Nicola Marsh - Australia - Bundles of Joy

However, she’d never juggled three prestigious accounts at once before, and this, plus the Brant assignment, added to her suspicions that something wasn’t quite right. The Rottie had been snapping at everyone’s heels for the last few weeks, raving on about deadlines and efficiency, and though she’d held her tongue because of the promotion she coveted, Keely had almost told her to shove it several times.

She’d managed to placate the Rottie with a pat on the head—figuratively speaking—and news that her assignment with Lachlan was proceeding extremely well. She’d just left out the part where her shadowing him had turned from business to pleasure.

As the preliminary work she’d done for the site flashed across the screen, she swallowed the lump of emotion that inevitably rose when she saw anything to do with babies. The motif she’d designed as a border for the web page—a chubby, chuckling baby in various poses—brought a smile to her face. From his ten perfect fingers and toes to his rosy cheeks and dimpled skin, he was adorable, and a stark reminder of what she could never have.

Sighing, she made an angry swipe at a tear escaping from the corner of her eye and turned away as someone knocked on her door.

She sat up straighter and fixed a smile on her face. Just her luck for the Rottie to come bounding in here and catch her sniffling. ‘Come in.’

‘How’s my favourite graphic designer?’ Lachlan strolled into the room and handed her a bag. ‘I come bearing gifts. Thought you could use something to boost your energy levels.’

She opened the bag and inhaled deeply, the seductive aroma of fresh cinnamon doughnuts making her salivate, before casting him a coy look from beneath her lashes. ‘I’m fine and there’s nothing wrong with my energy levels. In fact, I haven’t been this energised in ages.’

He laughed and chose one of the doughnuts from the bag she proffered. ‘Glad to hear it.’ He rolled his neck around as if trying to work out a kink. ‘I’m in dire need of another massage.’

Heat crept into her cheeks at his emphasis on the word ‘massage’. She’d done all that and more to him on the weekend away, displaying a brazen side she hadn’t known existed.

As Tahlia had laughingly pointed out after she’d given the girls a very brief version of events, she was working in the right place: WWW Designs could stand for Wickedly Wanton Woman or Wonderful Wowsing Witch. Both labels seemed appropriate at this stage!

She interlocked fingers and stretched forward, as if limbering up. ‘For you, any time.’

As desire arced between them and he crouched down beside her chair, she placed both hands on his chest and held him back. ‘However, right now I need to do some work.’

He captured her hands and held them against his chest till she itched to slide her fingers between the buttons of his ivory business shirt and caress the firm skin underneath.

‘I thought my website was nearly finished?’

She nodded, trying to think ‘work’ while this close to the man who had rocked her world repeatedly over the weekend. ‘It is.’

‘So what’s this you’re working on?’

He peered over her shoulder, ignoring her muttered, ‘A client’s work is confidential’, his face breaking into a huge smile.

‘That’s one cute baby,’ he said, his eyes glowing with a tenderness she’d never seen before.

She pulled away and swivelled her chair towards the screen, rattled by his reaction.

‘You like kids?’ she asked, trying to instil the right amount of casualness into her voice while hanging on his answer.

‘What’s not to like? They’re amazing, taking over your life and wreaking more devastation than a cyclone. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I helped raise my younger brothers and sisters and, though challenging, it was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.’

His words drove tiny daggers of pain into her heart, opening up wounds she’d thought healed. She had to ask the next question, knowing his answer would seal the fate of their relationship, one way or the other.

‘Do you want kids of your own?’

‘Absolutely. If the right woman came along, I reckon I’d like at least half a dozen of the little tykes.’

And, just like that, reality crashed in, leaving Keely struggling for air.

She’d known that dating Lachlan could prove disastrous but she’d gone ahead and done it anyway. Despite her feeble protestations, he was business; she’d fallen for him, and labelling their relationship ‘dating’ had been a lie on her part.

She loved him, had probably loved him before she knew what had hit her, and therefore had ignored every warning that she shouldn’t get in too deep. When relationships went too far, certain expectations came into play, and now she’d heard it for herself.

He wanted the one thing she could never give him.

And it would ruin them in the end.

Struggling to keep her voice steady, she said, ‘Why settle for half a dozen?’ She managed a brittle laugh before shuffling the paperwork on her desk. ‘Now, it’s nice of you to drop by, but I really have to get back to this.’

He frowned and stood up. ‘Is something wrong?’

She shook her head and tried not to blurt out Everything is wrong .

‘No, just the usual jitters that deadlines bring.’ She looked away, only to be confronted by the computer screen and the evidence of what she couldn’t give him, the pain ravaging her anew. ‘Raquel wants this done ASAP.’

He didn’t budge. ‘Are you sure this is about work?’

She had to meet his gaze, if only to convince him that she needed to be left alone before she burst into tears. ‘Of course.’

His direct gaze bored into hers, as if trying to see into the windows of her soul and read the secrets there. For now, she sure hoped the shutters were down.

‘I’ll leave you to it, then. Call me when you have a minute?’

She nodded and faked a breezy wave as she focused on the screen again, hoping he’d been fooled.

By the dubious look he cast her on the way out, she doubted it.

Lachlan slipped the headphones off and leaned back, grateful for the four-minute break a song from some boy band offered. He needed time to think and hadn’t had much opportunity lately, what with the new TV show, the publicity demands and continuing with his radio talkback show, which had reached the number one ratings spot over the last few weeks.

Professionally, he had the world at his feet. Then why did he feel like a tightrope walker teetering on the brink of a big fall?

He rubbed his eyes and took a sip of the disgusting brew the station labelled coffee, knowing exactly why he felt so out of control these days.

Keely.

He’d thought he’d been dating the woman of his dreams. So how had their relationship turned into a nightmare?

Ever since their weekend in Hepburn Springs, which had been incredible, she’d withdrawn from him slowly but surely. Back then, she’d reciprocated his passion and they’d connected on many levels, so what had gone wrong?

She’d cited work pressures as being the cause of their sporadic contact, but he knew better. The secrets Keely harboured seemed to grow bigger with every passing day. He’d glimpsed sadness tinged with something more akin to despondency in her eyes on the few occasions they’d caught up, and despite gentle prodding she hadn’t opened up.

Either that or she was snapping his head off for the smallest thing, and he’d had a gutful. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she had some self-esteem issues and he’d been careful not to make any references to her body since the first few outbursts which had put him on the outer. He’d been patient with her, yet she’d pushed him away at every opportunity anyway.