by Rachel Dove
‘I tell you what, you make it to the bottom, without falling over.’ She blew him a kiss, and off she went. ‘And you’re on! Catch me if you can!’
She could hear Luke whoop for joy halfway down, and she laughed her head off. If her mother could see her now. Tomorrow, after they’d been skiing, and the party hangover was gone, she’d call her mother. And she might even tell her about Luke. Fair’s fair, and a bet was a bet. If she had a boyfriend at the end of this slope, then she should tell her mother. It made a change to say something she might actually be happy to hear.
Slowing at the bottom, she didn’t need to turn around. She could hear him coming. At the top of his lungs, whilst coming to a very awkward and rather lucky stop, he was singing a Pussycat Dolls song, the one about having a hot girlfriend. She pulled her visor up, and looked around as the skiers around clapped and laughed. A couple of people took camera shots, she could see camera phones being taken out, and she looked around, but all she could see were people cheering them on. One of them shouted ‘go Becks’ and Luke came to her side. Rebecca flinched at her name, but tried not to react.
‘Take a bow, Becks.’ He nudged her arm, and she bowed with him, making them clap harder. ‘Come on, let’s go get ready for this baby shower. I have a hankering to decorate a onesie after all that hard work.’
He steered her back towards the café, and they took just a little too long to get ready. It was quite hard to get out of all the gear, after all.
*
‘We are late,’ she whispered to him as they headed to Hans’s place. Luke was about to knock at the door when Holly opened it, looking even bigger on her feet now. She was wearing a loose floaty dress, and she looked amazing. ‘It’s your fault.’
‘Whose fault?’ Holly asked, hearing. ‘This?’ She put her hands around her bump laughing. ‘This is your fault in a way. Who introduced me to Hans in the first place?’
‘You did that?’ Luke looked across at her, astonished. ‘I never knew that.’ He leaned forward, hugging Holly tight to him. ‘You have my sympathy. You do look lovely though. Excited for today?’ She went to take their coats, but Luke waved her off and took both of them to hang on the rail behind them.
Holly squeezed him tight. ‘I am excited! Aww, why didn’t you come over before Luke, I need you here. You’re so polite and lovely, nothing like those two.’
Luke blew on his nails and polished them on his suit lapel. The suit, well. He looked gorgeous in it as usual, his glasses making him look like an extra from Suits. A hot extra.
‘Why, thank you. I had to ski down a mountain to get a nice gesture from Rebecca this morning.’ He prodded Rebecca, who was wearing her Eloise dress, the one with the flowers that she loved. She jabbed him right back with her elbow, balancing the nappy cake in her hands. He took it from her. ‘I’ll take this in, shall I?’
Rebecca glared at him, and he bent down, kissing her like he’d never seen a woman before. A slow, full of promise for later kiss. Pulling away, seeing her lust drunk face, he winked at Holly.
‘She loves me really.’ He headed in and Holly pulled Rebecca in for a hug.
‘I think you do! Look at you!’
‘Shut up, I know Hans has been telling you every little detail.’
‘I know you know. The tag team beating you gave him was a little harsh I thought, but Hans can take it. And I told you so too! Thanks for all this. You shouldn’t have.’
‘Luke helped. He’s a great ribbon curler.’
‘I bet he is,’ Holly smirked, waggling her perfectly shaped brows and giggling.
‘Shut up, or I’ll take my cake back.’
Holly pursed her lips together. It was good cake.
‘Okay, I’ll button it for now. Come see everyone.’
It all looked great, all set out in their home. People were milling around, plates and glasses in hand, having a go at decorating money boxes and making onesies. Luke was sat making one, chatting to others at the table. The women were eating out of the palm of his hand, and he didn’t even realise. Typical Luke. He looked up, winking at Rebecca when he caught her eye. She smirked at him like a schoolgirl.
‘You sure you’re ready for all these people in your house, and tonight?’ she asked her friend. Holly waved her off.
‘Listen, it’s nice to not be stuck on the couch watching Friends reruns on Netflix. I need the company.’
Holly led her over to Luke, saying hello to people as they milled through.
