Tally paced between the sofa and the window while she waited for Pete to arrive. She’d convinced Em to leave her to it. She needed to do this alone, not with Emmalee prodding her in the back every five minutes. Her friend meant well, but Tally wanted to gauge Pete’s mood so she could approach her news in the right way.

She jumped when his three-rap knock sounded on the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

“Hi, Pete,” she said, giving him a warm hug. “Come on in. That wind is bitter.”

“It’s great to see you, Tally.” Pete closed the door behind him and wiped his feet on the mat. “I’m glad you decided to come home.”

“Me too,” she said with a warm smile. “It was definitely the right decision. I can’t keep running from my problems. Time to face up to them.”

“At least it turned out to be weeks rather than months.” He followed her into the kitchen. “Where’s Emmalee?”

“She’s gone to the cinema.”

Pete frowned. “Oh. I thought she was joining us for dinner.”

“I asked her to go,” Tally said, stirring the pasta. She dipped a spoon into the sauce and held it up for Pete to taste.

“Perfect,” he said, licking his lips. “You always were a fabulous cook.”

“Sit down, then,” she said, nodding at the small kitchen table. She filled two bowls with food and pushed one in front of him. “I wanted it to be just us tonight.”

“Why’s that?” he said, stabbing at the spaghetti with his fork.

“I haven’t seen you since I left for Greece. I saw Em last week.”

“Fair enough.” Pete slurped another mouthful of spaghetti, splattering his shirt with bolognaise sauce. “Dammit. Every time.”

She giggled. “Here,” she said, passing him a damp cloth.

“Good job I have a fabulous dry cleaner,” he said, laughing at his own clumsiness. “I need a bib.”

“You always did get more spaghetti sauce on you than in you,” Tally said.

A warm glow spread through her veins as the familiar scene unfolded in front of her, and she couldn’t wait any longer. “I’m pregnant,” she blurted.

His hand froze halfway towards his mouth, his fork full of spaghetti. He glanced up, eyes wide. “What did you say?”

“I’m having a baby. In July.” She reached across the table and clasped her fingers around his. “I know it’s a shock. It was to me too when I found out.” She shrugged. “But I’m slowly getting used to the idea.”

She could see him working backwards. “It’s Cash’s?”

“Yes. Not planned, obviously.”

“What has he said?”

“I haven’t told him.”

Pete patted her arm. “Good. Because I want to be there when you do.”

Tally shook her head. “No need. I’m not telling him.”

Pete’s mouth set in a firm line. “You have to tell him.”

“Why? Cash has made his feelings perfectly clear. He doesn’t want me, and I’m sorry, Uncle Pete, but me and this baby come as a package deal.”

“Tally… ” Pete’s head dropped, and he slowly shook it.

“I’ve made my decision.”

“You can’t have a man’s child and not tell him he’s a father. Look, you know how I feel about Cash. I hate how he’s hurt you. But whether he wants to be involved or not, that isn’t your decision to make.”

Tally set her jaw and met Pete’s unwavering gaze. “I am not telling him. And if you do, I swear I will never speak to you again.”

His mouth creased in thought, and for a minute, Tally feared he was going to call her bluff. Then he leaned back in his chair and beamed. “I’m going to be a great-uncle.”

Letting out the breath she’d been holding, Tally returned his smile. “This baby is going to be one lucky dude or dude-ess.”

“Of course it is,” Pete said. “It will have you as a mother.”

* * *

Tally started working at the paper again, and apart from the reminder of her ever-growing belly, everything was pretty much as it had been before she’d ever met Cash Gallagher.

Her pregnancy was progressing well, and she was into her fifth month when Pete beckoned her into his office one Monday at lunchtime. He wore a grave expression as he waved for her to sit.

A growing sense of dread made her skin tingle. “What’s wrong?”

“I’d like to hide this from you,” Pete said with a grim twist to his mouth as his gaze flicked between her and his iPad. “But you’re bound to stumble across it one way or another.”

Instinct told Tally this had something to do with Cash. A horrible, sick feeling churned in her stomach. She held her hand out. “Let me see.”

Pete hesitated and then slowly pushed the tablet across the desk. Tally picked it up… and her heart dropped through the floor. In front of her was a picture of Cash with a skinny blonde coming out of the Dorchester. She’d recognise those green arches anywhere.

