LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘I asked you to stop shouting. She wants—’

      ‘I heard what you said, Taylor. What I want to know is why.’

      ‘Because you’re her father.’ She saw him physically wince at the words and hated him for it.

      ‘She doesn’t even know me!’

      ‘That’s why she wants you to have lunch with us. She wants to meet you.’

      Craig moved from behind his desk to gaze dazedly at the panoramic view of Sydney Harbour, trying to marshal his confused thoughts and shell-shocked emotions into some kind of order.

      Each month as he automatically wrote out the child-support cheque, he dimly acknowledged the fact that some day his daughter would probably insist on seeking him out. He’d resigned himself to the fact. But he’d also figured he wouldn’t have to deal with her until at least another ten years down the track, when the kid might have had some chance of understanding how he felt. Suddenly someday was today. And it was too soon—for him and for Melanie.

      How did you tell a five-year-old that you resented her like hell for depriving you of the only woman you’d ever loved? For stuffing up what had been a wonderful marriage? ’Struth, even his parents hadn’t dumped that on him until he was nearly eleven! Damn Taylor! She had no right barging in here unannounced and dumping this on him! No right walking back into his life and turning it on its ear! Yet again.

      He wheeled around and nailed her with a cold stare. ‘You should have warned me about this! This isn’t the sort of thing you spring on a person, Taylor!’

      She knew he was right, but she’d hoped that turning up unexpectedly would make the possibility of Craig refusing to see her that much less likely. ‘I guess I should have called,’ she conceded. ‘But Melanie wanted it to be a surprise.’

      ‘Melanie wanted? I’ve never heard anything so ludicrous! Do you mean to tell me you flew here to pander to the whim of a kid?’

      ‘No,’ she said. ‘We drove.’

      ‘You drove from Adelaide to Sydney so she could have lunch with me?’

      ‘We don’t live in Adelaide any more.’ She took a steadying breath, almost frightened of what his reaction to her next words would be. ‘We moved back to Sydney a month ago.’

      ‘You...you’re here? Living here? In Sydney?’

      If Craig’s tone reflected anything other than disbelief, she could only have said it was horror. Disappointment nearly crushed her. Did he hate her that much?

      ‘So,’ he continued, again turning to the window, ‘where are you living?’

      It amazed Craig he could even speak much less ask appropriate questions. It seemed ridiculous that a day that had started out as routinely as this one had could take such a drastic turn for the unbelievable.

      Taylor was back. Back in Sydney. Back in his life.

      Closing his eyes to the scenic view and his ears to Taylor’s explanation for her move east, Craig tried to get a handle on what he was feeling. But his emotions seemed like a five-thousand-piece jigsaw that had just been tipped out of its box—a jumbled, fragmented mess, bearing little resemblance to the orderly picture the pieces were supposed to form.

      For two years after she’d left him, he’d started each day half expecting, half hoping she would walk into his office and say she’d made a mistake. Tell him he was the most important thing in her world and that without him she’d shrivel up and die. It wasn’t an image prompted by ego or vanity; once it had been their daily litany. Then the baby had arrived and seemingly overnight everything changed....

      Taylor had ceased to display even a token amount of affection towards him and she adopted a new litany—she was too tired...too busy...Melanie needed her more than him...he had to keep the business going! Her excuses had been boundless, pathetically transparent and signified the beginning of the end where their marriage was concerned.

      At first he’d tried to fight the inevitable, and when that failed he’d tried to ignore it, but to no avail. Without warning or even an acknowledgement that their marriage was in trouble, Taylor had left him.

      ‘Craig, are you listening? I asked—’

      ‘I heard you,’ he said wearily. ‘You asked me whether I would meet with Melanie.’

      He turned back to the woman to whom he’d once given his heart. Her beauty, as exquisite as ever, made him angry; her body, as streamlined as it had been at eighteen, made him hard. He swore, sitting down so the desk could at least let him keep his dignity.

      ‘Craig, Mel doesn’t know the details of...what happened.’

      Her attempt at diplomacy drew a harsh laugh from his lips. ‘Jeez, Taylor, I’m sure you could be more specific if you tried! Exactly what details are you referring to?’

      His bitterness stabbed at Taylor’s heart, her own urge to respond twisting the knife. She clamped her teeth shut against the pain and the cruel retort that came too easily to her tongue. She’d known this wouldn’t be easy, but for Melanie’s sake she wouldn’t let past bitterness contaminate the present.

      ‘I mean, Craig,’ she said, forcing her voice to evenness, ‘that she doesn’t know you hold her responsible for what happened between us.’

      ‘Don’t you hold her responsible?’

      ‘No,’ she said with assurance. ‘It was lack of trust that killed what we had, not Melanie.’

      ‘Lack of trust, or misplaced trust?’

      She sighed. ‘You’ll never believe I didn’t intentionally conceive Melanie, will you?’ His gaze was rigidly accusing and Taylor had to force herself not to flinch.

      ‘No,’ he responded, ‘I won’t.’

      ‘No one but you, Craig, has ever called me a liar.’

      ‘I’ve never used that word.’

      True, but he’d made manipulative, calculating and scheming sound just as derogatory. Just as painful. Just as chilling. ‘You implied it,’ she said. ‘It’s the same thing.’

      ‘Listen, Taylor,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘We agreed before we got married that given our own childhood experiences, we would never have children. It was a joint decision and any change to that agreement should have also been a joint one!’

      ‘But my getting pregnant was an accident!’

      ‘You know you sound even more insistent now than you did when you first made that claim! I’d almost believe you if I didn’t remember you casually tossing up the idea of having a family.’

      ‘I didn’t casually toss up anything!’ she flared. ‘I told you I thought that after six years of marriage, we could handle the pressures of being parents and—’

      The thump of his fist on the glass-topped desk as he sprang to his feet quelled Taylor’s speech.

      ‘And when I disagreed, you said I was right! You admitted letting yourself be swayed by the fact so many of our friends were starting families! And then—’ he snapped his fingers ‘—bingo, you’re accidentally pregnant!’

      Craig felt an old anger rising as he recalled how Taylor had venomously and repeatedly denied his accusations that she’d deliberately planned the situation; how she’d tearfully claimed she’d been taking the Pill religiously. He didn’t believe her, of course, and the ensuing rows had been loud and plentiful, but since neither of them advocated abortion, Craig had resigned himself to the fact that a baby was going to encroach upon their happiness.

      Taylor had sworn a child would never come between them, that it would actually bring them closer, and for a while there he’d believed her. If he were honest with himself, and surely after five years he could be that at least, there had been

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