He cut straight through her blistering sarcasm to the heart of the issue. “She wants me on hand tomorrow. Are you prepared to let that happen, Nicole, or isn’t it convenient for you?”
The challenge blazing from his eyes allowed her no room to protest the arrangement. If she didn’t concede, she was the one keeping Daddy away. “It will have to be the morning then,” she said belligerently, knowing it would take time off his precious money-making. “Zoe comes with me to the dance school in the afternoon and we stay there until quite late.”
“Expect me at seven o’clock tomorrow morning. I presume our daughter is awake by then.” He gave her a curt nod and turned towards the hall.
“You’re not staying to take your pound of flesh tonight?” she hurled after him, stunned by his decision to leave her now and to return first thing in the morning for Zoe.
He paused in the kitchen doorway and subjected her to a long searing look. “I only ever took what you gave, Nicole,” he said quietly. “Perhaps you could start remembering that.”
She stared at the empty space he left, listening to him walking down the hall, letting himself out of the house, closing the front door behind him. Everything inside her was aching with a sense of emptiness.
Quin didn’t want her tonight.
But she still wanted him.
And it hurt—it really hurt—that he’d spurned the deal they had made.
She was not in control of anything anymore.
Had she ever been in control with Quin or had she simply been deceiving herself, using the deal as an excuse for taking what only he had ever given her?
Now, with their daughter known to him…was everything going to change?
Nicole pushed herself to walk down the hall and lock the front door. Tomorrow morning she would have to unlock it again and let Quin walk into Zoe’s life.
He’d better not break her daughter’s heart.
She could never forgive him that.
Never!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
QUIN arrived at the Burwood house ahead of time. The early morning traffic had not been as heavy as he had anticipated and he’d been lucky in getting green lights most of the way out of the city centre. Having parked his Audi at the kerb of the suburban street, he remained in the driver’s seat, waiting out the minutes before seven o’clock.
Being early would not endear him to Nicole. Given her bitter view of how he’d conducted himself with her in the past, Quin wasn’t sure anything was going to endear him to Nicole. Even so, no way would he give up the battle to win her over to his presence in her life, especially now with their daughter in the picture.
Zoe…
Four years he’d missed. And the pregnancy. All because the timing had been wrong for taking his relationship with Nicole beyond immediate needs. He hadn’t meant to belittle her place in his life, and he understood why she had felt no deep commitment coming from him, but having his child without his knowledge…that was so big a hit at the kind of man he was, Quin was still trying to come to terms with it.
First and foremost he was a man of honour.
He would have stood by Nicole.
But clearly she hadn’t wanted him to, preferring to be on her own, to raise their child without him at her side.
That had to change. He would make it change. The big question was…how best to do it?
He checked his watch. Almost seven o’clock. He picked up the bag containing the blue butterfly from the passenger seat, alighted from the car, locked it and headed for the house, determined on making a positive impact on his daughter’s life. Hopefully that might influence Nicole into viewing him with less hostility.
The front door opened just as he reached the porch. Nicole quickly stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind her—an action which instantly signalled her reluctance to let him into the house. Quin halted, observing her keenly as he waited for her to state what this move meant.
Her lovely green eyes were dull with fatigue. Not much sleep, if any, Quin thought. Her long curly hair had been brushed and her general appearance—T-shirt, jeans, sandals—was neat and tidy, but her face was nude of make-up and her skin looked pale and drawn, the strain of having to confront him this morning all too visible.
She stared too long without saying a word and he knew she was seeing him as belonging to a different world in his grey business suit. He sensed it represented pain to her and she didn’t want to be anywhere near it again. The problem was they had obviously been at different places in their lives five years ago and she had nursed expectations of him which he hadn’t met.
“I’m not in that place anymore, Nicole,” he said impulsively, hoping to ease her stress. “I do have to go to work today. I have a business to run, just as you have a dance school to run with your mother. But I no longer have a pressing need to make as much money as I can in as little time as possible. I now have a different perspective on what I want in my life.”
She shook her head, a tired disbelief in her eyes. “I realise Zoe came as a shock to you, Quin. You reacted to it without thinking through how much a commitment fatherhood would be.” Her mouth moved stiffly into a wry grimace as she amended her words. “Should be.”
“I don’t have to think it through, Nicole. We’re not talking about a proposition here. Zoe is a reality.”
“She doesn’t have to be,” came the swift, anxious rejoinder. “I could explain last night away as a dream. She’s not awake yet. You could leave and let me handle all the parenting.”
“No!” Steel shot down his backbone. Every muscle tensed in fighting mode. “I won’t be wiped out of my daughter’s life.”
“That’s ego talking, Quin, not love.” Her eyes searched his in frantic concern. “I don’t think you know what love is, and it’s not fair to tug on a little girl’s heart, then leave it empty of what she’ll want from you.” Her hands lifted in urgent appeal. “Please…take the time to think about it. At least, leave the decision until I come to you on Friday night.”
“Waiting won’t make any difference to my decision. You agreed to my coming here this morning, Nicole. I’m not going away.”
“I wasn’t thinking straight last night.”
“Well, I was. And I’m thinking straight this morning, too.” He checked his watch. “It’s past seven and while you’re not delighted to see me, I think my daughter will be, so can we stop this futile argument now and keep to the agreement?”