Chapter Thirty-Seven
Mia spent a good portion of Saturday working. What with the afternoon out at the indoor skydiving – God, that seemed a long time ago – and the fact that her head hadn’t been in the game ever since, she had a lot to catch up on.
But by six she was done, and her heart just wasn’t in it to work on her book.
Stretching, she stared over at Luke’s window. The sign he’d left her was still there, and once again she felt that tight feeling in her chest, her heart hurting as she remembered his words from yesterday. The pain in his voice.
What had Stan said? She’s trying to drive a wedge between the pair of you, and you’re letting her.
Freya was a lawyer, good with words, good at persuading a person to her point of view. But it was Luke’s words, Luke’s perspective that was the only one that mattered.
Her phone buzzed with a call.
‘Grace.’ Glad of the distraction, Mia stood and wandered into the living room. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘Is it okay if I come round?’
On the few occasions Mia had helped Grace with her homework, it had always been on Grace’s turf. ‘Of course, or I can come to you if you prefer.’
‘No.’ The word shot out like a bullet. ‘It’s better if I come to you.’
After giving her the flat number, Mia ended the call with a nudge of unease. It didn’t sound like everything was okay, but maybe that was just teenagers, making a drama out of nothing.
Five minutes later, Grace was sat on her sofa and looking on edge.
Mia perched on the coffee table and squeezed Grace’s hand. ‘Whatever it is that’s bothering you, I’m here if you want to talk, but if you don’t, that’s okay, too. I can put on the telly, we can fire up the PlayStation—’
‘I need to tell you something.’ She drew back her hand and twisted it in her lap in an agitated gesture. ‘I don’t want to get Mum in trouble but if I don’t say this, it might hurt Dad.’
‘Okay.’ Sensing Grace needed space, Mia went to sit on the armchair opposite. ‘Whatever you have to tell me can stay between us.’
Grace nodded. ‘Please.’ Then she rubbed her hands down her face and drew in a deep breath. ‘Mum can see the messages you post to Dad.’
Mia rocked back in surprise. ‘Well, I don’t suppose that matters.’
Grace jiggled her legs up and down restlessly. ‘But it does. I only found out yesterday ’cos it was so crazy that she asked Dad to take me to school instead of me getting the bus. I went into her office to see if there was anything in her diary about a meeting and there wasn’t. That’s when I saw the binoculars on her desk.’ Grace glanced around the room. ‘God, this sounds so bad. Mum isn’t really like this. I know she’s been dead mean to you but that’s not her. She’s not as friendly as Dad, but she’s not a bitch, you know?’
‘I do know.’ Mia’s mind was stuck on the binoculars. ‘She’s played a huge part in raising you, she’s part of you. She must be an amazing person.’ The words were true, so all Mia had to work out was why Freya had been so mean to her.
And really, it was quite obvious.
‘You think your mum is still in love with your dad?’ she said quietly. ‘That’s why she doesn’t like me?’
Grace shook her head. ‘I thought that at first, but then I asked her why she was spying on your room. She denied she was at first, but I said I’d seen the binoculars, I knew she’d seen the message about you meeting Dad, and that must be why she’d got him out of the way.’
Wow. Mia’s heart began a slow thump. It would explain the leaking tap, too. Freya had seen Mia’s messages and decided to meddle.
‘She looked dead scared when I said that.’ Grace’s voice started to wobble. ‘I mean like she was proper horrified that I’d sussed her out. Then she stared to cry and tell me she was sorry. It wasn’t like she loved Dad, she said, not in the way he loved you. It was just she’d got used to him being there for her and now she was scared you’d take him away from us.’
‘Oh God Grace, I wouldn’t.’ Mia leapt to her feet and crouched in front of Grace. ‘He loves you so much. Why would I want to take him away from people he loves?’
‘That’s what I said to her.’ Finally, finally, Grace met her gaze. ‘I said you were dead lovely and you’d never make Dad choose between us.’ She gave Mia a tentative smile. ‘I also told her you were smart, like she was, so the pair of you were bound to sort it all out.’
‘We will.’ It felt like a weight had lifted off Mia’s shoulders. ‘Did your mum really say she thought your dad loved me?’
Grace rolled her eyes. ‘Err, duh, of course. He always told us he wasn’t going to settle down so there was no point in us meeting any of his girlfriends. Then you come along and I get Mia this, Mia that. And then he’s asking if I’ll come to a picnic with you and your family. Like, double whammy.’ Grace’s smile faded. ‘Will you tell Dad about the binoculars, about Mum spying?’
Mia rose to her feet and gave Grace a hug. ‘That’s not my tale to tell. The only thing I’m going to say to your dad is something I should have told him weeks ago.’ Grace looked at her questioningly, and Mia laughed. ‘You’ve got a key to his flat. I’m sure he won’t mind you taking a look at the message I’m going to leave him in my window.’
The bar had gone crazy. Luke felt his work life and his love life going in two diametrically opposite directions. The bar was taking off, just as his love life was heading down the toilet.
He slammed the till drawer shut and Phil, coerced into helping once he and Mateo had started to struggle, winced. ‘Abusing the bar furniture, or the staff, I might add, isn’t going to help.’
‘No, but it makes me feel better.’ His heart leapt as another customer walked through the door. Then took a nose dive as yet again it wasn’t a gorgeous pink blonde he wanted to spend the rest of his life looking at. And touching. And, damn it, talking to.
Phil gave him a nudge. ‘Will you just bloody relax or you’ll scare off the customers.’
He grunted and gave Phil’s shirt – black with vibrant pink flamingos – a cursory glance. ‘I’m not the scary-looking one here.’
‘Hey, this is my going-out shirt.’ He smoothed a hand down the front. ‘In case you forgot, I wasn’t expecting to work tonight. I was expecting to take my wife out to dinner.’
Luke raised a brow. ‘And Janet’s good with that look?’
Phil screwed up his face. ‘Not exactly. She told me to change out of the shirt I’d planned to wear with her because you don’t want to get it ruined. With such little advance warning,’ he added pointedly, ‘I couldn’t immediately locate my bar shirt so Janet found this. Apparently getting cocktails sloshed down it would be an improvement.’
‘She’s not wrong. And I might help that along if you don’t stop looking at me like that.’
‘Like what?’