Break Point: A Winning Ace Novella

by Delaney, Tracie

  Tally twisted her lips. “You didn’t give me a lot of choice.”

  “No.” Her tone was resigned, accepting. She focused back on the sea and sighed again. “I am happy for them. Honest.”

  “They know.”

  “Times like this, I wish I smoked weed.”

  Tally laughed. “Why?”

  “I dunno,” Em said, shrugging. “Take the edge off, I guess.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  Em grinned and nudged Tally with her elbow. “You know it, sister.”

  They fell into silence. Tally used the quiet to try to form the right words into coherent sentences, because once she made this offer, it couldn’t be retracted. She wanted to do it, badly, but maybe she should talk to Cash first. After all, this affected him as much as her.

  Then again, Em might refuse. There was no point bothering Cash until she’d discussed the idea with Em first.

  “Em…” she said, fiddling with the hem of her T-shirt.

  “Yeah?”

  “Um… Jayne mentioned something earlier and I wondered whether you and David might have considered it. You know, about the whole baby thing.”

  Em shoved her sunnies on top of her head. “What’s that?”

  “Surrogacy.”

  She dropped her sunglasses back in place. “Yeah, we talked about it briefly but dismissed it.”

  Tally tilted her head. “Why?”

  “Too expensive. Too risky. I read a few horror stories where surrogates refused to hand the baby over after the birth. Besides, I don’t want a stranger carrying my child.”

  Tally took a deep breath. “What if it wasn’t a stranger?”

  Em laughed. “Yeah, coz I’ve got friends lining up wanting to have swollen ankles, stretch marks, and sore boobs for absolutely no benefit at the end of it.”

  “You don’t need friends lining up,” Tally said quietly. “You only need one. Your best friend.”

  Em slowly removed her shades, and her lips parted. “What the hell are you suggesting, Tal?”

  She curled her fingers around Em’s arm. “I’ll be your surrogate.”

  Em shook her head violently. “Uh uh. Nope. No. I won’t let you undertake something so dangerous just so I can have a kid of my own.”

  Tally laughed. “It’s not dangerous, you silly moo. I’ve had two kids of my own.”

  “Yeah, and having Darcey almost killed you.”

  Tally rolled her eyes. “You’ve spent too much time listening to Cash’s version of events. She didn’t almost kill me, she was two months early, that’s all. And anyway, Cian went to term and I gave birth to him just fine.”

  “It’s still not right.”

  “What’s not right, Em? The fact that I love you like a sister? That you’ve always been there for me, our whole lives? Supported me when Cash and I split up—twice—in the early part of our relationship? Gave me fantastic advice when my mother turned up out of the blue after she’d abandoned me for twenty-odd years? Helped me come to terms with the fact she’d been a prostitute and a drug addict? You’ve been an amazing godmother to Darcey and Cian, and through all that, what have you ever demanded in return? Nothing. Here’s my chance to do something wonderful for you.”

  “Fuck, Tal, it’s not quid-pro-quo, you know.”

  “I know that. I’m not saying it is.” She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. “I love you. You’re such a special person, Em—kind, loving, giving—and you deserve to have a child of your own. Let me help you, please?”

  Em closed her eyes, expelling a soft breath through her nose. “What does Cash think of this hare-brained idea?”

  Tally chewed the inside of her cheek. “I haven’t spoken to him yet. I wanted to talk to you first, see what you thought.”

  Em cocked a brow. “Jesus, Tal.”

  Tally waved her hand dismissively. “He’ll be fine.”

  Em snorted. “Wanna bet?”

  “You leave Cash to me. Just promise me you’ll think about it. You don’t have to decide now, but I want you to know I’ve got my mind set on this. All it’ll take is for you to say yes.”

  “And if Cash says no?”

  “It’s my body. I’ll do what I damn well please with it.”

  “Tal… don’t be so flippant. Cash is your husband. If he’s against the idea, then you owe it to him to take his feelings into consideration.”

