Christening (12 page)

“I do. Would you like to try it out?”

This delighted Anna, and she spent about three minutes trying to climb up into the chair. She wouldn’t accept any help, but because the chair was on wheels, she had some trouble pulling herself up. Finally, Seth came over to hold the chair steady, and Anna was able to situate herself.

She looked tiny against the black leather, and her purple polka dot skirt was hiked up around her bare legs, which were dangling down from the tall seat. She seemed very pleased with herself, however, and she squealed in delight when Seth rolled her over to sit in front of his desk.

Mackenzie was still staring out the window, and something about her preoccupation made Erin wonder what she was thinking. To distract her, Erin asked cheerfully, “Didn’t you have something to give Daddy too, Mackenzie?”

Mackenzie twitched slightly, as if startled. Then she nodded her head and pulled a small framed photograph out of the little purse she carried that matched her blue dress. Handing it to Seth, she explained, “I painted the frame myself. Mommy gave me the picture.”

It was a snapshot Erin had taken of the girls one afternoon. They both were grinning as widely as they could, and they looked particularly pretty and happy in it.

Seth accepted the framed picture, studying it with a surprised smile. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“That way, you can think about us while you’re here.”

Something flickered briefly across Seth’s face before he leaned over to kiss Mackenzie on the forehead. “I think about you while I’m here all the time. But now I can look at this picture when I do. Should I put it with my other pictures?” He gestured over to a bookcase on the opposite wall, on which were situated several pictures of his family.

One of the photos had been taken by Liz six years ago, of Erin sitting in a rocking chair in the nursery of her old apartment, holding up a smiling, three-month-old Mackenzie.

Mackenzie thought about this earnestly for a minute or two, but she finally concluded, "It doesn't match the other pictures." This was undoubtedly true, since the childishly painted frame contrasted strongly with the expensive, polished frames of the other photos. "Can you put it next to Anna's flower?"

"Of course.” He set the frame next to the potted violet, and the two objects looked woefully out of place in cool, professional setting. But something about the sight of them made Erin feel strangely satisfied, as if their daughters had now marked their place here in Seth’s office.

“When Daddy changes offices and starts his new job, you’ll have to find a place for the flower and picture in his new office too.”

“Yes, when Daddy gets to be his own boss,” Mackenzie said, looking pleased with the idea.

“Daddy, when are you going to be the boss?” Anna asked, although they’d already rehearsed the answer many times.

“In a few months. I just have to finish things up here.”

Now that the ceremonies were over, no one seemed to know what to do. Anna was still swinging her legs in Seth’s desk chair and Mackenzie wandered idly around the room inspecting things.

Erin and Seth exchanged speaking looks, but neither had anything to say.

“Do you like it better here than at home?” Mackenzie asked suddenly, twirling a piece of hair around her fingers.

Seth shook his head gravely. “No. I like it better at home. This is a good place and I like to do a good job, but I like to be with you, Anna, and Mommy more.”

His words were utterly convincing, and the girls both seemed to accept his words as the absolute truth. Mackenzie didn’t pursue the subject.

Then Anna asked, “Daddy, are you going to be the boss of the whole world?”

Seth chuckled. “Not right away.”

* * *

Erin was taking a bath when Seth got home that evening. He’d worked late, and the girls were already in bed.

Erin hadn’t known when to expect him home so—after she put the girls to bed—she’d drawn herself a hot bath, poured herself a glass of Chardonnay, lit some candles, turned on some music, and lowered herself into the bubbly, cucumber-scented water to soak.

She’d been in the bath for about ten minutes when she heard Seth enter the bedroom. At least, she assumed it was Seth, or else she was about to be outraged when the person pushed his way into the bathroom.

It was Seth. He looked tired, and he’d already removed his jacket, tie, shoes, and socks. He gave her a half-smile as he approached, and then he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the tub.

“Hey,” she said drowsily, feeling too warm and relaxed to be very annoyed by his late arrival.

“Sorry I’m so late,” he murmured, trailing his hand in the water, which was churning pleasantly from the tub’s jets. “Were the girls upset?”

“They were fine. They know you have to work late sometimes, and you’ve been home every evening for a week.”

Seth’s hand moved through the water until it reached the side of her face. He brushed back a few strands of hair, which had escaped the clip on the top of her head. “And you?”

Smiling again, Erin turned her head so she could glance a kiss against the side of his hand. “I wasn’t upset either.” Opening her eyes all the way, she added, “I just wish you would have let me know
why
you were going to be late.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t Carlotta tell you?”

“She said that something came up, so you wouldn’t be home until late.”

Seth was frowning now, and he peered into her face, as if checking for her reactions. “I assumed she’d tell you. One of my clients—James Walker—tried to commit suicide. I would have called you myself, but I was on the phone most of the time on the way to the prison, and then they ended up taking him to the hospital. Everything was chaotic.”

Erin straightened up.  “Oh, my God! Is he all right?”

“They think he’ll be all right.”

Her heart lurched as she gazed up at Seth. No wonder he looked so tired and stressed.

“If you still needed to be there, then of course I’d understand. You didn’t need to come home so soon if—”

“There was nothing else for me to do there anyway.” He reached over to trail his fingers down her cheek, which was damp from the bubbly water. “I’m sorry you didn’t know until now. I’d assumed that Carlotta would have explained the situation when I asked her to call and let you know.”

Erin cleared her throat. “Carlotta isn’t always particularly forthcoming with me.”

After she’d said the words, she wished she hadn’t. Seth was stressed enough, and she didn’t need to go whining to him. She should have known how he’d react, even to this vague hint.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing important.”

