Papà sighs resignedly and puts his hand in Theo’s, giving it a shake. “Nice to meet you too. So, a book illustrator? Do you have many works published?”
I breathe a sigh of relief as Theo and my dad engage in some polite chit-chat about his job, where Theo lives in Cambridge, and then they start talking about golf when Theo asks what my father plans to do with all of his free time now that he’s retiring. My father is nice to Theo, but as someone who knows him well, I can see he isn’t willing to give him a chance. He’s businesslike and standoffish, and his shoulders are stiff. This is merely polite conversation. I know why, and I can’t even blame him. Lucas and I were together for so long that everyone thought we would finally join our families—even I believed it. My father watched Lucas grow from a babe in his arms to the man who runs the sales division at his company. Of course, he is going to hold out hope of us reuniting and not be overly keen on seeing me with someone else even if it is all for show.
After about ten minutes of talking, my father is called off to greet another guest, and Theo and I wander the room, conversing easily with my parents’ friends who have known me since I was in pigtails and training bras. Theo is a natural people person, and his stranger chat is on point. He’s engaging, witty, charismatic, and funny, fitting in with the snooty business-type people with an ease and grace I wish I had.
When we finally make it across the room and stop at the buffet table, we’re just starting on our second glasses of champagne.
Theo’s shoulder bumps mine, and he smiles over at me as we pick up bone china plates and look over at the visual feast. My mother went all out with the caterers.
“Is it acceptable to start on the dessert already, or do I have to stuff in a few prawn vol-au-vents first?” Theo eyes the array of macarons, cake pops, and selection of classy layered desserts artfully arranged in posh shot-sized glasses laid out at the back of the long table.
Grinning, I pick up a chocolate-dipped strawberry, holding it up to his mouth. His beautiful amber eyes twinkle as he leans in, his gaze locked on mine as he takes the whole thing into his mouth, biting off at the stalk, lips closing around my fingers in the process as he gives a little suck.
The move sends a bolt of something straight to my core, and I watch his mouth, mesmerised as he chews. “Blimey, Theo, was that supposed to turn me on? Because if so, you succeeded.” I’m breathless now as my body temperature hikes up a couple of degrees.
He grins smugly, shrugging one shoulder, and reaches over to pick up a handful of strawberries and some cake pops. “I can’t help it if you have a food fetish.”
More like a Theo fetish. A giggle escapes my lips, and I look down at my plate, feeling my face heat up. Damn it, he turns me so girlie sometimes; it’s ludicrous.
As we stand and stuff our faces with desserts (neither of us even goes near the real food), I look around the room. My gaze lands on Marie and Fred Maitland, Lucas’s parents, who are across the room, talking to another couple I don’t know. I raise my hand, sending them a wave. Marie inclines her head in acknowledgement but doesn’t smile. Instead, she elbows Fred and leans in to say something to him. Fred’s head swivels in my direction, and his eyebrows pinch with reproach. My stomach clenches. I’ve always had a good relationship with them. Even after the split, they’ve been nothing but loving and supportive towards me, but now, their expressions and hard eyes seem hostile. I don’t know why.
“Who are they?” Theo asks, slipping his arm around my shoulders. “You’ve gone all stiff, so I’m assuming we don’t like them.”
I chuckle and bump my hip with his, looking up at him and rolling my eyes. He’s too funny sometimes. “Mr and Mrs Maitland. They’re Lucas’s parents. And we do like them.”
As a waitress walks past, I pick up a glass of orange juice from her tray and smile gratefully. Just as I’m about to take a sip, I look back over to Marie again and see him. Lucas. He’s just stepping to his mother’s side. She leans in and whispers something to him, and the smile falls from his face as he looks over at me. Our eyes meet, and I gulp. The air suddenly feels stifling. This is the first time I’ve seen him since the day I walked out. I can’t move. I feel trapped, like a deer in headlights. Although I knew I’d see him, I still wasn’t quite prepared.
twenty-one
Lucie
Lucas looks good, as always. Smart and professional in his three-piece charcoal-grey suit, black tie, and matching pocket handkerchief. I picked out that suit. I picked out all his suits. His dark blond hair is styled neatly but is a tad longer than normal, curling around his ears and the nape of his neck, in a way he hates. Maybe gym-bunny girl isn’t as good as me at booking his appointments and reminding him to go. His distinctive pale icy-blue eyes bore into mine from across the room, and I feel a cold trickle of something run down my spine. He doesn’t smile, but he does tilt his chin up in a silent greeting.
