Jack's Baby

She might have been a failure as a daughter, a failure at making a name for herself with her own fashion label, a failure at picking the right man to love, but she was not going to be a failure as a mother. On that Nina was fiercely resolved.

“If your Jack doesn’t worry about money he must have a great job,” Rhonda remarked, obviously interested in the financial angle. She had a budget worked out for everything.

“He runs his own business,” Nina explained.

“Doing what?” Kim pumped.

Nina sighed and gave in to their natural curiosity. “Mostly French polishing. He restores antiques and makes cabinets and other bits and pieces. He’s very good at it.”

A perfectionist, she thought. Like her with her sewing and dress designs. They both enjoyed making something beautiful. Their mutual understanding of the pleasure and satisfaction in creativity was one of the shared bonds that had made their relationship so good.

She wished she could believe in Jack’s turnaround. Maybe she should risk the hurt of giving him a chance. If he persisted. The roses were a heady reminder of Jack’s sensuality. A convulsive little shiver ran over her skin. She had missed the enthralling intimacy of his lovemaking. Sally had a point there. The nights were very lonely by herself.

“I wish my husband was a handy man,” Rhonda said ruefully. “He can’t even change a tap washer.”

“You can always get in a plumber. You can’t hire a doting and devoted father,” Nina pointed out, reminding herself to be very, very wary of where she was heading with Jack, if indeed she was heading anywhere. There would inevitably be a lot of interrupted nights with Charlotte. Jack’s groaning and grumbling wouldn’t exactly be music to her ears.

“Give him time to feel like a father,” Kim advised. “Does Charlotte favour him in looks?”

“Not particularly.”

She looked at their daughter. Her fair hair probably came from him. Not that Jack was fair now, but he must have been when he was a boy. Nina remembered her mother saying she was born with black hair, so Charlotte didn’t take after her in that respect. In any event, Nina was certain Jack hadn’t examined Charlotte for likenesses. She was just the kid to him.

“Well, whether she looks like him or not, babies have a way of winding themselves around fathers’ hearts,” Rhonda declared, unable to imagine any other outcome. “He wouldn’t want to marry you if he didn’t want her.”

The marriage offer had certainly come as a surprise. Probably a conditioned response to the situation, Nina had reasoned, guilt leading to a burst of doing the right thing by her. Given time, Jack would undoubtedly rue the impulsive idea.

“It won’t last,” Nina said, casting a quelling look at Jack’s well-meaning supporters and determinedly dampening the little hope that kept squiggling through her.

Rhonda couldn’t resist a last word. “Look at it this way. If he’s got plenty of money, you could always hire a nanny to take the hassle out of looking after the baby.”

A nanny for a kid. Rhonda had hit the nail on the head with that one, Nina thought. It probably would be Jack’s solution to avoiding having anything to do with Charlotte. Well, he could think again if he was planning to separate her from her baby so he could have their twosome back without the hassle of being involved in parenting.

Charlotte hiccupped. Nina hoisted her up and gently rubbed her back to bring up wind. No nanny could feed her baby as she could. Jack had better appreciate her position on mothering—and fathering—if he really wanted to consider marriage. It was a family package deal or nothing, as far as Nina was concerned.

If Jack came today—she glanced at the roses. When he came today, she needed to get a few things straightened out. He’d better come today if he wanted to show good faith. Sally was taking her home tonight. Nina had no intention of waiting around with Charlotte, hanging onto a hope that might not materialise.

Charlotte burped, then started snuffling around Nina’s shoulder for more milk. Nina lowered her onto her other breast and settled back contentedly to let her baby have her fill.

If Jack Gulliver thought he could walk into their lives and take over as he pleased, he was in for a big surprise.

Two hours later he breezed into the ward, radiating goodwill and bearing more gifts. Nina felt her pulse quicken. He had always excited her. She found herself cravenly wishing she’d put on make-up and a sexier nightie than the practical cotton one with the convenient buttons for breastfeeding. Which was absurd in the circumstances.

“I beat the lunch trolley,” he said, grinning triumphantly as he set his parcels down on her mobile tray and started removing their contents. “I brought you a chocolate thick shake from McDonald’s, that terrine you love—the one with bacon and chicken and pistachio nuts in it—from David Jones’s food hall, your favourite Caesar salad, and fresh strawberries and cream to finish up. Enjoy,” he commanded, positioning the newly laden tray across the bed for easy accessibility.

