She shook her head. They were back to where she’d walked away from him on Lord Howe Island. ‘I never said I didn’t want you, Fletcher. It was your next-step plan I didn’t like.’
‘Okay. Let’s negotiate on that,’ he said quickly. ‘What inducements can I offer that would make coming to live with me acceptable to you?’
Tammy inwardly recoiled from the situation he still wanted with her, but she didn’t instantly reject it this time. She was pregnant with his child. Her life was heading down a different course now. Yet if he didn’t want the baby, didn’t want the responsibility of being a father, there was no way she could spend any part of her life with him.
‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to make any decisions tonight,’ she temporised. ‘There are…other considerations.’
He frowned. ‘If you mean Heidi…’
‘Yes.’ She snatched at the diversion. ‘You must have made some arrangement to accompany her back to Sydney.’
He grimaced. ‘A limousine at midnight.’
‘The whole gang is staying here until tomorrow,’ she rattled on. ‘We won’t be leaving until after brunch. Then the drive home will take…’
‘You’ll have time for me tomorrow night,’ he cut in, his eyes glittering anticipation for the pleasures of their next meeting.
‘You can come to my apartment at North Sydney if you like,’ she invited, needing to be on her home ground if they were to meet.
‘I like.’ He grinned and moved to draw her into his embrace again.
Tammy resisted, pushing her hands against his chest, her gaze meeting his in direct challenge. It had to be said and she was acutely aware that any future with him was now hanging on a knife’s edge. ‘You might not “like,” Fletcher, and I’ll quite understand if you don’t turn up.’
‘Nothing will keep me away,’ he scoffed with arrogant confidence. No doubt he was already planning to buy a stack of condoms.
‘There’s something I want you to think about in the meantime,’ she warned.
‘Lay it out,’ he invited, not the slightest crack in his confidence.
Her heart ached with the question of whether he had any love for her or simply wanted desire and ego satisfied. Tammy took a deep breath and pleaded, ‘I don’t want a scene here and now, Fletcher. It’s Lucy’s wedding, and nothing you say will make any difference to the fact. I’m going to tell you something, then return to the wedding party and leave you to think about it. You may or may not want to reconnect with me tomorrow night. That’s up to you. Okay?’
He frowned, sensing how deeply serious she was. ‘Tamalyn…there’s nothing you can say that I won’t find a way around.’
She pushed one hand up from his chest and laid her fingers across his lips, then forced out the make or break words, her eyes begging him to believe her. ‘I didn’t plan this, Fletcher. I took the pill, just as I was instructed to. No mistakes. I was the unlucky one or two percent in the failure statistics.’
‘What?’ Shock in his voice; shock stamped on his face; eyes stunned, losing their sharp focus on her.
‘I’m four months’ pregnant,’ she stated quietly. ‘I will have the baby, so don’t come to me suggesting an abortion. Don’t come to me at all if you don’t want any part of fatherhood because the baby and I…we’re a package deal.’
He shook his head as though it was reeling. He really had been hit by a John…no one could make anything nasty out of that name at school. Whether or not he’d been born a genius—it was too early to tell—Fletcher was determined on protecting their child from any avoidable hurt. Thunderbolt this time, and not one he could ever have anticipated.
She touched his cheek in a wry farewell. ‘I won’t come after you for anything, Fletcher. You’re free to make whatever choice you want to make. I hope I see you tomorrow night, but if I don’t…this really is goodbye.’
There was no reaction from him as she moved away, forcing herself to walk back down the verandah. She wasn’t sure how much of what she’d said had sunk in beyond the fact of her pregnancy, didn’t know if his mind was processing it all or shut down with shock.
‘Tamalyn…’ It was a harsh command for her to halt.
She was almost at the entry into the restaurant. The force of his willpower slammed into her heart, but her mind still insisted on a time delay before any more was said between them.
She paused, looked back. He stood where she’d left him, though he’d swung around to watch her.
‘Tomorrow, Fletcher,’ she said with unwavering conviction, though her own deep uncertainty about his response made her add, ‘If there is one for us.’
Then she quickly faced forward and made her feet walk her back to the wedding party.
CHAPTER TEN
AT MIDNIGHT, with Heidi Bergman in tow, Fletcher took his leave of the bride and groom and their respective families. He had not attempted another private tête-à-tête with Tammy and she had kept well away from him, but she did surreptitiously watch his departure, her heart heavy as she wondered if this was her last sight of him.
As soon as he was gone, the whole gang, led by the bride herself, swooped on her en masse. ‘Was I right or was I right?’ Lucy crowed in triumphant delight. ‘That red-hot salsa gave it away, Tammy.’
‘Not to mention the long private time out on the verandah,’ Hannah swiftly inserted.
‘None of us were fooled for a minute when he returned to the blonde. He looked so tense and distracted he could barely give her polite attention,’ Jennifer said with satisfaction.
‘I bet you told him he had to finish with her before you’d see him again,’ Kirsty put in gleefully.
‘Something like that,’ Tammy conceded.
‘I love it!’ Celine declared. ‘My on-top-of-the-world brother couldn’t hold on to his huge pride, despite using a show-piece girlfriend to pretend he didn’t care. He just had to go after you. And did you stick it to him with that salsa! It was marvellous, Tam. Truly marvellous!’
‘So…have you made any definite arrangement for a future meeting?’ Lucy demanded to know. ‘I’m going to miss out on all this new development, being away on my honeymoon. You can at least tell me that much.’
Tammy shrugged, not wanting to make too big a point of what might never happen. ‘I said he could call on me at home tomorrow night.’