Free The Road Home by Fiona Palmer Page A

hotshot now.
    ‘Lara! Oh, God. Where have you been? Why haven’t you returned my calls? I’ve been worried sick,’ he said, springing to his feet.
    She opened the door and tried to shut him out, but he pushed inside and shut the door for her. He reached out and held her by the arms.
    ‘What’s going on? Where have you been? Just let me explain, please.’
    ‘What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?’ Her voice was flat.
    ‘I went to see you at work and Amber said you’d left. What the hell is going on?’
    Lara tried to keep her emotions in check. She tried not to look at his handsome face, the one that had deceived her.
    ‘Lara, look at me!’ he demanded.
    She regretted it as soon as she saw his eyes, so full of hurt and confusion. She wondered if she saw love there too.
    ‘Tell me – are you ever really going to leave your wife, Nic? You’ve been lying to us both.’
    ‘Baby, I love you. It’s not like that.’
    She laughed and it sounded sinister, even to her own ears. With a deadpan look she asked, ‘Do you still love Emily?’
    Nic drew in a shaky breath.
    ‘Don’t lie to me, Nic.’
    He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He nodded slowly. ‘Yes, I still love her, because she’s the mother of my kids. For that reason I will always love her.’
    Lara wanted to yell ‘not good enough!’ but deep down a part of her wanted to believe him. Nic touched her face. She flinched.
    ‘Lara, baby, I love you passionately. You can’t tell me that what we have isn’t special.’ His hands moved to her shoulders. His thumbs rubbed gently as the heat in his eyes melted her heart. ‘I will leave Emily; I need to be with you. When I couldn’t get in touch with you, it just about killed me. I didn’t know if youwere dead, hurt or missing. You need to understand how much I love you.’
    Nic wrapped Lara in his arms. She let herself relax while he kissed her neck up to her ear, remembering the way he could make her feel. Nic pulled back and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. She felt her fires ignite and kissed him back.
    ‘We need each other,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘You can’t fight what we’ve got.’ He brushed her hair back with his finger. It was a gesture she’d once loved, but seeing Nic do the same with Emily had ruined its meaning. It now made Lara sick. She went rigid and Nic pulled away, confused.
    ‘We haven’t got anything,’ she told him. ‘You have a wife and until that ring is legally off your finger, don’t bother coming here any more.’
    ‘Lara, come on. Don’t do this,’ Nic begged, trying to caress her face, but she slapped his hand away.
    ‘Actually, just don’t come back ever. It’s over, Nic. I can’t trust you now and I’ll never trust you again.’ All of a sudden, Nic looked ugly to her. The way he’d used her and then tried to win her back with a kiss. She felt repulsed by him and repulsed by her own reaction to him. She couldn’t believe she’d just kissed him. ‘You need to go,’ she said, reaching behind him and opening the door.
    Nic stood firm but Lara latched onto his arm and pushed him out the door. ‘Go, Nicholas. You’re not wanted here. Don’t come back again or I
will
tell Emily everything.’
    His face flicked from anger to fear just before she slammed the door shut.
    ‘Come on, Lara,’ he said through the door. ‘What we have islove.’ Lara locked her door as the tears began to overflow. ‘Lara, please.’
    ‘I will ring her, Nic. Don’t push me. Now leave,’ she growled.
    The door shook as he kicked it. A moment later, she heard his car start up. With a wail, Lara slid down the back of the door to the floor. Tears dripped onto her skirt and her shoulders shook with more sobs. Today had been the worst day ever.
    A few minutes later, she pushed herself up, made it to the tissue box, and blew her nose. Now what was she going to do? She wanted to be anywhere but here. Lara sat on her couch and stared out the