Page 35 of His Best Mistake

“To see my parents.”

“Why?” Why would she do that? She’d said she hardly ever saw them. He’d got the impression there was little love lost there. Was she leaving? She could not be leaving.

“Because they need to know about the baby.”

“So call them.”

“I need to get away. Once I’ve seen them I’m going home.”

Home? This was her home. “To Somerset?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I can’t be here right now. It’s all too intense.”

Jack gritted his teeth and fought the urge to tell her she was going nowhere because if anything was likely not to improve this it was that. “Fine,” he said, thinking instead he’d be wise to tread carefully because the last thing he wanted was her to leave for good. He didn’t think he could stand that. “I’ll drive you.”

“I’ll take the train.”

“It’s no trouble.”

“I’ll take the train.”

She still hadn’t looked at him and he found he didn’t like it. “What’s going on, Stella?”

“Absolutely nothing,” she said, tossing a washbag into the suitcase. “And that’s the problem.”

“You’re talking in riddles.”

“Don’t you dare lecture me on how to communicate. I’ve tried my hardest to make this work, Jack, and you, quite simply, haven’t – and you know what? Right now, I’ve had enough.”

Jack stared at her, completely and utterly baffled. What the hell was she talking about? Hadn’t he done everything she’d asked him to do? Hadn’t he taken time off from work? Hadn’t they hung out and done things together and talked? “What could you possibly mean by that?”

She stopped, whirled round, and finally, finally, looked at him. “I’ve told you everything,” she said, her hands on her hips, her colour high, her eyes blazing. “Everything. Do you know how hard that’s been for me to do? Do you? No. Because you’ve never bothered to ask, have you? You’re simply not interested. Well, I’ll tell you. Remember how I said I used paint as a way of expressing my feelings about my parents’ lack of interest in me? That only worked until I was ten when it finally sank in that I was basically on my own. From then on I shut down. I closed off my emotions and withdrew and thought there must be something fundamentally wrong with me because parents are supposed to love their children unconditionally and mine very obviously didn’t. For years I had no friends because no one could get anywhere near me. I was too withdrawn and unapproachable, too afraid of being rejected and wholly unsure of what was expected of me, and even now I can’t bring myself to totally trust the few friends I do have. I’ve been a mess for years, despite some therapy, but for the sake of this child I’ve tried to get over all that. I decided to open up and try and build a proper relationship with you but you just won’t reciprocate, and so what I’d like to know, Jack, what I’d really like to know is: are you ever going to tell me about your wife?”

At her words, flying through the space between them and slamming into his head, Jack froze. Reeled. It was too much to take in. He didn’t know what to start with. So he went with the last. “How did you know?”

“Cora,” said Stella, letting out a breath, clearly battling for calm. “She told me the morning she came to see me.”

“How much do you know?”

“Not much. Only that you were married, she was pregnant and then she died.”

“My sister shouldn’t have told you.”

Hurt, Stella winced but she rallied quickly enough. “She didn’t know I didn’t know. She’s very loyal.”

“Too damn loyal.”

“She cares.”

Jack said nothing to that because he had no response. It was true. Cora was deeply loyal and she cared a lot. Despite their current issues, if she thought Stella was causing him anguish she’d have done something about it. He just wished she’d told him what she’d been up to before she’d jetted off to Spain. Then he’d have had time to work out how to deal with this. As it was he didn’t. At all. “Was that why you changed your mind about moving in?” he asked, taking the easy option and going with the facts.

“Yes. It seemed unnecessarily cruel not to.”

“You pitied me.”

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