Baby Be Mine

suggestion!’ I point out. ‘Why, do you want to look after him? You know, seeing as you’re his father and all that?’ I say sarcastically.
    He stares at me angrily for a long moment. ‘Yeah, I do, actually.’
    Really? Damn.
    ‘Dana and I don’t have any other plans,’ he continues.
    Oh, shit. Not her. Him, I can handle, but I don’t – I really don’t – want her looking after Barney. Hopefully he’s not serious. I call his bluff.
    ‘Fine.’ I shrug and walk out of the office. Dana is sitting on the sofa reading a magazine.
    ‘You’re fine with it?’ Johnny asks, hot on my heels.
    ‘Yep. Better check with Dana, though,’ I say, looking across at her.
    ‘What’s up?’ she drawls.
    ‘Johnny wants you to babysit tonight.’
    ‘Fuck that,’ she snorts, throwing the magazine down.
    ‘Dana!’ Johnny erupts.
    ‘I told you, baby, I ain’t got no interest in being a mummy.’
    My hackles go up. Mummy? You’ve got to be kidding me. But I stay quiet so she can dig her own hole.
    I look pointedly at Johnny. He’s glaring at Dana, but she’s not biting. ‘I guess I won’t cancel the babysitter, then.’
    No one says anything as I leave the room.
    Bess is in the kitchen taste-testing Eddie’s latest concoction: roasted pumpkin soup with melted Gruyère cheese and Parmesan croutons.
    ‘That is ridiculously yummy,’ she tells him.
    ‘Should help get us in the mood for Halloween,’ he replies with a grin.
    ‘Ooh, yeah. Hey, we need to go costume shopping,’ I say to Bess. ‘We’ll need to get something for Barney, too.’
    Just then, we hear Johnny’s raised voice coming from the living room.
    ‘I don’t give a shit,’ he growls at Dana. ‘Either you pull your weight or we don’t have a future.’
    ‘Is that an ultimatum? Because I ain’t a girl for ultimatums, Johnny. You should know that about me.’
    Eddie, Bess and I stand stock-still, staring at each other.
    ‘I guess you’d better go, then,’ comes Johnny’s reply. My heart lifts with hope. Is he breaking up with Dana? I shouldn’t care, but, God, I do, I really, really do.
    There’s no sound coming from the living room. Very slowly and carefully, I poke my head around the corner, just in time to hear the front door slam shut.
    ‘Meg!’ Bess whispers, trying to pull me back.
    Johnny is standing alone in the living room. He turns and stalks up the stairs. Is it wrong that I want to go and comfort him? Silly question, I know the answer.
    ‘She’s gone,’ I say to Bess and Eddie.
    ‘What was that about?’ Eddie asks.
    I shrug. Small staff and everything, but this time I want to stay silent.
    ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ I tell them, walking out of the room.
    ‘Meg . . .’ Bess calls after me, a warning tone to her voice. She knows what I’m up to. I feel guilty, but I can’t stop my feet from taking me up the stairs. I turn left at the top, but before I can reach Johnny’s room, he comes out, a stony expression on his face.
    ‘Cancel the babysitter,’ he says with resolution. ‘I’ll look after Barney.’
    ‘But I thought—’
    ‘I said I’ll do it.’
    ‘What about—’
    ‘Dana’s gone,’ he interrupts me again.
    ‘Are you okay?’ I ask tentatively.
    ‘Oh, I’m fine,’ he replies with a slightly menacing undertone. ‘Now you go and have a good time with your boyfriend. Although why you’d want to go on a date when your so-called best friend has just come all the way from England . . .’
    I sigh. ‘Joseph isn’t going tonight.’
    ‘Then why did you say—’
    ‘To annoy you.’
    His green eyes meet mine for a long moment. He nods briefly, but doesn’t smile and I find I haven’t got the words to say anything else. It’s like he understands, and even though I should deny whatever conclusion he’s coming to about me and my feelings for him, I just can’t.
    He’s the one to break eye contact and it makes me feel wretched.
    ‘I’ve got work to do,’ he mutters, and turns towards the studio. I stand there on the spot for a while, silently cursing myself.
    Bess is not impressed later when I tell her what happened.
    ‘You should totally have invited Joseph along tonight.’
    ‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘Johnny’s right – three’s a crowd.’
    ‘No, it’s not,’ she scoffs. ‘I want to check out this hot kung-fu guy. I assume you’re not going to be humping his leg in front of me, or anything like that.’
    I laugh. ‘No.’
    ‘Then it’s not a