Something I had never seen before. At least, not unless it came with an eye roll.
She looked…happy.
No, not happy. But joyful.
I barely had time to drop my bags before she was across the room and in my arms. My hands went to her slim waist, and I was drowned in the masses of her long hair as she buried her head in my neck.
I would have been less surprised if Audrey came running across the room into my arms.
“You’re home early.”
Home. I’d never get tired of hearing her say that. The fact that I could feel her breath on my skin as she said it, lit me on fire.
“I missed my girls.”
I’d just begun to fully embrace her when she let go and stepped back, clearing her throat and looking down at the floor before peeking up through her lashes. “Sorry. That was a bit much.”
“Nah. I think it was just enough.”
She stared for a bit longer before dropping her eyes again. The moment grew tense, and I didn’t want to ruin the warm welcome with her overthinking it, so I didn’t push and picked Audrey up from her rocker.
“Were you that bad that Mommy actually missed me?”
I held her close and breathed in her sweet baby scent I’d grown addicted to. Kissing her fat cheek, I relished the feeling of being whole with her in my arms.
“Say, no. You’d never be that bad,” I baby-talked and smiled. “You’re an angel.”
Her big blue eyes blinked up at me before the most magical thing happened. Her little cheek twitched until she was giving me a gummy smile.
“Holy shit! She smiled,” I said to Carina but didn’t take my attention off Audrey. “Did you smile for me? Yes, you did. Yes, you did.”
“I should record this and send it to Erik.”
“Don’t you dare. He’d post it on the company website.”
Carina came over to stroke Audrey’s cheek, and I soaked in her citrus and lavender scent as well. I had to fight from turning my head and burying it in her neck to breathe more of her in.
It’d been the longest week of my life being away from my girls. Even with all the messaging and FaceTime. Each time I talked to Carina, I expected her to call me out on including her with Audrey when I called them “my girls,” but she never did. Not that it would have mattered. They both were, whether Carina would admit it or not.
“I was just about to put her down,” Carina said.
“I’ll do it. You grab the plates, and we can eat once she’s asleep.”
It was maybe ten minutes of rocking and bouncing before Audrey’s eyes slid closed despite how hard she fought to keep them open. Part of me wanted to keep her in my arms, but I was looking forward to dinner with Carina. So, I sat her in her sleeper and headed to the dining room where Carina had everything set up.
“Let me guess you wanted Chinese?”
She glowered but smiled a radiant smile. “Actually, Mexican sounded good.”
I stumbled back and put my hand to my chest. “Did hell just freeze over? Is this a dream?”
She laughed and slapped my shoulder. “Sit down and eat before I change my mind.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I’d just taken my first bite when she asked, “How are you here?”
“Well, Miss Russo, there’s this flying metal box they call an airplane. It’s magical and amazing.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. I knew I was a goner for this woman when I even missed watching her daily eye rolls.
“Shut up.”
“I rushed some meetings and took the soonest flight home. It was too long of a trip anyway.”
She pushed some rice around her plate, and her hair fell, hiding her face. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
Reaching across the small space, I brushed her hair behind her ear and waited until she met my eyes. “Me too.”
Christ, I loved that blush on her cheeks. It always made me wonder how far down it went. One of these days I’d find out.
“Maybe next time you and Audrey can come with me.”
“Yeah, that would be really nice.” She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “So, tell me about work.”
We spent the rest of the meal talking shop, but I regaled her with stories of the interesting things I saw and people I met. I could have sat there all night watching her laugh and hearing her opinion on the marketing, but soon she was yawning.
“We should probably head to bed. Audrey will be up soon.”
“Yeah, let me help you clean up.”
She took the plates in, and I gathered the trash. She was just putting the last plate in the dishwasher when I walked in. Her round bottom looked extra ripe under her black leggings. Her waist had slimmed like Audrey had never been there at all. She was beautiful and I just…I just had to have a taste.