Feel the Heat: A Contemporary Romance Anthology
Evelyn Adams, Christine Bell, Rhian Cahill, Mari Carr, Margo Bond Collins, Jennifer Dawson, Cathryn Fox, Allison Gatta, Molly McLain, Cari Quinn
One
“BABY, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT you want.”
It was a ridiculous request. The crying five-month-old in Claire’s arms couldn’t answer her and the obvious things weren’t working. She patted her daughter’s freshly changed diaper, cupping her hand around the tiny bottom as she walked circles around the bright airy penthouse she shared with her husband, Luke.
She’d paced for what felt like miles over the wide ebony-colored planks, trying to soothe her baby girl, and any comfort she felt in the beautiful surroundings had evaporated hours ago. Right about the time she found her daughter wailing in her crib while the baby nurse insisted letting her cry it out was healthy. She’d never liked the older woman, but one of Luke’s contacts swore by her and she had a list of references that read like a Who’s Who of Atlanta society, including politicians’ and CEOs’ families. It didn’t matter; hiring the nurse had been a colossal mistake. She had a schedule for everything and neither Claire nor the baby seemed to fit comfortably into it.
Pressing her lips to her daughter’s soft head, she breathed in the sweet, clean baby scent. It wasn’t just the schedule. Claire hated the idea of someone else taking care of her child. She wanted to be the one doing it, but she also had a business to run. And she didn’t want to give that up. Taking over her father’s electrical contracting company had been her dream for as long as she could remember. While he was well, they’d worked side by side, and when Alzheimer’s stole him from her, she’d taken the helm and pushed the firm to the next level. Of course, as soon as they found out she was pregnant, the guys who’d respected her and worked for her for years started to treat her like a china doll, a situation that only got worse after the baby was born.
They loved her little girl like one of their own, but seeing Claire as a mother made them treat her differently, and she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d lost some of the ground she’d worked so hard to make up over the years. Before Luke and the baby, her crew saw her as one of them. She worked the dirty jobs beside them, and if they didn’t exactly forget she was a woman, it didn’t come up every minute. Now mother and wife seemed to flash over her head like a neon sign. Her guys were happy for her—she knew they were—but things were different, and she had no idea how to navigate the new climate. Add in the fact that she missed Bella every moment she was away from her and worried about the job when she wasn’t on site, and it was no wonder she was a mess.
Claire felt pulled in a million different directions, trying to do everything and failing at all of it. And it wasn’t as if she could talk to Luke about it. He fixed things, often without her consent, and her life wasn’t something that could be fixed. If she knew what to do, she’d have done it herself.
“Come on, sweet baby. You have to give Mommy a clue here.” She shifted the baby against her shoulder, rubbing circles on her small back. Bella snuffled against her shoulder, whimpering pathetically before she started to cry again. “You can’t be hungry. We tried that already, remember?”
She’d tried nursing her twice. Each time the baby settled in and started to suckle, she’d pop off, fussing in frustration and eventually working up to a full-throated wail. The few nerves Claire had left were well and truly frayed. She needed to figure something out quick before she lost what was left of her mind. The baby gummed her shoulder insistently, and Claire blew out a frustrated breath. Maybe the third time was the charm. Ignoring the wet patch on the shoulder of her T-shirt, she settled them in the corner of the couch. Cradling her daughter in her arms, she raised her shirt to what felt like the perpetual up position and popped the catch on her plain white, decidedly unsexy nursing bra. The baby latched on and nursed for a few seconds before turning her head away and picking up the crying where she’d left off. Her daughter’s pathetic frustrated whimpers pushed her over the edge and Claire rested the baby against her bent knees as her own tears fell in angry streaks down her cheeks. Mother and daughter stared at each other, tears pooling on both pairs of eyes.
“I don’t know what to do,” said Claire, the sob catching in her throat.
She gave in to the frustration and despair, letting the sorrow wash over her along with the tears. Clutching the baby to her, they cried together. Their mutual sobs masked any sound but the ones they were making.