Seth clearly disagreed with this assessment. He cupped her jaw with his hand and tilted it up so she was looking at him. “Tell me what you meant, Erin. If Carlotta has ever been rude or disrespectful to you—”

“No, no. She’s always been perfectly polite. It’s no big deal. I’d just be acting petty and vindictive.”

Seth now appeared to be stewing. He gritted out, “Erin, what has she done that would make you feel petty and vindictive? You’re my wife, and I’m not about to let anyone treat you—”

Erin groaned. Cursed herself for her own stupidity. “Seth, I can take care of myself. She sometimes acts like…like she’d rather not hear from me or like I’m interrupting your big important life.” Brushing her hair back impatiently, she continued, “But women deal with that kind of thing from other women all the time. So she acts snotty with me. It’s nothing for you to—”

Seth jerked to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”

“Seth, don’t you dare go and fire her.”

He turned back with an annoyed expression. “Of course, I’m going to fire her. She doesn’t get to treat you like that.”

“I don’t want you to fire her. I told you. I can take care of myself. If she does her job well, then I don’t want you to get rid of her because of this.”

Seth came back over to the tub, and this time he lowered himself to his knees beside it. “Erin, respecting my wife is part of her job. Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“Because it was none of your business.”

Seth’s mouth actually dropped open.

Unable to repress a chuckle, Erin explained, “I mean that it can be dealt with between me and her. If you fire her for something like this, then I’ll feel like a vindictive bitch who has to whine to her husband every time someone looks at her funny. I should have dealt with it before, but I didn’t because…well, because I didn’t. I’ll take care of it.” She gave him a steady, significant look. “I’m serious about this, Seth. I want to deal with it myself. I’m not a helpless princess who has to be protected from every minor inconvenience. I don’t need to be catered to.”

Seth’s body had relaxed again, and he now gave her a very particular smile. Dipping his hand into the water, he slid his fingertips from her knee up her thigh. “But I like to cater to you.”

Erin smiled back. “Tough.”

By mutual consent, they dropped the subject of Carlotta.

They talked about random things for a few minutes, while Seth kept getting touchier and touchier. While Erin had no objections to such touchiness tonight, there was no sense in getting excited about it while she was in the bathtub.

Water sports weren’t really her thing.

So when Seth’s hand strayed to one of her breasts, she playfully batted it away. He frowned indignantly and pretended like he hadn’t been trying anything in the first place.

To keep up his ruse of disinterest, he inspected the basket she’d placed on the side of the tub. “What’s this?” he asked idly.

She gave him an impatient look. “That’s all my bath stuff. What do you think it is?”

He started rooting around in all of the bottles and jars. “You sure have collected a lot of it. What is all this stuff?”

“Bubble bath, bath salts, bath oil, bath cream, salt scrub. All kinds of stuff. Maybe I got a little carried away, but I’ve been taking a lot of baths lately, whenever I’ve needed to relax.”

Then suddenly Erin remembered one particular item she kept in the basket. She jerked in the scented water and said hurriedly, “It’s just a lot of junk. No need to waste your time—”

It was too late.

Seth pulled out the round, yellow vibrating sponge that she kept at the bottom of the basket.

“What is this?”

“It’s just a sponge,” Erin explained in a rush, feeling herself start to blush, as ridiculous as that reaction was. The sponge turned on by twisting the plastic knob on the top, which looked more like a hook than an on-switch.  Maybe Seth wouldn’t realize what he’d found. “You know, just for—”

He deftly twisted the top, causing the sponge to start vibrating steadily.

Seth’s eyebrows shot sky-high.

“Give me that,” she mumbled, snatching the vibrator away from him. Her sense of humor was starting to vie with her embarrassment, however.

Seth gave her a very naughty look. “And what exactly do you do with
that
?”

Clearing her throat again, Erin managed to give him a smug look. “It’s advertised as a vibrating sponge massager, to help with sore muscles and tense knots and that sort of thing.”

“I see,” he drawled, trying unsuccessfully to claim the sponge in question again. “And have you been suffering from…sore muscles that have needed this sort of…relief?”

Erin stuck out her chin and held the sponge underwater, out of his reach. “As a matter of fact, I have. A lot.”

Suddenly, Seth’s playfulness faded. His teasing smile transformed into a frown. “And I haven’t been around to help take care of them.”

“Don’t get all guilty on me. You’re here now, aren’t you? So I won’t have as much need for this kind of…massage.”

Seth’s momentary surge of regret dispersed, and he smiled at her again. Leaned over the side of the tub to kiss her gently on the lips.

Then, while she was distracted by the sweetness, he shamelessly reached down and snatched the vibrating sponge from her unsuspecting grip.

“Hey!” she cried in outrage, trying to grab it back from him. “You big cheater! That was cheap trick.”

Seth laughed huskily and held her off, his hands slipping against her wet skin.

She finally gave up and sank back into the water, scowling at him but without much heat. She was actually feeling warm and affectionate, and it didn’t help that Seth was looking adorably rumpled in his damp, wrinkled dress shirt and bare feet.

“So how is it?” he asked, his voice growing thicker. “Does it work well on…sore muscles?”

“Sore muscles? Not so much. But on other kinds of tension, it works quite well.”

Something hot flickering in his gaze now, Seth handed her the vibrating sponge. “Show me.”

“Um, what?”

He gave her a seductive smile and settled himself more comfortably on his knees beside the tub. “Show me. Show me how well it works.”

Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, “I thought the point of your being around more was that I wouldn’t need to use it as much as I used to.”