can’t deny that.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Sebastian said. “It would certainly be less disruption for Alfie to go to a familiar environment with people he loves than adjust to a new nanny for only a few days.”

“Oh, we’re sure,” Amanda said, her eyes lighting up.

“Right, then.” Sebastian went behind his desk to grab his suit jacket. “We’ll head back to my place now and pack his bags.”

Mae watched everything unfold in front of her, feeling more like a casual observer than a part of the scene. She was here to shadow Sebastian, but this was a private family situation, so perhaps she could hang out in his office in case any other Larrys arrived. “Is there anything specific you want me to do here while you’re gone?”

Sebastian frowned and glanced at his desk. “Not really. There’s nothing you’re up to speed with to work on. I still have some time cleared this morning, so why don’t you come with us, and we’ll have our working lunch early today?”

“I can do that,” Mae said and grabbed her bag.

She, Sebastian, and Alfie caught a cab over to his apartment while his in-laws followed in their car. They didn’t chat much, since Sebastian was focused on Alfie in his baby seat. He was talking to his son, telling him about the trip he was about to have with his grandparents and all the toys he’d pack to take with him, and when he told him how much he loved him, Mae had to swallow past the lump in her throat.

Packing bags went fairly smoothly, partly because Sebastian seemed to be in a routine of leaving each weekend, but he also just seemed to know where everything was. Of course, being a single parent meant he had to be on top of his kid’s things. Still, since he had a full-time nanny, she’d expected he’d stumble a few times.

Amanda fed Alfie a banana while Sebastian got things ready, and by the time they waved Alfie and his grandparents off at the door, she could see the strain around Sebastian’s eyes. They were left standing together in front of the closed door, neither of them speaking for a couple of moments.

It was different than the stress on his face when she’d arrived at the office this morning—that had been more about the frustration of trying to do too many things at once and not succeeding at all. This stress, though. This was deeper.

When children arrived on their first day of school, they were often excited to see all the new things. But the parents? They tended to fall into one of two groups. Those that blinked back their emotions and pretended everything was fine. And those that needed reassurance that they and their child would be okay. The expression on Sebastian’s face seemed to put him squarely in the second group. Seeing his uncertainty pulled fiercely at her heartstrings.

“Does he go with them often?” she asked gently.

He loosened the tie at his neck. “They come down and spend a day with him every couple of weeks, and we planned that he’d do an overnight trip to their place every month, but I often manage to find an excuse to put that off. Luckily, they’re understanding.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He blinked hard and looked at her, confused. “Talk about it? I’m fine. Really.”

“Okay, then,” she said, not believing him for a minute.

“It’s a bit early to go for lunch.” He undid his white shirt’s cuff buttons and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. “Do you want a coffee here first? Or we could go back to the office.”

After a hectic twelve hours, taking his nanny to the ER and having Alfie at work, then having his son leave for a few days, she could see that he needed a beat to catch his breath. That was something she could help with.

“A coffee would be great, thanks.”

She followed him into the kitchen and leaned back against the counter as he operated a state-of-the-art coffee machine. He talked as he worked, explaining something about Bellavista Holdings, his talking getting faster as he went, until she stepped close and laid a hand on his forearm.

“Sebastian,” she said.

He looked up sharply.

“It’s okay to be sad.”

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