An extract from 'The Reluctant father' available on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and Apple Books only 99p

‘Do you love him?’

The fight had gone from him now, there was nothing more she could say to hurt him… unless she answered yes.

Sarah looked over at him and said irritably, ‘I don’t know.’

She felt a little better now that he had put some distance between them, and although she knew that it was the jealousy talking, she didn’t like this side of him.

‘I fell in love once. Love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,’ she said, giving Graham an accusing look.

He knew that she was referring to him, but he didn’t bite back. He dare not.

‘Some people don’t realise what they’ve got until its gone,’ he said in his defence.

‘What do you want from me Graham?’

If he had something to say then he should say it and say it quickly, because she really wanted him to leave. She needed to feel safe again and she wouldn’t be able to feel secure until he had left the house and she had bolted the door behind him. Not because she thought he would hit her, but because she was afraid of her own feelings.

‘You!’ he whispered.

Sarah had been wanting to hear those words for a long time, but now that she had, his words felt hollow.

‘And you still love me don’t you Graham?’ she said sarcastically.

She had been in this position before and he had let her down, so what was stopping him from letting her down again. Graham smiled, hoping that she would see the sincerity in his face, but she remained calm, almost indifferent.

‘I’m serious… I love you.’ Graham said, frustrated by her coldness.

‘You’ve got a nerve. First you attack me for no reason and then you say you love me. Seriously Graham, you need help!’ 

‘Why don’t we start over?’ he said, wishing he’d thought of the idea sooner.

Sarah looked at him and frowned.

‘Start over?’

‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Why don’t we start dating again and see where it goes from there?’

There was an uneasy silence while Sarah tried to digest what he was saying. Then she said seriously, ‘What about Jack, I don’t want him to get used to seeing us together and then we finish, that wouldn’t be fair on him.’

‘I can see Jack as usual and see you some other time, he need never know.’ Surely, she could see the sense in what he was proposing.

‘I’m also seeing Tony what if I don’t want to lose his friendship.’

‘Then carry on seeing him,’ Graham said, as calmly as he could, trying his best not to look concerned.

Sarah couldn’t believe what she was hearing, Graham was being too reasonable, something wasn’t right. She took a long look at him, he was slightly flushed, and his breathing was a little heavy, but apart from that, he looked serious.

‘I don’t know what to say.’

She needed to think things through. Surely, he couldn’t expect her to decide now, not after the way he had treated her.

Graham could see that she was confused and went and sat by her side. Gently he leaned into her, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Sarah responded eagerly and Graham pulled her body gently into his. After what seemed like an eternity Graham gently pushed her away, leaving Sarah breathless and wanting more.

‘Isn’t that worth giving it another try?’ he asked.

Sarah could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek as he spoke, and it sent a chill down her spine. If only her mother and Jack weren’t upstairs, anything could have happened, and truth be told, she wouldn’t have objected if it had.

‘THAT! as you so eloquently put it, was never the issue,’ Sarah said, angry at the conceit of the man.

‘You know you still want me though, don’t you?’ he said lightheartedly.

‘That’s a little unfair Graham.’ Then she laughed and added, ‘You’re corrupting a key witness. You should play fair.’

‘You’ve heard the saying, there’s nothing fair in love and war. I’d play dirty to win you back any day,’ he said smugly, and Sarah couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.