“Yeah. I guess.”
There’s a sudden shout from the lounge. I check the clock on the bedside table. “Baby’s past due some more painkillers.”
Seb goes to slide off the bed, but I put a hand on his thigh to stop him. “I’ll do it. We only have a tiny bottle. Can’t have her spitting it all back on you.”
Sebastian hasn’t quite gotten the hang of giving babies medicine yet, and Cami really doesn’t like the taste. I think one of his fancy shirts is probably stained irrevocably.
Cyrus moans deeply as I pull away from him, reaching after me. “Hey! I was busy!”
“Suck Jack’s nips,” I offer, grabbing one of the guys’ shirts.
When I step into the lounge, it’s dark, only illuminated by the city lights outside the windows and the little teddy-shaped night light glowing by the crib. Cami is whimpering in her cot, rubbing her pink cheek with her tiny hand.
“Oh, poor baby.” I pick her up, cuddling her close. “It hurts, huh? It’s okay, it’ll stop soon, love, I promise.”
She looks up at me with huge, wet eyes, then flops against my chest and sobs quietly.
I keep her on my hip as I pour out the spoonful of medicine, then sit on the exercise ball Cyrus brought home last week, bouncing her gently as I coax the pink syrup into her mouth. When she finally swallows it, grimacing, I take her on a little walk around the apartment, trying to soothe her back to sleep. As we pass Cyrus’s room, I can hear the guys talking.
“—we’re taking Cami, why not just take Beth as well?” Cyrus asks, his voice low. “The suite is already paid for, and the convention said they could comp us a couple more plane tickets. They’re loaded, they don’t give a shit.”
My eyes widen. I go still, clutching Cami to me.
I don’t particularlywantto go to America—I hate flying with a burning passion—but I think I could get over my fear for a week with these guys. Even if they’re working twenty-four-seven, it would still be better than being completely alone all week. Sebastian and Jack would probably be busy, but I bet Cyrus would have some free time. We could take Cami to zoos and parks, maybe go out for dinner a couple of nights—
“No,” Sebastian says, effortlessly popping my daydream bubble. “She can’t come.”
His tone makes my blood go cold.
“Why not?” Cyrus asks. “It makes way more sense to bring her. She can help take care of ladybug when we’re doing panels and presentations, and whatever. Cami would be much happier going out, than being stuck in our suite for a whole week.”
“We don’tneedher,” Sebastian insists. “Idon’t need her.”
My heart squeezes. I lean against the wall, blood thumping in my ears. “Beth isn’t going to work for us forever,” he continues, his voice hard. “We need to stop relying on her so much.”
“I don’t think she should come, either,” Jack says quietly. “She’ll just be a distraction.”
Cyrus sounds exasperated. “She’s ananny.She’s supposed to make your life easier, not harder.”
“Well. She doesn’t.” Jack pauses. “I don’t want her there.”
I feel like I’ve been stabbed through the ribs by a javelin.
I don’t want her there.
Cami finally sighs and softens in my arms, her little head thunking down against my shoulder. I kiss her and pop her back into her crib, my movements automatic and robotic. My mind is whirring as I stand and stare at her, sleeping peacefully on the crumpled sheets.
A light flicks on in the hallway, and I hear footsteps behind me. Two strong arms wind around my waist, and I’m pulled into a hard, muscled chest.
“Come to bed?” Jack murmurs in my ear, and I nod, letting him lead me back into the bedroom.
Fifty-Six
Beth
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask three days later, as Jack carries the last of their seven suitcases out into the hallway. The boys were shocked when I helped them pack last night, and they realised just how much stuff a baby needs for one week abroad.
“I can do it,” Seb says determinedly. “I want to do it.” He checks his watch. “The car should be here now. The flight leaves in four hours.”