  “Fine, you’re right. If he outright says no, and won’t be swayed by rational argument, then okay. But at least let me float the idea past him and see what he thinks.”

  A ray of hope lit up in Em’s eyes. “I’d have to talk to David too.”

  “You do that. You talk to your husband, and I’ll talk to mine.”

  Tally pushed down a swell of anxiety. Cash might not like the idea initially, but he’d come around eventually.

  Wouldn’t he?

  Chapter 7

  As their bedroom door opened, Tally glanced back into her room and beckoned to her husband. He walked onto the balcony and pressed a soft kiss to her neck.

  “There you are. I was worried when you didn’t come back down. Emmalee okay?”

  “So so.”

  Cash sat beside her and threaded their fingers together. “It’s tough for them both. I wish there was something we could do.”

  Tally turned her head, studying his expression. Smooth, no signs of annoyance or irritation. She took a deep breath. He’d given her an opening, so she might as well go for it. “What if there was something we could do?”

  A frown drifted across his face. “What do you mean? Like provide a reference for adoption agencies? Because, sure, I’ll write as many as they need.”

  Her heart hammered against her ribs and her insides turned over. Now the time had come to tell him what was on her mind, Tally wasn’t looking forward to it one little bit. She didn’t regret making the offer to Em, not for a second, but Cash had always been a complicated man, and how he would react to this was anyone’s guess—including hers.

  She nibbled the inside of her cheek. “Not that.”

  “Oh no,” Cash said. “You’re gnawing on your face, which means you’re worried. Come on, sweetness, spit it out.”

  She paused, looked directly into his eyes, and set her jaw. “What Jayne said before about surrogacy—”

  “I know, right,” Cash said, interrupting. “What kind of woman would put herself through that without the reward of a child at the end of it?”

  The swirling in her stomach turned into a tornado, sweat coated her palms, and her mouth dried up. “Your kind of woman,” she managed to force out.

  Cash scratched his cheek, his brow furrowed in confusion, and then his eyes widened. He wrenched his hand from hers. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

  Tally gripped his arm. “Hear me out before you go postal.”

  Cash clambered to his feet. “Hear you out? Fuck no. I don’t need to hear anything because you’re not fucking doing it.”

  He spun around and stormed back into their room. Tally dampened her dry lips and got up to follow him. She closed the balcony doors behind her. No one else needed to overhear the row that was about to kick off, big time.

  Cash was pacing, his hands stuffed deep within his pockets. Every few steps, he’d pause, flash a furious glare her way, then continue to wear out the oak flooring.

  “Sit down, Cash. You’re making me dizzy.”

  He stopped long enough to poke a finger in her direction. “You are not going to carry someone else’s child. I absolutely forbid it,” he said, then set off pacing once more.

  Rage tore through her. She was used to Cash’s dominating personality—his alpha male status had never been in question. She’d become an expert in managing him over the years, but even he knew better than to straight out tell her she couldn’t do something.

  She planted her hands on her hips. “You forbid it?”

  “Yes,” he said, his hand trembling as he raked it through his hair. “I fucking forbid
it.”

  “Good luck with that,” she snapped.

  “Why?” he asked, staring her down, his grey eyes swirling with fury. “Why would you even consider this?”

  She sighed and folded herself into a chair. If he wouldn’t sit down and talk about this calmly, she’d have to lead by example. “Because she’s more like a sister than a friend. I know how amazing it is to hold your own baby in your arms, to watch them grow and develop their own individual personalities, to dream their futures right alongside them. To love a child and to experience unconditional love in return. I want her to have that.”

  He snorted. “Except she wouldn’t, would she? It’d be your kid. You’d be carrying and giving birth to it.”

  “But I wouldn’t be raising it. Biologically, it would have nothing to do with me.”

  “Are you honestly telling me that you could carry a baby inside you for nine months, feel it move, watch your body change to accommodate it, go through the agony and the fucking scary shit of childbirth, then glibly hand it over and go get yourself a fucking facial?”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Reduce this to something menial. I’m not stupid, Cash. I know what this would involve.”

