All The Little Moments (48 page)

Anna felt like she could conquer a mountain. She felt like she could climb freaking
 
Everest
. She felt like, finally, everything was settling. The ball that had been sitting heavily in her gut had completely dissolved, and she was left
feeling jubilant.

Two weeks on from clearing out her brother’s room, Anna marched through the hospital on a mission. At the elevator, she hit the
up
button, tapping her toes impatiently. She adjusted her blazer and tugged at her shirt, making sure her outfit was straight. Lane had insisted on the black pants with the white stripes down the side, and Anna had to admit that she did feel like she was dressed in a power outfit, which had been the point. The elevator finally opened, and she made her way to her office, opening the door to see Lane standing inside, leaning against her desk and waiting
for her.

Lane’s eyes raked down her body and back up again. “Hey.
Nice outfit.”

As Anna pressed Lane back into the desk, her hands cupped Lane’s cheeks and her lips pushed against hers. Lane swiftly buried her hands in
Anna’s hair.

With kiss-bruised lips, Lane finally pulled back, grinning. “It went
well then?”

Anna, ecstatic, grasped Lane’s forearms purely for the need to hold her closer. “The judge didn’t even deliberate. That’s it—it’s done. I have
permanent guardianship!”

A laugh bubbled out of Anna’s chest as Lane wrapped her arms
around her.

Not caring that they looked ridiculous, huge smiles plastered on their face, Anna pressed their foreheads together. “Lane! They can’t take
them now.”

“I know. That’s it,
it’s done.”

“I love you.” She kissed Lane. “God, I love you.
Thank you.”

“Why are you saying
thank you?”

“Because I’m
allowed to.”

“I love
you, too.”

There was a knock at the door, and it swung open
behind them.

“Oh, for God’s sake. Am I stuck forever looking at the two of you?” Anna turned around at the voice, letting go of Lane and launching herself at Kym, tackling her in a hug. Kym wrapped her arms around her and looked over her shoulder at Lane. “I take it the final guardianship hearing
went well?”

Dusk was settling in when Anna picked up Ella from her parents’. Her mother was already aware of the outcome; Anna had called her as she left the courthouse. Anna had asked her not to
tell Ella.

While Ella gathered her things, Sandra turned her attention to Anna, who stood in the doorway. “Did you
see Cathy?”

Anna snorted. “She
ignored me.”

“Well, I suppose that’s better than reciting Bible verses
at you.”

A chuckle forced itself out of Anna’s chest as she made her way to the car with the kids. It was easier to see the funny side now it
was over.

They drove home, Ella talking about her day at school and Anna nodding, asking the right questions. When they pulled up to the house, Anna pulled Toby out of his car seat and put him on the ground so he could run over the grass to the
front door.

School bag in hand, Ella was already waiting when Anna reached the door and let them through, Ella and Toby half tripping over each other to get inside. Toby went for his blocks in the living room, and Ella dumped her bag at the stairs and moved for
the kitchen.

“Ella!”

She stopped and turned, walking back. “All right, I’ll put my bag in
my room.”

With a chuckle, Anna sat on the step and pulled Ella to her. “That too. But I have something to tell you.” Settling against Anna, Ella furrowed her brow, uncertain. “Okay, sweetie. Remember how, for a little while, you got taken to
another house?”

Ella nodded.

“Remember how I told you I had to wait for the judge to make some decisions, and that’s why it took days for me to finally get
you back?”

The panic that rose in Ella’s voice made Anna squeeze her tighter. “Is that why you’re dressed all fancy? Is he going to take
us again?”

“No, sweetie. No.” She brushed the hair off Ella’s face. “Today I saw the judge again. But it was a good thing. Today he signed a special piece of paper that means no one can ever take you again.” She put her hands on Ella’s cheeks, looking at her with utter sincerity. While the kids had been slowly settling the last month, she hadn’t made clear-cut promises to Ella, just in case. But now, she wanted her to have some security, and Anna could finally offer it. “Hear that, Ella Bella? All the police and all the judges have a piece of paper that says you stay here,
with me.”

