not that easy.” Roslyn pushed out of his arms and shook her head. “Samantha isn’t strong. She’s not like Leila—who can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. And she’s not like me.” She took Patrick’s hand. “I have an incredible man who I can lean on and who can pick up the pieces when I fall apart.”
Patrick bowed his head.
“I know you’ve never cared for my baby sister.”
His head jerked up again. “That’s not true.” He hedged as he selected his next words. “I just don’t like how she emotionally blackmails you…or anyone who tries to get too close.”
“And what if Ms. Friedman is right? What if she has had a baby? Do you think that she’s emotionally stable to raise a child?”
“We don’t know—”
“Hypothetically?”
Patrick drew a deep breath and gave the questions careful consideration. “I honestly don’t know.”
Roslyn nodded and returned to his arms. “Neither do I.”
“Your sister abandoned her baby?” Garrick asked, mentally snapping pieces of the puzzle together.
“Looks that way.” Leila ripped open the thin envelope and unfolded the enclosed letter. “Dear Leila, I’m sorry.” She stopped and closed her eyes to pray for strength.
“Is that all it says?” Garrick asked, bouncing and patting the baby’s back.
Slowly, the child’s wails teetered off to soft coos.
Amazed, Leila glanced up. “How are you doing that?”
“It’s like I said—” he cocked his head with a disarming smile “—I’m a natural.”
At that moment, the little girl released a high-pitched squeal to contradict his claim.
A smug smile curved Leila’s lips.
“Any chance I can get that diaper?” he asked.
“Oh.” Leila’s brain kicked into gear. “I think I saw a bag in the kitchen. Hopefully there’s one in there.” She rushed to the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted an unmistakable pink diaper bag on the table. “Bingo! I found it.”
She unzipped the bag and found a stockpile of tiny diapers, bottled milk, plastic toys and singing stuffed frogs.
Garrick strolled into the kitchen while making funny noises to Leila’s new niece. “She’s adorable,” he said, taking one of the diapers. “What’s her name?”
“No clue.”
“You never even met her before?”
“What can I say? Not every family is like the Huxtables,” Leila huffed, and then remembered the letter she still clasped in her hand.
Her new neighbor quickly changed the subject. “Where should I change her?”
Leila lowered the letter again and glanced around. “Uh, I guess we can do it in the living room?”
“Okay.” He carved out a smile. “Lead the way.”
Since her house was not exactly equipped with a baby-changing station, Leila settled on him lying the baby down on the sofa. Even then, she cringed at the potential mess he could make on the furniture’s expensive fabric.
“Any wipes or baby powder?”
Leila blinked as if he spoke a foreign language.
“Could you check the bag?” he asked.
“Oh, yes. Of course.” Leila hid her embarrassment by pivoting and racing back to the kitchen. He had to think she was a complete idiot. In ten minutes, he’d learned that she didn’t know how to hold a baby, calm a baby, or even change a baby. Yet, here she was—with a baby.
“I’ll never forgive her for this,” Leila mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the diaper bag. When she returned to the living room, once again, she watched him coo and blubber a bunch of gibberish. All of which her niece found entertaining.
“Here you go.” She handed over the bag.
“Thanks.” He quickly pulled out the items he needed. “You better pay close attention, seeing you’re going to have to do this about seven to ten times a day.”
Leila’s eyebrows leaped up. “That much?”
“Give or take.” He flashed her a dimpled smile.
Her stomach clenched and she tightened the belt on her robe before, once again, remembering the letter. She unfolded it and read. “Dear Leila. I’m sorry. I know my leaving your new six-month-old niece will be a mild inconvenience…” Leila glanced up. “A mild inconvenience?”
Garrick looked at her but said nothing.
Leila rolled her eyes and returned her attention back to the letter. “Like me, motherhood was never a part of your plans. However, unlike me, your decision wasn’t based on the fact that you would make a lousy mother, but simply because you’re married to your career. I, on the other hand, am a screwup. I always have been.”
Leila’s voice softened. “Since little Emma came into my life, I’m seized by the fear that I’m going to screw her up as well. That’s the last thing I want to do. Emma deserves all the things I can’t give her, but I know that you can. Please don’t hate me for doing this. But I believe I’m doing what’s best for my daughter. Take care of her and love her as your own. Both of you will always be in my thoughts and in my heart. Love, Sam.”
Leila crumpled the letter in her hand. “Give me a break.”
Garrick cast another sidelong glance in her direction.
“Trust me,” she said, folding her arms. “My sister is a piece of work. Every time things get tough, she gets going.”
“But there’s a little girl caught in the middle,” Garrick said.
“Yeah.” Leila fell silent as she stared down at Emma. She could see hints of Sam in the shape of the child’s face and nose.
“Well,” Garrick said, folding up the used diaper. “I’m all done here. You have someplace I can put this?”
Panic seized her. “You’re leaving?”
“Well. There’s no real reason for me to stick around.”
Emma kicked and giggled to herself.
“Besides,” Garrick chuckled and smiled, “I don’t think this little lady will be giving you any more trouble.” He tickled the child’s sides and was rewarded with another burst of giggles. “She’s adorable.”
“But—but. I didn’t see how you did the diaper thingy,” Leila said.
“Trust
