‘I am, lass. I am.’
She mulled on Stan’s words for the rest of the evening.
When she woke the following morning, she posted a note in the window.
Can we talk again?
* * *
Yours @ 10 a.m.
Chapter Thirty-Six
It was 9.45 a.m. and Luke was in the kitchen fixing himself his usual wake-himself-up coffee when there was a knock on the door. Opening it, he was surprised to find Freya. Again.
‘What do you want?’ After her behaviour the previous morning, he didn’t feel particularly friendly.
‘Grace needs a lift to college and I’ve got a meeting I need to get to. Will you take her?’
‘Of course.’ He was about to ask if she needed to go right that minute, when Freya stepped back into her own flat and shouted Grace’s name.
‘Calm it, I’m coming,’ came a clearly exasperated voice.
‘Okay, I take it we need to leave now,’ he murmured. He might as well have been talking to himself because Freya was busy telling Grace to hurry and Grace was busy telling Freya to stop being such a nag.
When Grace appeared in the doorway she gave him a pained look. ‘Tell Mum to focus on her own life and leave me to sort mine.’
He wanted to agree, to tell Freya to keep out of his life too, but he and Freya had made a vow when Grace was born to never undermine each other in front of their daughter. Just because they weren’t together in the traditional sense didn’t mean they weren’t a unit when it came to parenting. ‘Your mum is only trying to make sure you get to your class on time, so cut her some slack.’
‘Yeah, but—’
‘Have you got everything?’ Freya asked sharply.
Grace rolled her eyes. ‘Jeeze, yes, take a chill pill.’
Figuring the best way to defuse the situation was to get on their way, Luke shot back to his flat and picked up his keys. ‘Come on kiddo, let’s get out of your mum’s hair.’
‘She’s been in a dead weird mood recently,’ Grace muttered as they climbed into the TVR.
‘Maybe she’s stressed about work,’ he offered.
‘Nah, work never stresses her. She loves all that crap.’
He flicked Grace a look. ‘I’m tempted to say it might be her time of the month, but I’m scared you’ll clock me one.’
‘You’re right to be scared.’ Glancing down at her phone, she sighed. ‘I can’t even play my music, can I, ’cos your dumb car doesn’t have Bluetooth.’
He chuckled, tapping the console. ‘Nope, it’s better than that. It has a radio.’ He flicked it on to the local station.
Fifteen minutes later he pulled up outside the school gate. ‘What happened to the bus today?’
Grace shrugged. ‘Nothing. I was going to take it, but Mum said she’d drop me. Then she said she couldn’t and she’d get you to do it.’
‘Her meeting must have been last minute then.’
‘I suppose.’ She glanced down at her watch. ‘Guess I’d better head to the study room.’
‘I thought you had a lecture?’
‘Yeah, but not till half eleven.’
‘What was all the rush then?’
She frowned at him. ‘You’re kidding. Mum said I had to go now or you couldn’t take me.’
‘But it’s Friday. She knows Bill covers lunch and I don’t go into work until later.’
They shared a look, both clearly trying to work out why the scarily organised woman they knew had forgotten that fact. ‘Maybe she just forgot.’
‘Maybe.’ But he knew the explanation couldn’t be as simple as that, because Freya didn’t ‘just forget’ anything. She also didn’t have last-minute meetings, because again, that implied something had come up she hadn’t anticipated, and that simply didn’t happen in her world.
Was she still smarting from the dressing down he’d given her yesterday when he’d returned the milk? Upset both with her and the situation, he’d accused Freya of meddling, which of course she hadn’t appreciated. She’d rebuffed him with words along the lines of Don’t blame me, it’s your dishonesty that’s got you into the mess.
‘Dad?’
Grace’s voice brought him back. ‘Sorry Pickle, I got lost in my head for a bit.’
‘Is everything okay?’
She looked so concerned, he bent to kiss her forehead. ‘Of course. Mia and I just had a bit of a falling-out yesterday. Nothing we can’t fix.’ Even as he said the words, his stomach knotted and he felt a desperate need to cross his fingers in the hope the gesture would somehow help.