“So…they can’t come and put us in a
car again?”

“No.”

“And—and we stay with you, all the time?
For good?”

“All the
time, sweetie.”

The way Ella hugged her took Anna’s
breath away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Warm lips were running up
Anna’s spine. Naked thighs straddled her legs. Anna burrowed her face into the pillow and yawned, relishing waking up in such a manner. The lips reached the back of her neck, and warm breath washed over her skin, making
her shiver.

“Morning.” Lane’s voice husked out next to
her ear.

“Morning.” Anna rolled onto her back, and Lane straddled her hips, hands pressing either side of Anna’s head so they lay flush against each other. Anna gently tucked a tendril of hair behind
Lane’s ear.

“You were
sleeping late.”

When Anna glanced at the clock and saw it was after ten, her eyes widened slightly, and she looked back at Lane, voice low with sleep. “I
really was.”

“I thought I’d wake
you up.”

Anna wrapped her hands in Lane’s hair and pulled her down, kissing her. The appreciative hum Lane gave made
Anna smile.

“I never sleep later
than you.”

“Yeah, well, you had a
rough week.”

“Yeah. It
was long.”

Lane rubbed her nose against Anna’s neck and kissed behind her ear before pulling back again. “Long, and with no time
for us.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. It wasn’t
your fault.”

“You got stuck with the girlfriend with a
crazy life.”

Lane kissed her once. “I like my girlfriend and her
crazy life.”

“Even the
crazy kids?”

“I love the
crazy kids.”

“Even though Toby threw up
on you?”

Lane made a face. “That was not my favourite Toby moment, I
won’t lie.”

With a chuckle, Anna tugged so she was laying on her side, half-sprawled over Anna, head resting in her hand to look down at her. “They were so sick.” Anna wrinkled her nose. “It was
so gross.”

As Lane finally flopped her head down on the pillow, Anna rolled onto her side, hooking a leg over Lane’s hip as she snuggled in, face pressed into her neck. The stroking of Lane’s hand in her hair relaxed her, and she was able to close
her eyes.

“It was really gross. Days and days of stomach flu and crazy hours were a fair excuse to not have much time for us,”
Lane said.

A lazy grin made it’s way onto Anna’s lips. “We made up for it
last night.”

“So maybe it wasn’t just your crazy week that made you
sleep late.”

“We
 
did
 
only fall asleep
after four.”

“Yeah we did. The joy of the kids requesting a sleepover at
your mum’s.”

Opening her eyes, Anna settled back so she could look at Lane. “They do love a sleepover
at Grandma’s.”

Lane pushed Anna’s hair back, hand resting gently against her neck. “I have missed you
this week.”

“Me too. I liked going out to dinner last night. We actually got to have
a conversation.”

They lay for a few minutes, enjoying the silent house and time just for them, naked and warm in the morning. Anna loved the kids, but not being jumped on at six a.m. was feeling especially nice. Two months on from the trial, Ella was sleeping better than she had been, while Toby was mostly back to his old self. Anna brushed her lips to Lane’s chest, sighing contentedly. While it was great the kids were returning to normal, even slowly, it meant lots of energy and
early wake-ups.

The silence was broken when Lane said softly, “I wish I didn’t work
at one.”

“Yeah, me too. I have to get the kids in about an hour anyway. Mum has
an appointment.”

Lane’s fingers trailed up and down her sides, fingers tracing ribs. “What are you going to do with
your afternoon?”

“Meet Kym and take them to
the zoo.”

Lane’s eyes lit up. “I love
the zoo!’

“You are such a
kid sometimes.”

Shrugging, Lane didn’t even look embarrassed. “It’s why Ella and Tobes
love me.”

“True.”

A more serious look replaced the playfulness on Lane’s face. “And it’s twelve
months today?”

