Page 16 of Raising Love
“Their grandparents.” I sat up in my seat and turned to face her. “Somebody else. Shit, anyone else.”
Ivy nodded in agreement but then started shaking her head. “Let’s just think about it.”
“Think about it?”
“Yes.” She nodded, her eyes scanning mine. “Let’s take the twenty-four-hour break Mr. Grant mentioned to think about it and decide.”
A part of me wanted to push back on even that. I was pretty sure that not even twenty-four hours would be enough time to decide if I wanted to take on the responsibility of raising a child.
Because essentially, that was what Ivy and I were being tasked with—raising a damn baby.
I released a heavy sigh and forced myself to nod anyway. “Aight, whatever. Let’s take twenty-four.”
“How about next week?” Vanessa asked in my ear.
Just the mention of the following week sent a pang to my gut as I pulled open the restaurant door. The entire reason I’d even taken her call was to distract myself from thinking about next week. Shit, distract me from thinking about right now.
I stepped inside and into a quieter atmosphere filled with soft jazz and murmurs around the room.
“Next week is the funeral for my friends,” I mumbled as I greeted the hostess with a nod.
“Oh, shit,” Vanessa whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s cool,” I assured. My attention moved to the hostess. “My party is already here. Ivy Pressman.”
“Oh,” Vanessa said into my ear. “You’re… meeting up with Ivy?”
“This way, please,” the hostess said with a smile, gesturing with her arm for me to follow her.
“Yeah,” I said to Vanessa. “We’re meeting up to discuss something.”
“Like?” Vanessa pushed.
I sighed. “Not right now, Vanessa. Please.”
She released a weighted exhale into the phone, making my eardrum vibrate.
The restaurant, Gotham Grill, was quiet at this hour. Only a few people sat at tables spaced out from one another. They spoke low, their voices blending into whispers beneath the soft music playing. The lights were dim, and each table held a cluster of tea lights floating in bowls of water.
I hadn’t told Vanessa about the meeting at the estate lawyer’s office or that I could possibly be taking on the role of a guardian to a newborn baby. Her life as a stylist and socialite made me hesitant to disclose something like that. I didn’t think she’d understand, and we didn’t have that kind of relationship. Our thing was all about fun, and there wasn’t anything fun about babies. At least, not to me.
As the hostess guided me to the far end of the room, Ivy came into view.
As always, her attention was on her phone, her thumbs moving along the screen at rapid speed.
“I’ll call you when I’m done,” I said into the phone to Vanessa. “Aight?”
She grunted. “Okay, fine.”
Before I could say bye or anything else, she hung up the phone.
All I could do was shake my head.
Ivy lifted her head just in time to see me approaching.
“Thank you,” I said to the hostess.
“You’re very welcome.” Her smile widened as she glanced at Ivy. “Should I send the waitress over now?”
