Free First Comes Baby...: The Loner's Guarded Heart by Michelle Douglas Page A

bay was lined with families enjoying the sunshine, sand and water. Children’s laughter, the sounds of waves whooshing up onto the beach and the cries of seagulls greeted them. Divine! She lifted her face to the sun and breathed it all in.
    They found a spare patch of sand and Meg stretched out her legs, relishing the warmth of the sun on the bare skin of her arms and legs. She glanced at Ben as he hunkered down beside her. He must be hot.
    ‘You should’ve changed into shorts.’
    He unwrapped the chips. ‘I’m good.’
    Yeah, but he’d look great in shorts, and—
    She blinked. What on earth...? And then the scent of salt and vinegar hit her and her stomach grumbled and her mouth watered. With a grin he held the packet towards her.
    They ate, not saying much, just listening to the familiar sounds of children at play and the splashing of the tiny waves that broke onshore. Nearby a moored yacht’s rigging clanged in the breeze, making a pelican lift out of the water and wheel up into the air. It was summer in the bay—her favourite time of year and her favourite patch of paradise.
    She wasn’t sure when they both started to observe the family—just that at some stage the nearby mother, father and two small girls snagged their attention. One of the little girls dashed down the beach towards them, screaming with delight when her father chased after her. Seizing her securely around the waist, he lifted her off her feet to swing her above his head.
    ‘Higher, Daddy, higher!’ she squealed, laughing down at him, her face alive with delight.
    The other little girl, smaller than the first, lurched across the sand on chubby, unsteady legs to fling her arms around her father’s thigh. She grinned and chortled up at him.
    Meg swallowed and her chest started to cramp. Both of those little girls literally glowed with their love for their father.
    She tore her gaze away to stare directly out in front of her, letting the sunlight that glinted off the water to dazzle and half-blind her.
    ‘More?’ Ben’s voice came out hoarse and strained as he held the chips out to her.
    She shook her head. Her appetite had fled.
    He scrunched the remaining chips and she was aware of every crackle the paper made. And how white his knuckles had turned. She went back to staring directly out in front of her, tracking a speedboat as it zoomed past.
    But it didn’t drown out the laughter of the two little girls.
    ‘Did you ever consider what you were depriving your child of when you decided to go it alone, Meg?’
    His voice exploded at her—tight and barely controlled. She stiffened. And then she rounded on him. ‘Don’t take that high moral tone with me, Ben Sullivan! Since when in your entire adult life, have you ever put another person’s needs or wants above your own?’
    He blinked. ‘I—’
    ‘I didn’t twist your arm. You had some say in the matter, you know.’
    Her venom took him off guard. It took her off guard too, but his question had sliced right into the core of her. She’d thought she’d considered that question. She’d thought it wouldn’t matter. But after seeing that family—the girls with their father, their love and sense of belonging—she felt the doubt demons rise to plague her.
    ‘Families come in all shapes and sizes,’ she hissed, more for her own benefit than his. Her baby would want for nothing! ‘As for depriving my child of a father? Well, I don’t rate my father very highly, and I sure as heck don’t rate yours. There are worse things than not having a father.’
    * * *
    Ben’s head rocked back in shock. Meg’s sentiment didn’t surprise him, but the way she expressed it did.
    He clenched his jaw so hard he thought he might break teeth. A weight pressed against his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
    ‘Just like you don’t rate me as a father, right?’ he rasped out, acid burning his throat.
    Eventually he turned to look at her. She immediately glanced away, but not before he