‘Listen, the most interesting thing that’s happened to me since this baby is Luke coming, so having a party to celebrate it all sounds pretty amazing. Ladies, Rebecca’s here!’ Rebecca felt a shove, and she fell forward. Luke caught her and pulled her onto his lap.
‘Like it?’ he said smoothly, showing her his handiwork. On the onesie was the café logo for Alpine Bites. ‘Thought the little bugger should earn its keep early on. Bit of free advertising.’
He flipped the material around. In black writing on the back it read I was conceived here. He put it onto the pile of finished outfits.
‘I’ll let them enjoy that later.’ He wrapped his arms around her, and she kissed him without even thinking about who might see. His eyebrows shot up. ‘Look at you, all nonchalant.’
She kissed him again, and he kissed her back, lifting her up. ‘Come on, let’s go get a drink. Either that or find the make out station quick.’
‘Damn, missed opportunity. Did the cake get here, did you check?’
She still couldn’t believe that they’d made it and kept it secret. Luke had got one of Hans’s friends to collect it and stash it there earlier. Another thing they’d done together. Luke’s competition date was coming closer, but it still seemed a way off. She had plenty of time to enjoy things. Today was about being here and having fun. Tomorrow she could let her mother know she wasn’t entering yet again, but at least a new boyfriend might cushion the blow back home. She could at least tell her mother that she filled the forms in this year, and maybe next year would be the one. She was feeling different lately. That new resolve could get on the plane with Luke though, and fly away from me. Just like him.
‘Yep, all stashed in the back. Stop worrying now. Come on, let’s get a drink.’
‘Can I just ch—’
‘Before you ask to check the c—’
They both laughed. Luke tapped her on the nose with his index finger.
‘I knew it. I checked the cake, it’s all intact. It looks amazing. Drink?’
Rebecca rolled her eyes at him.
‘Drink.’ Luke winked at her, and her anxiety just fell away. Today was a good day.
*
Later that afternoon, when the baby things had been cleared away and the caterers had taken over, Hans and Holly’s place looked so different. Lit up, showing off the homely feel of the modern space, the atmosphere was more relaxed. Mina was sitting talking to Holly, and as Rebecca took a drink from Luke, she knew that they were talking about her.
‘My ears are burning.’
‘Mine too,’ Luke came and sat next to her on the sofa. They had a good view of the front door, and the whole room. She was still a little on edge, although everyone had been nothing but happy to see her. A few raised eyebrows and shocked expressions, sure, but after hiding away for so long, she had to expect that a little. Hans had kept to his word, only people she still had in her life were there for the most part, and none of her old Robbie crew.
‘No nasties lurking though, eh?’ Luke said it as though he’d read her thoughts. ‘I had a word with Hans.’
She shook her head. ‘No, just friends. A few old acquaintances. What did you say to him? Did you threaten to kick him in the ankle or something?’
Hans was sitting at the other side of Holly, talking to some of his friends. From the movements he was making with his beer bottle, he was telling one of his terribly longwinded and incredibly boring jokes.
‘No, I just told him that I didn’t want anything to spoil the night. He feels the
same anyway. You want any food? The rabbit is gorgeous, and the mini burgers? I’ve had about twelve of those suckers.’ Luke scanned the room. ‘I’m pretty sure the waiter’s avoiding me.’
‘I’ve had some.’ She hadn’t, she felt a bit too jippy in the tummy area to trust herself to eat yet. ‘I’ll eat more later.’ That was in response to Hans’s raised brow. He knew her too well.
‘Listen,’ Luke started. ‘I actually did something a little stupid the other day, and I wanted to talk to you about it. It’s been playing on my mind.’
The front door opened in front of her, and Rebecca choked on her drink.
‘It’s not that bad, it’s totally fixable. I just saw it, and—’
‘Robbie.’
Luke frowned, his eyes darkening. ‘No, this has nothing to do with him. Not one thing about this to do with him.’ He downed his drink grumpily, and Rebecca touched his arm.
‘No Luke, Robbie.’ She shrank back in her seat behind him, pulling him back with her. ‘He’s here, at the door.’