I nod a silent hello, too, and my hand tightens on my glass. Eight years of my life I spent with this man. I gave him everything of myself, gave up things I’d dreamed of for him. He is such a massive part of me. But … the thing that surprises me is … seeing him doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. During the span of the last three months, I mentally built this moment up, repeatedly thought about seeing him again. I imagined what it would feel like to look at him and know he wasn’t mine anymore, how much it would hurt. I wondered if it would feel as bad as when I walked in early from my spin class and caught him naked with that girl. That day he ripped my heart out, I always thought it would feel like that again, seeing him for the first time … but it’s a bit of an anticlimax.
I feel … okay.
My eyes flick behind him, searching out my replacement, but I can’t see her yet.
When I look back to Lucas, I notice his jaw is tight, and his eyes drag over me in my dress. The disapproval is so easy to see on his face; he might as well be holding a neon sign, announcing it.
He remembers.
And he still hates it.
Good.
His back is ramrod straight, his nostrils flare, his eyebrows pull together, and when his eyes meet mine again, they’re hard and judgemental. I almost want to flinch away immediately, but I force myself to raise my glass and take a sip of my juice before I turn my back on Lucas and look up at Theo.
Theo grins and reaches out, brushing a curl of my hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing across my cheek. I let out the breath I didn’t realise I had been holding and try to ground myself by staring at the little freckle he has under one of his eyes.
“Lucas is here.” My voice is barely above a whisper, but he hears me.
His mouth snaps shut, and he nods slowly, pushing his plate onto the table, chocolate-dipped strawberries no longer important. My affection for him ratchets up another notch at how quickly he went from jokey Theo to supportive Theo. I love it.
“Okay. What time is he at?”
“He’s at, like, your one o’clock?” I guess.
I reach out and fiddle with one of his shirt buttons as his hand traces across the bare skin at my shoulder blades, and his eyes flick over in Lucas’s direction.
“Grey suit, blond hair, eyes blazing like fire, ready to burn me alive?” Theo asks, dipping his head and nuzzling his mouth against my ear.
His hot breath blowing down my neck is almost too much, and I shift on my feet and press closer to him, needing reassurance. I’m immensely glad I have him with me. He’s playing his side of the bargain to perfection; anyone looking on would think that he really does adore me, exactly like I asked of him.
“That sounds about right.”
Lucas always did have a hard hundred-yard stare.
“Looks like you’re getting your wish. He’s jealous as hell.”
Theo’s nose runs up the side of my cheek, and my breath leaves me in a dreamy sigh. I don’t know how he does it. One touch, and I’m like putty in his hands, even with my cheating ex standing thirty feet away.
“Forget him, Luce. Come dance with
me?”
I need to do something because I don’t want to keep standing here. I can practically feel Lucas’s stare boring into the back of my head. It makes me want to squirm, but I keep my chin up and focus my attention solely on Theo. As soon as I nod in agreement, his fingers slide down my shoulders and over my arms, tickling their way down until he gets to my hands. Interlacing our fingers, he smiles and nods over his shoulder towards where a few people are dancing to the music that plays quietly in the background.
My smile returns as I let him lead me along to the makeshift dance floor, where he pulls me into his arms and we sway to the beat. It’s nice. As we dance, Theo whispers silly jokes in my ear, twirling me, flirting with me until the tension in my back eases, and I melt into his embrace and start to have a good time again. A couple of songs in, Lucas is long forgotten.
It’s then I decide that being stuck in that lift with Theo is probably the best thing that could have happened to me. I can’t imagine being here on my own tonight. I’d be knocking back the shots by now—or crying in a taxi on my way home already.
