Page 111 of Outback Reunion

‘I think I’m going to throw up.’

While she rushed to the bathroom to do exactly that, she heard the tap go on. Seconds later, he was behind her, rubbing her back as she spewed all her emotions into the toilet. How could this be happening? It didn’t make any sense. And what on earth were they going to do about it?

Oh God.What an awful, horrible, fucked-up mess.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she sobbed, taking the glass, knowing as she took a sip that the words weren’t even half good enough.

‘You’ve got nothing to apologise for.’ He took the glass back, put it to the side, then pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly and pressing his lips to her hair.

‘Aren’t you angry?’ Lord knewshewas angry, or at least she would be when she’d recovered from the shock.

‘I’m fucking furious! But not with you. I’m sorry I ever doubted you, but I was so shocked. So confused.’

‘I don’t blame you. I knew Dante wasn’t perfect, but I never imagined he’d do something like this.’

Mark scoffed. ‘The man’s lucky he’s already dead, because if he wasn’t I’d kill him myself.’

Gabi looked up at him—‘Lucky I already took care of that’—but her poor attempt at a joke fell flat. There was nothing funny about any of this.

‘You know this changes things, right? This proves you don’t owe Eve and Lorenzo anything. Luna isn’t their flesh and blood; she’s ours. The circus isn’t her legacy; my farm is. And she has real grandparents here in Bunyip Bay who will love the hell out of her.’

Her pulse raced, Mark’s words sparking panic. This was going to break Eve and Lorenzo. They wouldn’t cope with losing Luna as well as their son.

‘I need you to slow down,’ she said, pulling away from him, unable to think straight while in his arms.

‘I’ll get a paternity test—a real one. I promise.’

The thought hadn’t crossed her mind until then. ‘Yes, that’s probably a good idea. It’s not that I don’t trust you but—’

‘It’s okay,’ he reassured her. ‘It’s important to do this properly. For everyone concerned. We don’t want there to be any confusion ever again. The sooner we get the results, the sooner we can tell Luna. And maybe we can see about getting that bastard’s name taken off her birth certificate.’

But Gabi barely registered this last bit.

Tell Luna?Although she understood Mark’s impatience to become part of their daughter’s life—to make up for all the time they’d lost—she was just a little girl. This would confuse the hell out of her, and Gabi had to protect her. She couldn’t allow her own feelings for Mark to overshadow that. ‘We can’t tell her,’ she said softly.

His head reared back. ‘What?’

‘Luna’s still grieving the man she thinks was her dad. She was devastated when Dante died, and I don’t think she could cope with finding out he wasn’t her real father. She’s too young to understand. This might break her.’

Mark was quiet for a long time, his expression grave as he digested what she’d said.

Finally, he nodded. ‘I understand. Of course, you’re right. The last thing I want to do is hurt her.’

‘Thank you.’ She squeezed his hand.

He lifted it and held it against his chest. ‘We don’t need to tell Luna who I am—not yet—but I want to be in her life, somehow. Even if you don’t want me in yours.’

‘I do,’ she whispered. The knowledge that her little girl hadn’t been fathered by a monster made her chest swell with joy. Now that she knew the truth, it would be so easy to give in to her heart’s desire, to walk out onto the almost packed-up lot and tell Eve and Lorenzo that she quit, but for Luna’s sake they needed to take things slowly. ‘I want that more than anything. But we’re going to have to take this one step at a time. Us having a relationship now means even more but there’s also much more at stake if we stuff it up.’

‘We won’t stuff it up!’

She smiled at him, happy tears spilling down her cheeks.

He let out a deep sigh, finally smiling too as he wiped her tears. ‘But you’re right. We need to do this right, for Luna. I can be patient and hopefully one day soon the timewillbe right to tell her the truth.’

She nodded. He deserved that and so did Luna. ‘It will be.’

‘Until then, I’ll visit you both as much as I can on the road and you’re welcome to come here for a holiday or whenever you want a weekend away from the circus. And don’t tell me you can’t afford it because I can. There’s nothing I’d rather spend my money on than you and our daughter. Whatever she needs, whateveryouneed, just ask.’

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