Mr Right Across the Street

by Kathryn Freeman

  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?’

  You’re better than this. Mia forced down the nasty spikes of jealousy. ‘Sorry. Of course you had to help her. It’s just, I was looking forward to having coffee with you.’

  His eyes turned a soft green. ‘Me too. It’s felt like an eternity since I last saw you.’

  ‘It’s been twenty-four hours.’

  ‘Exactly. Far too bloody long.’ He picked up her hand, holding it in his. ‘Sorry I wasn’t here at eleven. And sorry I had to send a message via Freya. I did try to phone – you know, that novel way humans have of communicating – but you didn’t pick up.’

  ‘Ah, I left it in the flat. Didn’t think I needed it.’ She glanced down at their hands, allowing the warmth from his to melt the places jealousy had left cold. ‘Did you fix the leak?’

  ‘Yep, it was just a joint that needed tightening.’

  ‘Maybe you should teach her how to do it herself, in case you’re ever not there.’

  He gave Mia a half-smile. ‘I have done, but her head’s too full of long lawyer sentences. Not sure she can grasp the practical.’

  The conversation with Naomi flooded back to her. Was this Freya trying to keep her claws on Luke? And was he too naïve, too trusting, or too enthralled with her still, to see it?

  His hands tightened around hers. ‘I’m off tomorrow. Any chance we can use the day to cross off another Manchester hot spot?’ He saw her hesitation and sighed. ‘You have to work, I know. Don’t worry. Maybe I can cook you dinner?’

  She jiggled the dates around in her head. ‘Or maybe I can shift tomorrow afternoon’s work into Saturday afternoon… Wait, where are you going to take me?’

  He raised his eyebrows. ‘Wow, when we weren’t dating, you were happy to come out with me based on a dodgy clue in the window. Now you’ll only see me if the venue is up to scratch?’

  Amused, she shrugged. ‘I’m just making sure your standards aren’t slipping.’

  He huffed out a laugh. ‘Okay then, game on. But I’m not telling you where we’re going. You’ll have to watch my window for a clue.’

  It was after eleven that night when Luke posted his message. Mia knew because, sad cow that she was, she’d waited up to see it on the pretence of finishing the edits on her book. As she watched the sheet of paper going up, the familiar buzz shot through her, the one she’d experienced right from the start, when she’d been telling herself they were just friends. While actually she’d been falling in love.

  When the sheet was in place, she did a double-take at the drawing of a bird in flight and the words:

  U + Me xx

  Okay, so she had no clue what she was doing. Going to an aviary? Feeding the ducks? Was it a love-bird symbol? Were they going to spend the day in bed?

  A second later her phone pinged with a message:

  Meet at mine at 1 p.m. And be prepared to stay the night L xx

  Another message quickly followed:

  Err, I should say staying over isn’t compulsory.

  A final message:

  But your tour guide would be ecstatic if you did. Sweet dreams L xx

  She still didn’t know what the day had in store. But she did know that whatever they did, she’d love it, because she’d be doing it with him.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Luke peered at the bedside clock and winced. How annoyed would Mia be if he ignored the time and snuggled back into bed with her?

  Wrapping his arms around the warm body next to him, he couldn’t believe that only six months ago, if he found himself waking up next to a woman, he’d eased out of her bed as quietly as possible. Now all he wanted to do was keep Mia in his bed, in his flat, in his life. Permanently.

  She stirred, and he kissed her nose. ‘I don’t want you to go, but it’s eight o’clock.’

  She groaned, turning in his arms. ‘Why am I so knackered?’

  ‘Because you can’t keep up with me? Because I wore you out yesterday with all that vigorous—’

  ‘Sky diving,’ she interrupted, giving him a dig in the ribs. ‘It was all that floating over a wind tunnel that wore me out. I didn’t even know indoor skydiving was a thing.’ She laughed softly into his chest. ‘God, to think, I believed you were taking me to feed the ducks.’

  ‘Well now you know. My standards don’t slip.’ He nudged her so she looked up at him. ‘They get higher and higher.’

  She smiled, blue eyes still cloudy with sleep. ‘Is that a promise?’

  ‘Yes.’ They were teasing, joking around, yet he felt the certainty of his promise all the way through to his bones. He wouldn’t take her for granted, he wouldn’t become complacent. He’d try to do his best by her. Always.

  Yawning, she sat up and pulled off the duvet. ‘Much as I’d love to stay here and discuss your increasingly high standards, I have to get going. I’m half a day behind now.’ She gave him a sly smile beneath her lashes. ‘But it was totally worth it.’

  ‘I’ll make us a coffee.’ He halted. ‘Damn, I can’t remember if I’ve got any milk.’ She was busy slipping on her bra, and for a moment he watched the beautiful breasts he’d enjoyed last night being tucked neatly away.

  ‘No worries. I can wait till I get back to mine.’

  ‘No.’ Desire made his voice hoarse. ‘I just promised you my standards weren’t going to slip. Let me message Freya.’

