Mr Right Across the Street

by Kathryn Freeman

  ‘Okay, okay, next weekend. Great.’

  ‘And if I’d meant this weekend?’

  ‘I might have a thing on Saturday.’ Mia screwed up her face, waiting for the onslaught of questions. Being evasive with Elle never worked, but she couldn’t help it. Since the kiss, planning to see Luke no longer sounded innocent.

  ‘A thing? You mean a date?’

  ‘No.’ It certainly wasn’t that, because they wouldn’t be alone. It was just that what he’d invited her to seemed more coupley – was that a word? – than a non-date.

  Elle huffed. ‘God, come on Mia. I’ve got a saggy middle, leaking breasts, bags under my eyes from getting up seventy thousand times a night – only a slight exaggeration. All I do all day is feed, burp and wipe up poo. Throw me a bone. I need to live through you now.’

  ‘The feeding, burping and poo – is that you or the kids?’

  ‘Ha bloody ha. Gossip, Mia. That’s what I need.’ Her voice lowered. ‘Please tell me you’re shagging the man with the muscles.’

  Mia groaned. ‘Of course I’m not. Friends don’t shag.’ They don’t kiss like they did the other day, either. ‘Luke invited his brother and a few friends out for lunch on Saturday.’

  There was a pause down the line before Elle’s voice came back. ‘You’re going to lunch with Luke’s brother. And Luke’s friends.’

  Mia swallowed, knowing very well what her sister was thinking. ‘Yes.’

  ‘So you’re doing the girlfriend thing, meeting his family and friends.’

  ‘No, absolutely not.’ But God, that was exactly what she’d thought when Luke had asked her after their kiss on Saturday night. Just before she’d fled to her flat. ‘He’s introducing me to some more locals. I thought you and Mum would be happy with that.’

  ‘Oh we are.’ Mia knew from her voice that Elle was grinning. ‘We’ll be even happier when you reciprocate and introduce Luke to your family next weekend.’

  Mia raised her eyes to the ceiling. How had she walked into that one so easily? ‘Come on Elle, I’m only meeting his brother.’

  ‘As your sister, I’m only asking for the same courtesy. Plus Mum and Dad, obviously, or they’ll whine something rotten.’

  It was easier to agree, or at least to pretend to agree. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ Which had to be nothing, because introducing him to her parents wasn’t just dipping into girlfriend/boyfriend status. It was diving straight into it.

  Saturday came around way too fast. All of a sudden, Mia was scrabbling in her wardrobe trying to find something to wear.

  And God, this woman yanking clothes out and throwing them onto her bed Was Not Her. Since when did she care what people thought of her? If people didn’t like what they saw, it didn’t matter because they weren’t her sort of people. Yet here she was, dithering about putting on a dress, yep, a flaming dress. She couldn’t blame it on the venue either. Not after she’d messaged him last night:

  Dress Code?

  He’d messaged back:

  You do code

  * * *

  I do cocktails

  Okay, it had been witty, but it hadn’t helped. Neither had his second message, added a few seconds later:

  Casual

  * * *

  Do I get to see

  * * *

  your legs?

  Her usual self would have ignored his comment, but this giddy one had shaved her legs in the shower. And was now looking at her two summer dresses.

  It was hot, she reasoned. A dress would be more comfortable than jeans or leggings. Taking a quick photo of them both, she sent it to Gill and Heather in their group chat.

  Going to meet Luke’s brother and his friends. Which one? M x

  Immediately Heather pinged back a message:

  Still just friends?!?!?!??!?! Yellow, but you need to phone us. We need details H x

  A second letter Gill sent one:

  It’s a yellow from me 2. But OMG, fill us in ASAP G x

  With a wry smile to herself, Mia slipped the yellow one on.

  And tried not to blush when Luke’s eyes widened with delight as she walked up to him in the car park.

  ‘Good God, Mia.’ Resting against the TVR, legs crossed casually at his ankles, his gaze ran up and down her body. ‘You don’t just have legs. You have bloody gorgeous legs.’

  She glanced down, feeling oddly shy. ‘I don’t know what to say to that.’

  ‘How about, Luke, I promise to always wear a dress for my dates with you from now on?’