  “Really?” Another snort. “And what are you going to tell Darcey and Cian? You know, our actual kids? How will you explain this to a nine and seven-year-old?”

  She laced her fingers behind her neck and blew out a slow breath. Tally wasn’t surprised at his reaction, and she didn’t blame him but, when Cash got like this, he was impossible to talk to. She readied herself and tried again. A little emotional blackmail could go a long way.

  “She’s devastated, Cash. I just want to help her. Please try to understand. At least promise me you’ll think about this before dismissing it out of hand.”

  He sighed heavily, then came to sit beside her. “Do you remember how scared I was when you went into premature labour with Darcey? How I freaked out at the thought of losing you? And don’t trot out that your pregnancy was fine with Cian, because it won’t wash.”

  Tally caressed his face and he caught her hand, pressing it to his cheek. “I hear you, Cash. Really, I do. Em said the same when I spoke to her, but—”

  She realised her faux pas too late. His eyes widened, and a nerve appeared in his cheek, beating furiously—never a good sign with her mercurial husband.

  “Wait just a fucking minute. Are you telling me that you’ve already talked to Emmalee about this?”

  She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Only briefly because—”

  Cash launched to his feet, his anger evident in the reddening of his face and the dangerous glint in his eye.

  “You are fucking unbelievable.”

  Tally stood and made a grab for his arm. “Listen to me.”

  He stepped away from her reach. “No. I won’t goddamn listen to you, not about this. How could you? How could you mention this to Emmalee before talking to me first? Jesus, Natalia!”

  With a final glare in her direction, he stomped across the room, wrenched open the door and slammed it shut behind him.

  Tally sank back onto the couch and covered her face with her hands.

  Well, that went swimmingly.

  Chapter 8

  She shouldn’t do it—get excited, that is. Not until Tally had spoken to Cash. Knowing Cash as she did, Em fully expected him to go ballistic about the potential surrogacy, but Tally had seemed so certain, so determined, to be a surrogate. If anyone could talk Cash around, it was Tal.

  It was the ideal solution. Genetically, the baby would still be her and David’s, and with Tally acting as the “incubator”, well, it would bring them all even closer, if that was possible.

  David poked his head inside their room, spotted she was alone, and came in. Poor guy didn’t even get to close the door before Em blurted, “Tally’s offered to be a surrogate.”

  David’s eyes widened. Closing the door as though on auto pilot, his jaw went slack with shock. “She what?”

  Em grabbed his hand and urged him to sit.

  “That’s what she wanted to talk to me about. It’s a great idea, don’t you think? I mean there are some pretty massive hurdles to overcome. The whole IVF thing, research into the legalities and stuff. Not to mention Cash. He’s probably the biggest obstacle but, if anyone can talk him around, Tally can, right? God, David, this could be it. We could be parents.”

  He made a calming motion with his hands. “Slow down, Em. How did this come about?”

  Her stomach jolted. Why wasn’t he jumping up and down like she was? “She offered. Out of the blue. I didn’t broach this with her, I promise. But it’s fantastic, right?”

  David rubbed the back of his neck, his eyebrows drawn down into a low frown. “Oh, babe, I don’t know. I mean that’s a hell of a strain to place on an important friendship.”

  “But it’s Tally. She wouldn’t have offered if she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she wanted to do it.”

  “Wouldn’t she?” David asked. “You are so close, she must be hurting nearly as much as we are over the fact we can’t have a baby naturally. It’s just like her to try to fix everything.”

  Em’s shoulders drooped, and she nibbled on her lip. “You didn’t see her, David. She really wants to do this.”

  He tilted up her chin, his soft, loving, gaze warming her insides. “I’m sure her intentions are completely honourable. I’m not saying we shouldn’t discuss it further with her, and with Cash, but please don’t get your hopes up too much—not yet—there’s a long way to go before it’s time to break out the champagne. I’m still not sure how I feel about it all yet.”

  Em’s chin trembled, her smile wavering. “You’re right. I hate it when you’re right. There’s a lot to discuss and we have to make sure it’s the right thing for all of us. But, oh God, if this works out, it will be a dream come true.”

