A Mother for Matilda by Amy Andrews

wasn’t in any mood to be humoured. She wasn’t a girl any more. Surely he could see that? A well of emotion rose in her chest and lodged in her throat. It stung her eyes and snatched at her breath.
    Lawson clenched his jaw. If he didn’t get away from her now he was going to do more than look. He pushed himself off the couch and stuffed his hands in his pockets. ‘Victoria, I think you should go back to bed.’
    Tears blurred in her eyes as pure frustration drove her to her feet. She ignored the pain that tore at her side. Theone building in her chest was far greater. ‘Why do you do that?’ she demanded huskily.
    Lawson eyed her warily. Her whiskey gaze was glassy and he had an awful feeling she was about to cry. And how the hell could he resist that ? ‘Do what?’
    A tear escaped and she dashed it away. ‘Treat me like I’m still a child. Like I don’t have the right to have a perfectly adult conversation with a man.’
    He took a step towards her. ‘Victoria, please don’t cry.’
    She screwed up her face and shook her head, determined to hold back the flood of tears although her chest was a dam wall at bursting point. ‘Just answer the question, damn it.’
    The question? What was the bloody question? He backtracked for a moment. ‘I don’t,’ he dismissed. ‘Treat you like you’re a child.’ God knew, he’d been having a really difficult time this last year remembering she’d ever been a child.
    Vic opened her eyes and let the build-up of emotion ease out a little. She snorted. ‘You’re doing it again.’ Tears trickled down both sides of her face and she didn’t care. ‘Talking at me like I’m some little kid you can just dismiss out of hand.’
    He felt totally helpless watching her tears. He was torn between pulling her close and getting the hell out of the house. He raked a hand through his spiky hair and took a step back. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    Vic choked out a sob. ‘Try me.’
    Lawson shut his eyes briefly, wishing he were anywhere but here. ‘I’m not just any random man you can have a conversation about breasts with. I’m your partner.’
    His partner . There it was again. ‘Oh, God,’ she wailed. ‘I’m a woman, damn it. Can’t you see that? A grown, adult woman. I know to you I’m just…Bob’s daughter, Ryan and Josh’s sister…another paramedic at the station, your colleague, but…’ She scrubbed at her face, brushing away the tears. ‘I. Am. A. Woman.’ She poked herself in the chest to emphasise each word.
    Vic felt half crazy. Her heart ached so much it burned like a molten chunk of metal in her chest. She wiped at her eyes with the heels of her palms. Goodness knew, she must look a right state.
    Lawson was staring at her as if she’d grown a second head. ‘You’ve never seen me as a woman. I’m just Vic. Good old Vic. Someone to babysit and get the gurney for you. Not beautiful or desirable. Not female. Just one of the boys.’
    ‘No.’ The admission was torn from him. He knew he shouldn’t have given it voice, but he couldn’t bear to witness her pain. What the hell was she talking about? Not desirable? Not beautiful? Standing here in the flickering light of the television, fragile and vulnerable before him, he wanted her so much it scared him.
    He took a step closer and grasped her by the shoulders. ‘Do you know the first thing I thought today when you slipped on the rocks? When you screamed and the rope went taut?’ Lawson shut his eyes briefly as the horrifying memory revisited.
    Vic was conscious of the rasp to his voice and their closeness. His hands on her skin, their bodies separated by a whisper of air. She watched as his lids fluttered open again, her heart pistoning in her chest as she waited for him to continue. If anything, waiting for his wordswas more terrifying than being cold, frightened and disorientated for those horrifying few seconds underwater.
    ‘All I could think was that I hadn’t ever got the