  The appreciative way he looked at her, the flirty tone, the heat she could see banked in his eyes. It all left her flustered. ‘Non-dates.’

  A flicker of disappointment crossed his face but he didn’t comment. Instead he held the door open for her.

  She’d been so focused on trying not to look at him, so he wouldn’t see how nervous she felt, it was only now she noticed what he was wearing. A white T-shirt that moulded to his impressive chest and cargo shorts that revealed he worked out every bit as hard on his lower body, as he did on his upper.

  They were man’s legs. Dusted with dark hair, bunching with muscles.

  ‘You have legs too, I see,’ she commented as she climbed into the low-slung TVR. Not easy with a flipping dress on.

  He slid her a smile. ‘Not as sexy as yours.’

  Not from where I’m sitting. She swallowed the words, reminding herself of the dangers of giving out mixed messages. So why did you ask him to kiss you?

  God, she really was making a mess of this. It was a wonder he still wanted to talk to her. ‘I don’t believe you can judge your own legs.’ Before he asked her to judge his, she added, ‘So, where are we heading and who’s going to be there?’

  His glance told her he knew she’d deliberately changed the subject. ‘We’re meeting the gang at Altrincham market. It was given an overhaul a few years ago – it’s now one of the trendy places to head outside the city. It’s got artisan food traders selling local produce, plus lots of craft stalls.’ He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I figured you might enjoy it.’

  Her pulse sped up a gear. ‘Hang on, we’re heading there for me?’

  He pulled up to a traffic light and looked over at her. ‘Is there something wrong?’

  ‘No, it’s just, well I thought you’d planned to see your friends anyway, and I was just tagging along.’

  His green eyes were steady on hers. ‘I wanted you to meet my friends. This way you can also cross another item off your list.’

  Panic bubbled but she tried to squash it. It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend. If his friends didn’t like her, it didn’t matter.

  Except he’d specifically arranged today so they could meet her. And she really, really wanted them to like her, because she really, really liked Luke.

  As if he could see her mind racing, he touched her cheek. ‘Don’t overthink this. I thought you might like to meet some more locals, that’s all.’ He gave her a small smile just as the lights turned green. ‘People who don’t live in the same block of flats, or frequent the same bar.’

  The panic receded. She was getting ahead of herself. They’d kissed, he wanted more, but only sex more. Not relationship more. And like it or not, she was a relationship kind of girl. ‘These people, are they as crazy as you are?’

  His laughter filled the car, erasing the knots of tension. ‘My brother’s wife, Janet, is sane. Phil is bordering on sane. Jim, Sandy’s husband, is a saint, which of course he has to be, to put up with her. As for Gary and Tony, they’re both single so they’ll probably try and flirt with you.’

  ‘Are they as good at it as you?’

  His expression was enigmatic as he glanced briefly in her direction. ‘I’ll leave you to judge.’

  Luke rested his arm along the back of Mia’s chair, the gesture both protective and proprietorial. As he’d suspected, Gary and Tony were all over her, partly because she was uniquely attractive and razor-sharp funny. Partly because they were the biggest flirts out. And y
es, it hadn’t escaped his notice that she’d said he was good at flirting, which he knew wasn’t a compliment. The thing is, he wasn’t a natural flirt, as any of the friends around the table could testify. His skill, if he could call it that, was being able to talk to people, put them at their ease, and when it came to his customers, to make them feel important. Flirting was different. It was compliments, cheeky innuendo, smiling into the other person’s eyes, all done because you fancied the pants off them. It was why he’d flirted with Mia when she’d first walked into the bar, but it didn’t mean he did it with every woman he served.

  And he sure as hell hadn’t done any flirting with anyone else since he’d met Mia.

  ‘Luke took you to Old Trafford?’ Tony burst out laughing. ‘Christ, he’s seriously losing his touch.’ His so-called friend spoke to Mia as if Luke wasn’t within earshot, sitting just the other side of her. ‘If you want a proper tour of the Mancunian highlights love, just say the word. I even work civilised hours.’

  ‘What Tony’s not telling you is he’s a Blues fan,’ Luke interrupted. ‘First place he’ll take you is the Etihad.’

