She zipped her jeans and smoothed her hair, knowing she looked like a woman who had just had a sexy interlude and not caring, and she walked out into the room and looked over at Heather, too scared to look at Barry. “I’ll show you where they’re kept,” she said, thankful that her voice sounded normal even though her heart was beating frantically and her breaths were shallow. She saw the look on Heather’s face as she gazed between the two of them. She saw the flash of contempt and the way her lips thinned, but Becky didn’t care. She’d just had an orgasm and there was no way she would let this bitch rob her of the euphoria.Becky kept her back erect as she walked out of Barry’ bedroom and down the hall to the linen cupboard. She pulled out a clean set of sheets and pillowcases and then turned to Heather. Heather walked over and let herself into Becky’s bedroom. “This is my room,” she said, stupidly, following her in. “Oh, is it?” Heather shrugged. “Barry said I c
Shaking her head to clear it, Becky slowly opened Abby’s bedroom door and peeked inside. The little girl was sound asleep and Becky relaxed against the door jamb, just watching her. The poor thing hadn’t had the easiest life, but she was so sweet in spite of it. Becky loved her so much that she felt a physical ache in her chest when she thought of not being able to look after her. She had to make sure that she did everything in her power to stay Abby’s nanny, even if that meant letting Heather walk all over her. If it meant she could stay with Abby and protect her from her mother’s spiteful machinations, then she would endure the barbs and biting words. With a sigh, Becky closed the door and turned towards the stairs. She would slip into the laundry room and put the sheets in the wash and then she would find something to eat in the fridge and lock herself in her room until tomorrow. It was a good plan. She needed some space from the two other adults in the house. She needed time
“She’s only here until I can secure custody of Abby,” he said softly, breathing in her scent and wanting nothing more than to nuzzle the crook of her neck, but knowing he had to take his time. He knew she was ready to bolt and now he’d had her, he knew he wasn’t ready to let her go. “I can deal with Heather,” she said, “but—” “Don’t say it,” he whispered. “Barry, we can’t—” “Yes, we can—” “No Barry,” she said pushing away from him and twisting out of his arms. “We can’t. This—” she indicated the space between them, “This can’t happen. Us. We can’t happen.” “Why?’ he asked, stepping towards her again, but she moved out of his grasp and he felt the fragile wisps of thread that had begun to bind them, begin to unravel. “There’s too much at stake,” she said. “We have to think about Abby and Heather.” “Heather? What has she got to do with us?” “She could use it against us, against you and your bid for custody.” He ran his hand through his h
“Nothing,” he said, chasing the collard greens around on his plate. What the hell were collard greens, anyway? At least she hadn’t been able to interfere with Abby’s birthday party. It was all set for the next day and, from the looks of the fridge, Abby’s request for all things pink was being satisfied. Patricia had even found him a pink three-piece suit, Dolce & Gabbana no less, and he intended to wear it to make his little princess happy, even if he felt like a pansy-ass in it. The backyard looked like a pink fairy threw up all over it. The jumping castle was there, just waiting to be inflated and there was enough bunting and balloons to decorate a country fair, but he loved it all because his daughter loved it all. Seeing her face light up when they were setting things up that afternoon had made him all soft and gooey inside, and Barry didn’t do soft and gooey. He’d had a couple of texts from his buddies asking if they really had to wear pink and he’d threatened them with
“No, Heather, it wasn’t like that—” Becky’s mind was racing. Heather had never given any hint she had known of Adam’s interest, of the way he would try to corner her, of the inappropriate and unwelcome touches. “Bullshit, bullshit. He had a hard-on for you and like you’re going to turn that down. And now you’ve moved on to greener pastures. Is Barry giving it to you good? He’s certainly got more going on than Adam, in his bank account, and in his pants.” “Is that why you’re here?” Becky asked and then wished she didn’t. Heather smiled a slow, victorious smile. “Barry loved me once, he will love me again. Especially when I tell him how you seem to have a weakness for Abby’s daddies.” “No.” It came out of her as a horrified breath. “Yes,” Heather said, a creepy smile on her face and a gleam in her eye. “There was nothing between Adam and me—” There was a noise from the laundry, but neither of them noticed it. “Sure, honey, you keep telling yoursel
“Glass?” he asked stupidly, finally looking down and seeing the shattered remains of a wine glass. “I dropped a glass,” she said. “Sorry.” “And were you going to clean it up?” he asked, his anger leaking through into his voice. “What if Abby had come down here and stepped in it?” Heather shrugged and got up from the table, unsteady on her feet. “It’s only glass. Becky can clean it up in the morning.” “She’s not a maid,” he said through clenched teeth. Heather shrugged again. “She may as well be,” she said and walked out of the room. “Fuck,” Barry growled, lifting his foot and looking at the chunk of glass sticking out of it. He flicked on the overhead lights and hopped over to the sink. He pried out the glass and used a cloth to bathe his foot. After rinsing the cloth, he wrapped it around his foot in a makeshift bandage and then looked under the sink for the dustpan and brush. He swept up the glass and wiped down the cabinets that were coated i
