One Month to Become a Mum. Louisa George

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СКАЧАТЬ a lacklustre half-smile, abruptly stalked to the car and climbed into the passenger seat with no further word.

      He followed, irked by her strange reaction. Clipping Lucy safely into her car seat, he bit back a retort. Jessie had obviously been thrown by the sight of his daughter.

      But why? Why had she suddenly changed from feisty to flustered?

      He slammed the door, unwittingly startling Lucy. Then he blew his daughter a kiss through the window and she wiggled her open palm back. He glanced at the front passenger seat. How was Jessie reacting to that?

      No. Stop.

      This was exactly the reason women were off the menu—he didn’t have time to waste worrying about what other people thought, whether he’d said or done the wrong thing. He’d learnt pretty rapidly that, where women were concerned, nothing was the right thing. One failed marriage later and he would not be repeating the experience.

      So he was not going to grace Jessie’s strange actions with a question. The less he got involved with her, the better.

      He climbed into the driver’s seat, gunned the engine and pulled into the road. ‘Everyone okay and ready to go?’

      ‘Fine.’ Jessie hung onto the doorhandle and practised her deep-breathing exercises. She could not bring herself to look over her shoulder at the little girl in the back seat. Or at Luke’s speedometer. Or at his face. Her hasty retreat to the car had probably appeared rude. Judging by his flattened expression, Luke thought she was a complete fruit loop. She so desperately wanted to get out and walk.

      Absolutely the number-one doozie of first days.

      Any chance of a rewind? Preferably back to that brief email conversation with Zac where she’d agreed to come and help. Building bridges was all well and good, but there was a limit. Cars and babies were hers. And now she could add green hair to the list.

      ‘You don’t look fine.’ He glanced at her white knuckles. ‘Something wrong?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘First-day nerves?’

      ‘Yeah. Something like that.’

      She’d done enough navel-gazing and healing to last a lifetime and was proud of her strength and resilience. So she was surprised at the force of her reaction when she’d seen the little ankle-biter today. Usually she coped well with children, if prepared. It wasn’t that she disliked them, far from it. But after her accident she couldn’t have them.

      Which meant she had to suck up her dreams and get on with her new life. She breathed away the shafts of pain arrowing her solar plexus. Sometimes the brave face she plastered on every day felt a little less brave than she’d like.

      Luke slammed his foot on the accelerator and surged onto the highway into speeding traffic. ‘Ha! There’s often a mini rush-hour at this time. The trick is to nudge in quickly, then we’re high and dry.’

      ‘Whoa. Any chance of taking it easy?’ Jessie’s heart rate notched into hyperdrive as she pumped her foot on an imaginary brake and scanned around for oncoming out-of-control traffic. ‘Or has NASCAR shifted to North Beach?’

      He shot a glance at her then focused again on the road. ‘Sorry. Vietnam’s legendary traffic chaos got you spooked?’

      ‘No, I just don’t like going fast. It’s all good now.’ Good now they were travelling in a long line of traffic at no faster than a snail’s pace. Yes, tomorrow she’d walk.

      ‘Da-a-addy?’ Lucy’s voice was more whimper than whine.

      ‘Yes, honey?’ Double-chocolate fudge dripped through his response. There was no doubting his affection for his little girl. Love oozed through every word.

      ‘Is Jess the Grinch?’

      ‘No! Lucy!’ A sharp intake of breath accompanied his stifled laugh. Jessie could have sworn he blushed. If men did that kind of thing. She was out of practice with what men did, or didn’t do. Michael had certainly never blushed. Even when caught with his pants down. She shuddered. Cling onto that image and she’d never look at a man again.

      ‘I’m sorry Jessie, she didn’t mean it.’ Luke laughed again. ‘You’re nothing like the Grinch.’

      ‘The what? Okay, tell me, what the heck is a Grinch?’

      ‘It’s a … well, it’s an evil green creature …’ Luke flicked her a wry smile and shrugged apologetically. Although he didn’t look remotely sorry. ‘It’s a character in a kid’s story who tries to steal Christmas. Pretty scary stuff when you’re two.’

      ‘Great. So my hair will be giving the children nightmares and the oldies heart attacks!’ She pigged her eyes and put on a witchy voice. ‘Then my work here will be done.’

      ‘Ah, is that what’s eating you? Seriously? The hair? Don’t worry.’ His smile softened. ‘You’ll be fine. I’m sure.’

      ‘I wish I could believe you.’ Jessie stole a look at his profile. Tiny lines edged his temple. Above the curve of his lip she noticed a diminutive dimple, just small enough to fit the end of her little finger, or the tip of her tongue.

      Whoa, that had come out of left field. She pushed it straight back there. Fleetingly something hot shifted in her stomach, like a million butterflies flexing their wings.

      Strange. Butterflies? Maybe she did have first-day nerves after all.

      From the back of the car Lucy’s laughter turned into a cough. A tight whistling wheeze, she noted, on exhalation. A chesty rattle. And again. Then it was gone.

      A shadow fell over Luke’s face, his features froze in concern. Just watching his reaction made Jessie’s heart slam against her ribcage.

      ‘Lucy? You okay, baby?’

      ‘Okay, Daddy.’ She coughed some more.

      Jessie twisted to get a glimpse of the toddler and check her pallor. But Luke had clipped her directly behind Jessie’s seat. All she managed to see was a pair of chubby legs stuffed into bright red Mary-Janes.

      Her heart fluttered and she calmed it. It was just a cough. Lots of kids had them. Why was she thinking of getting involved? The kid’s father was a doctor and sitting right there. ‘She’s probably having a panic attack at sharing a ride with a green-haired Christmas-stealing creature.’

      ‘No. It’s fragile asthma.’ A frown furrowed his forehead as he glanced at his daughter in the driver’s mirror for the tenth time. ‘Spent a few nights in hospital over the years. Never want to go there again. The spacer is our friend.’ He winked at Lucy. ‘Hey, honey? Cough better now?’

      ‘Yes, Daddy.’

      ‘Good girl.’ He smiled stiffly as he steered the car into a kowhai-flanked car park in front of a smart colonial-style villa. Yellow flowers glittered in the sunshine. ‘It’s triggered by stress, excitement, fear—you know, the usual suspects …’

      ‘Scary stuff.’ She’d seen too many parents eaten away by worry, watching their child struggle for breath. Luke would be the same. No СКАЧАТЬ