Page 40 of Cross Me

Elizabeth’s arms flailed, catching the tower and sending it toppling to ruins. Her head fell back and she wailed. I rushed to her, not wanting to interrupt the number of people trying to get their jobs done, but Anderson was quicker. He plucked her off the blanket. Rolling onto his back he held her in the air. “How about we go for a fly, beautiful girl?”

Giggles instantly replaced tears. My heart did a strange little flip at the sight of him zooming her around the air. I could almost see Alexander doing the same thing, except he wasn’t here to make his daughter laugh. But her giggles were infectious and I smiled despite the heaviness in my heart. The moment I did, I felt guilty. The feeling settled into my stomach and grew roots there. I didn’t know this man. Why was I comparing him to my husband? Because Anderson was here and Alexander wasn’t? Alexander blew raspberries on Elizabeth’s tummy and wiped away tears and rocked her to sleep—it wasn’t like he was an absentee father. He’d been preoccupied for the last couple of weeks. But what would happen when we had another baby to draw our attention away?

“Are you okay?” Anderson said. I looked down to see his eyes were now on me, his arms still holding Elizabeth in mid-air flight.

“I’m fine. Just tired.” It wasn’t a lie. I was tired, but sleep wasn’t going to do me any good. My heart was tired.

“You know, I think they could do without you for a few hours. Maybe you should go take a nap. I’m sure there’s enough of us to look after her.”

“You want me to leave my baby with a bunch of racecar drivers?” I was more likely to abandon her to a pack of wolves.

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “We can take her around the track a few times.”

I reached down and plucked her out of his arms. “I don’t think her daddy would like that.”

“Daddy isn’t here,” he teased.

It was an innocent remark, but I flinched. The smirk on his face disappeared as he realized what he’d said.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sorry.” He sat up, running his hand through his hair. He paused at the back of his neck, massaging an invisible spot. The movement triggered another wave of guilt in me. He was trying to be nice and I was being crazy.

Elizabeth screeched at being taken away from her new friend. She screwed up her face, her hands balling into tiny fists. “I think we could both use a nap.”

“We can manage here.”

“Thanks.” I meant it. Meanwhile, my daughter was throwing her body toward Anderson. “I think she likes you.”

“She just misses her daddy,” he said. He pushed onto his feet. He stood and patted the top of her head. “Take a nap and maybe mum will let you go around the track later.”

Elizabeth gurgled her approval for this plan.

“Maybe she will,” I cooed, “in forty or fifty years.”

I helped Elizabeth wave goodbye to Anderson and turned to find Brex. A little quiet time seemed like a very good idea. The next few days would be long ones, and right now my heart was heavy.

Instead of Brex, I found Georgia. She was sitting cross-legged on the desk watching me. Her eyes traveled to Anderson, then retreated back to me.

I forced a smile onto my face and made my way over. “Where’s Brex?”

“He’s overseeing the crowd control plan,” she said.

“Oh.” That put a stop to my plans.

“Is there something you need?” she asked.

“I thought I’d take Elizabeth back to the house. I can wait.”

She hopped down with enviable grace. “I’ll see to it.”

She took a few steps toward the door and I breathed a sigh of relief. If Georgia was going to pretend nothing had happened, then I was feeling guilty for nothing. Alexander wasn’t here and that was screwing with my head.

Before she’d cleared the office door, she stopped and turned to me. “Word of advice? Tread carefully.”

I didn’t insult her by asking what she meant. I simply watched her go. Maybe I had something to feel guilty about after all.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ALEXANDER