Three Weddings and a Baby (17 page)

She shifted one leg so she was sitting across his lap facing him, a knee on either side of his thighs, and then she leaned forward and kissed him. Softly. Tenderly. Putting all her heart into it—the way she’d been aching to do ever since he’d turned up at Alice and Cameron’s reception.

He met her eagerly, pulling her towards him, sliding his fingers under the hem of her blouse to feel her skin, and her breath hitched. Blindly, she reached for the top button of his shirt and fumbled with it.

Oh, yes. She was going to make Alex feel good. Very, very good.

Alex woke, as he usually did, well before dawn the next morning, and for a few blessed
moments he felt totally relaxed, totally peaceful. Jennie was curled up against him, breathing softly. He kissed her bare shoulder gently enough not to wake her.

It shocked him how much he loved her. He’d never loved Becky this way.

As he lay there, slowly waking, these strange thoughts flooding his head, the events of the previous day started to sharpen and come into focus. The cold dread he’d been trying to ignore returned and he closed his eyes, willing his pulse rate to flatten, willing himself back onto an even keel.

Jennie’s arm twitched and she sighed gently, then burrowed closer to him. He twisted his head and looked at the alarm clock. Six-thirty. Not a time of day that Jennie habituated. Far from it. Much as he hated to leave her, his brain was whirring now and he feared he’d disturb her if he stayed much longer, so he gently eased himself out of bed and dressed quietly in the bathroom before padding downstairs.

He was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of him when Mollie appeared. She poked just her head round the door, her eyes wide and blinking, her mouth gathered into a tense pout. She was waiting to see what he’d do, what he’d say. He softened
the grim line of his mouth into the beginnings of a smile, let the warmth shine out of his eyes. She walked slowly over to him and stood there looking very forlorn. The thumb on her right hand protruded from her tiny fist and, after a moment’s hesitation, she stuck it in her mouth.

‘You mustn’t run off without asking a grown-up, okay?’ he said, resisting the urge to reach for her and pull her close, just in case it would be too much for her.

She blinked again.

‘Do you think you can do that? ‘

She frowned, deep lines appearing on her forehead—much too deep for a three-year-old.

Jennie had told him of her conversation with Mollie as they’d lain wrapped around each other in the dark last night. A thought hit him. ‘And perhaps we can go and visit Mummy’s grave, take her some flowers and those lovely cards you’ve made her.’ The light returned to Mollie’s eyes and she gave him the slightest, sweetest smile. Before she started bugging him about the lack of chocolate cereal in the house and whether she could have boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast, she leaned against him so their arms touched and pressed into him. Almost,
almost
lay her
head on his shoulder. And then she was gone again.

Alex let out the breath he’d been holding. Maybe it was better she was holding back still. It made it easier for him not to get too attached. She was so sweet, so beautiful. If it turned out…

He flattened that feeling out, too, couldn’t even think about it. Instead, his mind strayed to the case he was trying. Although it was complex, it was much more comfortable than thinking about Mollie. In a week or two they’d know for sure, and then he could breathe out and enjoy the little girl he was starting to lose his heart to.

Jennie woke to the smell of warm coffee. She stretched like a cat and opened her eyes to find Alex smiling at her. Boy, her husband was gorgeous when he smiled. And, after last night, she hoped he had a lot to smile about. A long sigh, mixed with a yawn escaped her lips.

Her hunch had been correct—it had been different between them. But
better
different. Not just heat and fire, although that had been there in abundance,
but…richer
, too.

‘Good morning,’ she said, injecting a smile into the remnants of her yawn.

Alex just placed a mug of coffee on the bedside table and leaned forward to kiss her. And kiss her again. And again. And… Well, the coffee had gone cold by the time she remembered it was there.

‘I’ll make you another one,’ he said, putting his shirt back on and looking a little sheepish.

Jennie smiled. She didn’t care about coffee. All she cared about was that somehow, last night, even after all the turmoil, she and Alex had found a way back to each other. They were no longer dancing around each other like boxers, keeping themselves beyond the other’s reach if there was a hint they might inflict any further damage. This morning she was in the centre of his world again, right where she wanted to be.