He was dressed casually in jeans and a crisp white shirt open at the neck, revealing smooth golden skin. He looked so goddamned handsome she wanted to cry, but the real killer was the expression on his face as his eyes connected with the woman’s. She knew that look. It was one he’d often wear before he met her—the one that said he’d been up all night screwing and didn’t care who knew.

She flicked onto the next picture. In this one, he had his arm around the blonde’s waist and was whispering in her ear. The final one had captured the woman’s adoring look perfectly, her eyes shining as she gazed lovingly at him, a sexy smile gracing her perfect face.

Tally dropped the tablet on the desk. “He’s a free agent,” she said in a dull tone.

“Tally—”

“Can I go now?” she snapped, already out of her seat before Pete could say another word. She spun on her heel and left his office. As she passed her desk, she swiped her coat off the back of her chair and slung her bag over her shoulder. Ignoring Danny’s concerned look, she ran into the hallway and sped down five flights of stairs to the street below. By the time she got outside, she could barely catch her breath. With no idea where to go, she turned left and began walking.

She must have wandered around for about an hour before she stumbled upon a GBK restaurant Cash had once taken her to. She hesitated with one hand on the door. Knowing her decision would probably give rise to more tears, she pushed the door open and walked in.

The hostess greeted her with a warm smile. “Table for one, is it?”

Tally glanced across to the table she and Cash had sat at all those months earlier. A young couple occupied it. They had eyes only for each other. The man was rubbing his thumb back and forth over the back of the girl’s hand, and she was coyly glancing at him from beneath long eyelashes that graced her cheeks every time she blinked.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled to the hostess. “This was a mistake.”

After stumbling back onto the street, she pulled up the collar of her coat and set off walking again. She’d known this would happen eventually. Cash was a highly sexed male, the type who couldn’t be without a woman for very long. If anything surprised her, it was how long he’d taken. They’d split up almost five months ago, and even during that one phone call, he’d shown no inclination for them to get back together.

Why shouldn’t he be with other women?

She bent over double as pain tore through her insides. She leaned on a lamppost as she waited for the pain to recede. Never again would Cash’s lips softly press against hers. Never again would his calloused hands explore her body. Never again would she feel him moving inside her.

As a dull ache spread throughout her chest, the baby kicked for the first time.

Tally held her breath, unsure whether it had been a kick at all. She waited, and then it happened again, like a muscle twitching in her stomach. She couldn’t stop a smile spreading across her face. It was as though her baby knew she’d needed a pick-me-up right at that moment and had provided it in the most wonderful way possible.

She dug around in her bag, desperate to tell someone. Her fingers trembled as she called up Em’s number.

The call went to voicemail, and she cursed as she waited for the automated message to finish. “Em, it’s me. You’ll never guess—”

Her arm dropped to her side as her gaze fell on a familiar figure across the road.

Rupe.

Her feet were frozen to the pavement, and before she could move, he began to jog towards her. In a panic, she buttoned up her coat. She could not let him see the bump. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, and Rupe wasn’t exactly the slowest off the mark.

“Tally, my darling girl.” He reached out to hug her, frowning when she pulled away and held out her hand instead.

“Nice to see you, Rupe,” she said formally.

“What the fuck is this?” he said staring at her outstretching hand. “A handshake, like I’m some stranger.”

She shrugged. “I guess you are now. I haven’t seen you in five months.”

He winced. “I deserved that, but in my defence, you disappeared.”

She shrugged again.

“I asked Emmalee several times where you were. She refused to tell me.”

“Probably because she thought you’d run straight off to tell Cash. Not that it matters. He’s hardly come running after me. Too busy moving on, reverting to type.”

Rupe frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Check out the Daily Mail,” she said, unable to stop the bitterness leaking into her voice. “They sure do seem to get the best snaps.”

“Tally––”

“I’ve got to go.”

She dashed off, and as she rounded the corner, a black cab was dropping off a passenger. Tally threw herself into the back and urged the driver to hurry as Rupe made a lunge for the door handle. He missed by inches. Tally twisted in her seat and stared at his confused expression until he’d disappeared from view.