  Tony scoffed. ‘I’ve more class than that.’ He winked at Mia. ‘We’ll head for a Maccy D’s first.’

  ‘Aye, and the guy’s so tight he’ll probably make you pay,’ added Phil, earning a big brownie point from Luke.

  ‘It’s clear Mia needs a man with more class than you lot.’ Gary flashed her a cheesy grin. ‘I won’t take you to footie stadiums, I’ll wine and dine you. Dinner and jazz, dancing and cocktails.’

  Mia laughed. ‘I’m very … sorry, I’m dead grateful for the offers.’ She turned to Luke, eyes amused, her smile sweet. ‘But Luke’s been a good tour guide so far. It seems wrong to sack him just yet.’ She turned back to Gary. ‘He’s already taken me dancing, and as for cocktails, he didn’t just buy me one. He concocted the Blue Mia especially for me.’

  Phil glanced at him and groaned. ‘Mia, please, for all our sakes, stop flattering him. He’s already looking obscenely smug.’

  ‘Oh, he was rubbish at the donut racing and his knowledge of art is worse than mine, but cocktails, he’s a genius at.’ She smiled and gave Luke a brief sideways glance. ‘I was thinking, he should offer to make individual cocktails up at the bar. People would really go for that.’

  ‘You think so?’ Though he was flattered, Luke couldn’t see why someone would choose to drink a ropey cocktail a barman had thrown together instead of a tried and tested classic.

  But Phil was looking animated. ‘Bloody hell Mia, that’s a genius idea. And frankly, with things as they are, anything is worth a try right now.’

  Shit no. Luke’s stomached dropped. He didn’t want the conversation going down that route. He gave his brother a shut the fuck up glare.

  ‘We could advertise it as a special service for midweek when business is really slow. Maybe charge a premium for it.’ Uncaring or oblivious, Phil carried on talking. ‘I mean, it’s not going to make up the shortfall, but it could prop things up a bit.’

  Luke groaned, briefly slamming his eyes shut and silently counting to ten. He wasn’t bothered about the guys hearing Phil’s verbal diarrhoea; they knew about the issues with the bar. It was Mia who didn’t know. Mia, who was giving him a confused, wide-eyed look that clearly conveyed she felt she was missing an important part of a puzzle.

  ‘I think you’ve put your rather large feet in it, dear,’ Janet said to her husband, giving Luke a sympathetic glance.

  Phil winced. ‘Sorry mate, didn’t realise it was a secret.’

  ‘It’s not.’ But it wasn’t something he wanted to shout about, either. Especially not to the woman he was trying to prove himself to. Hey Mia, I might have been seeing two women when you met me but I promise I’m not a womaniser. Oh and I might have bought a bar without checking out the accounts properly, even though my brother is a flaming accountant, but I promise I’m not stupid.

  She was still looking at him, huge question marks in her eyes.

  ‘I’ll tell you later, okay?’ Her answering smile appeared forced, as if she thought he was fobbing her off. As the others started talking about something else, he whispered. ‘If you come to the bar tonight we can talk after I’ve closed up. If you’re still interested.’

  ‘Okay.’ Her gaze searched his, a hint of … hurt? Disappointment? ‘And of course I’m interested. We’re friends, remember? If there’s anything I can do to help, I want to know.’

  Touched, he reached for hand, tightening his fingers around it. ‘You’re already making a website for me. That’s huge, trust me.’

  ‘Good.’ Her eyes were fixed on his. ‘But if there’s anything else you think I can help with, you’ll let me know, yes?’

  He was tempted to tell her she could sit on his lap and kiss him again, like she had the Saturday before. Let him lose himself in her for a while. And maybe his expression said it for him, because her cheeks turned pink. But she didn’t look away. He cleared his throat. ‘Deal.’

  All too soon Tony snared Mia’s attention again and Luke settled back in his chair as his friend moved the conversation on to where she’d gone to university, and why Manchester uni was better than Bath. Mia argued vigorously against his assertion and soon everyone was piling in with their own uni tales. It wasn’t a discussion he could join in with, but instead of feeling left out, he found he was happy just to watch and listen. Content with the knowledge that tonight, he’d have her undivided attention again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mia felt a sense of heavy anticipation as the last of the customers meandered out of the bar.

