“No. No. No,” I whispered as I reached over and gripped the edge of the bassinet and slowly rocked it back and forth which only made her scream more.
Picking her up from the bassinet, I unbuttoned my shirt and fed her for the hundredth time today. When she was finished, I changed her diaper, took her downstairs and set her in her swing. Immediately she started to scream and the moment I picked her up and held her, she stopped. An hour later, she finally fell asleep, and I desperately needed some coffee, so I set her in her swing, turned it on and headed to the kitchen. My coffee had just finished brewing when I heard the elevator ding. As I ran to the foyer, Lucas had just stepped out, and I immediately placed my hand over his mouth before he could say anything.
“Wake her up and die,” I whispered.
He nodded his head, so I removed my hand. He gave me a tender kiss and then pointed in the direction of the bedroom. After I grabbed my coffee from the kitchen, I walked to the bedroom, shut the door and talked to him as he changed out of his suit.
“You didn’t shower today?” he asked.
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“I said, you can take a shower now that I’m home.”
“That’s what I thought you said.”
“Come here.” He held his arms out to me and I immediately fell into them.
“How was work?” I asked.
“It was okay. I missed the two of you terribly.”
“We missed you too, babe.”
“So, what about dinner? Did you—”
“What about dinner? And did I what?” I cocked my head at him.
“Did you decide what you’re in the mood for? Your choice. Anything you want.”
“Pizza?”
“Excellent choice. I’ll call it in right now.”
After Lucas called in the pizza, we walked to the living room, and I saw the wide grin on his face when he saw Scarlett was awake.
“Your daddy’s home, princess,” he spoke to her as he took her from the swing and sat down on the couch. “Daddy missed his sweet girl so much,” he said as kept kissing her cheeks.
Watching him with her melted me in every way possible. Especially when I thought back to a time not so long ago when he told me he couldn’t be a father. Every time I saw him with her and that thought popped in my head, I would start to tear up.
We had just finished dinner when Scarlett started to cry.
“Do you think she’s hungry?” Lucas asked as he held her.
“Probably. When isn’t she hungry?”
“Here. You better take her then.”
“Oh no. I’m going to take a hot relaxing bath. You can grab a bottle from the refrigerator and feed her since you haven’t seen her all day.” I placed my hand on his chest and smiled.
“Yes. Of course. Go take your bath, babe.” He kissed my forehead.
I went to the bathroom and locked the door. After pouring some lavender scented bubbles under the stream of hot water, I climbed in and let out a sigh of relief as I took in the silence around me. Closing my eyes, I took myself to a place filled with peace and released all the tension in my body. I was fully relaxed until I heard him walk into the bedroom with a screaming baby and jiggled the doorknob to the bathroom.
“Hey, babe?”
“What?”
“She won’t stop crying. I don’t know what to do for her.”
“Did you burp her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you change her diaper?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t know what to tell you. Figure it out! But whatever you do, don’t let her fall asleep or she’ll be up the entire night.”
“Okay. I won’t.”
I closed my eyes again and took in the silence.
“Hey, babe. You’ve been in there for over an hour.”
“What’s your point, Lucas?” I shouted.
“I miss you.”
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I rolled my eyes.
After drying off and slipping into my robe, I opened the door and saw Lucas sitting on the bed on his laptop.
“Did you enjoy your bath?” He smiled and closed his laptop.
“Very much.”
I climbed on the bed and right into his arms. He felt so good, and I wanted to stay like this forever.
“Lucas?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Where’s the baby?”
“I put her down in her crib for now so we can spend some time alone, and I put on the star projector for her. That should keep her quiet for a few minutes. I have a surprise for you.”
“If it isn’t at least twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep, I don’t want it.”
He let out a chuckle and reached into the drawer of his nightstand.
“I think you’ll enjoy this.” He held an envelope in front of my face as my head laid on his chest.
Taking the envelope from him, I sat up and opened it.
“A day at the spa for this Saturday?”
“Yep. Saturday is your day to be pampered.”
“And you’re going to be home with Scarlett all day, alone?” I arched my brow.
“Of course. She’s my daughter. We’re going to have a lot of daddy/daughter time.”
“You are the best baby daddy ever, and I love you so much.” I leaned over and kissed his lips.
Spa Day
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I asked Lucas as I put my shoes on.
“We’re going to be just fine. Go enjoy your day and don’t worry about us. Today is all about you relaxing.” He kissed my forehead.
“I don’t know what time I’ll be home.”
“You take as long as you want. We’re going to have so much fun today, aren’t we, princess?” Lucas spoke to her as he held her in his arms.
After giving him a kiss on the lips, I gave Scarlett a kiss and stepped into the elevator. The moment I stepped outside the building, I threw my hands up in the air. Freedom was mine for a day, and I was going to enjoy every minute of it. But as I was on my way to the spa, I felt this tremendous feeling of guilt wash over me. I shouldn’t be doing this. I need to be home with my baby. I was gone ten minutes and I already missed her terribly. This wasn’t a good idea and I needed to go back home.
“Thaddeus, turn around and take me back to the penthouse.”
“I’m sorry, Jenna, but I can’t do that.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Lucas knew you’d probably say that, and he gave me strict instructions not to listen to you.”
“Oh come on. I need to go home.”
“You need this day more. It’s important you take care of yourself, Jenna. Consider it a mental health day and a chance to regroup so you can continue being the amazing mother you are.”
“Thanks, Thaddeus.” I smiled.
A two-hour body massage, some reflexology, facial, manicure, pedicure and an invigorating essential oil steam treatment made up my day. I felt renewed, relaxed and for the first time in two weeks, my mind was clear.
“Well?” Thaddeus smiled as he opened the car door for me.
“Best day ever, Thaddeus.” I grinned.