“Twelve months since Simon died. I’m, uh, going with her, before the zoo, to the cemetery. I was going to take the kids to see Jake
and Sally.”

“That’s a good idea. I wish I
could come.”

“You’ll be there next week when we go
with Mum.”

“You want
me there?”

Lane smiled as Anna leant forward and kissed her again.
“Of course.”

The touch of Lane’s fingers along her hip made Anna fall back against the pillow. “If we start we won’t stop.” Her murmurs of protest didn’t hold much conviction as Lane’s lips started to trail against her jaw and
her neck.

“I see nothing wrong
with that.”

“Work and, uh—” She moaned softly as Lane sucked on her pulse point. “I have to get
the kids.”

The kissing
paused. “Shower?”

“Shower. We’ll be
saving time.”

“Yeah, let’s look at it
like that.”

Without warning, Anna rolled away, Lane half falling into the warm spot she left behind. The bewildered look on Lane’s face made Anna smirk. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, Lane’s surprised face switching to a grin as she stared
at her.

Anna winked and started walking towards the bathroom. “Join me
in five?”

“Twist
my arm.”

Anna threw a smile over her shoulder and shut
the door.

In the shower, hot water came quickly just as Anna heard Lane call out, “Your cell
phone’s ringing!”

Not caring, Anna stepped into the hot water, sighing at the sensation against her skin. “Can you see who it is, in case
it’s Mum?”

There was silence, and then the sound of the door opening. Lane entered with a strange look on
her face.

Anna pushed the shower door open completely to look at her. “Who
was it?”

Lane didn’t step into the shower, instead leaning stark naked against the wall and looking at Anna with an odd expression on her face. “How often does your
ex call?”

If Lane was trying to sound relaxed and neutral, she was failing. Anna looked at her quizzically from the shower, rubbing shampoo into her
hair. “What?”

“I’m just, you know, wondering, for future reference. Does Hayley call a lot, or…” Lane was trying to appear calm, but Anna could see the mental freak-out
occurring underneath.

“That
was Hayley?”

“Mhm.”

“Did
you answer?”

“Of course not.” Brown eyes avoided hers even while Lane smiled. “Though it did occur to me to answer with, ‘Sorry, Anna can’t talk right now, I’m about to take her against the shower wall after hours of sex
last night.’”

With a chuckle, Anna asked, “Can you come in here so we can at least have this naked conversation next to
each other?”

Lane shook her head.
“Not yet.”

Anna gauged her. She definitely wasn’t mad. “Wait…Lane, are you jealous?”

Lane gave a shrug. “No, I just, you know, want to know if you guys chat all the time.
Catch up.”

The clear-cut jealousy all over Lane was almost funny. “I haven’t spoken to her
in months.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Lane took a step forward. “So I shouldn’t worry about her trying to get
you back?”

It occurred to Anna, finally, that the messy ending Lane had had with Alex could be contributing to this reaction. Anna tried to control the look that flashed over her face, but, apparently, she was
too late.

“What
was that?”

Anna widened her
eyes. “What?”

“That look?”

Anna sighed. “She’s not trying to get me back. She’s being an idiot. A well-meaning one, I think. But still being an idiot.” She dipped her head under the spray and rinsed the
shampoo out.

When she re-emerged, Lane was basically twitching. “Has
she tried?”

Anna held her hand out. “Would you come here so I can calm your
inner panic?”

Thankfully, Lane reached a hand out and stepped forward. The second that Lane was in the shower, Anna wrapped her arms around her. She kissed Lane’s
neck once.

“Are
you breathing?”

“Yes.
Just…she tried?”

Wet hair flew as Anna adamantly shook her head. “No, not to get me back. Though she did call me and leave a voicemail before the trial, when you and I were
broken up.”

“Okay! That was like three months ago! And you never
told me?”

