Push

37. He Went to Lunch

TOBY

Noah wasn't a fan of his white sneakers. Every time I tried stuffing his foot inside, he curled his toes and kicked his legs. I sighed and glanced at the nursery ceiling. Would socks do? Probably not.

Gwen had been panicking about Catalina Serrano's Sunday lunch all week. She'd twisted herself into a ball of nerves and was overthinking every detail. Her outfit. Our outfits. How to style her hair. What food to bring. Eventually, she'd settled on a cheese platter. Apparently, you can never go wrong with cheese.

Round 4 of The War of the Shoes was about to begin. I got the sneakers ready, out of sight, under the change table. Like a ninja. 

"Your mama wants you to meet all her nice friends today," I told Noah. "You need to look spiffy."

Not that Noah wasn't already looking spiffy in his overalls with the teddy bear on the front pocket, but I wanted to make Gwen happy and have her charging into that lunch all confidence. I tickled his chubby belly, and when he wriggled in a mass of happy squeals, I quickly stuffed his feet in the sneakers.

Mission accomplished.

I hoisted Noah on my hip and headed for the bedroom. When I stuck my head through the doorway, Gwen was standing beside the dresser, still wearing only her white bra and panties. Sensible, she called that set. Usually, that sight would've had a certain General of the South primed and ready for battle, but Gwen's frown was like a bucket of ice water.

Her fingertips traced the edge of the oversized yellow envelope on the dresser. Twenty-something pieces of paper with every interaction with Kayleigh—that I could remember—were inside. I'd puked my guts up twice writing it all down. Even a ten-kilometer run hadn't killed off the shame. The only thing doing that project proved was that I'd been a shitty husband.

"Do you think you'll read it?" I asked Gwen from the doorway.

Her head turned, eyes wide. She hadn't realized I was there. She'd been off with the fairies since I'd handed her the envelope two nights ago. I'd expected her to tear it open and pore over every page the second I'd given it to her. She'd accepted it with a tight smile and then slipped it on the dresser. It'd sat there ever since.

"The hearing for the restraining order is on tomorrow," I reminded her gently. "Will you read over everything before then?"

"Yeah. Probably. I just..." She swallowed. "I didn't want anything to ruin today."

I nodded slowly. I had the same fear. The two of us had been standing hand-in-hand on the edge of a cliff since the night of the party all those weeks ago. Everything I'd said or done to inch us back to safety was about to be undone. There was no going back once the envelope was opened.

"Nothing's going to ruin today. It's going to be awesome," I reassured her, dialing up the enthusiasm to overcompensate for her nerves. "Heaps of food, good company. Well, some good company." Gwen's bosses weren't on my list of must-sees, that was for sure. "Plus, we're coming with a baby and cheese. We'll be the hit of the whole party!"

Gwen rolled her eyes, but I could see the hint of a smile. Yeah. That was a good feeling.

"Zach's bringing his kids, right?" she asked, grabbing her white sundress dress off the bed and slipping it over her head. 

"Yeah. John and Marie couldn't make it, though. They'd already booked a weekend away at the Blue Mountains. Marie was losing it. She's itching to get a look at Liam in person." I grinned. "You should've seen it, doll. Marie was falling all over herself trying to explain that the reason she wanted to meet Liam wasn't because he's so handsome, but because he's such a good businessman. And John..." I couldn't finish. I was laughing too hard.