  Just Bill to go, and then she’d be alone with Luke again. Her belly fluttered as she remembered what had happened the last time she’d stayed behind after the bar had closed.

  Bill walked past her, picking up stray glasses. ‘Waiting on our Luke are you?’

  He gave her a teasing smile and Mia laughed. ‘I’m hoping he’ll wait on me.’

  ‘And so he should, lovely lass like you.’

  ‘Hey, Bill, hands off. You’re too old for her,’ Luke shouted from where he was rinsing out glasses.

  ‘Maybe she likes older men.’

  Luke pointed to Bill’s rounded stomach. ‘And overweight older men?’

  ‘Some women go for the teddy-bear look.’ Bill waggled his brows at her. ‘What do you reckon?’

  What Mia reckoned, was she’d never felt more attractive, had such a fuss made over her, than she had today. First Luke’s friends, now Bill, all sweetly flirting with her. It said a lot about Luke that the people in his close circle were so friendly, so warm and welcoming, to a virtual stranger.

  Luke put his arm round Bill’s shoulders and tugged him towards the door. ‘Come on old man, time to get you home. Pamela will be wondering where you are.’

  ‘Shh, keep your voice down,’ Bill said in an exaggerated whisper. ‘I think I might have pulled that lovely lass back there with the blue hair.’

  As Luke turned and gave her a sweetly exasperated glance, Mia burst out laughing. She’d heard Luke talk about Bill, about how he’d taught him everything he knew about running a bar, and the affection he had for the older man was obvious.

  ‘Make sure you don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ Bill crooned as Luke waved him out. ‘Leaves you plenty of scope, mind. Or it would have, in my day. The hips are a bit stiff now, and the ticker not as good as it was. Still, a little blue pill and—’

  ‘Goodnight, Bill,’ Luke interrupted firmly. ‘I messaged Pamela to say you’re on your way, so no dawdling.’

  Bill touched his hand to his forehead in a salute, then gave Mia a final wave before heading off.

  ‘Crazy old man,’ Luke muttered as he locked the door.

  ‘Yeah, but you love him.’

  Luke laughed softly, shaking his head. ‘Yeah, I suppose I do. He’s been a hell of a lot more of a father to me than my own, that’s for certain.’

  Mia raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re not clo
se to your dad?’

  He shrugged his powerful shoulders and she tried not to stare as the muscles flexed beneath his tight polo shirt. ‘Not particularly close to either of my parents. Phil still keeps in contact but I was always, well, a bit of a disappointment, I guess.’ He pulled a stern face, the next words clearly mimicking his father. ‘Doyles are professionals. Not barmen.’

  ‘Being a bartender is a profession,’ Mia argued, annoyed for him. ‘And now you’re a business owner.’

  ‘Yes.’ The single word was delivered in a heavy tone, and Mia knew they were about to touch on the subject he’d not wanted her to know about. As his eyes found hers, she saw frustration and sadness. ‘Do you mind if we have the conversation I think we’re about to have, back at my place?’

  His place. So far they’d not been to each other’s flats. He’d offered to walk her back last week but she’d declined, worried that if he kissed her goodnight outside her door, she’d invite him in.

  Now the worry returned, yet the flash of heat across her skin, the flutter in her belly … they were down to something else entirely. She wanted to see his private space. Wanted whatever might happen there, despite the fear that the promise she’d made to herself not to dive into another relationship, was looking shaky.

  ‘Mia?’ His concerned gaze found hers. ‘You do know I’m not planning some grand seduction? That I’ve not put black silk sheets on the bed? Hell, I’ve not even changed the sheets, so you’re quite safe, because no way does Luke Doyle tempt a woman into his bed if his sheets aren’t clean.’

  She laughed at his silliness, but the flat green of his eyes told her he was upset. Hurt, no doubt, at what he believed her silence implied. That she didn’t trust him. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to go quiet on you.’ She rose to her feet. ‘I’d like to see your place.’ Walking up to him, she gave his arm a nudge. ‘See the famous weight room where you post your messages.’