“Well, you need a changing table for starters,” Helen murmurs thoughtfully. “And ideally a recliner for yourself so you can feed the baby comfortably. And I believe baby monitors are a thing now.”
I give her an exasperated look. “I should know all this, shouldn’t I?”
She touches my hand lightly. “You’re a first-time mother. Nobody expects you to know everything.”
“Ethan bought parenting books. When I tried to read them, I nearly nodded off,” I admit, ashamed.
She laughs now. “You don’t have to read those books. My husband also bought several of those when we first had Ethan and Jake. I didn’t touch them. My mother used to tell me that a mother was born with instincts that told her what to do. It’s the men who struggle. If you have questions, you can come to me. If you want, I can also come stay with you two for the first few weeks, like my mother did with every child I had. It takes a village, after all.”
“Really?” Hope blooms within me. “That would be wonderful. Would you like to—” I hesitate, wondering if she would findmy next question too imposing. “—come with me to shop for the baby’s furniture?”
Helen’s eyes fill with delight. “I wouldn’t be a bother?”
“I would love your input.” I flush. “If I had a better relationship with my mother, I might have asked her, but you’ve been more of a mother to me than she has.”
“My dear.” Helen wipes her eyes. “I am honored. And even moreso that you want to include me in all of this. Let’s set a date. Next weekend? I have some wonderful places I can take you. My interior designer will take a look at the room, and we can choose a color theme.”
As she goes on, I listen with a growing smile. Her enthusiasm is contagious.
When the check comes, she pays without discussion. And when we step outside into the biting December air, our breath visible in small puffs of vapor, I pull my coat tighter around me and feel oddly lighter despite the cold.
We reach the car, and she’s on the other side, opening her door, when I hear the sound of a door slamming shut. Without thinking, my eyes swivel to the right, just behind me.
“Natalie?”
The voice freezes me in place. Not because it’s loud. But because it’s familiar.
Too familiar.
I turn slowly.
“Rose.”
She's standing a few feet away, inches away from a black car, her long hair whipping in the winter wind despite being tied back, a soft blue dress visible beneath her open black coat. She's holding something in her hand, beside her purse, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold.
My stomach twists—and not from the nausea this time.
Her smile is too bright. Too cheerful. “We should catch up over coffee.”
I don’t respond right away.
“Natalie, dear?” I feel Helen’s gaze on me from inside the car where she’s now sitting.
My heart is pounding.
“Natalie?” Rose’s cheerful voice has me flinching, and my eyes go to her purse and the small item beside it.
“Helen,” I mumble. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
She frowns. “Is that a friend of yours?”
“My-My brother’s ex. I have to go. Tell Ethan.”
I close the car door, my heart sinking.
CHAPTER 26
ETHAN
