Read Online The Fiancé He Can't Forget by Caroline Anderson - Free Book Online Page A

soft sigh and leant back. ‘I’m sorry, I should have called you, but I thought you’d probably tell me to go to hell.’
    â€˜So why come?’
    His smile was wry and rather sad. ‘Why do you think, Amy?’ he asked softly, and she swallowed.
    â€˜I don’t— Matt, I told you before…’
    He sighed softly. ‘I know. That night was just for old times’ sake. Laying our love to rest, I guess. I’d hoped it might turn out to be more than that. Might still turn out to be more.’
    Oh, so much more. You have no idea.
    â€˜Matt, we’ve talked about this. We clearly didn’t have what it takes, and if—’
    She broke off, wary of straying into dangerous territory, but Matt had no such fear.
    â€˜If you hadn’t got pregnant, our relationship would have fizzled out?’
    Fizzled out? She’d said she couldn’t cope with the wedding so soon after she’d lost her baby, and he’d heaved a sigh of relief and cancelled their entire relationship, so—yes, clearly he would have lost interest sooner or later, if he hadn’t already done so.
    She shrugged, and he shook his head slowly and gave a rueful smile.
    â€˜OK. I get that you think that, even if I don’t agree, but—you seemed keen enough at the wedding, so what changed?’ What changed?
    What changed? She nearly laughed out loud at that. ‘At the wedding I’d had a bit too much to drink,’ she said bluntly, ‘or I wouldn’t have done anything so stupid. I would have thought better of it.’
    â€˜I’ve thought about very little since,’ he said softly, and her heart contracted.
    Oh, Matt.
    She opened her mouth to tell him, but bottled out and changed the subject, asking instead how his parents were.
    He gave a knowing little smile and let it go. ‘Fine.They’ve got snow up there at the moment, but they’re OK, they’ve got plenty of food in and Dad can still get to the farms for emergencies, but it’s supposed to be thawing this week.’
    Oh, for God’s sake, just tell her you love her! Tell her you want her! Tell her you want to try again, and this time you’ll make it work. She’s said we didn’t have what it takes, but does anybody? For what happened to us, does anybody have what it takes?
    He was opening his mouth when there was a sharp knock on the door. She got up and opened it, and he heard her murmur his name as Ben strode in.
    â€˜You were going to phone!’ he said, hugging him and slapping his back. ‘Come on, let’s get you out of Amy’s hair and you can give me a hand to unload the car. Daisy’s been shopping with a vengeance.’
    Maybe he didn’t want to go? Maybe Amy was happy with him there? Maybe he hadn’t finished what he’d come for?
    But then he looked at her, composed, controlled but not exactly overjoyed, and he let out his breath on a quiet sigh and moved towards the door.
    â€˜Sure. Thanks for the tea, Amy. It was good to see you again.’
    She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. ‘Happy New Year, Matt.’
    And she shut the door gently but firmly behind them, and went back to the table, her hands shaking.
    She had to tell him sometime. Why not now? Why on earth hadn’t she taken the opportunity?
    She sighed. She knew why—knew that until this week was over, at least, she couldn’t share it with him, but she would tell him. Ben was right, he needed toknow, and she wanted their child to have him in its life. He was a good man, and he’d be a wonderful father.
    What she couldn’t deal with again, if anything went wrong, was his grief on top of her own.
    No. Better not to have told him yet—and Ben had promised not to. She just hoped she could rely on him.
    Â 
    He was there until the following evening, and she spent as much time as possible at the hospital.
    It wasn’t hard. They were busy and