Lime Tree Hill (A Reluctant Kiss #1)

28. From Sydney With Sorrow

28

FROM SYDNEY WITH SORROW

For Tayla, Wednesday night had a stay-at-home kind of vibe. But every Wednesday since she’d lived at Lime Tree Hill, Mitch had left the house at three in the afternoon to head into town for the night. And just like previous weeks, when Tayla awoke the following day, his bedroom door was open and his bed as he’d left it the morning before—neatly made.

She stood on the balcony and stared out over the fruit-laden trees. As she squinted against the rising sun, movement in Norman’s cottage caught her eye when someone switched on the light in the kitchen. Shivering, she walked inside and locked the sliding door behind her.

Later, when she drove past Norman’s on her way to work, Tayla noticed a man on the veranda. Although she was too far away to make out his features, he seemed familiar. Maybe she’d introduce herself later. See if he needed anything.

As she turned onto the highway, she saw a woman pushing a baby stroller toward Norman’s gate. She stopped on the grass verge and waved. Tayla waved back. When she glanced in the rearview mirror, the woman hadn’t moved and didn’t until Tayla reached the bend. Prickles caught the back of her neck, and as she headed south, she wondered why the sight of the woman with the baby affected her in that way.

When she arrived home from work, Mitch was in the kitchen cooking dinner. He turned from the stove and smiled, as he usually did when she entered a room.

Since he’d proposed his sex without sentiment idea, the air between them had changed—to an awkward, elephant-in-the-room type of air. Would he make another move, or had he changed his mind?

“I saw someone in Norman’s cottage this morning,” she said as she placed a small box on the counter.

“Yes. A couple from Sydney. They booked while you were in Auckland. Whats in the box?”

Sydney? “Oh, I bought you some brownie, from Fig Leaf.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

“Have you met them, the couple I mean?”

“Briefly. They seem pleasant enough.” Mitch turned back to the pan and added more stock. “Hayden and Anna. Can’t remember their baby’s name.”

Tayla stiffened, inhaled. Her words coasted on a breath as she fought to calm her racing heart. “How long’s dinner?”

“Twenty minutes, max.” He stopped what he was doing. “Are you okay? You look shattered.”

“I’m fine. I’ll just get changed.”

Tayla shut the door to her room and sat on the edge of the bed, her face in her hands. Shit! Hayden, Anna, and their baby boy were playing happy families in Norman’s cottage. And she couldn’t do a thing about it. How dare he taint Norman’s sacred space by turning up uninvited! What was the man thinking?

Of course, she knew the answer. He hadn’t gotten over her leaving the way she had. Now he was here to prove his controlling point. Protect his pride.

Back in the kitchen, she made a beeline for the fridge. “Would you like a beer?” she asked Mitch as she opened it .

“Yeah, why not. Rough day?”

In no mood to talk, Tayla passed him a Heineken then grabbed a glass and poured herself a wine. “Not the best.” She took a gulp. Then another. “Yours?”

The afternoon was bleak as Tayla drove from the hospital to the orchard the following day. Before her trip to Auckland, blue-sky days had lingered from late summer into early autumn, something she’d almost taken for granted. But as she traveled along the Eastern Pacific Highway, misted sheets of rain hugged the horizon, and her mood darkened along with the sky.

Hayden invaded her thoughts. Questions, theories, and possible solutions jostled for position in her mind until she felt sick to her stomach. Should she go see him, text, or wait for him to make contact? Because one thing was clear. His visit wasn’t some random coincidence. He would have meticulously planned it, and he’d know exactly what he was doing. Letting her stew in her anxiety until he was ready to make his move.

As she approached the packing shed, her eyes narrowed at the sight of Hayden talking to Ned. Even with his back to her, Tayla knew it was him. She could tell by his stance.

She parked in her usual place, and as she opened the door and stepped out, Hayden turned, his smile warm as always, and his expression just as bright as the last time she saw him. He was casually dressed. Jeans: black. Boots: brown. Shirt: blue.

