by Nell Dixon
Chapter Five
Polly fell asleep in her car seat before they were even five minutes into the journey to Nathalie’s house.
“I’ll drop you off at home, Tali,” Evan said, his voice low.
“Thank you. She’s very tired, isn’t she?” Nathalie peeked in the rear-view mirror at the sleeping child. Polly’s blonde curls tumbled about her face, and pale blue smudges showed beneath her closed eyes.
“Poll gets tired easily, but she doesn’t sleep very well when she’s in bed. I’m hoping she’ll be tired enough now to go through the night.”
“It must be hard bringing her up alone.” As soon as she’d spoken the words aloud, she wished she could take them back. Her voice sounded too wistful, and she hoped he hadn’t picked up on it.
“Mum helps since I’ve been back at home. To be honest, things have been better since Laurel left.” Evan stopped the car for a red light. “I can’t believe you’ve changed your mind about wanting a family. You always loved kids.”
Pain shot through Nathalie’s abdomen, and it took her till the lights changed back to green before she could reply. “I like children, but it’s different having your own. You know that from having Polly. It’s just not for me.” She tried to keep her tone light. When she’d dated him before, they’d talked about children. Her heart clenched at the memory.
Evan frowned. “You’ve never been someone to duck responsibility.”
“Look, can we just drop this please? I’m not cut out to be a mum, okay? I’m free and single and that’s how I like it.” She snapped the words and turned her head to look out of the side window so he couldn’t see her face. She knew if he did, her expression would give her away.
Evan pulled to a halt in front of her townhouse a few minutes later. “I’m sorry. Your private life is none of my business.” His voice sounded stiff.
“Thank you for lunch and for a nice evening.” She had her hand ready on the door handle, poised for flight. His expression was hard to read in the dimly-lit interior of the car.
“I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday then,” he said, his words a statement rather than a query, as if he suspected she might try to back out. “Thanks for taking the time to play with Polly tonight.”
“I like Polly; she’s a lovely child.” Nathalie was sincere. She did like his daughter very much, but if he thought he could arrive back in Nathalie’s life after a six-year absence and expect...
What did he expect? Tiredness washed over her, and the cramps in her stomach only served to muddle her thoughts further. She shook her head a little to clear the fuzziness.
“Are you all right?” He leaned closer to her.
“I’m fine. It’s been a long day.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
“If you’re sure.” He opened the door for her. His hand covered hers with unexpected warmth.
“I have to go. You need to take Polly home,” Nathalie heard herself gabble, but his hand still lingered over hers.
“Goodnight then, Tali.” His lips brushed her cheek.
She half clambered and half fell out of his car. The impression of his lips on her skin tingled like fire. She hurried up the steps to her front door, fumbling in her bag for the key. Only after she had shut the door firmly behind her did she hear Evan drive away.
****
Evan watched as she disappeared from view inside her house. He could have sworn when he’d covered her hand with his to open the car door, he’d felt her fingers tremble against his palm.
After checking on Polly, who continued to sleep soundly in the back of the car, he pulled off into the traffic. He couldn’t recall the Nathalie he remembered from six years ago ever looking as sad and vulnerable as she had when she’d left his car moments earlier.
While he’d been away, Jerome had kept him up to speed with snippets of information about Nathalie and the rest of the family. Evan therefore knew a little about what had happened in her life, but nothing that prepared him for the hurt he’d seen on her face when he’d asked her about starting a family of her own.
The Tali he remembered had been a confident, feisty young woman who loved life and romance. A girl who’d once confided her dreams of marriage and a family to him. A girl who’d shared his dreams. Now all that had changed.
Something had changed while he’d been away, and while he was prepared to own a portion of the blame for the hurt he’d caused her, there had to be something else going on. Something he didn’t know about. Whatever the mystery was, he was determined to solve it.