J
ENNIE
helped her stepmother clear the dishes while the rest of the family argued over the last piece of pavlova. Cameron was putting forward a very good case, but he didn’t have Mollie’s cute factor. Alice and Alex were cheering their respective loved ones on, and her father was relishing his role as judge and jury.

It had taken a few weeks before they’d been able to get them all together on a Sunday for a family lunch. Alice and Cameron had been on honeymoon and her parents had taken a short trip away to relax after all the wedding madness, and this was the first time both her father and Alice and Cameron had met her new family properly.

Jennie carefully put the pile of plates she’d been carrying down near the sink. ‘That was an incredible lunch, Marion.’ She smiled. ‘Made me realise how much I’ve got to learn. I’ve only just mastered boiling eggs.’

Marion put down the large serving plate she’d been carrying. ‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’

Jennie nodded brightly. ‘Boiling water, salt and then three minutes…hang on.’ She frowned. ‘Or is it four?’

‘No,’ Marion said. ‘I meant with Alex and Mollie…’

The smile slid from Jennie’s face. Of all people, she would have thought that Marion would be the one to understand, to support her.

Marion looked pained, but she clasped her hands in front of her and carried on talking. ‘I just need to know…’ she started, but then she shook her head and began again. ‘You’ve dived into so many things without thinking…and I can’t fault your enthusiasm, but this isn’t some silly scrape you can sweet-talk your way out of when it’s not fun any longer. This is for life.’

‘I know that.’ Jennie’s hands felt all clammy and cold. She folded them into the crooks of her elbows and hugged herself tight. ‘Don’t you… Don’t you think I can do this?’

Marion walked towards her, face full of compassion. ‘I’m not saying that, but…’ She glanced in the direction of the dining room. ‘You haven’t chosen an easy path. I look at that wonderful man and that darling girl and
I see…’ She gently gripped Jennie’s upper arms, held her. ‘Those two come with baggage. Lots of it. There’s going to be heartache as well as joy ahead.’

The sinking feeling in Jennie’s stomach overrode her instant mental denial at Marion’s statement. She stared at the kitchen door. Mollie cheered in the other room and Cameron gave an overly theatrical groan. She knew who’d won her father over in the end and it made her smile, made the cold churning stop.

‘I know what I’ve got myself into.’ She looked into Marion’s eyes. ‘And I know it isn’t going to be easy—it might even be my ultimate scrape…’ She let out a dry laugh. ‘But of all the scrapes I’ve ever got myself into, this is the one that’s worth it. I love him, Marion. I love them both. I don’t care whether it’s sensible or not, whether it’s going to be easy or not—I’m sticking with it.’

Marion drew her into a fragrant hug and Jennie realised she always associated her stepmother’s perfume with peace and calm. ‘Good girl,’ Marion whispered. ‘If you attack it with that attitude, you’ll be fine in the end. And I’m here for you whenever you need me.’

Jennie hugged her back. ‘Thank you,’ she replied softly.

***

Alex stared at the large cardboard envelope the courier had delivered to his chambers. While there was a strong chance it contained legal documents, his gut told him otherwise. It was what he’d been holding out for. What he feared most.

The results of Mollie’s DNA test.

He placed the envelope carefully on his desk, making sure it was square to the edges, and stared at it some more. It was bizarre. He was the man who never backed down from facing anything, who always honoured his commitments, yet he was awfully tempted to stuff it in a drawer and pretend it didn’t exist.

He was concerned that Jennie had allowed herself to get too attached to Mollie. He’d tried to warn her, but she hadn’t listened. She hadn’t hesitated at the threshold of parenthood as he had; she’d done what she always did—thrown herself in at the deep end and worried about whether she could actually do it later.

She was going to be a wonderful mother. Already was, he supposed. Okay, she didn’t always follow the traditional approach, but it was clear that Mollie was beginning to adore her, too. What if the contents of this letter ripped all of that apart? It would break her heart.

Carefully and methodically, he packed his
dark thoughts away in a place he’d built specially in the back of his head. But there was so much stored in there now the pressure was getting too much. Although Alex didn’t consciously notice it, the darkness started to seep through the cracks, tainting everything with shadows until the few colours inside him were gradually swallowed up with shades of grey.

