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.