Page 86 of Push

Leaning back, my gaze on the ceiling, I tapped the card absently on the edge of the desk. Toby always told me I was beautiful, but he almost nevercalledme beautiful. He called me “doll.” Sometimes, hot with lust, his growly voice rumbled my name,“Gwendolyn.”

Frustrated, I tossed the card and watched it slide across the desk to hit the white jar filled with pens. I glanced at the clock. Midday. I’d done next to no work and wasted most of the morning trying to get my laptop sorted. No one was watching me, but I darted nervous eyes around the room.

A peek at my phone wouldn’t hurt.

A string of messages from Toby lit up my notifications—photos of Noah and silly updates about their day. My smile turned watery as I traced my baby’s sweet face with a shaky finger.

I missed that little chub meister. Did he miss me? Did he even notice I was gone?

I dabbed under my eyes to get rid of the tears before tapping a quick message.

Gwen

Thanks for the photos. Miss him xoxo

The dots of a reply coming in hot and fast popped up on my screen.

Toby

On your lunch break?

Sort of.

Can I call?

I’d barely hit the thumbs-up emoji before the video call request flashed on the screen. Why not? A swipe—yes—and the call connected to show Toby’s waving hand.

“Hey.” His face popped up, his hair rumpled, and his eyes tired, like he’d just woken up.

“Hey.”

The video shook, and Toby’s face disappeared in a blur of the ceiling, the jungle mural painted on the wall, and the crib. He must have propped his phone against the lamp on the nightstand because when he waved again, he was in the rocking chair with Noah snuggled on his chest.

“We were just having a cuddle,” Toby explained in a hushed voice.

Noah’s tiny thumb was stuffed in his mouth. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his face was red and blotchy.

“Is he okay?” My palms landed on the desk. I was ready to launch out of the chair and rush home.

He flapped a hand at me to stay put. “Don’t worry yourself, doll. We’ve had some tears, but we’re working it out.”

“Do you need me to come home—”

“No way. We’re finding our feet.” The soft way Toby patted Noah’s back made my heart ping. I could hate him for many things, but he tried hard to be a good dad. “NoBo told me in no uncertain terms he’s not a fan of the vacuum cleaner. I mean, I wouldn’t have been vacuuming if he hadn’t pulled the lid off the rice and spilled it all over the floor.” He grinned. “I’m told that’s also my fault for giving him the container to shake around.”

“Sounds like he made some valid arguments.”

Toby nodded. “Yeah, he’s a tough boss. Lucky for me, I’m a quick learner.” He wriggled another pillow behind his backbefore smiling at the screen. “And how’syourboss? Everyone treating you good at your new work?”

“Yeah.Toogood. Liam’s driving everyone crazy. I think that’s going to be a daily thing. Hey, I wanted to say thanks for the flowers.”

Toby frowned. “How’d you know about the flowers?”

“They were just delivered.”

He stared at me blankly. I twisted my phone so the camera captured the enormous bouquet on the other side of my desk.

His mouth flattened even more. “I got you some daisies. They’re sitting on the kitchen counter with a gift for you to open when you get home. I didn’t sendthose.”

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