He let out a huff of laughter. ‘Yeah, I should have got a gerbil. Less poo, less gnawed wires. Shorter lifespan. Grace was supposed to feed her and clean her cage out but the shine soon wore off.’ The memory prompted another thought. ‘By the way, Freya doesn’t have a key to my place, Grace does. Freya must have gone into Grace’s room to get it. God knows why. She hasn’t done it before.’
Mia frowned. ‘You said you’ve not invited a woman here before?’
‘I haven’t.’
‘Then maybe she heard me and came round to suss me out.’
The idea made him laugh. ‘If she did, it was only because she’s chronically nosey. Trust me, our relationship was pretty much over as soon as Grace was born.’
When Freya had texted him to say he had a daughter – she’d not wanted him there at the birth – he’d rushed to the hospital, a small diamond ring burning a hole in his pocket; the sum total of all his savings. Dumb as shit, he’d gone down on one knee and proposed. Freya had taken one look and shaken her head. ‘Grow up, Luke. I don’t need a crappy ring. Get your money back and spend it on something useful, like nappies and baby grows.’
She’d had a point, but he’d never felt more stupid, more hurt, more unwanted than he had in that moment.
‘Hello missy. I wondered where you were.’ Mia’s voice cut through his dismal thoughts and he looked over to see Pickles sniffing her Converse trainers.
‘See, I told you she likes you. Sniffing feet is like a hug in bunny language.’
Mia’s laugh – the first one he’d heard today – bounced around the room. ‘You’re so full of shit, Luke Doyle.’
His head filled with the things he wanted to say. Where does this leave us? Are we still friends, at least? Can we still go on non-dates? Will you let me introduce you to Grace?
Before he could say any of them, Mia crouched in front of him and kissed his cheek. ‘Thanks for telling me about your daughter. I’d love to meet her.’
Reeling from the unexpected gesture, it was a moment before he could speak, and even then the words came out hoarse. ‘That’s great. Really, really great.’
‘I’ll see you on Wednesday for your inaugural Cocktails 4 U evening. Such a great idea, I wonder who thought of it?’ Smiling, she walked to the door but as she opened it, she glanced back at him. ‘Oh and Luke, you’re an important part of my life, too.’
She left before he could reply.
Immediately Pickles jumped up into his lap and as he fondled her ears, a grin split his face. ‘You know what, there’s a chance you might have to get used to sharing me. If I don’t balls things up.’
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mia finished the website for the bar on Tuesday, much to Sandy’s delight.
When she emailed her the link, Sandy immediately fired back a reply with the heading OMG IT’S AWESOME. In the content of the email were rows and rows of happy emojis.
Wednesday, Mia woke to a message in Luke’s window.
U R my
* * *
Fav Nerd
* * *
TYVM
Considering the tentative stage their relationship was in – friends teetering on the verge of something – the message had held just the right amount of touching humour to cause Mia’s chest to ache.
The man was a dad. As she waited outside Stan’s door later that evening, Mia mulled over the concept again. It explained some things she’d wondered about. Why he’d gone into bartending and not into further education. Why he had a rabbit. Yet there was still a major part of him that confused her. How did an eighteen-year-old who’d been prepared to settle down and marry, turn into an adult who treated women, and sex, so casually?
She couldn’t square the two sides of him.
‘Earth calling Mia.’
Stan’s voice broke through her muddled thoughts. ‘Sorry, I was miles away.’
‘I doubt it,’ he replied dryly. ‘I’m guessing you were downstairs in that bar we’re supposed to be heading to. That’s if you stop mooning about the owner for long enough to check you’ve got your purse, or whatever it is you need to buy me a cocktail.’
‘I thought you were buying me one tonight?’
‘You invited me.’ He gave her a cheeky smile as he pulled his door shut. ‘I’m getting used to the idea of you buying me drinks.’
‘How come you never invite me out?’
Now his smile was more of a smirk. ‘I don’t need an excuse to see the bar owner.’
‘It’s the first of Luke’s design-a-cocktail evenings,’ she explained patiently as they headed to the stairs. ‘We’re going to show our support.’
‘Aye, whatever you tell yourself is alright with me. As long as I get a free drink out of it.’
Laughing, she looped her arm through his. ‘We won’t be the only locals there.’ She paused to make sure she had his attention. ‘Naomi’s going.’
He came to an abrupt halt. ‘Bloody hell woman, why didn’t you say?’ His eyes travelled down his straining shirt. ‘Do I look alright? Did I comb my hair?’
She’d never seen him so unbalanced. It was beyond sweet. ‘You look just fine, Stan. I’d have said if you didn’t.’
‘Right, good.’ He gathered himself and started to walk again. ‘So what’s the score with you and the Chipmunk? Slept with him yet?’
Mia spluttered with laughter. ‘Are you sure you want to get so personal? You know you’ll have to answer the same questions if we do.’
He hesitated. ‘Fine. Are you still doing the mating dance, or have you got stuck in?’
‘That is not an improvement, and just so you know, I can’t wait to get my own back and interrogate you. But okay, if we’re doing this level of sharing, Luke and I have kissed. And he’s told me he’s a dad.’
‘Is he now?’ Stan’s bushy eyebrows shot up. ‘By heck, who’d have thought. Not surprising though, if you think how much … you know … diddling about he’s been doing.’
She smiled at the phrase, but the words struck a sad note, reminding her why Luke had been so hesitant to tell her about Grace. There was still the big issue of whether she could ever really trust him enough to be more than friends. She didn’t think he’d cheat on her – his loyalty to Bill indicated he wasn’t the type. It was more whether she could trust his feelings. He said she was important to him, but how long before he got bored?
‘Sorry,’ Stan said gruffly, giving her an apologetic look. ‘Ignore the mutterings of a jealous old man. If you like him, go for it, or before you know it you’ll get to my age and find you’re as grumpy as me.’
‘I told you, you’re not grumpy, you’ve got a dry sense of humour.’ She gave his side a nudge. ‘Naomi likes that in a man.’
He huffed. ‘You’re changing the subject.’
‘Only because I know you’re right, and it scares the shit out me.’ More suitable guys, at least on paper, had let her down, so she knew nothing was certain in life. Did she want to risk her heart for the chance of something potentially great? Or was she better keeping things as they were with Luke and throwing herself into a new independent life up here?