‘No,’ he said bleakly. ‘She found out the day after she got a major breakthrough modelling contract she’d been after for ages. I was away on business for a few days, and she didn’t bother to wait until I got back because as far as she was concerned there wasn’t any discussion to be had.’
‘Oh.’
OK, so she didn’t know the full story and maybe, just maybe, she was a bit biased in Dan’s favour, but surely that wasn’t right. Surely if they’d been together at the time, it was a decision that both of them should have been involved in.
‘Did you want it?’ she asked.
‘Funnily enough, I did.’
Then it had hurt him deeply, and she found she was hurting for him. ‘But what’s that got to do with me?’ she asked, a bit bemused about why any of this mattered now. ‘And what’s it got to do with the offish way you’ve been recently?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t really know.’
All of a sudden, he looked confused and troubled, his eyes filling with uncertainty and doubt. And something else...
Frowning slightly, Zoe leaned forwards and looked a little closer. What was that? Regret? Shame? Guilt?
‘Wait a moment,’ she said, her brain sifting through all the disparate strands whipping through it and tying them into a vague kind of plait. ‘Have the last two weeks been some kind of test?’
His gaze snapped to hers. ‘Of course not.’
‘They have, haven’t they?’ she breathed, not entirely sure what to do with the knowledge.
‘Don’t be absurd.’
‘Well, why didn’t you just ask me when you found the box, then?’ she asked as the memory of him dodging the question the first time she asked came back, and all his weird behaviour she’d mulled over during the last week slowly slipped into place. ‘That’s why I’ve been on the receiving end of all those watchful glances and all those assessing looks, isn’t it?’ She shook her head in disbelief as it all became clear. ‘You know, I had the feeling you were waiting for something, and you were, weren’t you? You were waiting for me to show what you perceive to be my true colours.’
Dan’s jaw tightened. ‘What does that even mean?’
‘You’ve been judging me against standards set by your ex, someone you knew eight years ago. Why? What the hell is going on, Dan?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Yes, you do.’
He looked her, his eyes glittering in the soft light of the kitchen. ‘Maybe I want to be able to trust you.’
‘You can.’
He frowned. ‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Absolutely. When have I ever given you cause to doubt me?’
‘You haven’t. Not yet.’
‘And I won’t. And OK so I didn’t mention doing a pregnancy test, but why would I when there was nothing to say?’ She looked at him steadily. ‘Think about it, Dan. We’ve known each other for what, six weeks? Do you really think it needed a conversation when it was negative anyway?’
‘I guess not.’
‘If the result had been different then I’d have told you.’
‘Would you?’
‘Of course I would. Look, you know as well as I do that I’ve done nothing to justify your belief that I’ll let you down. At every stage of this whole thing so far I’ve been honest and upfront with you, and I don’t plan on changing that.’
He sighed. ‘I’d like to believe that but I don’t know if I can.’
For a moment Zoe didn’t know what to say. ‘Did she really screw you up that much?’