She stared at him in amazement, not only that he’d remembered what she liked but had actually gone to the trouble of getting it for her. “The hospital does feed me, you know,” she said, struggling against the seduction of being pampered.

“You need appetite tempters, not mass-produced stuff,” he argued earnestly. “And none of this will upset the baby. I checked. So you can eat with a clear conscience.”

He looked so confident, brimming with bonhomie, his green eyes aglow with a gusto for life. It wasn’t fair that he still had the power to dazzle her with his vitality, to ignite a flood of desire with his sizzling sex appeal. It was imperative she keep her head clear and her heart guarded. His words finally filtered through the attraction zone she had to disregard.

“You checked what would upset the baby?” she asked incredulously.

“No excuses for not eating, Nina. You look thin and run-down, and that’s not a good state to be in. You need a full store of energy to cope with a new baby.”

He was sounding off like an authority, and being altogether too virtuous for someone who wanted nothing to do with babies. “Since when did you become an expert on these matters?” she asked suspiciously.

“Made a few phone calls last night for some first-hand advice.” He grinned again. “I’ve got plenty of friends ready, willing and able to hand it out.”

Determinedly cheerful in the face of disaster, Nina thought, though she had to concede he had made it through about sixteen hours without backing off and he was putting in considerable effort at this point. It won’t last, she repeated to herself, but Sally’s sales pitch swirled through her mind, whispering she might as well make the most of it while it did. The terrine was definitely a slice of gourmet heaven.

“Thank you, Jack,” she said sincerely. “This is very kind and thoughtful of you.”

“You’re welcome. Go ahead and eat,” he urged.

The hospital lunch trolley was wheeled in, and Jack waved it on to Kim and Rhonda. They were served with trays of what they had ordered, and Nina hoped they would be somewhat distracted from being interested spectators to the latest development between her and Jack.

She broke open the packet of crackers that accompanied the terrine and helped herself to a generous slice of the tasty delicacy, highly conscious of Jack watching her, exuding intense satisfaction. It was probably a big mistake accepting anything from him, encouraging him to stick around, Nina thought. It would end badly. But right at this moment, however wrong it was, it felt good having Jack here with her.

He stepped to the bassinette and looked at Charlotte, who was sleeping peacefully. This happy state did not test Jack’s paternal staying power. It positively increased his cheerfulness.

“Hi, kid. This is your dad speaking,” he said, blithely confident of no reply. “I’m looking after your mum now, so there’s nothing for you to worry about. You can dream blissful dreams of plenty.”

The terrine was delicious. Nina had to acknowledge Jack had the capacity to be a good provider. And he couldn’t blame Charlotte for messing up his chosen career, because that was solidly established. Apart from his earning power, he’d never been in financial difficulties, anyway. His parents had both been in the law profession, wealthy people who’d left a considerable estate to their only child when they died, both of them from heart attacks in their early sixties.

“Worked themselves to death,” Jack had remarked offhandedly, and Nina had received the strong impression there had been no great love lost between him and his parents.

Yet he must have been a wanted child. His mother had chosen to have him in her late thirties. Nina figured his parents had probably been disappointed and alienated from Jack when he’d chosen to do manual work rather than follow them into their highbrow profession.

In any event, Jack had no money problems.

He had an attitude problem.

And Nina didn’t believe in overnight transformations, however much she might want to. She had seen Jack look benevolently upon babies before, even speak to them benevolently. She knew it to be an act, a social pretence. They were anathema to him.

“Good sleeper, isn’t she?” Jack commented, warm approval in his voice.

“She’ll probably turn into the baby from hell once I take her home,” Nina predicted.

“Well, we’ll meet that problem when it comes,” he said, clinging to blind optimism.

“Why, Jack?” she demanded. “Why are you even thinking of taking this on? I didn’t imagine what you said to me about babies.”

His eyes were pained. “Nina, if I could take that back…if I could take back these past eight months, I would. There’s been one hell of a hole in my life since you took yourself out of it.”

Her heart flipped over. She tore her gaze from his and attacked the lettuce in the Caesar salad. However much he wanted it to be, this was no longer a one-on-one situation. She couldn’t answer his needs. She concentrated fiercely on what she was eating. The dressing on the salad was superb. She loved the tangy taste of anchovies.