Her Marriage Secret. Darcy Maguire

a gurgling noise, his tiny chubby fingers gripping her tighter. Meg straightened and glared at him. ‘I don’t consider standing on the doorstep a long-term activity.’

      Jake raised his hand, reaching out to her as she turned her back to him. ‘Meg?’ he pleaded. Couldn’t she see what this was doing to him?

      She finally turned, halfway down the hallway. ‘You’d better come in for coffee, then.’

      ‘Something stronger may be a good idea.’ He tried to joke. Anything to wipe that pained expression off her face; anything to see her smile.

      She glared at him. ‘I don’t keep anything stronger in the house. You could go to the pub.’

      And not come back. The unspoken insinuation hit him in the chest with a disquieting resonance. He covered his response by striding into the entrance and closing the door firmly behind him. He was going to get answers. Here and now.

      ‘Meg?’ He sounded like a broken record and hated himself for it. ‘How old is he?’

      ‘Nearly two.’ Her voice shook.

      His heart skittered. Why was she so upset? Surely she knew he’d love her to have had his baby? Unless…his best mate Danny had been doing a lot more than just looking out for her while he was away…

      Cold fury squeezed his heart. The gaping emptiness seemed as if it would swallow him, just as it had done when he’d found Meg gone.

      ‘Is he—?’ He swallowed hard, the words refusing to form. ‘Is the boy—?’