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‘But…Saskia, I can’t expect you to do that! You’re both working full time. Even if the nursery can have the kids for the extra hours, it’s—I can’t ask you to do that.’
‘We’re offering,’ Toby said.
Lydia explained what they’d discussed in the car. ‘They’ll be perfectly safe with us.’
‘But I’ve never been away from Helena before. Not for a whole night, let alone however long I’ll be in Vancouver! And I’ve only been away from Billy for a couple of nights.’
‘On your anniversary, when Paul swept you away for a romantic weekend and I babysat,’ Saskia reminded her. ‘Lyd, you can’t be in two places at once. If you stay here, you’ll get yourself in a state about Paul. If you go to Vancouver, at least you know you don’t have to worry about the kids because they’ll be with us. Toby gets to play with a train set all evening, I get to sing nursery rhymes…’ She spread her hands. ‘So everyone’s happy. Helena’s too young to know what’s going on, and Billy’s going to get spoiled rotten. You can ring him every day so he gets to talk to you, I’ll get him to draw pictures to send to you, and Toby and I will text you several times a day.’
Lydia bit her lip. ‘Thanks. And I love you for offering. But I can’t.’ She raked a hand through her hair. ‘It’s six weeks till Christmas. I haven’t even started my shopping or thought about writing cards or—’
‘Easy. Write a list on the plane, then fax it to me when you get to Vancouver,’ Saskia said. ‘And, no, it’s not going to be a hassle. I can get most of it through the Internet.’ She grinned. ‘And I love spending other people’s money.’
‘There’s no point in arguing with her, Lyd. You know she’s got an answer for everything,’ Toby said, smiling to take the sting from his words.
‘Are you sure?’ Lydia asked.
‘Sure,’ Toby said. ‘And you’ll be back home in time to do the tree with Billy. Now, go and pack. Saskia’ll book your ticket. Where’s your passport?’
‘Uh—I dunno, somewhere in the filing cabinet.’
‘GPs. They’re so hopeless with paperwork,’ Saskia teased. To her relief, it made Lydia give her the glimmer of a smile.
‘I don’t know how to thank you both,’ Lydia said.
‘Chocolate,’ Toby said in a stage whisper. ‘Now go and pack.’
‘I’m sorry I ruined your dinner out,’ Lydia said when Saskia came up to tell her everything was booked.
‘Hey, no worries. It’s not as if it was a hot date. Only Toby.’
‘Only? Saskia, this is our best friend you’re dismissing.’
‘I’m not dismissing him.’ Saskia shook her head impatiently. ‘You know I adore Tobe. But he’s not my man.’
‘Pity. You two would be good together.’
Saskia scoffed. ‘Forget it, Lyd. I value him too much to ruin our friendship like that.’
‘Maybe it wouldn’t be ruining it,’ Lydia suggested quietly.
‘Yes, it would. Stop matchmaking. I’m not cut out for marriage, and you know it. Anyway, I’m busy with my career.’ Just as her parents had been. Saskia knew she’d been an accident, and not a happy one at that. Yes, she’d had enough freedom as a teenager to make all her friends envious—but she’d also grown up realising that her parents should never have got married, let alone had children. She’d learned from their mistakes, and marriage was definitely not for her.
As for the children part…Two months ago, she’d discovered that was going to be out of the question, too. Not that she’d bothered Lydia or Toby with that choice piece of information yet. She was still thinking about it, mulling over her options. Besides, Lyd was busy with her family, and Toby—well, she needed to sort his life out before she sorted hers. Find him a woman who’d give him the love and cherishing he deserved, because he sure as hell wasn’t going to find one for himself. Toby never dated. And considering he’d told her on her twenty-first birthday—when they’d both drunk far too much champagne—that he wanted to get married and have six kids, the big noisy family he hadn’t had as a child…
Ah. She’d sort her friends’ lives out. And then maybe her own might miraculously fall into place while she wasn’t looking.
‘Right. I’m taking notes.’ She waved her electronic organiser at Lydia. ‘Helena’s routine I pretty much know anyway.’ Saskia was a frequent enough visitor to the Osbourne household to know when the baby was fed and had naps. ‘You’ve got baby food in the freezer?’
‘Frozen in ice cubes. She’s on two cubes of savoury followed by two sweet or fromage frais. They’re all labelled, and she’s had them all before so you don’t have to worry about her having a bad reaction to new food. There are pots of fromage frais in the fridge.’ Lydia grimaced as she shut her case. ‘One thing, Billy’s decided he’s eating nothing but chicken nuggets.’
‘Ha. Aunty Saskia will have him on fajitas with extra jalapeños by the time you get back.’ Then Saskia saw her friend’s expression. ‘Joke, Lyd. Of course I wouldn’t give him jalapeños! Fajitas might be a good idea, though. If he gets to choose his own veggies, shredded chicken and a tortilla wrap, and he makes it all himself, he’s more likely to try it.’ Then she frowned. ‘What?’