Robbie was standing there, talking to one of the partygoers. Evan. He was a nice guy. Rebecca had got the impression before that he wasn’t one of Robbie’s biggest fans. She wondered idly if they were friends now. She didn’t know who Robbie hung out with these days. She hadn’t wanted to know either. Evan looked a little uncomfortable, but chatted back to her ex and turned his back to Rebecca, shielding her. She glanced across at Holly and Hans, but they were still laughing with Mina.
‘Luke, we need to go.’ She went to stand up, and Luke tensed at the side of her. ‘Luke, I’m not scared. I don’t care about him at all. I just don’t want a scene.’
A second later, Luke took her hand in his and they stood up, heading to the back patio doors and the outside. As they pulled the door curtain closed a little and headed out into the night air, Rebecca glanced back. Robbie was still talking to Evan.
‘We left our coats inside, you got your bag?’ Luke asked as they felt the cold air hit them full in the face.
She shook her head. It was with their coats on Holly’s bed now.
‘Shit.’ He kicked the ground in front of them, crossing his arms in front of himself. His white shirt was long sleeved, and he came and rubbed his hands down her arms, trying to keep her warm.
‘We can’t stay long out here. Why did he come?’ Rebecca kept an ear out, but the place hadn’t exploded yet. Thank God for Evan. ‘Hans would never have invited him.’ The photos. ‘He saw it online, didn’t he?’ She looked at Luke, and he was already on his phone.
‘Nothing I can see online,’ he said, scrolling through his notifications. Rebecca took the phone from his hands, and brought up her own Facebook profile. There it was – a photo of the pair of them, bowing on the slopes that morning. Somebody had put it online, and then someone else had tagged her in it.
Luke’s eyes narrowed when he saw the screen. ‘Nosy calculating bastard.’ He glared at the house, as though his laser eyes had come back, and he was trying to pop Robbie through the walls of Hans’s home.
That had to be it, the photo. Robbie knew enough people to get wind of Hans’s get-together. He still knew her well enough to know that she would be at any party of Hans’s. He’d come to fan the flames. Taking the phone from Luke, she scrolled down to the comments. Lots of people commenting on where she’d been, who Luke was. Why she was ‘back’ in France. They thought Robbie and her were maybe back together. Someone had even asked whether she was involved with both men. ‘Where do they get off, talking about a stranger like that? This makes me sound like the village bike.’ She removed the tag, deleted it from her timeline and blocked the random poster for good measure. He’d done enough damage with his bloody snapping.
‘Mountain bike,’ Luke quipped.
‘Luke!’
‘Sorry, bad joke. It’s a defence mechanism. I’m mad too, but we’re not standing out here all night freezing to death because of him, or any of those keyboard warriors.’ He took his phone back and headed back inside. ‘Come on.’
As they neared the doors, Rebecca saw Hans at the other side. He was still talking to Holly and Mina, but she could see that Evan was losing the battle of distracting Robbie. He was alone too, sans whatever girl he was boinking at the moment, which meant he was on a mission.
‘Want me to go get our stuff?’ Luke asked, pausing by the door. He didn’t take his eyes off Robbie. Just as she was going to say, Yes, please ninja in and sneak back out so we can run back to the café and hide under the covers, Hans spotted Luke, and clocked what he was scowling about. He must have looked like an angry bear, growling and fogging up the glass with his breath.
‘No, we’d better go in.’ They walked in just in time to stop Hans from getting up. Luke jumped on him, pinning him to the huge corner sofa. Mina smacked Luke on the behind as he went past.
‘Hey, watch the drinks!’
Luke snuck in between Hans and Holly, checking on her like a midwife. ‘You okay, no crowning or anything?’ Holly elbowed him, laughing.
‘No crowning, gross! What’s wrong with you?’ Hans tried to stand up, and Luke sat on him again.
‘Hans?’ Rebecca was barely audible in the room, but Luke heard.
‘Bec, come and sit down,’ Luke said, breaking into her dazed thoughts. Robbie was on his way, Evan mouthing sorry at them. Rebecca sat down, Mina moving up for her.
‘Oh God, not again,’ Mina said, clocking Robbie a second before he stood before them. He pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket, smiling at Holly. Hans looked like he wanted to murder him, but he stayed where he was. Luke was clinging to him like a rider would a rodeo bull.
