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Darting a glance at the hall door, Becca shook her head. ‘I’ve grown out of the awkward stage.’
‘Were you ever clumsy? Or was there more going on?’
‘It doesn’t matter now. Things are different.’
‘Is Dan abusive?’
Becca put the herbs in her hand down on the table. ‘Why would you say that?’
‘Because I’ve been thinking a lot about the past and I wondered if things were going on here I didn’t know about. Things resulting in all those knocks and bruises.’
‘It’s in the past. Leave it, Morgan. It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. Anyway, Dan isn’t abusive now. He’s gentle as a lamb. A bit prone to breaking things, but only as a result of the accident.’
She could see Morgan was about to say more, but Gabby wandered into the room, rubbing her eyes which lit up at the sight of Morgan sitting at the table.
‘Hey, Morgan. I didn’t know you were here.’
He draped one arm loosely over the girl’s shoulders. ‘I dropped in to see you but you didn’t want to wake up.’
‘You aren’t going away now?’
‘I’m staying for tea if you can spare me some pizza.’
‘Mum always makes heaps. She likes cold pizza for breakfast.’
Becca’s face heated. ‘Only sometimes. When I’m running late for work.’
Morgan’s eyes softened. ‘Now I know your secret.’
Secrets. She’d had way too many of those, and now they were coming out. She’d never expected him to look back and see the past with clear eyes. Maybe it would make a difference in how he approached what happened with her. And Dan. Or maybe not. He was better off starting fresh with someone like Sabine, rather than trying to resuscitate what he’d had with the girl next door.
Grace might have softened for the sake of her grandchildren, but she wouldn’t want Morgan to marry for the sake of those children. She’d made her position clear twelve years ago. Becca would never settle for that kind of marriage anyway. She’d dreamed of the kind of marriage where love held them together, not duty. Dreams she’d put aside under the weight of her own responsibilities.
It was a great evening. Surprisingly enough. Morgan had put aside any resentment he might have and entertained the twins with funny stories about his travels and children in the places he’d worked. They’d teamed up for scrabble, Morgan and Gabby against Edward and herself and it had been a close run, down to a couple of points, so Edward didn’t feel shamed by being beaten by his sister. They’d insisted Morgan put them to bed, which was kind of sweet, considering they had long ago declared themselves too old to need tucking in.
Becca kept busy cleaning up the kitchen, keeping one ear open for the chatter and laughter coming from the bedroom. When they finally fell silent, she braced herself for Morgan’s presence in the small kitchen.
He came in, his face sombre, and propped himself on the corner of the table. ‘I enjoyed the time with the two of them.’
‘It sounded like they enjoyed it too.’
‘I wish … It would have been nice to have the opportunity earlier.’
‘You were away. You had your career.’
‘If you’d told me I was a father, I would have made changes. I would have come home.’
‘I know.’
‘Then why didn’t you tell me?’
‘It wasn’t a good time. You were still studying. You had plans. And … well … to be honest, I didn’t think you’d believe me.’
‘Would you ever have told me?’
She couldn’t think of an answer to appease him which wouldn’t be a lie. ‘I don’t know what might have happened.’
‘You had Dan to consider too.’
