Page 13 of In This Together

She had stayed in place of their usual sitter until Hannah and Rod had come home from work, having counted down the minutes until she could go back to her clean, noise-free life. She had done her good deed and was ready to leave the circus.

Until Hannah walked through the door into the lounge and stood on one spot as she turned her head around the house, her jaw dropping loose.

‘Ros, you… you cleaned my house?’

Maybe it was the tiredness or something, but Rosalie had looked at her friend’s full eyes and felt her own eyes cloud over as she nodded and gathered up TJ from the sofa, hugging him to her chest. ‘I hope you don’t mind. TJ has slept a lot and?—’

‘Ros, we don’t mind at all. Man, you must have been at this all day,’ Rod said, hanging his thick, muscly arm around his wife’s shoulder.

Rosalie had shrugged, uncommonly bashful, and handed TJ to his mom. ‘I’ll get going. The valet guys returned my car not long ago.’

In response to the questioning looks she’d received, Rosalie explained, ‘TJ threw up again.’

Hannah had covered her gasp with her hands. ‘Shit, I’m sorry, Ros. We’ll pay for the cleaning.’

She’d waved off the offer. ‘I’m just glad I could help.’ And, she’d thought in her car as she drove back into the city, she really was grateful. She had achieved something good with her day. She hadn’t just lunched and shopped; she’d made someone she cared about happy, and that made her feel… fulfilled, in return.

That thought had prompted her to call Hannah and tell her she would sit for TJ again today. Except she fully intended to have the day out with TJ today that she’d hoped for yesterday.

‘How about the Plaza, TJ?’ Rosalie asked, watching the baby in his car seat as he chewed a rubber donut in the back of her Porsche.

‘I agree. The Plaza it is. Do you like babyccinos? I’ll bet you do.’

* * *

A short while and Manhattan’s traffic later, Rosalie pulled up outside the Plaza.

‘Well, aren’t you just adorable?’ the concierge asked as he helped Rosalie inside, taking the adaptable car seat harbouring TJ from her.

As they headed inside, the hotel valet climbed into the Porsche behind them and drove away.

‘Thank you,’ Rosalie replied to the concierge with pride.

‘Is he yours?’

For a moment, Rosalie felt affronted – didn’t she look responsible enough to have a child?

Then she realised, TJ had much darker skin than hers – somewhere between Hannah’s pasty white and Rod’s black – and he had Rod’s wide nose and Hannah’s bright blue eyes.

‘He’s my godson,’ she said with pride – Hannah clearly thought she was responsible.

She tickled the baby’s tummy as he swung happily in his seat, which was hooked over the arm of the concierge. When he giggled, the sweetness of the sound made Rosalie’s heart swell in such a peculiar way it caused her to falter in her stride.

Whatwasthat feeling?

She swallowed to loosen her tightening throat and adjusted her leopard-print wrap dress.

They were settled at a table – TJ in a highchair, which Hannah had proudly informed Rosalie was very impressive at TJ’s age – under the rose-pink stained-glass roof of The Palm Court room and promptly served a latte, a babyccino and a plate of macarons. It was Rosalie’s favourite dining room at the hotel. The ornately decorated Venetian-style walls oozed opulence. The gold chairs with their fancy upholstery signified money. The bright green palm trees allowed diners to feel like they could have stepped off the bustling streets of Manhattan into a tropical paradise. There was controlled chatter throughout the room, everyone respectful enough of one another’s space. Music played at a low level in the background and, crucially, staff were always on hand should one need anything particular.

She nibbled a raspberry macaron, just enough to get the taste, then set it to the edge of her plate and dabbed her mouth with the linen napkin that a waiter had kindly laid across her lap.

‘So, Teej… Can I call you Teej? We’ll have our drinks and snacks, then we’ll go pick out a dress for Aunty Andrea to wear to the commemoration concert for Sir Presley John on Thursday. Your mom was in the middle of doing that when you had your bout of puking yesterday.’

Rosalie pulled a face that saidYucky, making TJ chuckle loudly. That alien feeling came back to her with the sound. Was it just that this kid’s cuteness factor was off the charts? No matter what she did, he was unconditionally happy with her.

‘You know how the whole aunty thing works, don’t you, baby boy? See, technically Andrea and me, we aren’t youractualaunties, but we love you better than any blood relative anyway, right?’

TJ gurgled, which Rosalie took as confirmation that he understood.

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