Page 18 of For Your Consideration

Big steps.

I pulled the door open with a smile that instantly dropped when I saw Iris.

“Are you okay?” I took a step toward her but she held up a hand and coughed.

“I’m fine, dear, I just caught a cold. I don’t think I should watch Sophie today though. I don’t want her to catch this. The stuff I’m hacking up should not come out of her body.”

“Of course! Please don’t worry about us—just take care of yourself.”

And I meant it, even though I was instantly panicking about what to do with Sophie today. Quinn was out of the country so I couldn’t exactly call in sick—she was depending on me to be there. The list of things I needed to do had piled up in her absence.

“Why don’t you take her with you?” Iris got out around a fit of coughing.

“What?”

“Your boss said you could bring her into the office.”

Thank God Iris listened to me. I’d kind of forgotten about the offer. It was even better that Quinn wasn’t there so Soph wouldn’t be in anyone’s way.

“You’re the best. Can I get you anything before I go?”

Iris waved me off and pulled her robe tighter over her chest. “No, dear. I just need to sleep it off.”

“Okay, well, call if you need anything.”

She nodded as she walked away. I waited until her door was closed before I closed my own. I’d pick her up some soup and cold medicine on my way home.

For a few minutes I stood in the entryway to my apartment, bouncing Sophie on my hip and staring at the phone, working up the courage to do what I needed to do.

“Okay, baby girl, I guess we don’t have another option.” I huffed out a breath and hit dial on Quinn’s name. She told me to call her if I needed anything. I wasn’t sure if this counted but I needed to ask her first.

“Hey, Sutton!” She answered on the third ring, sounding happy and relaxed.

“Hey, how’s the vacation?”

“Amazing! We’re just about to leave my mom’s and head to the coast. Is everything alright?”

Sophie babbled beside me just before she shoved her thumb in her mouth.

“Iris, my neighbor slash babysitter, has a cold and I don’t know what to do with Sophie. I know you said it was okay but I wanted to check if—”

“You don’t have to ask, Sutton! I told you, Sophie is welcome at the office whenever you need. I’m a little sad I won’t be there to meet her. Maybe you could bring her in just for me when I’m back or we could hang out after work so I can meet her?”

A warmth spread through my chest at the idea that someone was excited to meet my baby. I had created this little bubble for us and I wasn’t used to letting people into our lives. But maybe it was time to start.

For both of our sakes.

I chewed on my lip for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. You could also work from home if that’s easier. It is a Friday.”

“No, no. I need to be in the office. I haven’t routed the phone to my cell and I don’t know how to do it remotely. I just don’t want to overstep—”

“Sutton,” she said, cutting into my rambling, “I didn’t have a single mom, but Theo did and we’ve talked about it. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it was on her so I will do anything I can to help you. You can use my office today—there’s more space in there and you can close the door if you need to feed her or put her down for a nap.”

Her soft tone and the kindness in her words was making my eyes tear up. I wasn’t used to people wanting to help me.

“Love!” I heard Theo call on the other side of the phone.