One of my hands is loose in Theo’s while my other grips his shoulder as I rest my temple against his cheek, breathing him in. I close my eyes and pretend we’re back at the wedding, dancing there together instead of here, where I know people are watching and judging me.
Theo’s hand traces up from the small of my back until it cups the back of my neck, his fingers toying with my necklace as his forearm clamps me to him. “This dress is driving me wild, Luce. I have the most beautiful date ever tonight.”
My confidence spikes at his compliment, and I grin against his shoulder. “Really? Does she mind you dancing with me?”
He laughs, his chest rumbling against mine, and my tummy gives a little flutter. When he pulls back, our eyes meet, and I get trapped there. His smile is dazzling. When his mouth starts heading towards mine, I smile and lean in, too, eager for it. When our lips connect, he tastes of strawberries and chocolate mousse. A tiny moan slips from my lips, and my hand tightens on his shoulder, using him for support as my knees weaken. It’s only a soft, chaste kiss, but it feels like more. It’s intimate and sensual, just perfect. He pulls back and rests his forehead against mine as we continue to dance. I can’t stop smiling.
“Excuse me.”
That voice … I’d know it anywhere.
I wrench my face away from Theo’s and turn my head sharply, seeing Lucas standing next to us. His eyes are wild, his jaw is clenching with anger, and his hands are in tight fists. Up close, I can see the darker flecks of blue around the pupils of his pale blue eyes. Theo was right; they’re blazing with fire. It’s like staring down the barrels of a gun. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him so mad, and I’ve seen him mad! My chest constricts.
“Mind if I cut in?” Lucas asks.
My hand instinctively tightens in Theo’s. I don’t want to dance with him.
Theo nonchalantly smiles over at Lucas. “Actually, I do. Her dance card is filled for the night. Sorry, buddy.” He sends him a playful wink, which just makes Lucas madder.
His top lip twitches with a barely contained snarl as he turns his attention back to me. “Lucie, I’d like to talk to you.” It’s a command, not a request.
The hair on my nape prickles. His jealousy is palpable; it hangs in the air so thickly that I can almost taste it. Surprisingly, it doesn’t bring me the joy or closure I was hoping for.
“I’m busy, Lucas.” My voice is clogged with emotion and cracks on his name. Theo’s hand strokes my back gently, as if offering me support. “Go talk with your sofa-shag girl instead.”
“I’m not with Meredith. We were never a thing.”
Meredith. I didn’t know her name until now. It’s not what I expected a fiancé-stealing ho to be named.
“You looked like a thing last time I saw you.” I challengingly raise one eyebrow and then turn my attention back to Theo, ending the conversation. Or so I hope.
“Lucie—” Lucas’s hand shoots out, wrapping around my upper arm, roughly yanking me away from Theo, his fingers digging into my skin with bruising force.
Theo instantly reaches out, too, grabbing Lucas’s hand and shoving it off me. “Wind your neck in, shithead. She said no.” His voice is practically a growl as he steps closer to Lucas, eyeing him harshly.
The height difference is so apparent that Lucas has to tilt his head as they lock eyes. I bet he hates it.
My mouth pops open in shock, and I grip the back of Theo’s jacket, giving him a slight pull. “Don’t, Theo. Please don’t.”
Starting a fight in the middle of my father’s party is the last thing I want tonight. Theo obliges and steps back to my side, but his posture doesn’t loosen. He is seething mad. It’s weird how, even at a time like this, I can find that a little hot. I like that he’s stepping up to my ex and defending me.
I wave my hand at Lucas in a shoo gesture. “Lucas, please just go back to your date.”
His rage-filled eyes flick to me. “I don’t have a date. I came here alone tonight. I was hoping you and I would be able to talk things through.”
My breath catches. He didn’t bring a date?
He came here alone, and now, I look like the bad one, bringing someone with me. This is the reason for my mother’s shocked and disappointed face at the door when she saw me with Theo. She knew Lucas was going to corner me tonight. They likely all knew. This was probably all cooked up and planned over a Maitland-Gordio game night. Operation Get Lucas and Lucie Back Together Again. No wonder Marie and Fred were looking at me so disparagingly earlier. They think I’m parading Theo around just to hurt their son.