  As he was still watching her get dressed, Luke saw the way Mia stilled, her movements a little stiffer as she pulled on her jeans. Damn, there was something going on between Mia and Freya. Grace had mentioned her mum being a bit frosty with Mia the last time she’d helped with her homework.

  He’d have to talk to Freya because the pair of them needed to get along. Mia was a part of his life now – if he had his way, a permanent part – and Freya was going to have to get used to it.

  A message pinged back and he glanced at his screen. ‘She’s going to bring some milk over.’

  ‘Very good of her.’

  It wasn’t the words, it was the way Mia didn’t meet his eyes. ‘Hey.’ Finally she looked up at him. ‘You know it’s you I want, you I can’t stop thinking about. You I love.’

  He held his breath as he watched her swallow. Tell me you love me, too.

  He’d never know if she was going to say the words he longed to hear, or if she was going to smile and ignore them again, because Freya banged on the front door.

  When he opened it, she handed over the milk carto
n, but her eyes narrowed as they focused over his shoulder.

  ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise you had company.’ Instead of leaving, as he expected, she stepped into the flat. ‘Hello Mia. How are you?’

  ‘Good, thanks.’ Mia’s words sounded stilted and her usually warm smile didn’t reach her eyes.

  Freya’s gaze swivelled between him and Mia. ‘It’s a bit awkward, isn’t it, having me living next door?’

  ‘Why would it be?’ He nodded at the milk in his hand. ‘You’ve just saved our morning.’

  Freya gave him a small smile. ‘Still as disorganised as usual, I see. I wonder if everything else about you is the same as it always was.’ She glanced back at Mia. ‘Does he still have his nipple piercing? I know I got a shock when I first saw it because he hadn’t had that when he was eighteen, but then I realised it was actually kind of sexy.’

  Luke glared at Freya. ‘What are you trying to do here?’

  ‘I’m not trying to do anything, but I do think she has a right to know.’ Freya stared unapologetically back at him.

  ‘Right to know what?’ Mia’s voice was quiet but steady.

  Freya looked at her. ‘That we’re not just Grace’s parents. That we’ve been lovers over the years, too.’

  Luke watched in horror as Mia’s face paled.

  ‘That’s enough.’ Anger burned through him, along with a whole bucket full of frustration and a worm of guilt. Marching to the door, he flung it open. ‘Thanks for the milk. I’ll return it when I’m done.’ Whatever their difficulties, he’d always admired and respected Freya, but right now he didn’t like her one little bit.

  When she was gone, he turned back to Mia, and the bottom fell out of his stomach. Anger he could take, surprise, annoyance, he’d deal with it.

  But Mia’s expression held none of that. Instead she looked gutted, as if the stuffing had been knocked out of her. And he had a feeling it wasn’t disappointment in the situation, but in him.

  Mia felt blindsided. We’ve been lovers over the years, too. Should she have known?

  ‘Talk to me, Mia.’ As if he sensed her fragile emotional state, he put his hands out in a placatory gesture. ‘I know you have questions.’

  ‘Questions?’ Anger bubbled. ‘You’ve made me look stupid. Made me feel stupid. All the times we talked about Freya, you always implied it had been over since Grace was born. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were still sleeping with her?’

  A muscle in his jaw ticked. ‘Slept, past tense. What did you want from me, a detailed list of everyone I’ve ever had sex with?’

  She snorted, the shock, the bitter sense of betrayal leaving her feeling cold, hard. ‘I doubt you could produce one. You probably can’t remember most of their names.’

  ‘Fuck, Mia.’ He exhaled sharply, staring down at the floor for a few seconds before finally lifting his gaze to hers. ‘I thought we were done with this.’ Pain laced through his voice, was clearly etched on his face. ‘You know my history. You know why I kept things casual.’

  It didn’t change the fact that she felt like she’d been attacked, that everything she thought she knew had suddenly been turned on its head. ‘Freya wasn’t just a casual hook-up though, was she? She was the woman you loved, the one you wanted to marry.’ Damn it, her voice was cracking. Dragging in some air, she forced herself to focus on the facts. The emotion she’d deal with later. ‘That’s true, isn’t it?’

  ‘Sixteen years ago.’ His eyes pleaded with her. ‘Come on Mia, that’s a lifetime ago. I’ve changed, she’s changed.’

  ‘Yet you still fancied her enough to sleep with her.’

  ‘Twice, four years ago,’ he said tightly.

  Okay. That sounded better than Freya’s we’ve been lovers over the years. As long as he was telling the truth. ‘You still should have said something.’

  He hung his head, his big shoulders moving as he clearly struggled to control his emotions. When his eyes found hers, she saw his pain. ‘What was I supposed to say? By the way, that long list you have of people I’ve slept with, you need to add Freya for the two occasions we fell into bed when we were at a low ebb and the worse for drink?’

  ‘No, when I asked about Freya, you were supposed to say you’re not over her.’ The niggles, the doubts that had surfaced every time she’d spoken to Freya burst onto the surface. ‘Because clearly that’s the case.’

  ‘Christ, you could not be more wrong.’ He stared down at her, his huge body almost vibrating with, what? Frustration, anger? ‘I love you, Mia. How many times do I have to tell you before you start to believe me?’

