Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,73
pleadingly. “One night without having people breathing down my back. If you think about my timing, it’s like fate stepped in. I think Aurelia and I can both use a good dose of Flossie tomorrow.”
He gritted his teeth to keep from arguing with her. Then he picked up the playpen and Bea’s carrier, in which she was sleeping, and headed out of Harmony Pointe with his baby girl and all her supplies, feeling as though he were leaving a piece of them both behind.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
AURELIA STUMBLED OUT of the bedroom at ten o’clock Thursday morning feeling like she’d slept for a month, despite having gotten up twice during the night. She’d woken both times with a start, having thought she’d heard Bea crying. But she’d been met with an empty bedroom. Her sheets smelled like Ben, and she’d lain awake wondering if Bea had woken up right then and if Ben was doing okay with her. She missed them even more than she’d thought she would, and when she’d seen the M&M’s and wine Ben had left on her dresser, it had driven that longing even deeper.
“I was beginning to wonder if I should put a mirror under your nose and make sure you were still breathing,” Remi said from her perch on a barstool by the counter.
“Sorry. I guess I was more exhausted than I realized.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and climbed onto a stool beside Remi, who was bright-eyed and fully awake. “Isn’t it only seven your time? How long have you been up?”
Remi shrugged. “I haven’t been sleeping much lately.” She sipped her coffee and said, “A stalker will do that to a girl.”
“Remi, that’s not funny.”
“I know.” She looked down at her coffee. “They broke in last week. It was creepy. They smashed the glass cabinet where I keep my awards, but they didn’t take anything. Although I didn’t check my underwear drawer.” She laughed half-heartedly. “I didn’t want to know.”
“That’s so scary. Why on earth are you dodging your bodyguards? I’d stick to them like glue.”
“Because I’m sick of living my life under a microscope. I feel like I’m in jail.” She rested her head on Aurelia’s shoulder and said, “Thank you for letting me stay with you. Are you okay?”
“No,” Aurelia admitted. “I feel like such a loser.”
Remi sat up and said, “You mean because you’re human?”
“It’s just, I love Bea and I love Ben, and I want to be with them. He trusted me with his daughter, and I had to have his sister come to my rescue.”
“You are way too hard on yourself. I went online to this parenting site this morning to see what other parents do when they feel like this, and, girlfriend, you are not alone. Women are hiding in their pantries, bawling their eyes out, and then sucking it up the rest of the day to care for screaming kids. Most of the moms with babies Bea’s age take naps when the baby does, and you’re going full speed all day and probably all night.”
“Well, they’ve gone through childbirth. It’s different.”
“Ohmygod. Really? You can’t believe that. I mean, sure, they hurt all over, and I’m sure giving birth is hard work, but you can’t think that caring for an infant isn’t just as exhausting, whether or not you gave birth to her. Plus, you’re trying to set up a business while caring for her. Give yourself a break. I couldn’t do it, and I’d bet Ben’s sisters couldn’t either.”
Aurelia sat up and said, “All I know is that I love her and Ben, I missed them last night, and I miss them now. And I don’t want to cry in a pantry, but thank you. It feels good knowing I’m not that far from normal. You know all those commercials where you see the new mom loving up her baby? The ones where everything is sunshine and smiles? Someone should make commercials with new moms who have their clothes on backward, their hair askew, and dark circles under their eyes, shuffling around like zombies.”
Remi laughed. “I’ll bring that up to my agent.”
“I’m not kidding. I mean, when it’s me and Ben, we do okay. How do single moms do it all without tons of help? The media is so misleading.”
“Want to hear something funny?” Remi asked, looking a little uneasy.
“Yes. Please make me laugh.”
Remi climbed off the stool, looking cute in a pair of black leggings and a white shirt that probably cost more than