Page 84 of Lime Tree Hill

“He’ll be home soon. He’s down at the center, playing mahjong with his cronies. It gets him out from under my feet. But you choose. You know he’s not fussy.” She narrowed her eyes. “You look tired. You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“What? No! Of course not.”

Her mother moved into the kitchen and poured two glasses of lemonade from a jug on the island. She handed one to Tayla. “Why did you say it like that? I know your generation thinks you can have it all, but don’t leave it too long. Your eggs aren’t getting any younger.”

Moot point.“Obviously, but I’m only twenty-six.” Tayla sipped her drink, the sourness making her wince, as did living a lie. And while her mother didn’t need to know everything about her life,Tayla hated keeping secrets from her parents. It was time to change the subject.

“I have to hop over to Sydney to sort out my apartment. If you guys are okay without me for a couple of weeks, I might go in the next few days.” She took a bliss ball from a jar in front of her and popped it into her mouth, the sweet taste of dates and almonds settling her nerves a little.

Having spent all afternoon mulling over her options, she couldn’t shake the feeling that returning to Sydney was something she should do sooner rather than later.

She needed that closure.

“We’ll be fine. What about Mitch? Is he going?”

Tayla thought of Mitch, lying on the bed with his hands behind his head as he watched her dress that morning, that lazy gaze of his washing over her. Of his gentle touch and not so gentle release. “Probably not.”

“He could do with a break. And you could too. Your feet have hardly touched the ground since you came home. Mind you,” her mother continued, “without your help with the orchard, I don’t know where we’d be now. And as for Mitch, I’m glad you’ve found each other. But…what are you so afraid of?”

Tayla looked up from screwing the lid back on the jar of bliss balls. “What do you mean?”

“With Mitch. I get the impression you’re holding your breath, waiting for something bad to happen.”

Her mother was right. That’s exactly what she was doing. Holding her breath, marking time, putting her life on hold. “I’ve always been cautious; you know that.”

“Let go a bit, eh? What’s the worst that can happen?” She smiled at Tayla. “He loves you very much. The way he looks at you, with that warmth in his expression.”

Tayla had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Her mother was too cute. “You’re such a hopeless romantic.”

“You should try it sometime. Relax a little. There are no guarantees in this life, so we might as well have fun while we’re here.”

The loft was still when Tayla walked upstairs later that evening. She glanced up at the oversized clock, its steady tick reinforcing the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. She’d just flopped down on the sofa when the phone rang in Mitch’s office. Thinking it might be him, she ran to answer it.

As she picked up, she glanced at the screen saver of his desktop computer. A photo of her in her wedding dress, standing on the pancake rocks at Petrie Bay, a soft smile on her face, filled the screen.What on earth?

“Lime Tree Hill, Tayla speaking.”

“Hi.”

“Who is this?”

“What? You’ve forgotten what I sound like already?”

She tightened her grip on the handset. “Hayden? Why are you calling the landline?”

“Because you won’t return my calls.”

“I can’t talk right now.” Tayla sat at the desk, spellbound, watching as the screen saver flicked from one frame to the next—all wedding photos, all of her.

“Please don’t hang up. I just… Oliver died. Yesterday. He was hit by a car while out riding his bike.”

She swiveled in the chair, away from the screen, her hands shaking. “Oliver? No! I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.

“Are you okay?” It was a stupid question, asked without thought. A knee-jerk reaction to news no one ever wants to receive. Of course he wasn’t okay. Oliver had been Hayden’s closest friend.

“I need you, Tayla. My life’s falling apart. I don’t love her like I do you. And now Oliver’s gone. Just like that.”

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