Becky plastered a bright, fake smile on her face and walked into Abby’s room. It was her birthday and Becky was determined to make the day perfect for her small charge. She’d never had a party like the one they had planned and Becky wanted nothing to mar the day for Abby. She resolutely put the scene from the night before to the back of her mind and refused to let it ruin the day. Abby was already awake and bouncing around her room. Her gorgeous pink princess dress hung on the closet door and Abby didn’t seem to be able to stop touching the layers of soft tulle that hung from a sequined bodice. The dress was a delicate pale pink with a bright pink bow and Abby had told Becky that it was the prettiest thing she’d ever seen. “Happy birthday Fairy Floss,” Becky said and Abby squealed, rushing over to her and throwing herself into Becky’s arms. “I’m so excited,” she said. “There’s butterflies in my stomach.” Becky laughed and held the little girl tightly. “Do you want y
Abby quietened immediately and looked crestfallen, burying her face into Barry’ shoulder. “Heather,” he growled warningly. “What?” she said, eyes wide and innocent. “We were just wishing Abby a happy birthday,” Becky said. “Oh yeah, right. Happy birthday Abby,” Heather said distractedly. “Thank you,” the little girl said in a small voice, her face still buried in Barry’ shoulder. Becky wanted to slap Heather for stealing Abby’s joy. Could the woman never think of anyone other than herself? “Right, well we were on our way downstairs to see what Mrs. Garrett has for breakfast.” “Mrs. Garrett is here?” Barry asked, looking at Becky. Becky nodded. “She wanted to make a special birthday breakfast for Abby.” “Excellent,” Barry said, swinging Abby around again and making the birthday girl giggle. Becky led the way downstairs, with Barry and Abby following. Heather disappeared back into her bedroom and slammed the door. The closer they got
Six Months Later…Everyone he loved was in the room. They were celebrating. Barry and Becky had finally set a date. Lisa and Mason wouldn’t be far behind. Brian and Cassie kept sneaking glances at one another that they thought nobody else noticed. He thought he knew what was going on but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It was their news to share and he was happy to wait for them to be ready to share it. Liam and Loretta were here too. He’d been slowly getting to know them. There was a lot of hurt to work through, but they were getting there. Jonathon quite enjoyed having a younger brother even if it was only in small doses at the moment. Devi and Kirra were also there. Kirra was graduating in a couple of weeks and then she would be hopefully attending one of the universities close to home. She wouldn’t know if she got accepted until the new year, but Jonathan was quietly confident that she would get into her top pick. And then there was Emma. Every day with her was
“I know it’s too soon,” he said, cupping her cheek. “But I want you to know that I am in this for good. I want to spend my life with you Emma. I want us to be a family. You, me, Kirra, Devi, Liam, and Loretta—” “Loretta?” “My mum. I want one big, messy family with you and me at the heart of it. Tell me you want that too.” She pressed against him and brushed a kiss on his lips. “I do,” she said before putting the remaining half of the chocolate in her mouth and grinning. The wheel came to a stop and he drew Emma to her feet, moving them both over to the window. The entire city of Melbourne was spread out below them, but it dimmed in comparison to the woman in his arms. “I love you, Emma,” he whispered before kissing her while they stood on top of the world.He took her home. He couldn’t not. They had stuff to work out and a relationship to manage. He had a family to get to know and she had her mother’s illness to navigate and her sister’s final year of sch
He stepped into the pod and waited for the door to close before holding the final box out to her, his mouth dry. She reached for it but he snatched it away, lifting it beyond her reach. “Before I give this to you, I need to explain.” She looked from the box to his face and nodded. “Okay.” The wheel started to move and Jonathon moved them over to sit on a bench. He exhaled roughly. “Okay, so I don’t know how much of this you already know, but how about I just start at the beginning?” She nodded again. “My mother left when I was two. I always believed she left us for a man with money. I’ve recently found out that wasn’t true.” He took a deep breath and her hand rested gently on his chest as she moved closer to him. He took strength from her closeness. “Someone was impersonating me—” “Liam?” He nodded. “Right. Liam. It turns out Liam is my brother. He was trying to draw me out and get me to notice him. He ultimately wanted to meet his father. He didn’t
