Page 65 of Lime Tree Hill

His questions didn’t warrant a reply. Hayden had a bucket list a mile long, so who was he to judge?

“Have you even been in the water?” he continued as he joined her at the table.

“Whether I have or not is none of your business. I hadn’t even realized how your pressure for perfection was slowly suffocating me.”

He huffed. “Life isn’t a game of chance. You build your place in this world by sticking to the rules, not by drifting along on some whimsical cloud.”

“Yes, so you’ve always said. We’ve both made our choices. Let’s just move on, shall we?”

Hayden sat forward in the chair, his head between his hands. He looked up. “I’ve tried, but I can’t.”

“You left me at the altar, Hayden. In the sweltering heat. With no one but an anxious photographer and a celebrant whose look of pity I’ll never forget.” Tayla swallowed hard, her throat dry as she spoke. “And all because you didn’t have the decency to pick up the damn phone. And you know what? I hated you for that. Hated you with a passion I never thought I was capable of. How could you have stooped so low…left me at the chapel like that?”

“Because Anna went into labor. There were complications. What did you expect me to do? Excuse myself to call my needy girlfriend?”

“Needy!I thought you were dead,” she yelled. “That you’d been in an accident. One text. That’s all I expected. Just one text.”

“I’m sorry. But please, hear me out.” He reached for her hand, but she wouldn’t engage. “Anna and I have agreed. She likes her own company, always has. I annoy her if I’m around all the time. She’s happy for us to go back to how we were.”

“Anna knew about me?”

“Not at the start, no. But she wants to explore other options when Theo’s older, so?—”

“And is that what you want? A lover in one house and a part-time wife in the other? Unbelievable.” Tayla’s hands shook. She needed air, a drink of water…Mitch. “I’m married now. It’s done. Please leave.”

29

EAVESDROP

Mitch had spentmost of the morning in town, looking at a property with Luka. They managed to ignore the topic of CeCe until they had a beer with lunch. With a little alcohol in his veins, Luka wanted to talk. It seemed nothing had changed between his sister and best friend. They were still jostling for position on the outskirts of each other’s lives, much the same as him and Tayla.

He couldn’t work out where Tayla stood. She seemed conflicted, unable to decide whether she was open to his invitation. Maybe he’d misread the signs.Slow it down?They were already parked at a stop sign. But when he thought about it, his verbal foreplay technique had left a lot to be desired. ‘Let’s have sex. Marriage with benefits; no emotional attachment necessary.’Shit.

Just as he pulled into the driveway, his phone rang. He hit the call iconon the steering wheel. “Ned, what’s up?”

“Where are you?”

He eased his foot off the gas pedal. “The bottom gate. Why?”

“Tayla has a visitor, and it’s not sounding pretty. Do you want me to go up? See what’s going on?”

“No, I’m on my way.”

Mitch parked in the garage and joined a concerned Ned outside the packing shed. “Who’s with her?” he whispered.

“Some fella in a rental car, Hayden someone, a friend of hers from Sydney. They were hollering back and forth before, but it’s been quiet for a bit. You want me to hang around in case I need to show him who’s boss?”

“That’s the guy who’s staying in Norman’s old place.” Mitch looked toward the now silent loft. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I’m off home. Call if you need me. He seemed happy to see her, but Tayla didn’t give much away. See you in the morning.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Mitch stood for a moment, watching Ned walk toward home. The packing shed was quiet when he entered; the staff had gone for the day. He took the stairs one at a time instead of the usual two, stopping on the top riser as snippets of a conversation floated through the door.

Hayden was speaking. “…by taking off and marrying some hippy organic farmer?”

Tayla replied, but her words were muffled.

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