Be My Baby: Her Parenthood Assignment / Three Weddings and a Baby. Fiona Harper

lips were soft and tender and working a crazy kind of magic inside her. His hands moved from her face to cradle the back of her neck and run through her hair. Any self-respecting female would melt at this point—and she didn’t think she was far from it. There was already a worrying tingling in the tips of her toes.

      She didn’t have any choice in the matter. She had to kiss him back. And as she did, everything seemed to spiral in slow motion. She clasped her fingers behind his neck and relaxed into the kiss.

      Oh, wow!

      The pins and needles that had started in her toes, now prickled behind her knees. You couldn’t lose consciousness from a kiss, could you? Luke’s mouth moved from her mouth to her neck and she decided it was entirely possible.

      They were perfectly in tune with each other and, for once in her life, everything seemed to be a perfect fit. Being here in Luke’s arms felt so natural, so right. She forgot all the reasons why this was sheer madness and lost herself in the moment.

      The sound of a door banging upstairs made them spring apart like a pair of guilty fourteen-year-olds caught behind the bike sheds. They stared at each other, eyes like saucers. If it were any consolation, he looked twice as shocked as she felt.

      ‘Heather,’ she managed to croak.

      His tore his eyes from her and focused on the door. ‘Yes. Heather. Right. I’d better go and—’

      ‘Yes, you’d better.’

      And then he was gone. Gaby slumped into the nearest chair and put trembling fingers to her lips. They pulsed as if he were still kissing her.

      

      Luke paused on the landing to muster his scattered emotions. Had he lost his mind? A quick look at the haggard face in the mirror at the top of the stairs told him he wasn’t far off.

      He’d kissed Gaby. The nanny!

      Except she was more than that. Only he didn’t know what. He only knew she got inside his skin and he didn’t know why. But he didn’t have time to ponder that right now; he had a daughter to sort out. Her sobs were audible though her closed bedroom door.

      What had he done?

      He knocked lightly on the door. ‘Heather?’ Some unintelligible wailing was his reply. He pushed the door open gently and stepped inside. She was curled up on the bed, her back to him, hugging her cuddly rabbit.

      ‘Heather, sweetheart? I’m so sorry.’

      She lifted her head to look at him with surprise. And no wonder. Usually, after he’d yelled at her for no good reason, he just brushed it away and never talked about it again. All this time he’d never once apologised. Somehow it had seemed like it was admitting failure and weakness, and that wasn’t what she needed from him. How could he have got it so wrong?

      ‘I really am sorry, darling. Will you forgive me?’

      Now she sat up and looked at him. ‘Me? Forgive you?’

      ‘Yes. Dads make mistakes sometimes too, you know. And I think I’ve been making far too many since we’ve been living together again.’

      Heather sniffed and he offered her a tissue from the box on the dressing table.

      ‘I wish I could start it all again, go back a few months and be a different kind of dad. A better one, anyway. I know it’s difficult to understand, but being away…in prison…made it hard for me to be anything but angry—at everyone and everything, not just you. And I wish I hadn’t, Heather.’ His voice began to wobble. ‘I love you so much. And I’m so sorry.’

      Heather reached out and touched the place where a tear was trailing down his left cheek. She followed it with her finger, clearly astonished at the sight of it. And then her face crumpled and her own tears came hot and fast. He pulled her into his arms and she clung on to him. They stayed there, rocking almost imperceptibly, for what seemed an age.

      When finally it didn’t seem like an impossible task to loosen his arms, he pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. She was still confused, but the rage was no longer there.

      ‘I meant it, sweetheart. I want to try and do things differently from now on. I can’t promise I’m going to get it right all the time, but I’m going to try my hardest. You’re all I’ve got and I don’t want to lose you.’

      She nodded, then smiled a little. And he knew she’d forgiven him. Just like that. All he’d needed to do was open up to her a little, show her it was hard for him too, and then they could weather the storms together.

      ‘Stand up and show me your outfit again.’

      Heather shook her head and curled forwards slightly.

      ‘I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier. I was just surprised at how grown-up you looked. Scared I was going to lose my little girl before I got to know her again, I suppose.’

      Heather didn’t stand up, but she stretched out a little so he could see her top.

      ‘It’s very pretty,’ he said. ‘And you look beautiful in it. A lot like your mum, in fact.’ That had to have been the first time he’d talked about her mother with her since his release.

      ‘Really?’

      ‘Sure. You’re going to be the belle of the ball.’

      She blushed and looked away. ‘It’s only a stupid party, Dad.’

      He smiled and stroked her hair. ‘Well, you’ll be the belle of the stupid party, then.’

      She giggled and smiled back at him, her eyes still wet and pink.

      How had a little honesty been so hard? Why hadn’t he just said all of this months ago? He didn’t know, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Gaby had something to do with unlocking the things trapped inside him.

      Gaby.

      What the hell was he going to do about Gaby?

      More to the point, what the hell was he going to do about the fact that, not only had he just had the most mind-blowing kiss of his life with her, but that he was dangerously close to running downstairs and doing it again?

      He ran his hands through his hair and looked at his watch. He had to take Heather to the party in half an hour. Perhaps when he got back they could talk, although he had no idea what he was going to say.

      I think I like you? I want to get to know you better?

      It all sounded pretty pathetic.

      

      Gaby closed the bedroom door behind her and leant against it. Luke had left to take Heather to the party and she’d crept upstairs from where she’d been hiding in the kitchen. Her fingers wandered to her lips again.

      Before she could lose herself in yet another slow-motion replay of the kiss, she marched herself to the wardrobe and pulled her biggest suitcase down from on top of it. The she opened a drawer and started flinging things inside. What things exactly, she wasn’t sure, but as long as belongings were filling up the case she was heading in the right direction.

      She couldn’t stay here now. Not just because Luke had kissed her, but also because she’d sunk into it with such enthusiasm. And, more than that, the deal clincher, was that she knew it wasn’t just a physical thing.