‘Listen to you. Talk about child psychology. You’d make a brilliant mother.’
‘Godmother,’ Saskia corrected firmly. ‘I’m not cut out for motherhood.’ Especially now. Though she’d find a better time to tell Lydia about that. ‘Now, I’ve phoned the nursery manager and explained it’s a crisis. They’re fine about having Helena and Billy from eight until four, or whenever Toby or I can get there. Toby and I will synchronise shifts tomorrow, so one of us is on an early while the other’s on a late and we can work around nursery times. You can ring your folks on the way to Manchester airport and let them know what’s happening. I’ve got the hospital’s number in Vancouver, so I can leave messages there. Have you spoken to Paul’s parents?’
‘I’ll ring from Vancouver, when I’ve seen him and can reassure them.’
‘Good idea.’ Saskia hugged her. ‘Right, you’re all set. Give Paul my love. And don’t worry about rushing back. I know he’ll be able to leave hospital in a couple of days, but no way can he tackle a long-haul flight for at least two weeks after the operation.’ Preferably six, to make sure there were no complications. Though she wasn’t going to remind Lydia about that in case she panicked again. Lydia had a cool head where work was concerned, but tended to act like a headless chicken at home. And the idea of Paul having to miss their daughter’s first Christmas because he was thousands of miles away would make her cry all the way to Vancouver. ‘Toby and I will be fine.’
‘Yeah. You’re the best.’ Lydia hugged her back. ‘Thanks, Saskia.’
‘That’s what friends are for,’ Saskia said lightly.
Lydia paused by Helena’s cot. The baby was lying on her back with her hands up by her head. Lydia leaned over to kiss her. ‘My baby. Saskia, I can’t bear this.’
‘I’ll take a picture of her every day and send it to your phone,’ Saskia promised.
Lydia breathed in the baby’s scent. ‘My baby,’ she whispered again.
‘Your baby will be absolutely fine, I promise you,’ Saskia said. ‘I hate to rush you, but you’ve got a plane to catch.’
‘I know.’ Lydia kissed Helena one more time. ‘I have to kiss Billy goodbye.’
‘Quickly. And I’m not being horrible—the more drawn-out it is, the worse you’re going to feel,’ Saskia advised.
Lydia stroked Billy’s forehead. ‘Sleep well, honey. And Mummy’s going to be home very, very soon,’ she whispered. ‘I love you.’
‘And he loves you, too, and he’ll drive you mad with questions about the plane when you talk to him on the phone tomorrow,’ Saskia said, and shepherded her friend downstairs. ‘Now. Handbag?’
Lydia grabbed it from the coatstand. ‘Check.’
‘Money?’
‘Check. I’ll change some at the airport.’
‘Passport, Toby’s sorting. Book to read on the plane?’
‘I’ll get something at the airport.’
‘Passport.’ Toby came into the hall and handed it to her. ‘Saskia, you need to have a word with our Lyd about filing things efficiently.’
Lydia hugged him. ‘Thanks, Tobe. I owe you one.’
‘Any time.’ He ruffled her hair. ‘Come on, let’s go—or I’ll end up having to break the speed limit to get you to the airport on time, and I want to keep my licence clean.’
‘Yes.’ Lydia’s voice wobbled, and it was obvious that she was only just holding the tears back. ‘I can’t bear leaving them.’
‘It’s going to be fine.’ Toby kissed Saskia’s cheek. ‘I’ll pick up some clean clothes from your place on the way back,’ he said.
Saskia had given him a spare key years ago, just as she had the spare key to his house on her keyring. It meant if one of them was on holiday the other could water the plants and generally keep an eye on things. ‘Try to pick something that matches,’ she said.
He snorted. ‘You always wear a black or navy suit and a cream shirt at work. What’s to match?’
‘Shoes. I can’t wear a black suit with navy shoes, can I?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Women,’ he said, then winked at her and escorted Lydia to his car.
Saskia checked on both children—who were sleeping soundly—then rejected the idea of reheating her fajitas. She ought to wait for Toby, even though she knew it’d be at least four hours before he came back from the airport and their respective houses. She made herself a cup of coffee, raided Lydia’s biscuit tin, took a novel at random from the shelves on one side of the fireplace and curled up on the sofa.
What an evening.
She’d gone out for dinner with her best friend, expecting a chance to chatter and have a glass of wine and put her problems out of her mind. And now she was facing possibly a few weeks of being a stand-in mum.
Wife and mum, seeing that Toby had put himself in the role of stand-in dad.
She shook herself. No. Her relationships were a disaster area, and she wasn’t going to mix up Toby in that. She sighed, wishing Lydia hadn’t even suggested it. She didn’t want to think about Toby in that sense. He was her best friend. Sure, he was good-looking—the blueprint of tall, dark and handsome, with slate-blue eyes and that vulnerable mouth. He was funny, he was clever—he’d made consultant last year at the age of thirty-three—and he was genuinely nice.