And they’re correct.
That is the exact reason I brought him here with me. This is literally what I signed that lift contract for. This moment. This hard, blazing look in Lucas’s eyes, where I can see that he regrets what he did, that he misses me, that he might even want me back.
I don’t know how to feel. I don’t know what I want. My brain is all over the place, firing too many thoughts for me to be able to process them properly. This is all too much; it’s like sensory overload. I’m a little light-headed.
Before I can recover, Lucas’s mother stalks over, her arms folded across her chest, a wide-eyed Fred trailing along behind her.
Marie leans in, her glare accusing, her voice low so the people around us can’t hear her words. “Lucie, how could you do this? You knew Lucas was going to be here tonight. This is not fair on him.”
Not fair? Not fair is walking in exhausted from your exercise class, only to find your so-called loving fiancé banging another girl, doggy style, on your two-week-old dream sofa. They didn’t even have the decency to put down a throw to protect the velvet. That’s what’s not fair. But I can’t say that because they don’t know. No one knows.
I look to Lucas, pleading with him to step in here. He has the opportunity to be the bigger man. If he cares about me, wants to talk things out like he said, he should step in and put a stop to this. Defend me. Even if he doesn’t tell them the reason for the break-up, he has the power to step in now and disperse all this anger towards me. I’ve done nothing wrong here. I’m the victim in all this.
He eyes me, a twitch of a smile at the corner of his lips, as if he’s enjoying having the upper hand and seeing me squirm. And when his mother sympathetically looks over at him, instead of jumping to my aid, he lets his shoulders slump defeatedly, and his gaze drops to the floor; he’s hamming it up, playing the little wounded boy routine to make me look even worse.
Marie continues, her voice hitching with a little sob, and my heart clenches. We’ve always been close; I hate that she’s upset over this too. “How could you bring someone tonight when you knew it would hurt Lucas? This is so selfish, Lucie. I would never have expected this of you.”
Tears prickle at the backs of my eyes. My mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out.
When Theo’s hand closes over mine and he squeezes, it makes my heart ache.
He raises his chin and is the only one who steps in to help me. “Excuse me, Mrs Maitland, but I think you’re forgetting that your son is a grown adult. I’m sure if he had wanted to talk to Lucie in the last three months, he could have picked up a phone and called her. But he didn’t. None of this is Lucie’s fault. How exactly does moving on with her life make her selfish? You’d prefer her to sit around and wait for Lucas to decide he wants her back? Be real. Life doesn’t work that way.” His tone is sharp and scathing. He turns his attention to Lucas. “And you. Don’t you ever grab her like that again, or I will fuck you up. Got it?”
I get another rush of affection for him. He is such a great guy.
People close to us stare, stunned, but the rest of the party continues, oblivious.
Theo turns to me and motions his head towards the open patio doors at the back of the house. “Shall we get some air, Luce?”
I cling to his hand, nodding dumbly, my heart beating so hard that I can hear it pulsing in my ears. He confidently strides through the room, guiding me along behind him. It’s still light outside as we step into the fresh air and walk slightly around the corner, so we’re out of view of the other guests.
When Theo turns to me, his eyes are shining with sympathy. “You okay?”
Am I? I’m not really sure. My vision swims with tears, but I fight against letting them fall as I half-nod, half-shake my head, shrugging one shoulder noncommittally. “Yeah. No. I don’t know. Thank you for helping me. You’re amazing, you know that? I really appreciate you stepping in and defending me when he didn’t.”
Without my permission, a tear slides down my cheek, and Theo reaches out, softly wiping it away before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against his hard body. His smell fills my lungs, and I press my face into the side of his neck, soaking up his comfort like a sponge. The hug is luxurious and takes out the sting of what just happened. I don’t know how long we stand like that, but it’s not long enough. I want to live right here, in his arms, protected from the world.
Stand-In Saturday: (A standalone romcom. Book 2 in the Love For Days series) Page 21
