Page 60 of All the Forbidden Things

I turn to face him. His eyes are wide, brows raised as he looks up at me guiltily.

“You haven’t slept at all?” My voice rises with the question.

He shakes his head slowly and stares down into his coffee cup.

“You should’ve made the most of your Layla-free night.”

He looks back up at me and almost floors me again when he admits, “It’s because she wasn’t there I couldn’t sleep. How sad am I?” He shrugs.

Bloody hell, I have to ball my hands into fists to stop from reaching out to him. “Max.” I meant to say his name on a huff, but it sounds more like a sigh, which is also kinda what I meant. “How you gonna cope all day on no sleep?”

He shrugs again. “I’ll cope. I’m fucked, but I’ll cope. I’ll just sleep when she does.”

I finish making his coffee as I consider the offer I’m about to make. Handing him a fresh cup, I tell him, “Take this up to bed with you. Shower and try and get some sleep. I’ll stay with Layla today. It’ll be a good chance for me to get to know her. You know, if I’m gonna be looking after her for you. Just go and try and sleep.”

He looks from me to his coffee, stands slowly from the table, leans in, kisses my cheek, and mumbles, “Thanks, Bamm, you’re a lifesaver.”

I watch him leave, steadying myself on the worktop as I blow out a long slow breath.

What the fuck was that all about?

Cal, Mel, and Jake havejust left when I hear the alarm notifying me someone has tapped in the code for the front door. I managed to grab a shower and change into the clean clothes Mel brought for me before they left, and I’m about to take Layla up for a bath but pause at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for whoever it is to come in. A slim, older lady with dark hair appears, pauses, looks from me to Layla, and then smiles. “Hello, I’m Wendy.”

I smile back, her name not telling me anything. “Hey, Wendy. I’m Billie, the new nanny.”

Wendy’s mouth opens wide as her brows rise. She tilts her head to the side and smiles. “Billie, so glad to meet you, sweetheart. I’m the DoFor Lady.”

My mouth opens, but I say nothing for a few seconds while attempting to figure out what she’s talking about. I give in and question. “DoFor Lady?”

“Yeah, DoFor. Whatever Max needs, I do it for him. Well, within reason.” She flaps her hands around and laughs as she continues, “No funny business, mind you, nothing like that. I made that clear when I started working for him. You can’t be too careful with these rock-star types, so I let him know, made myself clear right from the get-go.”

She must take in my glazed expression as I imagine Max getting up to “funny business” with Wendy—who talks a lot like the teapot lady in a Disney film I’ve seen a million times but can’t think of right now—so she continues to explain. “I’m the housekeeper. I’m here a few days a week, depending on what Max needs. I clean, do the washing, a bit of ironing, change the beds...well, the sheets, not the actual beds, of course.” She places one hand on her hip and leans forward and laughs again, and I can’t help but smile right along with her. “’Coz that’d just be bloody daft, changing the beds every week, wouldn’t it? So, are you coming in daily, or you live-in?”

“Yes, yeah, I’m living in.”

“Oh, in the house, or over in the flat above the garage?” she asks.

“The flat.”

“Oh, lovely. Give you a bit of privacy, won’t it?” She winks and Mrs Potts is all I can think of for a few seconds before I realise, she’s waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, it’s great. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know—”

“I wish someone had bloody told me. There’s no spare bedding or clean towels over there. I didn’t even stock the cupboards.”

She moves deeper down the hallway towards me and starts taking off her coat.

“How have you managed? Did you find everything you need? I can’t even remember if the—”

“It’s fine. It was fine,” I interrupt. “It was only decided yesterday, so no problem, honestly. Last night was my first night staying over, but clean bedding and some towels would be good, just until I can pick myself up some bits.”

“Well, Max could’ve still let me know. I would’ve come in earlier and given the place a freshen up for you. There’s some brand-new bedding in the laundry room that I washed and ironed a couple of weeks ago to put over there.”

“Honestly, it was just one night. I’ll help you get it straight today, but to be honest, I’d like to buy some stuff of my own to put in there if that’s okay?”

“Makes no difference to me, sweetheart, and I don’t suppose Max’ll care either. Where is he, anyway? I’m glad he’s finally come to his senses in getting some help with Layla. Don’t get me wrong, he’s done a great job, and Karen’s been a star, stepping up the way she has and helping him out, but the little love needs some stability, what with him being a rock star and all that goes with it, he just can’t be expected to do it all on his own.”

I feel out of breath just listening to her talk. She pauses before moving closer to stare down at Layla, who’s now sleeping in the crook of my arm, and continuing in her strong East London accent, “Such a wicked shame what her mother’s done, not just to her but to poor Max as well. He turned his life right around for her, tamed his ways and calmed right down. Where did you say he was again?”