Page 30 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

Chapter Nine

“Lulu wants to be a bridesmaid,” Darcy said.

“She does?” Matt appeared a little bemused.

Three weeks had passed since that first less-than-successful day. This was the second time she’d taken Lulu out alone. And while she was quite convinced she was never going to get any awards for her childcare skills, things were going better. Today had been the best so far. But then, she’d had support from Summer and Regan, and Lulu had clearly enjoyed being the center of attention for not just one aunt, but two extra surrogate aunts.

They’d been shopping.

It was something Darcy had resisted for as long as possible. But Summer was getting married in two weeks, and Darcy and Regan were bridesmaids. They needed dresses. Darcy had stated right from the start that no way was she wearing anything even remotely like a traditional bridesmaid’s dress. Certainly nothing pink and nothing flouncy.

The wedding wasn’t going to be a big one, and Summer had said she was welcome to wear whatever she liked as long as she was there. It was Regan who insisted they get something vaguely matching and suitable—she was probably setting a precedent for her own wedding, which wasn’t too far away.

Darcy didn’t think Lulu understood the concept of a wedding, but she did know something was happening and wanted to be part of it.

“I think she wants to come to Summer’s wedding,” she said to Matt, and gave a shrug. “She’ll probably forget it.”

“And Summer is…?”

“My other flatmate. She’s getting married in a couple of weeks. We went shopping today for dresses.”

Lulu held out her arms, and Matt took her from Darcy. “Come in,” he said.

They’d got into the habit of Darcy coming in, waiting until Lulu was in bed, and saying good night. It was all very civilized…if you ignored the undercurrents.

“So did you get a dress?” he asked.

“Aunty Darcy pretty,” Lulu said.

“It took a while for us to find something everyone was happy with, but we got there in the end.”

The dresses they’d finally agreed on were pale purple, almost gray, strappy and unstructured, floor length. They’d gotten matching flat sandals—she’d refused heels, point-blank. Regan had looked beautiful in hers. Darcy wasn’t sure the dress was quite her.

“Go through,” Matt said, nodding to the kitchen, “I opened a bottle of wine.”

“You did?”

“I thought you might appreciate it.”

“Thanks.”

He carried Lulu up the stairs, whispering something in her ear, so she giggled. Darcy watched until they disappeared—she was starting to recognize the little tight feeling she got around her heart when she saw the two of them together—then made her way to the kitchen. It was spotless, as always. If he cooked here, there was no evidence of it. But an open bottle of red wine sat in the middle of the table, with two crystal glasses beside it.

She sat herself down and poured a glass, then took a sip. It was good, full of flavor, and for a minute she relaxed. Things were going well. The gym was doing great. She’d added some classes since she had gotten out. Some specifically aimed at women; self-defense classes. If she had her way, every woman would be able to defend themselves. Sam had also talked her into a fight, though she wasn’t sure that was where she wanted to go. The only way to succeed was to want it with all your heart. But she’d see how the fight went and then decide if she wanted to take it further. She had to have some sort of aim for her life. Now that she’d gotten what she wanted with Lulu, everything else seemed a little pointless.

Regan and Summer were both moving on. They were so in love, and while it wasn’t what she wanted for herself, she couldn’t help but feel a little as though she was missing out on something.

Regan had told her today that even if she didn’t want to fall in love, she needed to get laid. And maybe she was right. She spent way too much time thinking about sex. And not just any sex. Completely inappropriate sex. With the one man she’d told herself was totally off-limits.

Keep everything impersonal. That was the only way this would work. That didn’t stop her from remembering what it had felt like to have his hands on her, in her. She squirmed on her seat as heat coursed through her system, then jumped guiltily as she heard his footsteps on the stairs.

No way was she going to let him know the effect he had on her.

She pushed herself up as Matt entered the room. “I’ll go say good night to Lulu and be off,” she said.

“Sit down. She’s fast asleep. You can go up later.” He crossed the room and poured himself a glass of wine. “You’ve exhausted her. She was asleep before she was down. You deserve a drink. Christ, you deserve a whole bottle—that’s no easy feat.”

“Oh. Okay.” She sank back down slowly. He made her feel like a teenager. All twitchy and hot and bothered. A little voice told her she should get out of there. Go have one last look at Lulu and take herself off. Out of temptation’s way.

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