He picked up the envelope, suddenly feeling much better, much more…well, just not feeling the overwhelming sense of panic creeping up on him any more, not feeling much of anything, really. It was a relief, he realised, to have reached this point, to have finally come to terms with the chaos of the last month or two.

He inhaled and tore off the strip from the courier’s envelope and a smaller white one dropped out. Before he could psych himself out of opening that one, too, he ripped it open, unfolded the single sheet and scanned down the printed page until he found what he was looking for.

Only a ninety-nine point nine per cent chance…

Of what? That he was or he wasn’t?

He forced himself to focus and read the lines of print, not just the numbers, and then clutched the flimsy bit of paper to his chest.

The samples matched. Mollie was his. He breathed out, reached for the phone and dialled Jennie’s number.

The sofa was calling to him. He hadn’t sat down and done nothing for weeks. Too many things had been going round his head, making him restless. He’d thought getting the DNA results last week would help, but his thoughts had only picked up speed.

He sank into the sofa and leaned his head against the back cushion, but he couldn’t get himself comfy. Nothing felt right. He shifted his head and tried to create a dent for it. Eventually he found a position that wasn’t perfect but worked.

Jennie was meeting Alice and that mad Coreen up in London later. A crisis meeting to discuss man trouble, or something like that. Alex shuddered. He was very happy to have been left out of the loop on that one.

He’d tried breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. That was supposed to be relaxing, wasn’t it? Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to see whether it worked or not because he’d only managed four and half breaths when a high-pitched cry ruined his concentration.

He sprang off the sofa and pounded up the
stairs just in time to see a half-dressed, half-made-up Jennie disappear into Mollie’s room. He charged in after her, hitting the light switch as he did so. Jennie scooped Mollie into her arms and sat down on the bed with her.

It took Alex a couple of seconds to get his bearings. He still wasn’t used to seeing a riot of pink and prettiness where the elegant guest room once had been. Jennie had managed miracles in a few short weeks. Unfortunately, he suspected it would take a lot more nodding at swatches and handing over his credit card before she was finished.

Jennie rocked Mollie gently, cradling her against her shoulder. ‘What’s up, Princess?’ she murmured into Mollie’s hair. The squealing had stopped, but Mollie’s eyes were wet and pink and she heaved in a breath that shuddered through every part of her tiny frame before putting her lips to Jennie’s ear.

Alex stepped forward, not sure what to do. Jennie swivelled round so he could see her face, still holding Mollie close, and mouthed the word
monsters
at him.

‘Where are they?’ she asked Mollie.

Alex frowned. Surely she should be dispelling the silly idea of monsters, not encouraging it.

‘In the cupboard,’ Mollie whispered and
pointed emphatically at the built-in cupboard on one side of the chimney breast whilst clutching Jennie even harder.

Jennie peeled Mollie off her shoulder and put her on her lap. ‘Well, I think we have a big, strong man somewhere in the house to protect us. I’m sure he’ll scare them all away if we ask him to.’ She looked deliberately in Alex’s direction, then tapped her cheek with a fingertip. ‘Hmm. Now where do you suppose he could be?’

Mollie started to giggle softly and pointed at Alex.

‘Ah, yes,’ Jennie said very seriously. ‘I knew I’d left him somewhere.’

Mollie giggled harder.

‘Now, why don’t you give Daddy that nice new torch I bought you, and he can check in the cupboard for us.’

Still gripping on to Jennie, Mollie leaned over and retrieved a chunky, colourful toy torch from under the corner of her duvet. It never ceased to surprise Alex just how much junk Mollie insisted on having in her bed. There were so many soft toys he was surprised she could find a flat space to sleep on.

Jennie passed the torch to Alex and gave him an encouraging look. He shrugged, turned
the large red button on the torch and marched over to the half-open cupboard door.

‘I think he’d scare
me
away if he came after me like that,’ Jennie whispered behind his back.

‘Do it, Daddy!’ Mollie said, bouncing on Jennie’s lap. ‘Scare the monsters ‘way!’

This was ridiculous. Still, he made a show of opening the cupboard door and shining the torch around. ‘See? No monsters in there.’ He looked over his shoulder at Jennie and Mollie. ‘Come and have a look.’