* * *
By the time she arrived at work the next morning, Sally was back in control.
The first meeting was always going to be difficult, she assured herself, stuffing her bag into her locker and making her way onto the labour ward.
From now on it could only get easier.
Having made that assumption, it annoyed her intensely to find that her heart missed a beat when she saw Tom walking towards her down the corridor with that loose-limbed stride that had always set her heart racing.
His eyes were tired and the roughness of his darkened jaw suggested that he’d been up for most of the night.
‘Good morning.’ He gave her a smile that made her catch her breath and she automatically shut down her feelings.
She didn’t want to respond to that smile.
Didn’t want to acknowledge the curl of awareness low in her pelvis.
‘Busy night?’
‘You could say that.’ He gave a short laugh. ‘Why don’t babies keep regular hours?’
Sally shrugged, intending to pass him, but he caught her arm and pulled her close to him, his voice low and meant only for her.
‘If Emma hadn’t interrupted us, we would have had that conversation last night. How long do you think you can keep running, Sally?’
She drew breath, forcing herself to ignore the strength of his fingers on her arm. ‘I’m not running, Tom.’ She stepped neatly away from him, forcing him to release her. ‘I’m walking. And we wouldn’t have had a conversation. I don’t want one.’
‘Why? I’m offering you the opportunity to shout at me or black my eye.’
She gave a faint smile. ‘Why would I want to do that?’
‘Because I probably deserve it.’
She stilled. Was he apologizing? Was he admitting that he’d been wrong?
‘You made the decision that was right for you, Tom.’
His jaw tightened. ‘It was right for both of us.’
So he didn’t think he’d been wrong.
He’d never regretted it.
A rush of emotion threatened to choke her but she held his gaze steadily and her voice was chilly. ‘In that case, what is there to talk about?’
He sucked in a breath and looked uncertain, obviously thrown by her response. It occurred to her that it was the first time she’d ever seen Tom anything other than supremely confident. ‘I just know I need to talk to you.’
Sally shook her head. ‘There’s nothing to be gained from rehashing the past. What happened, happened. It’s done. You made the decision for both of us. I had no choice but to go along with that.’
Without waiting for his answer, she slid past him and carried on up the corridor without looking back, trying to control her heart rate.
She had no doubt that sooner or later he would force her into the conversation that he was obviously determined to have. But she was determined to postpone the moment for as long as possible.
‘Good morning.’ She smiled at Emma who was collecting a set of notes from the desk. One glance at the whiteboard told her that she was in for a busy day. ‘Where do you want me?’
‘Can you divide yourself into four?’ Emma rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve rung down to the ward to ask for some help up here. Everyone seems to have gone into labour at once.’
‘Isn’t that always the way?’ Sally reached for the nearest set of notes. She didn’t mind being busy. All she asked was that today’s mother-to-be would have a normal delivery. She didn’t think she could face another day working side by side with Tom.