Emma stared at the phone in utter astonishment and then dialled the room number again.
“It’s Emma here, again,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster.
Mrs. Gibbs sighed. “Now what?”
“Mrs. Gibbs, my original call was primarily to inform you that Mr. McCormack is here,
and waiting for you in the hotel café.”
“Thank you, dear. I expect you upstairs at one o’clock.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Emma hung up, rubbed her hands over her face, and then sighed in frustration. “Jack,” she said through the little gap of her hands.
Jack looked over and his mouth tugged into a smile. He came closer, leaned against the reception desk, and crossed one foot over the other.
“What’s up, sunshine?”
Emma widened the gap between her hands just a bit further to look at Jack. She shook her head and wearily said, “You don’t wanna know.”
He hooked his finger into her skirt and pulled her closer. “You mucked up?”
“Big time.”
Jack slowly took her hands away from her face. “How big?”
Letting out a small grunt of frustration at her own wrong doing, she said, “Big!”
He smiled, and if Emma hadn’t needed his help, she would have been annoyed with him. Her eyes met his and she sighed. Jack was an attractive man, even in this everboring- looking hotel uniform, which nicely hugged his toned chest and abs. She placed her hand on his chest and another sigh escaped her lips.
Jack’s eyes slightly narrowed. “Okay, Em, spill it.”
Emma met Jack’s gaze. She knew the look of his brown eyes so well from all their staring competitions they’d had, as to who would get the next drink out of the fridge. No wonder all the other girls were keen to share a shift with Jack – or even more.
“I told Mrs. Gibbs I would look after her. I couldn’t find anyone, you know, as in to look after the girl. It’s just something about her… she’s so–” Emma exhaled. “–so… I have no idea. Intimidating, like my old teacher. So I rang her to tell her that this man was here. The good looking one. You know who I mean, don’t you?” Emma didn’t wait for his
answer. “–and she wouldn’t listen, and asked me about the babysitter. The next thing I know… Oh Jack, what’ve I done?”
Becoming a parent can be daunting at the best of times, but for Flynn, a business lawyer in Melbourne, it almost pulls the feet from right underneath him. He’s become a father to six-year-old Nadine literally overnight! He had no idea about her existence, and the news throws him into chaos, even more so when he is asked to take over custody. With the help of Emma, an employee at the hotel where Nadine and her grandparents are staying, and his parents, Flynn tries to do the right thing. Yet, the right thing in his eyes differs from his parents’, and Emma is voicing her opinion as well. And right in the middle is little Nadine, still grieving the loss of her mother and finding a wonderful friend in Emma. There’s no doubt she’s afraid where and with whom she will settle. But in the end, it’s a letter Flynn receives that helps him figuring out what to do.
4 stars
– NEW BEGINNINGS is a very emotional read, one that is heartwarming as well as heart wrenching. It gives you hope in the act of human kindness and that good things do happen to good people. I highly recommend this book.
This sounds like a real heart-tugger! And I confess, you already had me at the blog title. 🙂
Thank you, Barbara 🙂