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Tia had hated the way they did that. Even as a girl she’d judged them for running away rather than facing the consequences of their actions—being responsible and fixing what you needed to was what real adults did.

And yet, for all her certainty and long-held convictions, later that morning, Tia did exactly what she’d despised her parents for, and ran away.

Chapter Sixteen

HE’D TOLD HER ABOUT CRESSIDA because he’d had no choice. He would never lie to someone important in his life, and their marriage, their plan to become parents together, made Tia important. But it was more than that. Something had happened almost as soon as he’d met her, when he’d recognised someone just like him. Someone who saw things as black and white, right and wrong, and would act on her scruples.

He'd told Tia about Cressida even when it had meant nothing more to him than the proof he hadn’t even really needed that Cressida was now firmly in his past. All he’d felt during their conversation was sympathy for her.

And despite all that, he wished that he hadn’t said anything about it. Because from the moment he had, he’d felt a shift between them. A crack forming, as Cressida wielded a pickaxe and shattered something precious that she shouldn’t have been able to touch.

But he told himself, as he tried to sleep, that Tia would appreciate his honesty. It was a sign that he respected both her and their relationship, that he wanted this to be long-term. It was a sign…he frowned. It felt like it mattered beyond that, but Hamish couldn’t quite grasp why. All he knew was that he needed the night to pass quickly, so it would be morning, Tia awake, and he could be reassured that everything between them was normal.

Morning came, reassurance didn’t. Tia seemed like her usual self, and most people would have been fooled, but Hamish was not most people, and somehow he’d become a world expert in Tia. He noticed the way her eyes only settled on him for a moment before flitting away, the way one hand fidgeted at her side in a gesture that was so unlike her it took his breath away. He noticed the way she dressed—despite the heat of the day she wore loose pants, and a long-sleeved blouse, almost as though she were trying to cover herself.

To shield herself.

The sense that a crack was forming grew, and being here, in his family home, was suddenly unbearable. It brought a sense of claustrophobia, of breathlessness.

And Tia clearly felt it too, because, as the plates were cleared away, with her eyes focused on Eleanor, she said, “I’m so pleased I got to meet you both, but I’m afraid I’ll have to head back to New York this morning.”

Hamish didn’t visibly react but his blood pounded through his body, roaring through his ears so loud he could hardly hear anything else.

“Oh,” Eleanor responded, lips compressed in a way Hamish knew signalled disappointment. “Surely you can stay another day or two?”

“I’ve already organised my return,” Tia responded, eyes glancing over Hamish without ever really settling on him. Her smile was brittle. His chest tightened. And a new weight was back, different to that which Cressida had left, because it seemed to occupy every single cell of his body, all the parts of him, all at once, and even lifting his coffee cup to his lips required effort—as though the rules of gravity had somehow changed. He felt unnatural and uneasy.

But they were married. She might even be pregnant. There was no reason to feel as though she were walking away from him for good. It was just New York. Their home.

But it wasn’t ‘their’ home. In America, they inhabited different spaces—their own apartments. They’d agreed that whatever they were doing here was just temporary. So once she left, then what?

Did they really think they could go back to the former parameters of their relationship? To being businesslike and hands-off? Or was it more likely they’d renegotiate once more?

A frown smudged across his features as he considered that, chased down all the options. A temporary reprieve of another weekend together? Another week? And after that? When they became co-parents?

“Hamish.” His mother’s voice pierced his thoughts. He glanced in her direction. “You’re not leaving yet?”

He hadn’t even thought of that, but of course he could leave with Tia. That would make sense.

“No,” Tia spoke before he could rally his thoughts and morph them into words. “Hamish will stay as planned.”

Oh, he will, will he? He ground his teeth, no longer able to pretend she wasn’t…something. Angry, upset, hurt?

His frown deepened. None of that tallied with the casual nature of their relationship. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d done anything wrong. Cressida had kissed him; he’d put an end to it. He needed, more than he could explain, to be alone with Tia and sort this out.

She felt his eyes on the suitcase like an accusation and even though she didn’t need to feel guilty, strangely, she did. Because she was running away—something she’d sworn she’d never do. That was all.

“Would you mind telling me what’s going on?”

She’d packed before breakfast, and left her bag in the wardrobe. She pulled it out now, doing her best to keep her expression neutral. “In what sense?”

“Why are you leaving?”

“I told you, I have a work thing.”

“A work thing,” he repeated, with obvious scepticism. “What kind of work thing?”

“It’s complicated.”