‘Congratulations to you both. Evan tells me it’s a boy!’ That was a bit of a moot statement, given that the ‘it’s a boy’ banner was still up outside, after their announcement that afternoon. No one said anything. Holly was looking at him as if he’d rocked up in a chicken costume to a vegan party.
‘This is for you.’ Robbie offered the envelope to her, but she didn’t move, so he put it down on her leg and left it there. ‘So, we all ready for the competition? Becks?’
He addressed her directly now, all small talk gone. Rebecca looked him in the eye, and glared at him.
‘This is a private party Robbie, you weren’t invited. Don’t cause a scene, for once in your life. Just leave it alone.’
Mina made an ‘uh-huh’ sound in her throat. ‘Be nice, given the other night. Give it a rest, Robbie.’
‘Right yeah, big bad Robbie. Left his girl all alone in the hospital, whilst he went off on tour. I know, I’ve heard it all before. Except I didn’t leave her, she left me. She checked out of life!’ He jabbed in her direction wildly. ‘And now you’re back, good as ever.’
‘Pretty much,’ Luke said. ‘Now, please just leave it. I don’t want to ruin another shirt. And I am not spoiling Hans and Holly’s night.’
‘And you’re here. Perfect.’ Robbie rounded on him like a snake would a rodent. Except in this case, Luke wasn’t the sly rat. ‘Not dumped this one yet then.’ He thumbed in Luke’s direction, his eyes fixed on his ex. ‘Not engaged to him, are you? That’s more your style, quickie engagement before the comp and then sack the lot off after.’
The stunned faces around said it all, and Rebecca lost her temper. She could feel her face flushing with the shame of being outed in the room, but looking back now, she wasn’t quite sure he was the injured party after all.
‘No, no engagement. I’m not that stupid. Once was more than enough. Tell me, how much did you make from my accident in the end? Enough to get right back on tour after, eh? We shared the same agent Robbie, don’t bother lying. I bet no one can tell the difference with you anymore anyway.’ Luke was there, still holding Hans down and supporting Holly, but he was looking at Robbie as if daring him to make a move. His eyes were shark-like and slit almost shut. She touched his leg, and he moved to sit near her. Holly shuffled into Hans’s side.
‘Don’t you dare move,’ Holly whispe
red theatrically to her husband. ‘Baby trumps dickhead.’
Hans scowled but put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
‘Leave, Robbie, you weren’t invited for a reason. No one cares.’
‘Really?’ Robbie still didn’t take the hint. ‘I think they will, everyone loves a comeback story, eh Becks? Ex-lovers, fighting it out for the title. Not bad, eh? I can hear the merchandise money rattling in the tills already.’
‘I told you,’ Rebecca spat. ‘Not this year.’ Or any year at this rate.
‘Why wait till next?’ Robbie jeered. ‘Why else are you here? Can’t seem to figure that one out yet, but the gossips online soon will. Seen your Facebook lately?’ he sneered. ‘I won’t have to wait till the line-up announcement, I bet.’
Rebecca’s eyes flicked to Hans. He nodded at her as if to say, ‘take him down.’ She glanced at Holly, but she was cuddled up to Hans, looking relaxed.
‘You don’t need to wait,’ she said, pulling herself up off the sofa, and standing in front of him. Luke was right there with her, his hand still in hers as ever. ‘I’m—’
‘All in,’ Luke broke in. ‘Competition entries have gone in, she’s ready. She’s even been teaching me a few things. I entered the novice one. Looking forward to it, aren’t we Rebecca? Hans, Holly, it’s been lovely but—’
‘You entered together? What’s the point?’ Robbie scoffed. ‘You’re hardly in her league, are you?’
Luke’s jaw clenched.
‘Robbie, shut up.’ She couldn’t feel her face. ‘Sorry, Hans, Holly. Ring you tomorrow.’
They got past him unchecked, for some reason he was more interested in eyeballing Luke. The two men shuffled around each other like dogs on a lead, not knowing whether to bark or bite, or both. Rebecca couldn’t do anything but walk away, trying not to run. She was waiting for Luke to say something, but he was so quiet. Maybe the ex showing up again was a bit of a mood killer for boyfriends. She wasn’t feeling quite so bright and shiny herself.