“Are you looking for this?” the security guy asked, holding out an old-fashioned paper ticket. Emma laughed as she snatched it from him, waving it over her shoulder as she jogged toward the front doors of the building. She slid into the car and Brian looked at her expectantly. “Um…” Emma looked between Brian and Cassie. “I want to say Luna Park, but I don’t think that’s right.” “Why Luna Park?” Cassie asked. Emma held up the ticket in her hand. “We went to a fête in Merveille and rode the Ferris wheel.” “The Melbourne Star,” Brian said, his voice gruff. “Of course!” Cassie cried excitedly, leaning over to give Brian a smacking kiss. “You’re brilliant.” Emma could barely keep still as Brian drove them across town toward the Docklands and the giant observation wheel. As much as she was enjoying herself, she wanted to see him. She had already forgiven him for his lie and now she desperately wanted to ask his forgiveness for her stupid, fearful, erratic
She walked around the corner expecting to see Jonathon outside the patisserie, but there was no one there. She stepped inside breathed in the sweet scent of pastries and chocolate and looked around, hoping to spot him, but he wasn’t there. “Are you Emma?” a lady asked. “Yeah,” Emma said, turning to the woman who sat at a small table with a familiar little box in front of her. “This is for you,” the woman said, standing and walking away. Emma sat and took the box, pulling at the bow and opening it to see another chocolate truffle, this time it had an ’S’ written on top of it in dark chocolate. She didn’t need the little ‘Eat Me’ note to know what to do. She put the truffle on her tongue and closed her eyes. The chocolate coating melted away to leave behind a cake center with the sweet tang of apricot jam. “Sachertorte,” she mumbled to herself as she sighed and opened her eyes. Emma picked up the note that had nestled beside the truffle in the box.The first time we made lov
Dear Emma,The first time we met I wanted to kiss you. I knew I couldn’t. I knew it was stepping across a line both personally and professionally, but still, I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt.Our relationship has had an unconventional start, a bit of a rocky middle, and an absolutely appalling ending, but there were some real high points along the way. Let me remind you of how good it was between us and how good it could be again.Do you remember our first kiss? I don’t think I will ever forget it. I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for when I leaned down to brush my lips across yours, but I was a fool. You were so much more than I ever thought I would ever experience. You took my breath away and I lost a little bit of my heart to you at that moment.If it meant as much to you as it did to me, meet me there at the place where we first kissed.Jonathon.Emma could feel the wetness on her cheeks and she sniffed as she wiped at the tears. “Well?” Cassie asked, rocking o
It was the first Saturday morning Emma could ever remember that had the three of them sitting around the kitchen table eating pancakes and laughing. What would have been a simple, family Saturday morning ritual for some was something out of a fairy tale for Emma. She knew they were a long way from being a happy family, there was still a lot of hurt to navigate and broken trust to overcome, but it was a start and for once in her life, she was willing to just go with it. On this day, Devi was back to the woman she vaguely remembered from before Tom died and Emma wanted to soak it up and memorize it. From pancakes, they’d gone to gardening. Emma shared her plans with Devi and Kirra. She would let the lease go on her flat and move back in here permanently. It meant she would be on hand if Devi needed her and hopefully give some stability for Kirra’s final year of school. After she graduated and went off to uni, Emma could look at what would happen next. They all agreed that if they were
Emma wanted to believe her, but it was tempting to turn away and close her heart off so she couldn’t be hurt again. Except it would hurt anyway. If there was one thing she learned through this whole saga with Jonathon it was that closing your heart off to others was a mistake. You ended up hurting everyone that way, not least of all yourself. She put her arm around Devi and hugged her. “Good for you mum,” she said.Jonathon worked all night and most of the day. He tried calling Emma but when she didn’t pick up or reply to his texts after the first twenty or so, he gave up. What he had to say needed to be said in person anyway. Inspired by the woman he had fallen irrevocably in love with, he had spent the night holed up in his test kitchen creating the perfect set of truffles. Anybody could buy a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers but only he could create an entire set of truffles that spelled out just how much he loved her and how much she had impacted his life. He had words
Kirra said when Emma finally made it home. Emma had been wandering around the city trying to come to terms with what all this meant for her life going forward. She had made some hard decisions, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It hadn’t helped with the pain in her chest where her heart was currently crumbling away to dust, but at least she knew that she wasn’t going to end up like her mother just because she had fallen in love. Life was always going to throw her curve balls and she just learned something about herself. Despite her previous belief, she was actually strong enough to withstand them, even swing the bat at them, and make the best out of a bad situation. “Hey, yourself,” she said, sitting at the table opposite Kirra. “Where’s Zoë?” “She had to go and run some errands.” “Where’s mum?” Kirra bit her lip and her eyes teared up. “I don’t know.” “She’s not here?” Emma asked, sitting up straighter and leaning forward. “When I got home, Z