LITMIR.BIZ

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explain a lot,” Grace said. “Not everything, but it helps. I can’t imagine him being mad at his own mother for long. He adores you, Gina. That much I know. But the rest of it is my fault. I didn’t tell him I was pregnant.”

      Gina’s eyes held concern. “That is a situation. Why didn’t you?”

      Because I’m not sure he cares about me. I’m terrified I was just a fling. “Shame. Denial. My career. A million and one things.”

      “Excuses, you mean,” Gina said compassionately.

      “Yes. Poor ones. I spent the first trimester basically in denial, and when I finally had to face the fact that I was going to have a baby, I had to make plans. I was in Paris. Mica was across an ocean. I didn’t want to mess up his life any more, considering how the accident affected him. I didn’t want him to feel responsible. And for a long time, I thought I could handle everything on my own.”

      “Understandable,” Sam replied.

      “Really?” Grace was surprised. Sam was the first person who had explicitly taken her side since this all began. So far, Mica was a write-off. Gina was withholding judgment, but Grace couldn’t expect her not to defend her son. And Grace’s team in Paris had been less than thrilled by the news. As her pregnancy progressed and she had to cut back on her hours in the studio, they reacted with hurt feelings and a sense of abandonment. That only intensified when she announced her trip to Indian Lake. They were as needy as children. But as much as they needed her, she needed them. They were her Paris family.

      “Of course, dear,” Gina added, giving Grace another shock. “I can absolutely put myself in your shoes. You’re a long way from home. Coming back here to face Mica would take a lot of courage, not to mention the logistics.”

      “Well, I say it’s time to move on,” Sam said.

      “Sam’s right.” Gina took the bottle out of Jules’s mouth and put a clean dish towel over her shoulder before holding him against it and patting his back. Jules gave a huge burp and giggled. Gina nestled him back into the crook of her arm. “What an angelic face.”

      “I think so, too,” Grace said. And every time I look at him I’m reminded of Mica. His father. The man I’ll always love.

      Her phone pinged with a text.

      I’m going into town. Don’t be here when I get back. Please.

      They all heard the roar of the pickup as Mica spun the wheels on a patch of ice and backed down the drive.

      Grace looked at Gina. “Mica’s really raw. And I’m just as upset. I should take Jules and go.” She reached for him but Gina turned away from her.

      “Just a minute. Now, where are you staying? And when do I get to see this little guy again?”

      “Gina...” Sam gave her a warning tone.

      “Sorry,” Gina said. “But I just met him. I need details.”

      “You have every right to know my plans. I’m staying with Mrs. Beabots. Her apartment is empty and Aunt Louise doesn’t have room for us. I’m here for nine days to acclimate Jules to Mica, and Mica to his son. Then I need to get back to Paris. I need to leave Jules with Mica for two, maybe three months until I can get my spring show under my belt. It’s a make-it-or-break-it situation. These months will determine the rest of my life!”

      “Seems to me your son is determining your life,” Gina said.

      Grace hung her head. “He is.” Then she met Gina’s eyes. “I don’t know how to explain this without coming off as selfish and self-centered, but I really do want the best for my boy.” Grace felt chills scamper down her spine and her eyes filled with tears. Ever since she’d left Indian Lake last time, waved goodbye to Mica, she’d been an emotional wreck. To be fair, she’d been pregnant most of that time. Still, these days, she cried at the drop of a hat. She told herself that it was hormones. Lack of sleep. But deep down, the truth was always there. It was all about Mica.

      “And you honestly think you’re going to get Mica to care for Jules?”

      “I was hoping he’d fall in love with him at first sight, but Mica is so closed off from us...now I wonder if it’s even possible.”

      “Hmm. That is interesting, isn’t it?” Gina pondered as she handed Jules to Grace. “I think the best thing is to let Mica cool off, which he will, and then you need to put him through his basic training. He hasn’t the first clue about babies. As much as he loves Zeke, he had nothing to do with him when he was an infant. He likes him better now that he can talk.”

      “So do I,” Sam joked.

      “Oh, you!” Gina waved her palm at him. “Let’s get him bundled up. I’ll do what I can from this end to help you with Mica. Though right now, I’m about the last person Mica is going to listen to.”

      “Yeah. I’m not sure either of us have much sway with him at the moment.”

      Gina tapped her cheek with her finger. “Grace. Tomorrow, Sam and I are having a New Year’s Eve party and we’re going to announce our engagement. Please come and bring Jules. All your friends will be here and it will be a good time to show off Jules. Hopefully, when Mica sees everyone’s reaction to this little angel, his heart will soften.”

      “Do you think so, Gina? After today, I’m wondering if that approach isn’t such a good idea.”

      “He knows about the party. You’re my guest. He needs to face his responsibilities.”

      Grace put Jules in his Bundleme as Sam replaced all her items in the diaper bag. Gina rinsed out the baby bottle and threw away the inner collapsible sack.

      Grace said her goodbyes and accepted kisses from Gina and Sam...her son’s grandparents.

      * * *

      MICA HAD HOPED to avoid seeing Grace and the baby again by heading into town, but he hadn’t guessed Grace would stop at the Indian Lake Deli. Just his luck. And of course he’d been the one to tell her to leave the farm. Grace arrived twenty minutes after he put in his order and sat down.

      When she walked in, he watched as people in line regarded her with awe. He’d been too overwhelmed earlier to notice her stylish, black wool coat, with its black faux-fur collar. She carried Jules in a baby carrier and had a black leather bag over her other shoulder. Everything about Grace was attention-getting.

      But it was the way her blue eyes latched on to his from the moment she closed the door. Her smile was faint, but it was there, as if she was happy to see him.

      He forced himself not to smile back, but nothing could harness the appreciation in his eyes.

      She walked over to him. “Your mom was feeding Jules. Then I realized I hadn’t eaten all day.”

      “My mom...”

      “I’d left Jules’s bottles of formula in his diaper bag. Your mom and Sam got him sorted while we were...talking. All you do is heat it in the microwave. He likes it at forty seconds. Not too hot and not too cold.”

      “Like Goldilocks.”

      “Yeah.” She smiled. “It’s nice about the two of them.” Mica’s breath hitched in his chest. His mother and Sam were engaged. They’d been in love for decades. He wasn’t sure he’d ever come to terms with that. Yet Grace was immediately accepting of their relationship. Easy for her. It wasn’t her mother they were talking about. Grace’s mother was dead.

      He felt a streak of guilt shoot down his spine. He should be grateful that his mother was still with him, but right now, all he felt was the bite of betrayal.

      “I don’t want to talk about it.”

      “They’re in love and should be together. Just because people get old, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t find companionship and someone to share their lives with.”

      He leaned forward,

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