Evan came to a halt in front of his mother’s home. Polly stirred a little in her car seat. On the surface, Nathalie appeared to be the same breezy woman he recalled, but several times during the course of the evening he had felt as though he were walking on eggshells. It was as if the real Tali lay hidden behind a public façade, carefully constructed to hide her innermost feelings. Deep in thought, he turned off the engine and climbed out, ready to carry his sleepy daughter into the house.
“Where’s Nathalie?” Polly demanded grumpily as he lifted her from her seat.
“She’s gone home, sweetheart.” He locked the car and carried her up the path to the house.
“I wanted to show her my princess doll.” Polly pouted and hugged Pookie close as Evan set her on her feet in the hallway.
“You can show her some other time,” he said as he began to undo the buttons on her coat.
“But she promised to see my dolls.”
Evan sighed. “Then she’ll see them another day. Nathalie always keeps her promises.”
The child appeared mollified and allowed her father to remove her coat and shoes. He smiled as he escorted Polly upstairs to get her washed and changed for bed. He remembered the time Nathalie had promised to walk the neighbours’ dog for them while they’d been away. The dog had been a huge, unruly mutt, and on the first outing, it had dragged Nathalie for miles over the surrounding fields. She’d limped home, covered in mud and missing a shoe.
Most girls he knew would have cried off after that, but Nathalie had stuck it out — even taking the animal treats she bought out of her own money — because she’d given her word that she would look after the dog. She’d also given her word to go house-hunting with him, and although he suspected she might’ve been looking forward to accompanying him about as much as she’d enjoyed walking that dog, he had no doubts about her keeping her promise.
****
After Nathalie heard Evan drive away from the house, she unfastened her damp jacket with trembling fingers. She sat down on a nearby armchair and held her head in despair. “Oh Min, this is hopeless. What am I going to do? Polly is so sweet, and Evan is…” What is Evan?
The cat raised her neat head from the sofa to fix Nathalie with a solemn green-eyed gaze. Nathalie sighed. Her thoughts kept taking her down avenues she didn’t feel ready to explore. Her abdomen cramped, and she rubbed her hand across her stomach to ease the discomfort. “I need to take a bath and see if this pain will go.”
The cat continued to clean her front paws.
“Okay, I’m talking to you, Minnie!” She reproved as she walked across the lounge and scooped Min up into her arms. She buried her face in the cat’s soft fur and felt a deep rumble of contentment against her cheek.
Nathalie entered the kitchen and set Min down on the floor. She took milk from the fridge and poured some into the cat’s bowl. Min twined herself between Nathalie’s legs, meowing with excitement, then dove straight in for a drink.
The circled date on the calendar caught her attention, and she placed a protective hand on her stomach. Wednesday would bring more than one difficult moment for her.
****
“You’re very quiet today,” Gemma observed the next morning as she helped Nathalie re-hang bridal gowns after her customer had left.
“Am I? Sorry, Gemma. I’ve a lot on my mind.”
“Mmm. Is one of the ‘things’ on your mind six-foot-two, with blue eyes and dark blond hair?” Gemma t
eased.
Nathalie shook her head. “You are incorrigible!”
“I notice you’re not denying it.” Gemma slid a protective cover over a gown.
“There’s nothing to deny.”
“He bought you dinner.”
“He bought me supper as well,” Nathalie admitted. She smiled at her assistant’s startled expression.
“Oh, come on, Tali! You can’t throw me a teaser like that and not give me the details.” Gemma followed her into the back store area.
“There’s not a lot to tell.”
Her friend gave a snort of disbelief.
Nathalie filled the kettle and got two mugs down from the cupboard. “I was locking up last night, and Evan passed by as it started raining. He had Polly with him, and we went for a meal at the family pub on the edge of town.”
“Not your average romantic candlelit dinner for two, then.” Gemma sounded wistful.
“I told you. We’re not on those kinds of terms.” Nathalie spooned coffee into the mugs.
“You didn’t tell me why you split up with him before?”
Her hand shook a little as she added the boiling water. “It’s a bit complicated.”
