Sarah Mayberry - Her Kind of Trouble

Wow. Just...wow.

Vivian blinked away the hot rush of tears. She couldn’t believe this. That her sister—and Jason—trusted her so much. Sure, she knew she’d done a lot to rehabilitate her reputation as the crazy, flighty sister over the years, but for Jodie to trust her with her beloved children...

“Are those happy tears or oh-my-God-get-me-out-of-here-I’m-so-freaked-out tears?” Jodie asked.

“These are happy tears. And the answer is yes. Times a bazillion. I would crawl over broken glass for those boys, and I would be honored to be their guardian,” Vivian said earnestly.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

She was having trouble choking back a wellspring of emotion. “Jodie...I want you to know this means a lot to me. I will not let you down. I will do whatever it takes to make sure Sam and Max are happy and healthy, that they never want for anything.”

“Should anything happen to me and Jason,” Jodie amended with a twinkle in her eye.

“Right. Of course,” Vivian added hastily. “Of course.”

Jodie laughed outright. “Wait till I tell Jason you were ready to drive over and pick the kids up straight away.”

Vivian smiled sheepishly. “An enthusiastic guardian is a good guardian, right?”

“Absolutely. I hope Seth is as happy as you are. I’ll feel so much better having this all settled.”

Vivian frowned. “Seth?”

“Sorry, I should probably explain that, shouldn’t I? We want the two of you to be there for the boys. A male and female influence.”

“Right. Good plan,” Vivian said, even though she was privately boggled at her sister’s choice. Being based overseas, she’d seen Seth only a handful of times in the past ten years, but the family grapevine had kept her up-to-date on the headlines in his life. She knew, for example, that he’d given up on the band seven years ago and had been bumming around in various jobs in the nightclub and bar scene ever since. She knew that he was still a total pants man, showing up with a new girlfriend every six months, without fail. She also knew from the few times they’d been in the same room that he was still charming and cocky and sexy—but none of those characteristics were what she would have chosen for the man who would be guardian to her children.

But they weren’t her children, they were Jodie and Jason’s, and even though it almost killed her to bite her tongue, Vivian did. If they thought he would make a good role model and parental stand-in, then she would bow to their superior judgment. After all, they knew him much better than she did.

“How did he, um, react?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet. Jason’s seeing him tonight after work. He loves the kids, though, so I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. Which is probably just as well, since he’s going to be a father himself, soon.”

Vivian nearly fell off her chair. “What?”

When did this happen? And how come she hadn’t heard about it earlier? Surely if Seth had settled down with one woman long enough to get her pregnant, her sister would have considered it gossip-worthy?

A strange feeling gripped her. A little like vertigo, but not. In her secret heart of hearts, she’d kept a casual eye on Seth, ensuring she knew enough, but not too much about his life. Not because she was interested in him romantically, God forbid, but because he was the male approximation of her on Jason’s side of the family—the younger sibling, a bit of a screwup, never one to color within the lines. In a strange way, he’d become the benchmark for her own success—or not—over the years. As long as he was still single, it was okay that things hadn’t worked out with Franco and she was alone again. As long as Seth was still floating around, trying to find “his” thing, it was okay for her to be doing the same—although that hadn’t been an issue for her for a while now.

But now he was in a relationship, having a kid...? Suddenly she felt left behind. She’d been so sure she’d be the first one to settle down and start a family.

“We found out about it just last week. Personally, I think it’s because he worked out that if he’s going to be hitting me up for babysitting duties, he should probably let me know there’s a niece or nephew on the way.”

Vivian chose her words carefully. “So, have you met his girlfriend?”

“Oh, she’s not his girlfriend. This is Seth, remember? I think they were friends with benefits for a while and she got pregnant, yada, yada.”

“How’s he coping with that?” She honestly couldn’t imagine Seth getting up to do a late-night feed or changing a diaper.

“You know, pretty well.” Jodie nodded thoughtfully. “As Jason said, he’s manning up. He’s been to Lola’s doctors’ appointments and he’s doing all he can to make sure she’s got what she needs.”

“Well. Good for him.” Although, really, it was the bare minimum that should be expected of a man who had gone halves in a baby. Even accidentally. Mind, there were plenty of baby daddies who ran for the hills, so Vivian figured Seth deserved a couple of elephant stamps for effort.

“So, have you met Lola?” She was starting to feel like Mrs. Crab Apple, the gossipy neighbor, but she couldn’t deny her curiosity.

“Yeah. She’s a nice kid.” Jodie kept her face absolutely straight, but Vivian didn’t miss the implication.

“How old is she, exactly?” she asked, not sure whether to be amused or exasperated. Honestly, Seth was practically a caricature of himself.

“Twenty-four. Give or take.”

Vivian blinked.

“It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure,” Jodie said, almost but not quite smothering a smile.

Vivian didn’t bother trying. “Hoo yeah.”

“You can tease him about it at Sam’s birthday this weekend. He will love that.”

“I bet he will.” She grinned, thinking about how much fun it would be needling him. “So, do you have any paperwork I need to sign to get my hands on these kids of yours or what?”

“Not yet. We’ll talk to our lawyer next week, though, so I’ll let you know.”

Vivian caught her sister’s hand, the easy smile fading from her lips. She wanted—needed—her sister to know that this was a big deal for her.

“Thanks for trusting me, Jodie. I won’t let you guys down.”

“I know, sweetie. That’s why I’m asking you.”

They hugged, and the warmth of her sister’s arms was the best thing Vivian had felt in a long time.

Yep, it was damned good to be home.

* * *

SETH PACED IN front of the clinic, checking his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Lola was late again.

Even though she hadn’t responded to any of the other messages he’d left, he dialed her number, rubbing his temples. He stopped in his tracks when she actually picked up. Hallelujah.

“Hi, Seth. Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier but I was at the checkout and there was such a huge queue behind me, I didn’t want to hold everyone up by talking,” Lola said, her Yorkshire accent more evident over the phone.

Checkout? Queue? She was shopping, instead of turning up for her thirty-six-week checkup?

Unbelievable.

Although, considering it was Lola, only too believable. To his eternal frustration.

“Lola. I’m at Dr. Mancini’s. Where are you?” He did his best to keep the impatience out of his voice, but wasn’t certain he pulled it off. They’d learned a few weeks ago that their baby was in the breech position, and this scan had been scheduled to see if the baby had corrected his or her position.

In other words, it was bloody important.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I totally forgot. I heard about this amazing warehouse sale for baby furniture, and... Well, I forgot. Can we reschedule?”