Joey kicked her legs while he changed her diaper, making gurgling sounds as she watched him.
“I need you to promise me not to change too much while I’m gone, baby girl. If you’re going to have a cool milestone soon, how about waiting until I’m home? That would be very much appreciated.”
All clean and in fresh pajamas, Elliot swooped Joey up, kissing her cheek and forehead. Closing his eyes, he just…held her. She tucked herself under his chin, and he rubbed slow circles on her back, whispering something to her I couldn’t hear.
That was okay. They could have their secrets. After all, I’d been the one to tell him she was the best kind of confidant.
Eventually, he brought her to me, and the three of us huddled together on the bed while I fed her. Elliot stroked her cheek, and she looked up at him with complete trust.
“I have to get going,” he said.
“I know.” I leaned into him, kissing his jaw. “Get dressed. We’ll see you off.”
He hesitated, looking from Joey to me. “I’ve never had a problem traveling.” With a grunt of disgust, he climbed to his feet and stalked out of the room to get ready for his flight.
He wasn’t happy about leaving, and I understood.
At least I could be certain he’d hurry back to me as quickly as he could.
I reread Elliot’s latest email while standing in line at my favorite café. I was here for coffee but had my eye on a donut too. Sweets were necessary to push through my gloomy mood. Elliot had been gone five days and just informed me he needed to extend his trip by a week. I’d already been missing him, and now I had to blink back tears.
Silly me.
Joey and I were having a good time together, and Freddie was a massive help, but I missed Elliot far more than I’d even expected. And I might have been imagining it, but I swore Joey was disappointed every morning when it was my face appearing above her bassinet and not Elliot’s.
He’d been texting me regularly and sending me a good morning email every day, which I printed and added with the others.
To: [email protected]
From:[email protected]
Catherine,
Daniel’s shaking has mysteriously diminished lately. Could it be the desert air? Or is he no longer afraid of me? If it’s the latter, it has to be due to him walking in on me telling Joey good night. No one can be afraid of a man who tells a baby she’s a good girl for making a big burp.
But it was an extraordinarily good burp. Our girl is advanced for her age.
I hope you’re sleeping, sweetheart. Take care of you for me so you’re in one piece when I get back.
Yours,
Elliot
P.S. Everything extraordinary about Josephine came from you.
Every word made me smile. I tapped out a quick text, though he was probably at dinner with his associates. That was how he spent his evenings when out of town.
Me: Are you implying Joey got her extraordinary burps from me? If you are, I protest. I’m a lady. I have never burped once in my life.
To my surprise, he replied by the time I had ordered my coffee and glazed donut.
Elliot: I would never accuse you of anything like that, sweetheart. Where are you?
I texted him a picture of my coffee cup and pastry. He replied immediately.
Elliot: Do you know how disappointing it is to receive a picture and you’re not in it? Try again. I’m jonesing for your big brown eyes, Catherine.
My stomach flipped. It was amazing he could give me butterflies from the other side of the world, and he had managed to do it every day he’d been gone.
I found a table and snapped a picture of me biting into my donut and sent it to him.
Elliot: Did you hear my groan all the way over there? I’m supposed to be heading to dinner, but if I walk out of my hotel room now, I’ll cause an international incident.
Me: Are you…hard?
Elliot: Jesus, now I’m going to have to take care of myself before I leave.
Me: If you call me when you get back from dinner, I’ll be on my lunch break. I can watch you.
Elliot: 0823hiv23;,piugrviuqebiuew3ebgu’; You’re killing me. I wish you were here right now.
Me: I miss you too, you know.
Elliot: I’m sorry I had to extend my trip. I want to be coming home to you two, but some things can’t be helped.
Me: I understand, but I still miss you. Call me when you have the chance so I can hear your voice.
Elliot: I will. xx
With a sigh, I stashed my phone in my purse and pushed back from the table. With Elliot out of town, I didn’t have to be in the office quite as early as usual, but it was time to get my butt behind my desk, or Raymond and Davida would side-eye me.
When I turned around to head for the exit, I almost ran into another woman. She jumped back, laughing.
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying atten—” She stopped, and we recognized each other at the same time. “Catherine! How are you?”
“I’m great. I was on my way into the office.”
Ann worked in human resources at LD. I didn’t know her well, but often saw her around the building in passing.
“Wonderful. I am too.” She held up her cup. “Just needed my morning dose.”
I raised my iced coffee. “Same.”
Laughing, she held the door and fell into step beside me. “I’ve been meaning to come talk to you in person about the terrible mix-up with your salary.”
I waved her off. “It’s my fault for not pointing out the error sooner.”
She shook her head. “No, no. It isn’t your fault. Things got lost in the shuffle.” She leaned into me, lowering her voice. “In the strictest confidence, it’s all Elliot’s fault. He really mucked things up by skipping normal procedure and procuring his own candidate for a job we hadn’t even advertised. Then he went and hired you on his own.”
I blinked at her, unsure what she meant. “I don’t understand. I saw the listing for the job. It’s how I applied.”
She patted my shoulder like I was a poor little lamb. “No, that was for an assistant position in marketing. Normally, our executive positions come from a different pool of candidates with much greater qualifications.” Her eyes narrowed on me. “Elliot never did tell me how he found you.”
I offered her a shining smile while revealing nothing. “I guess I got lucky.”
I got lucky again when we were separated by a rush of employees heading into the lobby, so she couldn’t press me for answers I wasn’t going to give her. It wasn’t like I had them, anyway. This was the first I was hearing of this.
Very strange.
I guessed Elliot and I would have a lot to talk about when he came home.
Chapter Thirty-one
Elliot
My one-week trip unavoidably became two weeks.
There were things I had to take care of, and they couldn’t happen from home.
First, I fortified myself with the brightest spot of my day while I’d been away: bedtime with my girls. Catherine was nursing Joey in her bed, getting her nice and drowsy while I talked to them both.
“She looks bigger, sweetheart.”