“Because of Polly?” Gemma’s warm brown eyes were dark with sympathy. She was one of the few people who knew about Nathalie’s medical problems. It would have been impossible for Gemma not to notice the days when Nathalie had been in pain or had been forced to leave work to attend medical appointments.
“A little bit, I suppose,” Nathalie admitted as she stirred the drinks.
“I would have thought…” Gemma bit back her words.
“That if I got together with Evan, I would be delighted to have Polly as a stepdaughter, since I can’t have children of my own?” Nathalie completed the sentence.
Gemma looked stricken. “I’m sorry.”
Nathalie took a sip of her coffee. She hadn’t meant to snap at Gemma. At least her assistant had been bold enough to attempt to put into words an idea that Nathalie suspected many people would have thought, had they been aware of her condition.
“No, I’m sorry. Anything to do with Evan, and I turn into someone I don’t like very much. I shouldn’t have snapped.”
“You really like him, don’t you?” Gemma picked up her own mug and cradled it thoughtfully.
“He hurt me a lot last time. I just don’t know if I can risk that again.” She stared into her mug, as if she expected the answer to her dilemma to float on the pale brown surface of the coffee.
The shop bell jangled, and Gemma put her mug down on the table. “Only you can decide if he deserves a second chance, but we’ve worked together for three years now, and I’ve never seen a man have this kind of impact on you.” Then she walked out into the shop and began to talk to someone.
Nathalie took another sip of coffee and tried to collect her thoughts. It was crazy to start thinking so far ahead. Evan had only just re-entered her life. She wasn’t even sure of his intentions toward her.
“Certainly, I’ll see if she’s free,” Gemma said, her voice a little louder. Her face registered her distaste for the customer in the shop as she reappeared. “Sorry, it’s Karen Gillespie.”
Nathalie shared her assistant’s dislike of Karen. A former classmate of Nathalie’s, Karen was in the throes of planning her third wedding — plans which she altered almost daily, driving both Nathalie and Gemma round the bend. She took another fortifying sip of coffee and followed her assistant out onto the shop floor.
“Nathalie, darling!” Karen swooped over in a cloud of strong perfume to plant air kisses on her cheeks.
“Hello, Karen. What can we do for you today?”
The woman opened her bag and produced her journal of wedding plans. “I had a thought about the wedding favours. Sugared almonds are so passé, and I wondered if handmade chocolate truffles might be better.”
“Fine. I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” She waited for Karen to work her way through the usual list of alterations, but Karen returned the book to her bag.
“I saw Evan Davies the other day.” Karen smiled at her. “You and he were rather close at one time, weren’t you?”
Nathalie pinned a smile to her face. Karen had always been nosy. “Evan’s an old friend. It’ll be nice to have him back in town.”
“You know he was married to Laurel Hunter?” Karen delivered the information with the air of someone who had uncovered a state secret.
Tension built in Nathalie’s jaw as she tried to keep her smile in place. “Oh yes, I believe it’s common knowledge.” She wasn’t certain it was, but knew it would wipe the smirk off Karen’s immaculately made-up face if it looked like she didn’t have the inside track.
“He has custody of the child, doesn’t he? It’s a very strange affair, in my opinion. The mother nearly always gets custody.” Karen sniffed.
“I’m sure the courts have their reasons for Polly being in Evan’s care.” Nathalie glanced around to look for Gemma, hoping she might come to the rescue. She had, however, disappeared back into the storeroom.
“Have you seen them, then?” Karen fingered the edge of a diamante-spangled veil with ill-disguised interest.
“Evan came to Nate’s wedding reception.” Nathalie itched to smack Karen’s pointy-nailed fingers away from the delicate lace.
“I didn’t realise you’d stayed in touch. Didn’t he disappear and leave you in the lurch before?”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Like I said, we’re old friends.” She had no intention of letting on that she hadn’t even known Evan would be at the reception. Karen was one of the biggest gossipmongers in town.