  ‘Apparently a few more yet.’ She looked at her watch even though whatever time it said, she knew it was time she left. ‘I’ve got to get back to work.’

  ‘So when are we going to talk about this?’

  ‘I’ll let you know.’ Right now she needed to escape from his sad expression, the hurt in his eyes, the barely suppressed frustration.

  ‘Right, fine.’ He glared stonily back at her. ‘But remember I have your number now, I know where you live. I won’t let you stay away for long.’

  Cold washed through her. ‘Is that a threat?’

  His face crumpled. ‘Shit, sorry, no, of course not. I’d never…’ He raked a hand through his hair, his expression bleak. ‘I’m not Pete, Mia,’ he added quietly. ‘I’m not any of those bastards who came before. I love you, I won’t let you down.’

  ‘So why do I feel you just have?’

  Back in her flat, Mia found it hard to focus on work. There was too much going on in her head, too many questions, too many swirling emotions. She picked up the phone to talk to Elle, but it went to voicemail. She couldn’t talk to her parents, not until she had her thoughts straight. They liked Luke, and if there was a chance they could get through this, she didn’t want their view of him tainted by her unvarnished thoughts.

  But she needed to talk, to get another viewpoint. Someone to tell her she was over-reacting, or that she was entirely justified. Or anything in between.

  By 6.30 p.m. she gave up all pretence of work, turned off her computer and walked into the kitchen. Reaching for the kettle, she glanced at the wall dividing her flat and Stan’s. Her neighbour with his no-nonsense attitude yet big, soft heart. The first person she’d spoken to when she arrived in Manchester.

  Putting the kettle back down, she tucked her keys into her pocket, walked out of the flat and knocked on his door.

  He opened it without looking at her. ‘Eggheads is on in five minutes.’

  Mia followed him in and closed the door behind her. ‘I’m fine, thanks for asking. How are you?’

  He paused as he entered the living room. ‘I didn’t ask.’

  ‘No, but you should have. It’s polite.’

  ‘Aye, but I don’t have to be polite with you.’

  ‘Err, why not?’

  ‘You’re Mia.’ He shuffled his feet. ‘We’re friends, aren’t we?’

  She hadn’t realised how much she’d needed to hear that, how much she’d needed an arm around her, until that moment. ‘Yes,’ she swallowed down the golf-ball-sized lump in her throat. ‘We are.’ Tears that had been building all afternoon started to spill down her cheeks.

  ‘Hey, lass, what’s wrong?’ Clearly alarmed, he peered over at her.

  ‘Nothing, probably.’ She drew in a shuddery breath. ‘I hope you’ll help me figure it out.’

  ‘Come here.’

  He held out his arms and Mia collapsed into them. Shorter than her dad and wider, nonetheless he felt like a safe haven.

  After a while he cleared his throat. ‘So, Eggheads. Am I recording it?’

  A bubble of laughter whooshed out of her. ‘Is that okay?’

  ‘It is if you stop crying.’ His smile took the heat out of his words. ‘I’m not good with crying women. I don’t have the fancy words.’

  She used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the wet from her cheeks. ‘No more tears, I promise. And I don’t need fancy words. I’ve come rou
nd for a bit of your blunt honesty.’ Drawing in a breath, she nodded towards the TV. ‘You record Eggheads, I’ll make the tea. Then I need you to listen and tell me what you think.’

  She spilled everything, the snide asides from Freya, the way Luke seemed to drop whatever he was doing to answer her calls, the leaking tap and finally today’s bombshell.

  He only spoke when she’d finished. ‘What’s the real issue here? That you’re angry he didn’t tell you he’d slept with Freya a few years ago? Or you think he still has feelings for her?’

  Mia clasped a hand around her knees. ‘That’s good, distilling it down like that.’

  He let out a gruff-sounding laugh. ‘What’s the answer then?’

  ‘I want to say both, but is that a cop-out?’

  ‘Your feelings are your feelings.’ He scratched at his beard. ‘But if you want to know what I think, I’d say if the man wanted to get back with his ex, he’s had ample opportunity. Instead he started dating you, organised a shindig for you the other night, told you he loves you.’ He gave her a half-smile. ‘Do I need to go on?’

  ‘You think I’m making a fuss over nothing.’ Mia wanted to believe that too, but she’d trusted before, believed in someone before, and had it explode in her face.

  ‘I think this woman is trying to drive a wedge between the pair of you, and you’re allowing it.’

  She winced. ‘Ouch.’

  ‘You asked for my opinion. I’ve given it. No point complaining you don’t like it.’

  She gave him a pouty look. ‘You’re supposed to be on my side.’

  ‘I am, lass. I am.’

  She mulled on Stan’s words for the rest of the evening.

  When she woke the following morning, she posted a note in the window.

  Can we talk again?

  * * *

  Yours @ 10 a.m.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  It was 9.45 a.m. and Luke was in the kitchen fixing himself his usual wake-himself-up coffee when there was a knock on the door. Opening it, he was surprised to find Freya. Again.