She didn’t want to think of all the women Mikkel had brought home with him, and besides, the cabin’s open plan with the bedroom flowing straight into the living room and kitchen wasn’t appropriate for life with small kids. They needed a two-bedroom apartment that wouldn’t require much maintenance from her.
“And Mrs. Enstad helps me so much,” she added, apologetic.
The corner of Eiric’s mouth twitched up, and Lottie thought he likely saw right through her polite excuses.
“It’s fine,” he said. “You don’t have to explain.”
They reached Lottie’s apartment, and Elise yowled with hunger, her fair face screwing up in an outraged grimace.
“Hey, hey,” Lottie shushed her. “Just a moment, baby girl.” She lifted her chin at Eiric. “Will you be okay playing with Aksel for a couple more minutes? I need to feed her.”
Eiric sniffed, then grimaced. “Oof, I think we have a situation here.” He lifted Aksel so their faces were level, and pressed their noses together. “Did you poop, mister?” he asked the little boy.
Aksel gurgled and waved his arms, delighted. Lottie almost blurted that she would take care of it, but Eiric turned on his heels and walked out of the room, toward her bedroom where she’d put the changing table. She tried to remember whether she’d made her bed and put away any stray pieces of laundry, then realized it was too late. If Eiric was going to be scared away by dirty diapers and a messy apartment, she was better off knowing now.
She settled on the couch, grabbed a pillow, and put Elise to her breast. The baby latched on, immediately quieting. Lottie strained her ears to hear what was going on in the other room, but couldn’t discern much beyond Aksel’s babbling. He wasn’t screaming, which was a good sign.
Minutes later, Eiric’s footsteps, soft for a man his size, tracked to the bathroom. He said something to Aksel and turned on the water in the sink. Then he appeared around the corner, a smiling baby in his arms.
His gaze fell on Elise. And Lottie’s breast. His lips parted, and he quickly looked up, at a point just above Lottie’s head. His pale, freckled cheeks turned an interesting shade of pink, and Lottie couldn’t help but grin.
At first, she’d been self-conscious about breastfeeding in front of others, but with two kiddos to feed, she’d quickly overcome any embarrassment.
Eiric, on his part, got over his shock with admirable alacrity. “Um. I put the dirty diaper by the door. I’ll take it out when I leave. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Thanks for changing him.”
He didn’t comment on her state of relative undress, and didn’t run away scared. Instead, he plopped down on the carpet and stacked wooden blocks for Aksel to knock down.
Her heart swelled at the sight of him with her son. They looked good together, the broad-shouldered, red-haired Norwegian and her tiny blond angel. She wanted to shake Eiric and demand to know his intentions; if he was going to leave after making a place for himself in their lives, she needed to know sooner rather than later.
She was falling under his spell, and she didn’t want to be hurt if he decided, in a couple of weeks, that two children and an expat sister-in-law were too much trouble.
But even Mrs. Enstad had been charmed by his gruff voice the moment he’d introduced himself. She’d measured him with her gaze, saying she’d heard rumors about his family.
“They’re all true,” he’d replied, mysteriously, and that had been the end of the conversation.
When Lottie had tried questioning Mrs. Enstad on the matter, she’d refused to tell her anything but claimed that Lottie should be lucky to have found herself under the protection of such a man.
Which made no sense whatsoever.
* * *
In the end, Lottie decided that she didn’t have to figure Eiric out all at once. People spent years together without discovering every facet of their friends or partners, and she’d only known him for a short time.
The most important thing was that he was good with her twins. And if she was honest, she didn’t mind his company at all. Unless she was trying to pry secrets out of him, he was a funny, strong, responsible guy.
He was becoming a friend, she thought as she carried a fussy Elise around the living room. And since she was always in need of those—being short on cash, having twins, and working at odd hours didn’t leave a lot of room for socializing—she accepted whatever help he offered, even though she hated that their relationship was so one-sided. She wished to helphimsomehow, to learn more about him.
But she couldn’t even call him, because he didn’t have a cell phone.
“What kind of guy doesn’t have a phone in the twenty-first century, huh, Elise?” she asked the mewling baby.
Aksel was lying on the rug, happy as a clam while he crawled forward like a soldier at boot camp. His objective was clear: the potted monster plant in the corner and the dirt in the pot. Setting Elise down for a quick second, Lottie scooped Aksel up and moved him closer to his toys, turning him away from the plant in the hopes that he would forget about it.
Her baby girl screamed in protest and flailed her chubby limbs.
“Aw, baby, Mommy’s here,” Lottie cooed at her, picking her up again to rock her. She kissed her flushed forehead—and stopped. “Hey, you’re running a fever.”
