something from us.’
Matt stops pacing and sits down beside Kate on the edge of the bath. ‘But why would she be doing that? Surely this is just a huge coincidence.’
‘I want it to be, but I can’t help thinking it’s something more.’
‘Like what?’ asks Matt.
She wants to tell him about the bizarre set-up she’d found at Jess’s flat, as if she’s waiting for a baby to arrive. But what it might mean, and how it might involve her and Matt, makes it difficult to put into words. It also means she’ll have to admit to breaking in, and that’s a new low, even for a journalist.
She shivers, as if someone’s walked over her grave. ‘What she’s doing is premeditated and intended to cause me maximum hurt and distress.’
Matt looks at her as if she’s completely mad. ‘Are you serious?’ he says. ‘You think this is all about you?’
‘Who else is it about?’ says Kate, her hackles rising.
‘Might it be that she’s just a confused young woman who’s trying to make the best of the unfortunate situation she finds herself in?’
Kate looks at him, open-mouthed. ‘Are you honestly going to stand there and defend her?’ she asks incredulously.
As if sensing the minefield he’s about to stand on, Matt takes a physical step back and runs a hand through his hair. ‘I just think we need to take stock,’ he says. ‘She’s a nice girl and I can’t see any reason why she would have any ulterior motive here. I agree that it seems hugely coincidental that she’s wound up working with me, but it’s a bit of a leap to suggest that it’s got anything to do with you.’
‘She shows up at my parents. She appears at my office. She’s going out on day trips with my sister. She’s working with my husband. What fucking part of this sounds like it’s got nothing to do with me?’ A vivid image of the wardrobe in Jess’s flat, adorned with nappies and romper suits, flashes into Kate’s head. ‘What will she want next, Matt?’ she yells. ‘My baby?’
Matt looks at her dumbfounded. ‘Can you even hear yourself?’ he says, when he eventually finds his voice.
Of all the things Kate thought he might do, doubting her wasn’t one of them.
‘I don’t want you there,’ says Kate, without looking at him.
‘What?’
‘I don’t want you at the scan.’ Even as she’s saying it, she knows she’s biting her nose off to spite her face, but she just can’t stop herself.
‘You can’t possibly be serious.’
‘I’m going on my own,’ she says, stepping into a maxi dress.
‘This is crazy,’ he says, with both hands on his head. ‘What are you doing?’
Honestly? She doesn’t know. All she does know is that she needs to be as far away from Matt as possible right now.
‘You can’t do this,’ he barks. ‘You have no right.’
‘I have every right,’ cries Kate, knowing she’s gone too far down the rabbit hole to back out now. ‘I don’t even know if I want you in this flat. I most certainly don’t want you anywhere near that hospital.’
‘But we’ve waited so long for this,’ he says, as tears spring to his eyes. ‘It’s what we’ve been dreaming of, planning for . . . you can’t just shut me out.’
‘I can do what the hell I like,’ barks Kate as she storms around the bedroom, throwing things she doesn’t need into her oversized handbag.
‘I won’t let you do this,’ says Matt. ‘I won’t let you ruin this moment, because we will never get this time back again and we’ll regret it for the rest of our lives.’
‘Well you should have thought about that . . .’
‘Please Kate,’ Matt begs, taking hold of her arm. ‘I’ve driven through the night to make sure I could get to the hospital in time.’
She shakes him off as she heads for the door.
‘Please, don’t do this. Let me come with you.’
‘No,’ she chokes.
It feels as if she might break in two as she slams the door shut.
33
Kate
As soon as Dr Williams sees her, his smile dissipates and he looks around, confused.
‘No Matt?’ he asks, clearly surprised. Him and her both. If someone had told her a month ago she’d be attending this scan on her own, she would have laughed in their face. It wouldn’t have seemed remotely possible – not after everything she and Matt had gone through to get here. But that was before Jess turned up.
For some reason, Kate feels obliged to pretend to Dr Williams that