“Well, when you see him next, remember me to him, won’t you? Perhaps you could bring him to my wedding rehearsal?”
Nathalie thought she would rather stick forks in her eyeballs, but she continued to smile at her customer. “If I see him, I’ll ask.” She crossed her fingers surreptitiously behind her back.
“Marvellous, darling. Well, I’d better be getting along.” Karen hitched her bag onto her shoulder and patted her auburn hair into place.
“I’ll sort out the wedding favours for you and call to confirm.”
She looked blank for a moment. “Oh yes, of course. That’ll be super. Bye, then.” The shop door closed behind Karen. Nathalie’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“Is it safe to come out?” Gemma slipped back through the curtains.
“Yes, she’s gone.”
“Here’s a fresh coffee. I thought you’d need it.”
“I need a brandy after I’ve seen her.” Nathalie accepted the mug with a grateful sigh.
“What did she want this time?”
“I’m not quite sure. She said she wanted to change the wedding favours, but she was more intent on trying to dig up information on Evan. Oh, and she wants me to invite him to her wedding rehearsal.” Nathalie pulled a face.
Gemma looked baffled. “Why?”
Nathalie shrugged. “I told you Evan’s ex-wife is Laurel Hunter? Well, Karen likes to think she’s the queen bee of every social event in town, doesn’t she? You can bet she’d be on to the press like lightning if Evan went to the rehearsal, just so she could make the society column.”
“Karen’s whole wedding is one big drama. No one else would turn their rehearsal into a lunch party. Anyway, seeing as she’s on her third husband, you’d think she’d know the words by now.” Gemma pulled a sour face.
“Ouch, you really don’t like her, do you?” Nathalie tried to look disapproving but couldn’t hide her smile.
“Does it show?” Gemma laughed. “I take it you’re not planning on asking Evan to go with you to the rehearsal then?”
“What do you think?”
Gemma shook her head and collected Nathalie’s empty mug, ready to take into the back room. “At least Karen’s wedding is just a few weeks away. After that, we won’t have to see her again. Until number four comes along, of course.”
Nathalie s
miled ruefully as Gemma whisked away. Karen might be a pain in the neck, but she was a good customer when it came to spending money. And because of her social connections, Karen sent them lots of very well-heeled customers. Compared to the impending appointment at the hospital the next day, however, Karen’s wedding wasn’t at the top of Nathalie’s list of priorities.
Once the shop had closed for the day and she’d said goodnight to Gemma, Nathalie made her way home with a heavy heart. The next day’s appointments preyed on her mind. Light drizzle fell from a steel grey sky, and water dripped miserably from the bare branches of the trees that lined the streets on her route home.
She heard the phone ring as she unlocked her front door. Min rushed to greet her, twining round her legs with loud purrs as Nathalie struggled into the lounge to answer the phone. She snatched up the handset and tried to ignore the inconvenient flicker of hope that Evan’s voice would be on the other end. Her spirits fell just as rapidly when all she heard was the burr of the dial tone.
Chapter Six
The relentless chirp of the alarm clock roused Nathalie from a deep sleep. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep the previous night. Her mother’s phone call offering to accompany her to the appointment with the gynaecologist, though well-intentioned, had stirred a well of mixed emotions.
She lay still for a moment, enjoying the peace and quiet before going for a shower before her appointment. Part of her dreaded hearing that nothing more that could be done unless she accepted surgery. On the other hand, she longed to be free of pain, to lead a life independent of drugs and cramps.
Nathalie slipped out of bed and put on her slippers before heading for the kitchen. Min padded along behind her, mewing with delight at the prospect of her regular morning bowl of milk.
“Big day today, Min.”
The cat sat on her haunches and stared at her with large green eyes. Nathalie sighed as she poured some milk into Min’s china bowl. If she were honest with herself, she wasn’t sure if it was just the appointment at the hospital that bothered her.