In fact, she couldn’t work out why someone hadn’t snapped him up years ago.
But he wasn’t the one for her. Was he?
CHAPTER TWO (#ub389257c-dae2-51cb-b84c-ebf688eab92f)
IT WAS nearly midnight before Toby came back. ‘I stayed to see Lyd onto the plane,’ he explained.
Only Toby would be that thoughtful. ‘You must be shattered. And starving,’ Saskia said.
‘I’m past it now—I couldn’t face the fajitas. I hope you didn’t wait for me.’
She shrugged it off. ‘I wasn’t that hungry anyway. Hey, I’ll make you a hot drink. If you have coffee now, you won’t sleep—so would you rather have camomile tea or hot milk?’
‘They’re both vile,’ Toby grumbled. ‘Nah, I’ll be fine, but thanks for the offer. What shift are you on tomorrow?’
‘Early. You?’
‘Early. But I’ll fix it so I can go in an hour later than you. I’ll drop the kids off, you pick them up.’
‘Sure. I’ll book a taxi to drop me at work, and I’ll pick my car up later.’ She smiled. ‘I made up your bed in the spare room.’
‘Cheers. I’m ready to drop.’ He handed her a small, bright pink case. ‘I’m glad nobody saw me with this. Pink luggage. Now, that’s embarrassing.’
She grinned. ‘Don’t be such a baby.’
‘I sorted out a couple of shirts, two suits and two pairs of shoes.’
And underwear, she hoped. The idea of Toby picking out her underwear…She shook herself. No, this was her best friend. Not her lover. Not the man she wanted to surprise her with a confection in silk and lace. Not the man she’d dress up for.
Though she was aware it sounded as if she was trying to protest a little too much.
‘Thanks. See you in the morning, then. Um, do you want the shower first?’
‘Ladies first,’ he said gravely.
She laughed. ‘You’ll regret that when I’ve hogged the bathroom for an hour.’
Mmm, and he could think of exactly how she could spend that hour. In the shower. With him. He shook himself. Hell, he must be more tired than he’d thought. He usually managed to suppress his fantasies about his best friend.
Usually.
Then again, he didn’t usually live with her. OK, so they weren’t sharing a room. Weren’t sharing a bed. Other than that, they were living together as stand-in parents. Arranging things around the kids, like any other couple with a family. They’d even be making Christmas decorations together with Billy this year…
He reined in his thoughts. If he didn’t watch it, he’d do something stupid. Like kiss her. Or sweep her off her feet. And then he’d lose her for good. No, he’d stay with the softly-softly approach. It would work, in the end. He just knew it.
‘See you in the morning,’ he said, and headed for his room before he gave in to temptation.
By the time Toby had showered and changed next morning, Saskia had already fed the children, strapped the car seat into Toby’s car, made a pot of coffee and found out from Vancouver that Paul’s operation had been a success.
‘You’re seriously scary,’ he said, accepting a cup of coffee gratefully. ‘And I love you for it.’
‘Good.’ A horn beeped outside and she looked out of the living-room window. ‘Yes, that’s my taxi. I’d better go.’ She kissed the children goodbye. ‘Be good for Uncle Toby,’ she told Billy. ‘I’ll see you both this afternoon. And I’ll see you…’ she waved at Toby ‘…some time at work, so we can synchronise our duty rosters. Lunch?’
‘I’ll ring you,’ he promised.
‘Ciao.’ And she was gone.
Toby tried to stifle his disappointment. As if she’d been going to kiss him goodbye, as well as the children.
But it would have been nice.
Odd, odd, odd. Saskia was used to not sharing her breakfast table. No crumbs or cereal on the floor, no spilled milk all over the table, and she could do the crossword and listen to the news on the radio in peace without having to make conversation with anyone else.
But it had been…well, nice. Helping Billy to smear butter and Marmite on his toast, having Helena blowing raspberries at her, seeing the children’s faces light up as soon as Toby had walked in. It had never been like that when she’d grown up. Just a succession of nannies and then her parents, who’d insisted on complete silence at the breakfast table while they’d read the newspaper or a case brief.
She shook herself as she realised that they were at the hospital and the cabbie was waiting for the fare. Now was not the time to start fantasising about having a family. She had a job to do.
She paid the cabbie, gave him an extra tip to make up for her dozy behaviour, took the stairs to the maternity unit and started her ward round. No complications on the ward, so she did a quick round of the delivery floor.
‘Saskia, I’m glad you’re here. I could do with a second opinion.’
Saskia went straight onto red alert. Georgina Wilson was their senior midwife, and her instincts were always spot on. ‘What’s up?’
‘Clare Fellowes. First baby, due eleven days ago. We induced her yesterday morning with prostaglandins—two lots—and she was only just three centimetres dilated at a quarter to one this morning.’
Usually induction meant a fast labour—this one was unusually slow.
‘Larissa broke Clare’s waters at six this morning. It doesn’t seem to have speeded up her labour at all.’