Taking a sharp breath, she walked toward them.

“Here she is,” Ned said warmly, as if Hayden was a long-lost friend paying a visit. “I was just telling Hayden you’d be home any minute. I’ll leave you two to catch up.”

“Thanks, Ned.” Tayla pulled her bag onto her shoulder and watched Ned walk away. She turned but didn’t meet Hayden’s gaze. “You’d better come inside.”

He followed her up the stairs without a word. It wasn’t until she’d closed the door that she addressed him again. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“We needed a break. Your cozy cottage was available.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And anyway, how else was I supposed to see you?”

“You’re not. That’s the whole point of a breakup. We’re done. No further contact necessary.”

Hayden closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The gesture was so familiar, and yet, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him do it. “Yes, I got that memo. Aren’t you going to offer me a drink?”

“I don’t want you here, understand?”

He sighed. Paced a few steps back and forth. Stopped. “Look, I’m sorry I hurt you, I truly am. But I still love you, Tayla. You know I do.”

“You don’t treat the people you love the way you treated me. That’s not love. That’s?—”

“So you punish me by hooking up with some random farmer you’ve only known five minutes? Where did you find each other? On some country dating app? Did you swipe right and end up in a dead-end orchard? What the hell do you talk about? Oranges and lemons? Because this stunt has lemon written all over it.”

She twisted her wedding ring around her finger. “You’re in a relationship and have a new baby. What do you want me to say?”

“That you’ll come home. Anna and I, we’ve always had a strong physical connection. But intellectually, we’re poles apart. She’s nothing like you. We don’t talk books and philosophies and art, we…”

“Fuck?”

Hayden stared at her, his expression one of shock. “See, that’s what I mean. Six months ago, the f-bomb wouldn’t have left your lips. You meet this country hick, and you’re all over it. You’ve swapped brains for brawn? And I bet you’re not the only woman he’s fucking , so why choose him over me? ”

Tayla pulled out a chair from the dining table and sat. “You made that choice, not me.”

“Don’t make me out to be the villain in all this. Do you honestly think this step backward is the right direction for you? What about your dreams?”

“My dreams are just fine.”

“Are they? So, tell me this, have you invested in property? Started your thesis? Learned to surf?”

His questions didn’t warrant a reply. Hayden had a bucket list a mile long, so who was he to judge?

“Have you even been in the water?” he continued as he joined her at the table.

“Whether I have or not is none of your business. I hadn’t even realized how your pressure for perfection was slowly suffocating me.”

He huffed. “Life isn’t a game of chance. You build your place in this world by sticking to the rules, not by drifting along on some whimsical cloud.”

“Yes, so you’ve always said. We’ve both made our choices. Let’s just move on, shall we?”

Hayden sat forward in the chair, his head between his hands. He looked up. “I’ve tried, but I can’t.”

“You left me at the altar, Hayden. In the sweltering heat. With no one but an anxious photographer and a celebrant whose look of pity I’ll never forget.” Tayla swallowed hard, her throat dry as she spoke. “And all because you didn’t have the decency to pick up the damn phone. And you know what? I hated you for that. Hated you with a passion I never thought I was capable of. How could you have stooped so low…left me at the chapel like that?”

“Because Anna went into labor. There were complications. What did you expect me to do? Excuse myself to call my needy girlfriend?”

“ Needy! I thought you were dead,” she yelled. “That you’d been in an accident. One text. That’s all I expected. Just one text. ”

“I’m sorry. But please, hear me out.” He reached for her hand, but she wouldn’t engage. “Anna and I have agreed. She likes her own company, always has. I annoy her if I’m around all the time. She’s happy for us to go back to how we were.”

“Anna knew about me?”

“Not at the start, no. But she wants to explore other options when Theo’s older, so?—”

“And is that what you want? A lover in one house and a part-time wife in the other? Unbelievable.” Tayla’s hands shook. She needed air, a drink of water…Mitch. “I’m married now. It’s done. Please leave.”