Reunited By A Baby Bombshell

He was back in the past, remembering it all—helping her to adjust a pair of goggles and then teaching her to skin dive, helping her with her maths homework, dancing with her at the school formal. She’d worn a long silky dress in an aqua colour that exactly matched her eyes, and she’d made him feel like a prince.

He’d been saving for a surfboard, but he’d spent all his carefully hoarded pocket money on Eva’s birthday, buying her an aquamarine pendant on a silver chain.

‘What’s the matter, Griff?’ Barney’s voice intruded his thoughts.

Both Tim and Barney were staring at him.

‘Nothing,’ Griff responded quickly.

The guys frowned at him, then shrugged and walked on. Griff, grim-faced, kept pace with them.

Hell. He gave himself a mental shakedown. Of course he could do this. He was used to hiding his feelings. He did it every day in court. Sure, he could play the role of an old friend, who’d barely given his high school sweetheart a second thought during the past twenty years. Sure, he could grit his teeth and sweat this scene out. For an entire weekend.

* * *

Jane had only warned Eva at the very last minute that Griff was coming. Actually, Jane hadn’t couched the news as a warning. She had passed it on in high excitement, certain that Eva would be totally delighted.

By then, Eva had already arrived in the Bay and was settled into a pleasant motel room with ocean views, so it had been too late to change her mind. Just the same, when Jane shared this news, Eva found it devilish hard to grin and pretend to be pleased.

‘He’s not bringing his girlfriend, though,’ Jane had added.

The existence of a girlfriend was good news at least. The possibility that Griff was still single and at a loose end had bothered Eva for all sorts of ridiculous reasons. Instead, he was safely in a relationship, which meant there were no loose ends.

Great. Their past was a closed door and that was how it would remain.

Eva had told herself she was stupid to fret. After all these years, Griff would have forgotten all about her. There was absolutely no reason he’d still be interested. After she’d left town, he’d studied for years at university and since then he’d been fighting the good fight in the justice system. Griffin Fletcher was a top drawer barrister these days, totally brilliant. Such a lofty and noble pursuit.

No doubt he would look down on a ballerina who spent her days pirouetting and leaping about, and see her as someone fluffy and inconsequential.

At least Eva was used to keeping her emotions under wraps and remaining composed in public, and now, with the reunion well underway, she tried to ignore any stirrings of tension as she chatted with old school friends. Everyone was eager to hear all about her dancing career and her life in Europe, but she tried to keep her story low-key.

She was keen to hear about their lives as accountants and teachers, as nurses and farmers, and she was more than happy to look at their photographs of their adorable kids.

She was exclaiming over a photo of Rose Gardner’s six-month-old identical twins when she heard Jane’s voice lift with excitement.

‘Oh, hi, Barney and Tim. Hi, Griff.’

Griff.

Despite her calming self-talk, Eva’s heart took off like a runaway thief. Unhelpfully, she turned Griff’s way, which wasn’t wise, but the instinct was too powerful to resist.

She thought she was well prepared for her first sight of him, but in a moment she knew that was nonsense. She was trembling like the last leaf on an autumn branch.

There he was. A man who would stand out in any crowd. Probably no taller than before, but certainly broader across the shoulders and chest. Still with the same shaggy brown hair, the same rugged cheekbones, the slightly crooked nose and square, shadowed jaw. The same intelligent grey eyes that missed nothing.

Not quite handsome, Griff Fletcher was undeniably masculine. There were perpendicular grooves down his cheeks that hadn’t been there at eighteen, and he’d lost his easy, boyish smile. Now he had the air of a gladiator about to do battle, and Eva felt as if she might burst into flames.

‘Griff,’ Jane was gushing, ‘how lovely to see you again.’ A beat later, too soon, ‘Isn’t it wonderful that Eva was able to join us after all?’

With a beaming smile, Jane turned to Eva and beckoned. ‘I told Griff that you weren’t coming.’ She giggled, as if this were an enormous joke.

Eva saw the fierce blaze in Griff’s eyes. It wasn’t a glare, exactly, but she got the distinct impression that he would definitely have stayed away if he’d known she would be here.

Thud.

She desperately wanted to flee, but she forced herself to stand her ground and to dredge up a smile. This became easier when she shifted her gaze from Griff to his old schoolmates, Tim and Barney.

Barney had grown round and was losing his hair, but his blue eyes twinkled and his smile was genuine and welcoming. ‘Hey, Eva,’ he said. ‘Great to see you again.’ He clasped her hand and gave her a friendly kiss on her cheek. ‘I’m going to have to get your autograph for my daughter, Sophie. She’s just started to learn ballet.’

‘How lovely. Good for Sophie.’ Eva gave Barney her smiling, super-focused attention. ‘How many children do you have now?’

‘Two and a half. A boy and a girl, with another on the way.’

‘Barney’s working on having enough kids to field a football team,’ commented Tim as he shot his mate a cheeky grin.

Eva laughed. ‘I hope your wife’s in on that plan, Barney.’

Tim gave her a kiss, too. He told her that he worked in a bank and that he and his wife had just one child at this point, a little boy of two called Sam.

All too soon, it was Griff’s turn to greet Eva and the light-hearted atmosphere noticeably chilled, as if someone had flicked a switch. The sudden tension was palpable—in everyone—in Tim and Barney and herself. Eva’s heart was beating so loudly she feared they must hear it.

Griff smiled at her. It was a tilted, lopsided effort, but to the bystanders it probably passed as affable and casual. Eva, however, saw the expression in his eyes. Cold. Unfathomable. Cutting.

‘How are you, Eva?’ He went through the motions, giving her a casual hug and a peck on the cheek.

Ridiculously, her skin flamed at the contact, and she lost her breath as his big hands touched her shoulders, as his arms brushed, warm and solid, against her bare skin. Then his lips delivered a devastating, split-second flash of fire.

She took a moment to recover, to remember that she was supposed to answer his simple question. How are you, Eva?

‘I’m very well, thanks, Griff.’ Thank heavens she was able to speak calmly, but she hadn’t told him the truth. She wasn’t feeling well at all. She felt sick and scared—scared about the secrets she’d never shared with this man, that she’d hoped she would never have to share.

And her hip was agony. She’d foolishly, in a fit of vanity, worn high heels, and now she was paying the price. She prayed that she didn’t blush as Griff’s glittering grey gaze remained concentrated on her.

‘And how are you?’ she remembered to ask.

‘Fighting fit, thank you.’

With the conventions over, an awkward silence fell. Tim and Barney looked at their shoes, and then at each other.

‘We should grab a drink,’ Tim said.

‘Sure,’ Barney agreed with obvious enthusiasm. They both turned to head for the bar, seeming keen to get away. ‘Catch you two later.’

Griff remained still, watching Eva in stony silence and making her feel like one of his guilty criminals in the dock. This time her face flamed and she knew he could see it.

‘You haven’t changed,’ he said quietly.

She shook her head. Of course she’d changed. They’d all changed in so many ways, both on the outside and, undoubtedly, within. But she played the game. ‘Neither have you, Griff. Not really.’