‘What did you row about?’
Your mum let slip that we’d slept together a couple of times around that really shitty Christmas when your gran fell ill. ‘That’s kind of personal.’
She nodded, her green eyes, so similar to his own, giving him a steady scrutiny. ‘Do you love Mia?’
‘Yes.’ He reached across, holding Grace’s chin in his hand. ‘It doesn’t mean I love you any less, or that I’ll have any less time for you.’
She smiled and the look she gave him was so mature, so much the young lady rather than the kid he needed to protect. ‘I know, Dad.’ Her breath came out heavy as she sighed. ‘It’s not me you need to worry about. I think maybe Mum’s the one having a hard time over Mia.’
‘Your mum? Why?’
‘I don’t know. Just the way she’s been a bit weird around her, and if I mention her name she gets all frosty. It’s like she’s jealous or something.’
He barked out a laugh. ‘If your mum’s jealous of anything, it’s not me and Mia, it’s you and Mia. Might be she’s feeling a bit wobbly, what with Mia helping with your maths homework.’ He gave a strand of her hair a gentle tug, like he used to do when she was young to get her attention. ‘Don’t worry. It takes time for people to adjust. We’ll work it out and Mia and Freya will find a way to get along.’
He mulled it over on the way back to the flat. How would he feel if Freya brought a guy over who started to do stuff with Grace that he usually did? Yeah, he wouldn’t like it, either. He just had to give Freya time to get to know Mia. Once she did, she’d realise Mia only wanted to help.
His stomach tightened. Of course there was the distinct possibility Freya wouldn’t get that time. Because Mia would ditch him.
Mia rang the bell on Luke’s flat again. Maybe he had the radio on and couldn’t hear her. Bugger it, why hadn’t she brought her phone with her? That was the trouble with not having many people know her number, she’d got out of the habit of taking it with her wherever she went.
Next to Luke’s flat a door opened, and Mia’s heart sank as she saw Freya come out.
‘He’s not in.’ Living up to her nickname in a sharp black trouser suit, Freya gave her a small smile. ‘I asked him to take Grace to school.’
‘Oh, okay.’ Maybe he hadn’t seen her sign then.
Freya took a few steps towards her. ‘Despite what you might think, I like you, Mia. You’ve been good to Grace, which is important to me. So I think I should warn you that this, Luke putting his family first, will happen a lot.’
Mia wasn’t sure she’d ever felt less liked, by anyone. ‘Of course Grace will come first.’
Freya gave her one of those small smiles that didn’t reach her eyes. ‘It’s not just Grace though, is it? Luke, me, Grace, we’re a unit. That was how we agreed we would raise Grace. Not as two separate parents, but as a family.’
Mia looked Freya straight in the eye. ‘Let’s not beat about the bush here. Say what you want to say so we can both be clear.’
Another practised smile. ‘I appreciate your candour, so I will give you the same courtesy. Luke is loyal, almost to a fault. It’s why Bill still works for him, even though a younger guy would be much better for business. But Luke’s got a soft spot for him, so…’ She sighed, hitching her handbag further onto her shoulder. ‘That same loyalty is magnified when it comes to his family. You have to ask yourself whether you can put up with being not the most
important person in his life, or even the second, but the third most important.’
She wanted to rattle the woman. To push, to unsettle her, but right now she was too gutted to muster the energy. She’d come here ready to talk things out, to put her and Luke back on a firm footing, but instead she was left feeling further adrift from him. Once again she’d been effectively stood up, and Freya was the reason. ‘I take it you’re happy with second place?’
‘Of course,’ Freya returned smoothly. ‘I expect to come behind Grace. The question is, are you happy to come behind me?’
Don’t let her get to you. She’d been here before. Bitchy girls at school, trying to needle her, get a rise out of her. Mia squared her shoulders. ‘Or perhaps the question is, are you worried that you will soon be behind me?’
Before Freya had a chance to come back with another tart remark, Mia turned and shot down the stairs. When she arrived back at her flat she slammed the door shut and slumped onto the floor.
