the word.’
‘Well, I just bet you did, didn’t you? Works well for you, doesn’t it, to have sex on tap. No need for all those showers then.’
Finn wondered if Evie was maybe becoming a little hysterical but he was damned if he was going to be made out to be the bad guy here because he wanted to have sex with his wife. ‘No need for you to take out shares in sex-toy companies either,’ he pointed out, his jaw aching from trying to stay rational.
‘Well, I wouldn’t count on that.’
It was Finn’s turn to snort. ‘You know well enough, Evie Lockheart, that I can make you come loud enough to scare nesting birds on the other side of the harbour.’
She shrugged. ‘So can a little imagination.’
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘It can’t hold you afterwards.’
‘Maybe not. But at least it’s not going to break my heart a little more each time and slowly erode my self-respect.’
‘Damn it, Evie,’ he fumed as his control started to slip. ‘This is not what I wanted. I didn’t want to be a father but it’s happening and I’m here. Do you think you could at least meet me halfway?’
Evie grappled with her escalating temper. He was right. He was here. Even if he was being a total idiot about it. She took a calm, steadying breath.
‘This,’ she said, repeating his open-armed action from earlier as she indicated the house and yard, ‘isn’t halfway, Finn. This is full throttle. Halfway is agreeing to a parenting schedule. Talking about how it’s going to affect our jobs and what we can do to lessen the impact on two households. It’s talking about what schools he should go to and getting our wills in order.’
Finn shook his head. She seemed much calmer now but he could feel it all slipping away. This was not how he’d planned today would go. ‘What about the house?’ he demanded.
‘It’s fabulous,’ she said gently. God knew, she’d move in tomorrow if things were different between them. ‘And our son is going to love being here with you. But I’m not going to marry you, Finn. Not when you don’t love me.’
‘I don’t want some modern rubbish arrangement for my kid,’ he said stubbornly. He didn’t want his son to be bouncing between houses—his whole childhood had been like that and he’d hated it. ‘It’ll be confusing for him.’
‘He won’t have known anything else,’ she murmured, and then she shook her head. ‘It’s funny, I never picked you as a traditionalist.’
‘Kids should be raised by their parents. Together.’
‘Sure. In an ideal world. But what we’ve got here isn’t ideal, is it, Finn? And I’m pretty sure I’m capable of doing my bit to raise our son.’
Her calmness was getting on his nerves. He knew for sure he wasn’t capable of raising a child by himself. He needed her. He needed her to provide the love and comfort stuff. The nurturing. He could teach him to build a fire and climb a tree and how to fish. He needed Evie there to make up for the stuff he wasn’t capable of in all the quiet, in-between times.
‘Well, you haven’t exactly done such a stellar job so far,’ he lashed out. ‘You’ve got yourself electrocuted, almost drowned and followed that up by a case of hypothermia.’
Evie gasped, her hand automatically going to her belly, as if to shield the baby from the insult. If she’d been a more demonstrative woman, she might just have slapped him. ‘The baby is perfectly fit and healthy and completely unharmed,’ she said, her voice vibrating with hurt.
His gaze dropped to where her hand cradled her belly and he felt the irrational surge of anger from the day she’d been caught up in the rip break over him again. ‘Well, that was sheer luck, wasn’t it?’ he snapped.
Evie wanted to scream and rant and stomp her foot but it was useless and exhausting and getting them nowhere. Finn was being his usual pig-headed self and she should know better than to try and reason with him in this mood.
She shook her head at him, swallowing down all the rage and fury and sucking up his bad temper like she always did. The only thing she had was the high ground. And now seemed like a very good time to take it.
‘Goodbye, Finn,’ she said, turning on her heel and marching through the house.
He followed her, calling out to her about being reasonable and driving her back, but a taxi came