Reminding herself that this was more about Lane’s stuff than about Hayley, Anna tried to quell the defensiveness that rose up. “I completely forgot. She basically offered me sex as
a distraction.”

Lane’s mouth dropped open. “She called
 
you
, my girlfriend, and offered sex, and you never
told me?”

Squeezing Lane tight, Anna looked straight at her. “Lane, I never replied. I ignored her and completely forgot about it. There were bigger things going on, and I forgot.” She brought her hands up and cupped Lane’s cheeks.
“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not…I’m not mad at
 
you
.” She paused as if trying to figure out what she
 
was
 
feeling. “Just…she
propositioned you!”

“To be fair—I don’t know if she knew I was seeing someone; because I
 
haven’t talked
to her
.”

The pout on Lane’s face made Anna purse her lips together to stop herself from smiling. “So why is she
calling you?”

“I don’t know. She texted me
last night—”

As Lane’s eyebrows shot up, Anna rushed to finish. “And I got it as I was dropping the kids off at Mum’s and then clear forgot about it because I was in a rush to get home and be with you for the first time since Toby threw up on
your lap.”

Clearly trying to relax, Lane pursed her lips. “So what did
she want?”

Anna grabbed some body wash and poured it on a loofah, running it over Lane’s chest and back. “She texted me to say she was sorry for the message during the trial. Since she hadn’t heard back from me, she figured she had made me angry. She said she wasn’t trying to offend me. She just felt like she had dropped me in all this when we broke up and she wanted to
support me.”

“With sex?”

Anna shrugged. “I don’t
know. Apparently.”

Realisation dawned on Lane’s face. “Because she knows how you deal with emotions with sex. Because she was with you for three years and
knows that.”

“She doesn’t know me. Not anymore, not really. In fact, I wonder if we ever knew each other. We were so focussed on our careers.” Anna dropped the loofah to the floor and pulled Lane in. “You know me. You know me, not her. And when she left me a voicemail the first time giving such a bad offer, all I was thinking about was how I wanted Ella and Toby back and how much I missed
 
you.
I didn’t even entertain
the idea.”

Running wet hands over Lane’s side and over her shoulders to bury in her hair, Anna slipped her tongue into her mouth and felt Lane moan, then return the kiss with as
much force.

Eyes sparkling, Anna pulled back. “Lane, do you have a
jealous side?”

“I…no.”

“Sure.”

Lane’s hands dropped to Anna’s hips, pushing her back against the wall, pressing herself flush against her. Pulling her in tighter, Anna wrapped her arms around her waist. Wet thighs pressed together as the water streamed onto Lane’s back. Jealousy apparently made Lane want to make a point, and Anna was very okay with that, more than okay. She took hold of Lane’s hand and ran it down her stomach, looking at her with darkened eyes. “Only you see me
naked now.”

Anna closed her eyes and leant her head back against the shower wall, Lane’s lips on
her neck.

“Good.” Lane dragged her teeth against Anna’s skin, and Anna let out a low moan as Lane’s fingers ran between
her legs.

They emerged from the shower thirty minutes later, Anna slightly wobbly as they dressed quickly and Anna grabbed her phone, looking down at the missed call. She started tapping at the
touch screen.

Lane threw her a quizzical look as she towel-dried her hair, wearing just her underwear. “You look
very serious.”

One finger held up in the air told Lane not to interrupt, and she closed her mouth. Anna typed furiously at her phone, then finally scrolled back up to the top of
the message.

Anna read from the text: “Okay. ‘Sorry I missed your call, Hayley. I wasn’t mad, just very caught up in the trial. I understand you were trying to help, but propositions from my ex weren’t really very helpful in that situation. Also, I’m seeing someone and have been for the last few months, so, between the kids and her, I’m kept happily busy. I hope all’s well with you,
take care.’”

She looked up to Lane and her thumb
moved. “Sent.”

A slow smile spread over Lane’s lips, and she sauntered forward, pulling Anna into her arms. “Happily
busy, huh?”