Not going to happen.
‘What’s your name?’
‘Pete. Pete Michaels.’
Luke nodded, wiping a non-existent mark on the glass while he fought the desire to reach across the bar and grab the guy by the lapels of his fancy jacket. ‘Well then Pete, you’re right, Mia does come to this bar.’ He stared straight into Pete’s light-coloured eyes. ‘She’s my girlfriend.’
Pete blinked, rocking back on his heels. ‘Oh, right.’ Luke watched as he visibly swallowed. ‘Congratulations.’
Luke inclined his head but kept quiet.
‘I don’t suppose you could tell me where she lives now though? Just so I can say hi.’ He lifted his shoulders. ‘You know, for old time’s sake?’
And how galling, how humiliating, that this prick hadn’t just once been Mia’s ex, he’d slept with her in her house, in her bed, called her on her phone. Whereas Luke hadn’t been able to do any of that, despite how close he’d felt to her since meeting her family. ‘You think Mia would want to see you land on her doorstep?’
Ha, that got the bastard flinching. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Well I do.’ Signalling to Mateo that he was going to be a minute, Luke brusquely told Pete to follow him. When they entered the office, he shut the door and stood nose to nose with him. ‘Mia came up here to escape you, you snivelling bastard, so you’d be about as welcome on her doormat as a dog turd.’
Pete stepped backwards. ‘Whoa, no need to be aggressive. I only wanted to say hello to her.’
Luke took another step forward, needing to impress on Pete his superior height, his bulk. The uselessness of a slick leather jacket when it came to a show of brawn. ‘If she’d wanted to hear from you, she’d not have changed her phone number.’ He lowered his voice, letting his anger show. Anger at the git for upsetting Mia, hurting her so much she was now wary of letting Luke in. ‘Think you’re a big man, do you, harassing a woman?’
‘I didn’t harass her.’ Luke noticed Pete was no longer able to look him in the eye.
‘Maybe in your mind you didn’t, but let me make it plain. Try to see her again, try to contact her, and you’ll know exactly how it feels to be hounded, to be fearful. To be scared of what the other person might do to you.’ He felt a dart of satisfaction when he saw the fear enter Pete’s eyes. ‘Are we clear?’
Pete opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came. Then he coughed and tried again. ‘We’re clear.’
As Luke watched Mia’s ex walk out of the bar a few moments later, he wondered what Mia had ever seen in the guy. Then he realised he should be wondering what she saw in him, because Pete, with his trappings of wealth, his cultured accent, his air of entitlement, was one hell of a long way from a guy who spent his days working in a bar.
Mia rolled her shoulders and looked at her watch. Nine o’clock – time to hit the bar. She’d promised Luke she’d head over there once she’d written her target 3,000 words for the day. She could have done more, but she’d woken in his bed this morning and not wanted to leave. It was only when he’d headed to work that she’d finally made it back to her flat. Heat flashed through her as she remembered how they’d spent the time. Yep, totally worth it.
As she closed the door to the flat, her phone pinged with a message from her sister.
Advance warning, Mum is muttering about inviting you and Luke down for her birthday. E xx
Mia sighed. It was great that her mum was taken with Luke – such a handsome lad, so sweet with Caitlin and so easy to talk to, not like that last one. Still, Mia was worried she seemed to be racing forward at a million miles an hour while Mia, many times burned, was desperate to take things slow. Feeling a little panicked, she fired off a quick reply to Elle:
Remind Mum of my track record for picking men. That should make her pause. M x
It was only as she pressed send that Mia realised she hadn’t picked Luke. In fact she’d tried her hardest not to. So maybe this time it really would be okay. Maybe this time she could let her heart do what it so badly longed to do, and open up to him fully.
She heard the hum from the bar as she rounded the corner. It was a mild September evening and many people were sitting outside. Mia strolled past them, waving to a few of the regulars she’d got to know over the last few months of coming here.
Speaking of regulars, Tanya was standing at the bar. She’d not spoken to her since she and Luke had started sleeping together. Crap, what did you say to your boyfriend’s most recent ex? Or maybe you didn’t say anything. Maybe you just turned around and hot-footed it out…
Mia squared her shoulders and eased into the space next to Tanya. ‘Hi.’
Tanya turned and smiled. ‘Hi yourself. We didn’t realise you were here.’
‘I’ve only just arrived.’
‘Oh, right. Are you going to come and join us?’ Tanya paused and glanced at the other end of the bar where Luke was busy shaking cocktails. ‘Or maybe you’re here for another reason.’
Shit, she really wasn’t good in these situations. ‘I’d love to come and join you guys.’ She hesitated. ‘After I’ve said hi to Luke.’
Tanya’s eyes searched hers. ‘So you and Luke really are a thing now? We watched you both at the Cocktails 4 U bash. It was obvious you couldn’t keep your eyes off each other.’
‘At the time we were only friends,’ Mia stated quietly. ‘That was the night things changed.’
Tanya nodded, eyes on the empty glasses in front of her. ‘When we broke up, Luke told me he didn’t want to see me anymore because his head was full of another woman. I thought it was Chloe.’ She turned to look at Mia. ‘Turns out it was you.’
God, this was hard. She liked Tanya, the others too. Different to her, but they’d taken her under their wing anyway. ‘I didn’t think it was me. Not then. But the more we saw each other as friends, the closer we got.’
Tanya smiled. ‘And you finally realised how hot he was, huh?’
Relieved at the easing of tension, Mia laughed. ‘I always knew he was hot, but that’s not the type I usually go for. Or the type that goes for me.’
Tanya sighed. ‘Well maybe you did it right, being mates first. I mean looks are great, and so is sex, but there has to be more if it’s really going to work.’ Her eyes drifted over to Luke. ‘I wanted it to work with him, but I always knew it wasn’t what he wanted.’
Her heart ached for the gorgeous woman who looked uncharacteristically lost right now. ‘You deserve more from a guy than just sex, Tanya.’
She gave Mia a wry smile. ‘That’s what he said, too.’ Her arm nudged Mia’s. ‘He’s a good guy, but you’re cool, too. I hope it works out for you both.’
A lump rose in Mia’s throat and she squeezed Tanya’s hand. ‘Thank you.’
The moment was broken by a well-spoken voice behind them. ‘Fancy seeing you two here.’ Mia turned sharply to find Freya. Perfectly put together Freya; hair down in glossy waves, make-up discreet, black flared trousers that showed off her slim figure and looked effortlessly classy.