When Arabella had talked to Summer, she’d told her that it was as June
said, a split-second decision that neither of them had thought about
beforehand and if they had, it wouldn’t have happened, and that she did
take her job seriously and didn’t want to jeopardize it. She wanted Summer
to believe that she was sincerely sorry for everything she’d done in high
school, and as a result, she’d promised that s
he’d keep her distance, be
respectful, and do nothing to undermine or hurt June again.
She very much wanted to keep that promise, but it was hard not to feel
tiny flames start to lick at her insides when June looked at her the way she
was doing now. It was clear to Arabella that June didn’t know she was
looking at her in any such way. She probably had no idea that her eyes were
so dark and smoldering, or that her face had a slightly pained expression
when she looked at Sky.
It was suddenly quite clear that June didn’t just like children, she wanted
children of her own. That thought twisted up Arabella’s insides. She smiled
at Sky, but it was hard for her to catch her breath.
“Oh! Hey!” Beth breezed back into her office suddenly, and Arabella let
out a small sigh of relief. Sky imitated her, which made her smile adoringly
at the baby. “Sorry, I forgot about our meeting. I mean, I didn’t forget, but I
kind of forgot. I was a tad distracted.” She indicated Sky, who grabbed at
Arabella’s chin when she leaned in for another raspberry.
“That’s fine,” June said, but her voice was huskier.
Or maybe Arabella was just imagining that.
“I can take her back,” Beth said, holding out her arms. She’d actually
succeeded in cleaning her blouse quite well.
“If you have a meeting, I could watch her in my office,” Arabella said. “I
wouldn’t mind.”
“Really?” Beth asked.
“Really?” June echoed.