Still thinking hard, he added, “Luckily, she’ll be in the guest room in the basement, so you’ll have some space. She’s been known to suck all the oxygen out of a room.”
Jeremy’s lips curved up. “She sounds funny.”
“She is. But she can cook like a dream and she likes to shop. Expect her to making about a dozen Walmart and Target runs. And . . . she wants to teach you how to play hearts. It’s a card game.”
“She wants to play cards with me?”
Pleased that the boy didn’t look horrified but kind of happy, Gunnar nodded. “Honestly, you got the good end of the deal. She wants to dance with me.”
“Huh?”
“Ballroom dancing.”
Jeremy grinned, then started laughing. “No way.”
“I wouldn’t lie about that. She’s planning to dance the cha-cha on some swing-dancing cruise ship.”
“What’s the cha-cha?”
“I have no idea but she’s coming here so I can take lessons on how to do it with her.”
“You’re gonna take cha-cha lessons?”
“Yep.” His lips twitched. It wasn’t going to be pretty, he knew that. He weighed 240 pounds. Guys like him didn’t move lightly on their feet.
As if he was imagining it, the boy laughed harder. Gunnar couldn’t blame him. They were going to have quite the time of it, and that was a fact.
But when he found himself chuckling as well, Gunnar realized that it was going to be okay. He had this boy on his side now.
CHAPTER 10
“Joy to the World, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King.”
Sometimes Kimber thought that the noise and commotion surrounding her old apartment in the center of Manhattan had nothing on her room on the top floor of Dance With Me.
Currently, the building felt filled to the brim and it was as noisy as all get out. She’d woken to Jennifer blaring old school eighties music while she made five dozen cupcakes for one of her clients. Kimber swore if she never heard another Bon Jovi song, it wouldn’t be long enough.
Just as Jennifer finished, Shannon had opened the doors for her weekly ballroom class for senior citizens. They were a noisy bunch—especially when Gwen was there.
Gwen, who had recently moved in permanently, was also in the studio. Even though she was only nineteen, she had a way with the seniors that was magical. They all loved her and the good feelings seemed to be mutual. Whenever Gwen entered the room, it reminded Kimber of Norm from that old television show Cheers. Choruses of “Hi, Gwen!” rang out like bells.
Gwen was also the birth mother of little baby Bridge, Kimber’s sister Traci’s son.
About once a week, Gwen also babysat for Traci so Traci could take a long shift at the police department. It all coincided on the same night this week, so Kimber was on baby duty. She and Jennifer were sitting on the floor in the living room with baby Bridge. They’d turned the fire on, Jennifer had made snowball cookies, and Christmas music was floating upstairs from the seniors’ class.
All in all, it was exactly the opposite type of evening than those she used to have in New York City. Back then, she and her model roommates were either always getting ready to go out or work the next day. It had been stressful, expensive, and loud.
This was cozy and quiet. Kimber couldn’t imagine a better night.
Especially since Bridge was getting so darn cute. The little guy was six months old. He was chunky and happy, and just learning how to crawl. Just being near him relieved Kimber’s stress.
She and Jennifer were sitting on opposite sides of a quilt. In the center, Bridge was lying on his back and squealing while he played with some kind of musical contraption. When Bridge lost interest in the sounds and seemed happier to play with a set of plastic containers and a spoon that was next to Jennifer, she looked over at Kimber and smiled. “Does seeing Bridge ever make you wish for a baby of your own?”
Kimber already loved Bridge. Thought he was adorable too. But having one of her own? No way. “Sorry, but no.”
“Really?”
“You have Jack and are practically engaged. I am not. I think I’ll worry about getting a boyfriend before I add a baby into the mix.”
“Oh, don’t be so literal. You don’t have to be in a relationship to think that having a baby sounds like fun.”
“This is true. But shouldn’t a gal think that having a baby would be fun. I do not. I can’t imagine all the responsibility right now.”
“Traci and Matt seem to be doing okay with him.”
“I don’t disagree.” Kimber stretched her legs. “I already love this little guy, though.”
As if Bridge had just noticed her, he directed a big, gummy smile her way and crawled toward her.
She picked him up with a laugh. “You sure know how to get around, sport. I didn’t know babies could crawl so fast!” Kissing him on the cheek, she cooed, “I’m going to need to keep my feet in sneakers to keep up with you.”
Bridge giggled then crawled back to the center of the quilt and started playing with the buttons on the toy again.
Kimber leaned back and stretched out her legs. She might not admit it out loud, but there were moments like this when she thought that maybe having a baby one day wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Bridge was so cute.
“Hey, Kimber?”
“Hmm?”
Jennifer tilted her head as she studied Kimber more closely. “Do you miss traveling?”
Sitting up, she asked, “You mean traveling for modeling?” When Jennifer nodded, Kimber shook her head. “Not really. I got to visit a lot of amazing places, but it was hard too. I was always on someone else’s dime and usually felt like a pin cushion,” she joked. “Why do you ask? Are you planning a trip?”
“Oh, no. No offense, but lately, I’ve thought you seemed restless. Not unhappy, really. But just kind of bored.”
Though she was about to deny it, Kimber thought about Jennifer’s comment. There definitely was some truth to it. “I guess I am restless. Not today, of course. I love hanging out with you and helping with Bridge. But . . .” She let her voice drift off because she wasn’t even sure how to describe how she’d been feeling.
“But?”
“But, my life here in Bridgeport is a lot different than it was before I moved. I’m used to being really busy or making plans. Back in New York, I was working a lot, or trying to get jobs, or planning for one of those trips or for shows. Now I feel like I suddenly have too much time on my hands.” Of course, she was also usually worrying about her stalker or disappointing her parents, and about coming to terms with the fact that she wasn’t making a bunch of money anymore.