Page 100 of Outback Reunion

Gently disentangling them, he pointed to a shingleback a few feet away. ‘Relax. It’s just a lizard. They scare off the snakes.’

‘Thank God.’ As her hand rushed to her chest, Mark glanced back towards the house, hoping Gabriela hadn’t seen her in his arms. Tahlia hadn’t stuffed things up with Gabriela—he’d done that all by himself—but he didn’t want her to misread the situation.

Tahlia’s hand landed on his forearm. ‘I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I hope you’ll consider it. I’ll never forgive myself for treating you so badly. I was a fool to let you go. We’re perfect together, and you’re right, I can run my business from here. The beach will be a great place to take photos of my clothes and I’m sure I can find some local models.’

‘What about kids?’ Mark asked, feeling as if he’d just been hit by a road train.

She blinked. ‘Kids?’

‘I thought you’d decided you didn’t want them?’

‘Oh right.’ Tahlia bit her lip. ‘I was scared. Losing my body, my independence, to someone else, but none of that matters if I’m not with you.’ She whipped a book out of her bag. ‘Look, I even bought a baby name book so we can start—’

‘It’s too late,’ he interrupted, waving the book away. ‘We’ve been separated for months. We’re getting divorced the moment it’s legal.’

‘Please, Mark, I love you.’ She clutched his arm again, her nails digging into his skin. Remorse, regret and desperation were etched across her face. ‘It’s not too late. We can start over properly this time, knowing we’re both on the same page.’

But they were no longer on the same page. He was in a completely different book.

‘Maybe we could even renew our vows,’ she suggested hopefully.

Even after what she’d done to him, he hated hurting her. They had history and a couple of months ago this would have been everything he wanted—at least, he’d thought so—but staring at Tahlia now felt like staring at a stranger, not someone he’d shared a bed with for the better part of five years.

Had they ever really known each other?

He shook his head. Not the way he felt he knew Gabriela. On a soul level.

‘You shouldn’t have come,’ he told her.

‘What was I supposed to do? You wouldn’t answer my calls or messages. And then I realised this was better face to face anyway. I wanted you to see in my eyes how much I mean what I’m saying. How sorry I am.’

‘I believe you.’ He truly did, but in the end, it didn’t matter whether she meant what she was saying, or whether Alex had dumped her and she’d come crawling back because she didn’t like being alone. They were never ever getting back together. ‘But it’s too late. Things have changed.I’vechanged.’

Tahlia huffed as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. For a second, he thought she might cry, but she chose the other option. ‘Is it because of thatwomanyou were talking to when I arrived?’

She made ‘woman’ sound like a swear word.

‘Yes and no,’ he admitted. ‘I don’t hate you for what you did. Not anymore. I was a mess after my accident. I just wanted to get away from Melbourne, where I was reminded of football everywhere I looked. I didn’t think about what moving so quickly might mean for you, but I don’t know if we’d have lasted the distance anyway. Neither of us were prepared to compromise. We were always thinking about ourselves rather than us as a couple.’

‘Who is she?’ Tahlia spat.

‘Gabriela is a circus performer. She’s working in town at the moment.’

She coughed out a laugh. ‘You’re not serious? You’re not going to throw away five years with me—most of which were freaking fabulous—for five minutes with some circus chick?’

‘She’s not just some circus chick. I’ve known Gabriela longer than I’ve known you.’

‘What?’ Tahlia looked like he’d slapped her. He told her about meeting Gabriela in the pub. ‘I think I fell in love with her that night. I don’t think I ever stopped. I’m sorry.’

Tahlia straightened. ‘Well, I’d say congratulations, but it didn’t look like she felt the same way about you!’

She was clearly trying to hurt him like his words hurt her, but whatever it may have looked like, Mark believed in his heart that there was something once-in-a-lifetime between him and Gabriela and all he had to do was convince her to give them a chance. Even if they were doomed, that didn’t mean he wanted to pick up with Tahlia where they’d left off. Maybe things would have been different if he hadn’t reconnected with Gabriela—if he hadn’t known any different—but after what he’d experienced and felt the last week, he’d rather spend his life alone than in a relationship with anyone else.

When he didn’t respond to Tahlia’s cruelty, she thrust her hands onto her hips. ‘What am I supposed to do now? I bought a one-way plane ticket and rented out the apartment. A truck with all my things will be arriving at your farm next week!’

Jesus.She was unhinged. He couldn’t believe she’d been that confident that he would take her back, especially when he hadn’t even answered her phone calls.

‘I’ll get you a room at the pub for tonight,’ he told her. ‘Liam will take care of you, and I’ll drive you to the airport tomorrow.’ Some would say he didn’t owe her anything after what she’d done, but he wasn’t a monster. ‘Or do you have a hire car?’

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