Chapter 29

TWENTY-NINE

FREDDIE

Freddie was in the middle of making a veggie curry for dinner when Charlotte crashed into the apartment.

‘I've had it with her.'

Knowing she'd been to her mother's house, he didn't need to ask who she was talking about. ‘What happened?'

‘My mum and her usual issues. One minute I was helping her to straighten a photo frame, the next she'd found a way to criticise our relationship.' She picked up one of the carrots he'd just peeled and took a loud bite from the top of it.

He pulled out one of the stools in the kitchen and motioned for her to sit on it. ‘Don't eat angry. You'll choke.'

She took another bite of the carrot and crunched it noisily to make him laugh. Then she laughed herself, which started her coughing.

He watched her to make sure she was okay and, only when he was sure she'd recovered, he waved a finger at her. ‘See. I'm always right.'

She sighed. ‘I wish my mum could see you like I do. She's just so blinkered by this horrible experience she had at school. Oh, and the you cheating on me thing, of course.'

They'd got far enough past that awful night that it'd become a part of their history, something to joke about, a reason that he had to give her the last M&M from the bag every time.

He returned to chopping the carrots. Like Charlotte, he was frustrated that her mother didn't like him, but he'd given up trying a long while ago. ‘Maybe when the baby comes she'll have an epiphany.'

‘No.' Charlotte banged the carrot on the table. ‘I don't want it to be like that. I want her to love you like I do. So that when I tell her about the baby, she'll be overjoyed. Is that too much to ask?'

He replied the way he always did when they had this conversation. ‘It's been a tough time for both of you.'

As always, thinking about her dad combined with pregnancy hormones brought tears to Charlotte's eyes. ‘But that makes it even worse. The baby is a good thing. Something lovely for our family. Once we got through the twenty-week scan, I was looking forward to making that big announcement. But since then, she's just been so difficult.'

He turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. ‘We could tell my mother?'

He already knew the answer to that, too. Her tone became more conciliatory. ‘I'm sorry. I know you want to tell her, but I really want to wait until I can tell my mum, too. Am I being a total cow?'

From behind, she slipped her arms around his waist and he turned to kiss her. ‘Well, as you're the one carrying the baby, I guess you get to choose.'

Truth be told, he wasn't in a hurry to tell his mother either. Though she'd been better lately about accepting that he and Charlotte were serious, he still wasn't sure how she'd react to them having a child together. Especially when he was in his early twenties and had just started work.

Charlotte rested her head on his shoulder. ‘So we wait a little longer?'

He chopped in time with his words. ‘We wait a little longer.'