Damn Freya and her bitchiness.
And damn Luke for making her fall in love with him. She didn’t want Freya’s words to matter, yet the woman had prodded and poked at the place Mia felt most vulnerable. Luke said he loved her, but did he, really and truly? She woke in the morning thinking of him, went to bed dreaming of him. When she wasn’t with him, she counted down the hours until she would be. She loved her family, but somehow, without her wanting him to, Luke had become the centre of her world. She only had to think of that moment when she’d finally finished her book. He was the first person she’d wanted to tell.
But could she continue in a relationship where he didn’t feel as strongly? Where instead of being at the centre, she was simply a nice addition to his life, someone he could slot into the moments when he wasn’t working or focused on what Freya had called his family.
And now she came to the crux of the matter. Had he really ever got over Freya? Was his first love going to also be his last love?
The sound of her phone burst through the flat and Freya jumped to her feet and walked into the spare room where the phone was vibrating around on her desk. Her heart thumped when she saw who was phoning.
After sucking in a breath, she pressed answer. ‘Hi.’
‘Damn it, I’ve just seen your message.’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
She heard a rush of breath. ‘Are you kidding me? Of course it matters. I want to talk to you, I need to talk. It’s just, I had to take—’
‘Grace to school. I know, Freya told me.’
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. ‘Can I come round now?’
‘No.’ She rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand. ‘I’ve got too much to do.’
She heard his heavy exhale. ‘Why does that feel like an excuse?’
‘It’s not.’ But she couldn’t lie to him. ‘I have got stuff to do, but I’m also not in the right frame of mind to hash things out just now.’
‘Hash things out? What things? You’re scaring me.’
Her heart ached at the panic in his voice and Mia cursed Freya for putting doubts in her head. ‘I don’t mean to. It’s just…’ she trailed off, feeling miserable. She desperately wanted to see him, to feel his arms around her. Maybe then all these worms of worry would disappear. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
‘Soon?’ A beat of silence, and when his voice came back it sounded so tight, as if his windpipe was being squeezed. ‘Look at me, please.’
Lifting her eyes, she stared over at his window and her heart cartwheeled at the message he’d left.
I ❤ U
‘Mia? Can you see it?’
Tears streamed down her face. ‘I can see it.’
‘Then you’d better believe that I’m not giving you up without one hell of a fight. So take whatever time you need and let me know when you’re ready to talk. I’ll be waiting for you.’
Thank you, I’m sorry. I love you, too. All words she wanted to say, but her mind was too confused, and her heart too heavy to utter them.
A moment later, he ended the call.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Mia spent a good portion of Saturday working. What with the afternoon out at the indoor skydiving – God, that seemed a long time ago – and the fact that her head hadn’t been in the game ever since, she had a lot to catch up on.
But by six she was done, and her heart just wasn’t in it to work on her book.
Stretching, she stared over at Luke’s window. The sign he’d left her was still there, and once again she felt that tight feeling in her chest, her heart hurting as she remembered his words from yesterday. The pain in his voice.
What had Stan said? She’s trying to drive a wedge between the pair of you, and you’re letting her.
Freya was a lawyer, good with words, good at persuading a person to her point of view. But it was Luke’s words, Luke’s perspective that was the only one that mattered.
Her phone buzzed with a call.
‘Grace.’ Glad of the distraction, Mia stood and wandered into the living room. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘Is it okay if I come round?’
On the few occasions Mia had helped Grace with her homework, it had always been on Grace’s turf. ‘Of course, or I can come to you if you prefer.’
‘No.’ The word shot out like a bullet. ‘It’s better if I come to you.’
After giving her the flat number, Mia ended the call with a nudge of unease. It didn’t sound like everything was okay, but maybe that was just teenagers, making a drama out of nothing.
Five minutes later, Grace was sat on her sofa and looking on edge.
Mia perched on the coffee table and squeezed Grace’s hand. ‘Whatever it is that’s bothering you, I’m here if you want to talk, but if you don’t, that’s okay, too. I can put on the telly, we can fire up the PlayStation—’
‘I need to tell you something.’ She drew back her hand and twisted it in her lap in an agitated gesture. ‘I don’t want to get Mum in trouble but if I don’t say this, it might hurt Dad.’
