Ewan considered his sister’s words silently before shaking his head slowly. ‘She was done once she realised the old man had gone behind her back and taken a swab from Poppy.’
‘That was pretty unforgivable. I can’t say I blame her. If anyone did that to my boys, I’d be pissed off too. I can’t believe he was arrogant enough to think he had the right.’
‘After all this time, that still surprises you?’ he asked, lifting an eyebrow again.
‘Okay, not really. But still.’
‘She didn’t believe me when I said I had nothing to do with it.’
‘You didn’t believe her when she said the test was wrong.’
Ewan winced. ‘Yeah. I doubt she’d give me a second chance even if I tried.’
‘Don’t you want to try?’ she asked. ‘Even when you thought Poppy might not be your child, didn’t you want to try?’
He’d been tossing it over in his head ever since she left. Yes, it had hurt to see that report and feel the loss of something he hadn’t even realised he’d wanted so badly until it happened to him … but he couldn’t deny his feelings for Kenzie. He’d fallen fast and he’d fallen hard. He loved her.
He loved Poppy too. He’d fallen in love with her contagious smile and her sense of humour—so much like her mother’s—her kind heart and her squishy, tight hugs.
Andthatwas worth fighting for.
Forty
Cee Cee knocked on her office door, carrying a flower arrangement, and headed for the desk. ‘Another delivery, boss lady,’ she said, standing back with her hands perched on her hips.
‘Put it out the front,’ Kenzie said, barely glancing up.
‘There’s no room out the front. The other bunches are taking up too much room on my desk as it is.’
‘Then throw them out, or donate them to a hospice,’ she said irritably. ‘Just take them out of here.’
‘I’ve never had a man send me multiple bunches of flowers before. Just saying!’ she said at Kenzie’s glare. ‘Maybe you should at least talk to him? He rang again a few minutes ago.’
‘No phone calls. No flowers in here,’ Kenzie said sternly.
‘Okay,’ Cee Cee said, backing out of the office slowly. ‘No need to get snippy.’
‘Sorry,’ Kenzie called out, irritated that Ewan’s campaign for forgiveness was turning her into the boss from hell.
It had been two days since she’d arrived home, and she’d thrown herself back into work. Thanks to Floss’s article, there had been a number of new clients making bookings for events and weddings. Business had never been better. It could have so easily gone the other way, but Kenzie quickly pushed away the thought. Floss had clearly known what she was talking about: getting the story out ahead of her attack had obviously taken the wind out of Sasha’s sails. There’d been no follow-up threats, no social media backlash. When Mercedes had rung to talk about ice sculptures and if they could be made from pink champagne, she’d mentioned Sasha had apparently flown to an ashram in Ubud to find inner peace.
Now, Kenzie just wanted to put it all behind them and move on. Unfortunately, Ewan was not of the same opinion. Kenzie knew she had to deal with it eventually, but she simply wasn’t ready yet. It broke her heart to continually fob off Poppy’s never-ending questions of ‘Why can’t we go back and visit Granny?’ and ‘Why can’t I see my daddy and my cousins?’ It wasn’t fair, but she still hadn’t worked out how to explain to a four-year-old all that had happened. How did you tell a child that the family she’d just found believed she didn’t actually belong to them after all?
That afternoon, as Poppy rode ahead on her little pushbike on the walking track, Kenzie stared at the training wheels, remembering the conversation they’d had about taking themoff. She wondered if she was letting her own fears hold her daughter back.
What if she falls? What if she gets hurt?
What if she doesn’t learn to trust her judgement?the small voice inside shot back.What if she misses out on so much because she won’t take a chance?
She watched the little legs pump ferociously and smiled. Poppy was right—shewasready to learn how to ride without them.
Kenzie had been scared, used to being overprotective and yes, guilty of wrapping Poppy in cottonwool. Well, as of tomorrow, she would put aside her fear and teach her daughter how to ride her bike without training wheels.
She had a moment of sadness as she thought about Ewan, and how this was something he’d have wanted to do as her dad, then quickly pushed the thought away. There was no point dwelling on what might have been.
‘Daddy!’ Poppy called out and Kenzie turned her head quickly, almost giving herself whiplash. She’d almost hoped Poppy had just confused some poor man with Ewan, until she spotted theDaddyin question. The air left her lungs, and before she could stop her, Poppy dropped her bike and was running across the grass to greet him.
Kenzie watched him swing her daughter into the air before hugging her tightly. The joy on both their faces sent a wave of longing through her, and she swallowed past a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.