  David brushed her lips with his. “One day at a time, okay?”

  “I promise. Shall we go for a walk along the beach? I could do with clearing my head.”

  David nodded. “Sounds good.”

  They were halfway down the stairs when a door slammed behind them. Em glanced over her shoulder – and her heart plummeted. Cash was marching towards them, his cheeks flushed red, his face like thunder. Only one thing could have made him so furious.

  “Cash,” Em said, holding out an arm to stop him storming past.

  He glared down at her. “Tell me you didn’t put her up to this?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t. I swear. Look, I know it must have come as a bit of a shock, but—”

  “A bit of a shock?” Cash snarled. “Fucking hell, Emmalee, understatement of the fucking century. You should have told her no. I’m sorry you can’t have a child, really I am, but Jesus Christ, this is an insane idea.”

  “Why don’t we all sit down and talk properly?” David said.

  Cash laughed bitterly. “What’s the point in that? Because she isn’t doing it. End of.”

  He stomped down the stairs. Another door slammed, then silence.

  Em blew out a breath. “Shit.”

  “You can’t blame him for being angry, not to mention a little scared, too. It’s a big thing – huge, in fact.”

  “I know.” She squeezed David’s arm. “Rain check on the walk? I need to talk to Tally.”

  David kissed her cheek. “Go.”

  Em jogged back upstairs and tapped on Tally’s bedroom door, then entered. Tally was sitting on the couch, wearing a resigned, if slightly bruised, expression.

  “He took it well, then.” Em said.

  “You saw him?”

  “Yeah. Breathing fire.”

  Tally nibbled her lip. “I think he was more hurt by the fact I spoke to you first.” She swept a hand over her face. “Not the best idea in hindsight.”

  “Look,” Em said, taking hold of her friend’s hand. “Forget it, Tal. It isn’t worth all this upset. I won’t allow my inabil
ity to have a baby to come between you two.”

  Tally’s lips mashed into a determined line. Em knew that expression well, it was Tally’s dogged, resolute, no-one-is-veering-me-from-this-path, look.

  “He’ll come around.”

  Em raised an eyebrow. “You think? I’ve seen Cash angry a few times over the years, but the fact that he nearly took the skin off my face as he stormed off suggests, well, he’s madder than mad.”

  Tally’s head fell back against the couch. “Merry Christmas, Em.”

  Em laughed, even though her heart felt like it was breaking. High hopes had turned into crashing disappointment in a matter of minutes.

  “I really appreciate the offer, more than I’ll ever be able to express, Tal. But I’m saying no.”

  “Just give me some time to work on him. You know Cash – he likes to fly off the handle, then he’ll calm down and allow his rational mind to have a say.”

  Em shook her head. “I really want a baby, Tal, and your offer is amazing. I’ll never forget it, but like I said, it’s not worth causing problems in your relationship.”

  Tally rested her head on Em’s shoulder. “Don’t give up yet. Let me talk to him properly when he’s calmer, and if he’s still insistent it’s a no, then...” She sighed. “Then I’ll respect his wishes – and withhold sex for a month to show my displeasure.”

  Em chuckled. “Come on, let’s go and get shit faced, then push Rupe in the pool.”

  Tally grinned. “Deal.”

  Chapter 9

  Cash stomped through the house, his blood at boiling point. He slammed the door that led out to the pool deck, almost taking the damned thing off its hinges.

  Rupe and Jayne were still by the pool. Thank God Meredith and Mum weren’t back with the kids yet. It would give him time to calm the fuck down.

  “What the hell’s the matter with you?” Rupe asked.

  Cash planted his hands on his hips. “Your fucking wife and her smart ideas.”

  Jayne’s eyes widened. “What have I done?”

  Rupe placed a protective hand on Jayne’s shoulder. “Before you answer that,” he said. “I’d advise you to dial back your pissed-offness at my wife, otherwise my fist will get nice and friendly with your face.”