PROLOGUE
Melbourne
Thirteen years ago
‘Natasha Trigg.’ The bouncer—sporting five piercings in his right brow, a nose ring and bulging muscles stretching his black T-shirt to ripping point—consulted his list before nodding. ‘Head on through.’ He lowered the crimson rope to let Tash pass.
She hesitated, fear of what she had to do rendering her immobile, and earning her a glower from the bouncer.
‘In or out?’
She willed her feet to move towards the main entrance of the Princeton Hotel in cosmopolitan St Kilda. The pub showcased local talent, but tonight, she didn’t care about the music. She’d come here for one reason only.
To break up with Kody Lansdowne, front man for Rock Hard Place.
Ironic, as that’s exactly where she’d found herself: between the proverbial rock and a very hard place. But she’d made her decision. She had to follow through. No way would she be responsible for ruining his dream. Even if hers had come crashing down the moment she’d peed on that white stick and glimpsed two vertical blue lines.
Leaving Brockenridge to study nursing in Melbourne, escaping the watchful eyes of her zealous parents, whose religion ruled every aspect of their lives and hers, had been a dream come true. Maybe her do-gooder parents had passed on their benevolent genes, because she loved helping people. She’d kept her head down for the first two years, hiding out in the nursing quarters attached to the university, determined to focus on her studies and not be distracted by the glitter of the city. Until she’d been dragged to the Princeton one balmy summer’s night by a bunch of nursing students determined to consume their body weight in vodka and had met Kody.
Her first love. Her first everything. Tonight, she’d come here to tell him the truth. Her version of it, because no way in hell would she be responsible for ruining his dream when her own lay in tatters courtesy of dodgy contraception.
Hiding this secret burned a hole in her gut, making it impossible to keep anything down. Though that could be the morning sickness.
She’d rehearsed her spiel many times over the last twenty-four hours, knowing Kody would use every weapon in his charismatic arsenal to sway her. But she’d made her decision. She had to stick to it, no matter how badly her chest tightened with sorrow every time she thought about having to push him away.
She’d timed her arrival for the last song of the band’s set, knowing she couldn’t stand around for hours pretending to enjoy herself. A jarring guitar riff assaulted her ears as she edged her way into the crowded room where the love of her life and his band took centre stage. Her heart flipped as it always did when she caught sight of him and she blinked back the sting of tears. Damn hormones.
Kody dominated the stage and it had nothing to do with his six-two height, dark curly hair, mesmerising brown eyes and smile that made women fall at his feet: he had a presence that captivated everyone in the room and when he opened his mouth to sing—she’d never heard anything like it. Deep, gravelly, sexy, his voice transcended time and she wasn’t surprised he’d captured the attention of an LA recording studio. Ironic that the night he’d told her all his dreams of being a rock star were about to come true was the night she’d planned to tell him about the baby.
She’d had it all figured out: they’d rent a small two-bedroom bungalow by the bay. Maybe Elwood, Elsternwick or South Melbourne, somewhere close enough for him to continue inner-city gigs while she completed her nursing degree. Kody had a massive network of friends and she’d envisaged arranging babysitting through one of them while juggling her studies. They would make it work, creating a close, loving family, the kind she’d never had.
But Kody had been hyper that night, pouncing on her the minute she stepped into his tiny studio apartment, picking her up and swinging her around until she’d become dizzy. He’d kissed her, deeply, passionately, in the way she’d never been kissed before him, then told her his good news in a rush, the words tumbling over themselves in his excitement.
A leading LA producer had been in Melbourne for a music awards show, seen Rock Hard Place at a gig and waited to speak to Kody afterwards. While he couldn’t promise anything, the producer had the power to catapult Rock Hard Place towards the kind of fame most musicians only dream about.
Tash had been