Fifty minutes later he’d just got out of the shower when he heard a knock on the door. And Freya walked in. ‘Only me.’
He swore as he grabbed at a towel. ‘I thought we agreed, no using the key unless it’s an emergency.’
‘It is.’ She appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, her slender figure squeezed into a slim-line skirt and bright red blouse. A mile away from Mia’s casual approach to dressing. Her eyes flickered to the towel he was clutching round his waist. ‘No need to be shy on my account. I’ve seen it all before, remember?’
‘It’s been a while,’ he muttered, feeling uncomfortable.
‘Sure.’ Her eyes ran over his chest. ‘Though not as long as Mia thinks, I suspect.’
Anger spiked. ‘Keep Mia out of this. And speaking of keeping out, get out of my bedroom, out of my flat.’
‘Hey, no need to be tetchy. I came to ask if you’d come and sort the kitchen sink. It’s leaking all over the floor.’
‘Fine. I’ll be over later.’
Freya cleared her throat. ‘Did you hear the part about it causing great puddles of water—’
‘Fine,’ he interrupted sharply. ‘Let me put some clothes on.’
She smiled. ‘Again, no need to worry on my account. I’ll leave the door open.’
‘Freya,’ he warned, but she wasn’t listening. He swore she swayed her hips as she walked back along the corridor.
He glanced at his watch and grimaced. Damn it, five past eleven. Mia would be at Naomi’s by now. Reaching for his phone he called her number, swearing when it went into voicemail.
After yanking on his jeans, he pulled a long-sleeved T-shirt over his head and grabbed his tool box.
‘I’ll be back in a jiffy,’ he told Freya, dumping the tool box on the floor next to the dodgy sink.
‘What? Wait, where are you going?’
‘I’m supposed to be meeting Mia at Naomi’s for coffee. I can’t catch her on the phone so I’ve got to pop down and see her.’
Freya placed a hand on his arm. ‘Why don’t I go and let her know you’ll be late, while you fix the sink? That way you’ll still get your coffee.’
It felt wrong, his ex sending apologies to his girlfriend on his behalf, but it would save time. ‘Okay. Tell her I’ll be fifteen mins, max.’
As Freya strode off, he reluctantly wedged himself underneath the sink. If the waste pipe needed more than a quick tighten he was going to call a bloody plumber.
He’d just found the problem, hallelujah, when he heard Freya come back.
‘You find Mia okay?’
‘Of course.’ From his vantage point beneath the sink, he saw Freya’s patent black stilettoes come into view. ‘With her odd-coloured hair, she’s hard to miss.’ There was a beat of silence and when she spoke again, it was so quiet he almost didn’t hear. ‘This one seems important to you.’
‘She is.’ He held his hand out. ‘Pass me the wrench, the large one.’
Freya placed it into his waiting palm. ‘How important?’
‘That’s my business.’ He focused on tightening the joint that had become loose and then scooted out from under the sink. ‘That should do the trick.’
Jamming the torch and wrench back into the tool box, he strode towards the door. As he opened it, he glanced behind him. Freya no longer looked like the in-charge career-driven Freya he’d come to know, but the scared, pregnant eighteen-year-old he’d once loved. It caused him to pause. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. Not really.’ She tried to smile, but it looked off. ‘I guess I never thought this day would come.’
‘What day?’
‘The day you fell in love with another woman.’ She smiled sadly at him. ‘You loved me once.’
‘I did.’ He stared back at her, unsure where she was going with all this. ‘But then you broke my heart.’ Anxious to find Mia, he went to open the door. ‘I’ll catch you later.’
After dumping his tool box back at the flat, he legged it down the stairs.
The door to the café opened and Mia looked up. Then sighed when she saw the mum and her toddler walk in. She went back to staring at her coffee. The talk with Freya had left her unsettled. It wasn’t so much that Luke was apparently fixing his ex’s leaking sink, but that he’d insisted on doing it now, when he was supposed to be meeting her.
Couldn’t it have waited half an hour? And why hadn’t he come down and told her himself?
Mia huffed out a breath and swigged down the last of her coffee.
‘You want another?’ Naomi had left her position behind the counter to slide into the seat opposite.
‘I’m meant to be meeting Luke here, but apparently mending Freya’s sink has trumped me. Or so she was delighted to tell me.’
Naomi let out one of her hearty chuckles. ‘Sounds like you two had another run-in.’
‘No, not exactly.’ Mia fiddled with the teaspoon. ‘But the woman definitely doesn’t like me.’
‘Ah.’
Mia glanced back at Naomi. ‘That sounds like you know something I don’t.’
‘I don’t know, but I’m guessing she feels her nose has been pushed out of joint. Luke’s always been hers, so to speak.’
‘Hers? She turned him down years ago.’
‘Well yes, but it doesn’t mean she isn’t a bit peeved that someone else has come along and taken her place. I mean, he’s had his fun with other women, but none of them have been serious. None have threatened Freya’s hold over him.’
Mia felt her heart jump. ‘You think she still has a hold over him?’
Naomi patted her hand. ‘I think Freya believes that, yes. But anyone who’s seen you and Luke together can tell who has the hold over him now.’
The door jangled and when Mia turned round, she saw Luke stride in. He looked harassed, his chest heaving as if he’d just run here.
His eyes met hers and he visibly sagged. ‘Thank God you’re still here.’ Walking over to them, he smiled at Naomi. ‘Excuse me while I kiss the living daylights out of my girlfriend and then grovel at her feet.’
Naomi boomed out a laugh and eased off the chair. ‘I’d grovel first if I were you.’
‘Damn it, yes, great idea.’
Much to Mia’s embarrassment, as Naomi walked away, Luke knelt on the floor and looked at her solemnly. ‘I’m really bloody sorry for being late.’
Mia tried to remember she was annoyed. ‘I guess you’re forgiven. Please rise.’
The twinkle returned to his eyes. ‘Does that mean I can proceed to step two?’
She smiled in anticipation. ‘You may.’
It was a few seconds before she felt the touch of his lips against hers. Another few before she realised this wasn’t a quick peck, but a meltingly tender exploration of her mouth with his. ‘I’ve missed you, Babs.’
‘So much so that you prioritised Freya?’ Oops, seems the kiss hadn’t dispelled all her irritation.
Luke heaved out a sigh. ‘What was I supposed to do? Tell her to call a plumber and walk away, leaving her with a pool of water on the floor?’