Page 90 of Bride Under Contract

He was going alone.

Grace sat on the bed. Her head was all jumbled, and yet she was utterly certain that Carter was returning the teething ring.

Alone.

He would never go with Arif—she could see that now.

Nor would he go with her.

There were some pains so private you dealt with them alone.

She thought about how she’d shut Violet out rather than tell her what was going on at home. How there were some things you didn’t want others to see. And yet they wanted to be there...

She looked at her ring and was taken back to the fireflies and that wonderful night...and the tension in Carter, the flashlight skimming the water.

And, no, she couldn’t go with him—he wouldn’t want her to, that much was clear.

But she could be there waiting for him.

The biggest problem she’d thought she had had been relegated, but it was remembered now and, feeling oddly calm, she walked back into the gorgeous bathroom.

Yes, she was going to be a mum.

Only Carter didn’t want to be a dad.

But she’d tell him anyway.

To his face.

She’d never once regretted telling her mother she loved her.

It was time to tell Carter the same.

Even if he didn’t want her.

They deserved a proper goodbye.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CARTER COULD HAVE approached from the river, sat in the safety of the boat and tossed the teething ring in, but he’d never been going to do that.

And so he’d taken the long way, setting off at dawn and approaching the river from his grandfather’s property, retracing the steps he had taken with Arif as a child.

Although the incident had taken place further up river from where they’d used to turn around and head home.

A lot further.

Hot, humid, dense...

He hated the place, and every step was taking him closer to a place he didn’t feel he needed to be.

He reached the spot where Bashim had found him, but he knew that only from what he’d been told. There was nothing he could remember here.

Or maybe a little...

Hot...thirsty...his head throbbing...

He walked further in and he could hear the chirps and sounds of the jungle. Looking up, he knew he’d climbed a tree, his limbs aching, pulling his puny body up. Searching for the banyan tree...knowing he was lost.

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