‘Okay.’ Sensing Grace needed space, Mia went to sit on the armchair opposite. ‘Whatever you have to tell me can stay between us.’
Grace nodded. ‘Please.’ Then she rubbed her hands down her face and drew in a deep breath. ‘Mum can see the messages you post to Dad.’
Mia rocked back in surprise. ‘Well, I don’t suppose that matters.’
Grace jiggled her legs up and down restlessly. ‘But it does. I only found out yesterday ’cos it was so crazy that she asked Dad to take me to school instead of me getting the bus. I went into her office to see if there was anything in her diary about a meeting and there wasn’t. That’s when I saw the binoculars on her desk.’ Grace glanced around the room. ‘God, this sounds so bad. Mum isn’t really like this. I know she’s been dead mean to you but that’s not her. She’s not as friendly as Dad, but she’s not a bitch, you know?’
‘I do know.’ Mia’s mind was stuck on the binoculars. ‘She’s played a huge part in raising you, she’s part of you. She must be an amazing person.’ The words were true, so all Mia had to work out was why Freya had been so mean to her.
And really, it was quite obvious.
‘You think your mum is still in love with your dad?’ she said quietly. ‘That’s why she doesn’t like me?’
Grace shook her head. ‘I thought that at first, but then I asked her why she was spying on your room. She denied she was at first, but I said I’d seen the binoculars, I knew she’d seen the message about you meeting Dad, and that must be why she’d got him out of the way.’
Wow. Mia’s heart began a slow thump. It would explain the leaking tap, too. Freya had seen Mia’s messages and decided to meddle.
‘She looked dead scared when I said that.’ Grace’s voice started to wobble. ‘I mean like she was proper horrified that I’d sussed her out. Then she stared to cry and tell me she was sorry. It wasn’t like she loved Dad, she said, not in the way he loved you. It wa
s just she’d got used to him being there for her and now she was scared you’d take him away from us.’
‘Oh God Grace, I wouldn’t.’ Mia leapt to her feet and crouched in front of Grace. ‘He loves you so much. Why would I want to take him away from people he loves?’
‘That’s what I said to her.’ Finally, finally, Grace met her gaze. ‘I said you were dead lovely and you’d never make Dad choose between us.’ She gave Mia a tentative smile. ‘I also told her you were smart, like she was, so the pair of you were bound to sort it all out.’
‘We will.’ It felt like a weight had lifted off Mia’s shoulders. ‘Did your mum really say she thought your dad loved me?’
Grace rolled her eyes. ‘Err, duh, of course. He always told us he wasn’t going to settle down so there was no point in us meeting any of his girlfriends. Then you come along and I get Mia this, Mia that. And then he’s asking if I’ll come to a picnic with you and your family. Like, double whammy.’ Grace’s smile faded. ‘Will you tell Dad about the binoculars, about Mum spying?’
Mia rose to her feet and gave Grace a hug. ‘That’s not my tale to tell. The only thing I’m going to say to your dad is something I should have told him weeks ago.’ Grace looked at her questioningly, and Mia laughed. ‘You’ve got a key to his flat. I’m sure he won’t mind you taking a look at the message I’m going to leave him in my window.’
The bar had gone crazy. Luke felt his work life and his love life going in two diametrically opposite directions. The bar was taking off, just as his love life was heading down the toilet.
He slammed the till drawer shut and Phil, coerced into helping once he and Mateo had started to struggle, winced. ‘Abusing the bar furniture, or the staff, I might add, isn’t going to help.’
‘No, but it makes me feel better.’ His heart leapt as another customer walked through the door. Then took a nose dive as yet again it wasn’t a gorgeous pink blonde he wanted to spend the rest of his life looking at. And touching. And, damn it, talking to.
Mr Right Across the Street: The perfect escape for lockdown and from one flat to another share in the most feel good romantic comedy of 2021! (The Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection, Book 4) Page 29