Chapter 2

Olivia rocked Amelia in her arms. She was beyond exhausted between staying up late working on new outfits and feeding their three-week-old baby.

"Amelia please... please... just nap for me." Olivia sighed and ran her fingers through her messy midnight hued hair. She had thrown it up into a messy bun and hadn't even had time to shower. She was still in her pink pajama pants and one of Noah's deep V-neck black tees. "I just need a few minutes to get this dress done. Just a few minutes. Seconds even. I beg of you." This is what her life had become. Bargaining with a baby. She groaned and rolled her eyes, "Here, how about this. I set you in your swing and then mommy can work."

Olivia walked over to put Amelia in her swing, but as soon as she set her down, she cried. Olivia buckled her in and walked away for a moment to try and calm her frustration. Tears filled her eyes as anger bubbled up. She was stressed out, angry, and utterly exhausted.

She took a deep breath and walked back into the room with a screaming Amelia.

"Alright, love bug." Olivia unbuckled her and picked her up. "How about we feed you, hm?"

She carried her over to the kitchen to mix formula and make her a bottle, humming a lullaby that her mother would sing for her as a child.

She put the bottle in hot water on the stove to warm it. "I wish your daddy wasn't so busy and could help me. I swear I'm gonna lose my mind. I need help." Olivia ranted under her breath as she pulled the bottle from the water, tested it on the inside of her wrist, and turned the stove off.

She walked to Amelia's bedroom and grabbed a burp cloth from a drawer. Olivia threw it onto her shoulder and sat in their white, wooden, rocking chair. She cradled Amelia and teased her mouth with the bottle, until she latched on.

Olivia smiled warmly at their daughter and ran her fingers through her soft blonde hair. "You really do have your daddy's hair, huh love?"

Amelia blinked and listened to her mother's voice when Olivia heard the front door shut. She got up and walked out to see who it was. Noah wasn't supposed to come home until that night, so it unsettled her. Did he lose his job? Was it an intruder? Her heart beat faster with each step she took.

"Hey." Noah's voice came out low and scared her.

She flung her hand to her chest. "You scared me. What are you doing home so early? You left not that long ago."

"Um..." He looked over her messy hair and attire.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm aware that I haven't gotten dressed or showered yet. I haven't had a moment to. I have a deadline to make. I have a project to do... Amelia's been screaming at me all morning..." Olivia frantically spoke as her stress came out in a massive ball of words.

"Why don't you just put her in her swing?" Noah offered a logical explanation for her to solve her issue.

"You don't think I've tried that?" She became defensive and he backed off.

"I'm just gonna go work on my class in my office." Noah started to peddle backwards away from her and Amelia.

"UGH!" Olivia burst out in frustration. "I just need help! PLEASE! At least let me shower. Please..."

"I have deadlines too Olivia. I offered you a solution. If you want, I can put her in her swing and set her beside me, but that's all I can do. Which is similar to what you can do." Noah shrugged and took Amelia from her.

Olivia wanted to scream and cry, but she took what she could when he would offer something. "Thanks..." She walked away and Noah sighed, carrying Amelia to her swing.

Noah picked it up with one hand and carried it to his office. He set the swing up and took the empty bottle from Amelia's lips. "So, I hear you're giving your mom a run for her money." He smirked down at their daughter and gently set her in her swing. Amelia began to cry, and he picked her up again. "Alright, let's try this." Noah began to sway her and hum, sending vibrations through his chest against her body. Amelia cooed and he smiled at her. He tried setting her in her swing again and as she began to cry, he spoke to her in a soft voice. "It's okay... Daddy's gonna be right here. You're okay..." She instantly stopped tearing up as he buckled her in. "There we go... good girl."

Noah turned on the swing to its medium setting and let it sway beside him as he took out his lesson plan. He sighed and rested his cheek on his hand, flipping the corner on his lesson plan, lost in his thoughts. His mind flickered over to Lea and how easy it was to talk to her. How much she understood him and what he was going through. He looked over at Amelia, who was now asleep and smiled. Everything hadn't just gotten in the way of them talking, but it was also causing them to have no sex life. It had been months and he was quickly becoming more and more frustrated.

He sighed and tried to focus back on his work and not on how Olivia was in the shower right now, wearing nothing, lathering soap on her... "Get yourself together, Martin." He cursed himself under his breath and tried to clear his thoughts.

The door opened and Olivia stood in the doorway in a powder pink towel. "Um... I made lunch for you. It's in the fridge and... you got her to sleep?" Olivia was shocked that he was able to do that so easily. She had been trying for so long to no avail.

Noah was too distracted by her damp hair and glowing creamy skin to answer her. Water dripped down her chest and fell between her breasts. He licked his lips and his gaze followed down the slit of the towel to her curved calves. Noah looked back up into her sapphire eyes and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ye-yeah. I did. Do you want to go help me out a moment with something?" He prodded her with a phrase that had a deeper meaning and her expression relaxed.

"You know I'm busy right now. Like you are. You should get that lesson plan done and I need to finish that dress. Amelia is asleep now, so we both can get what we need done. I'm gonna go get dressed and do that." She touched the door and smiled over her shoulder, causing him to perk up and think that she was gonna say 'but...' "Don't forget to eat, Noah."

He slumped his shoulders and put on a smile for her. "Of course. Thank you, Olivia."

Olivia stalled for a moment and tapped the door frame with her hand. She turned around for a moment and he looked up from his papers. "I love you." She knew that they were avoiding a serious conversation, but she didn't have time to talk about it.

"I love you too, baby." Noah smiled for her to hide his frustration and pain from her.

Olivia smiled and left the room. She walked into their bedroom to get dressed and heard her phone go off. Olivia sighed and picked it up from their massive bed and saw the name of one of her models flash across the screen.

Adam Bisset

She smiled and quickly opened the text message to see a few words.

[Adam]

Are we still on for lunch Tomorrow?