‘I’m so sorry about your father,’ she said softly into his worn T-shirt, into his hard chest, into the rise and fall of it as he breathed. She closed her eyes and when she felt him hold her back, as his arms enveloped her, gripped tight around her shoulders, and he buried his head into her hair, a rush of something dangerous flooded through her.
Something she should have known would erupt the minute she touched him. Wrapped in his arms, her breasts flattened against him, her breath on his chest, his strength surrounding her, guilt and desire ripped through her.
And when guilt won the battle, she slipped out of his arms.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ she murmured and fled.
*
As soon as Ava got home, she called Lulu. She had to tell her that she was going to work for Callum. That she’d been tricked into working for Callum, more like it.
The call connected. ‘Hey, Lulu.’
‘Oh, Ava,’ There was an emotional catch in Lulu’s tone. ‘I’m so sorry for abandoning you in enemy territory. I just had to get out of there.’
‘It’s okay.’
‘It just felt really strange to be there, in Callum’s house. With Michael. And I could see you were chatting to Chris’s wife and I knew you’d be okay. You’re always okay in a crowd of people you don’t know.’
It was true. Ava never had trouble talking to strangers. It was talking to men she’d been in love with for five years that was tricky.
‘I can’t blame you for leaving,’ Ava said. ‘You did the right thing and paid your respects. Why on earth would you want to hang around after what he did to you?’
There was a pause down the line.
‘Sorry, Lulu. I shouldn’t have brought that up. It’s ancient history, right? Look, the reason I’m calling is that I have something to tell you.’
‘Please don’t tell me you pushed Callum off the balcony.’
Ava laughed. ‘Why would you think I would do anything like that?’
‘C’mon, Ava. I know you’ve always hated him.’
It had been so much easier all these years to let Lulu believe what she felt for Callum was hate. ‘Yeah. He’s absolutely detestable. Although damn it, I thought I’d managed to keep it a secret. My bad.’
‘Ava …’ Lulu said quietly, dropping her voice. ‘He’s a good man.’
What? How on earth could Lulu still think that? After what he’d done? ‘I’m not so sure of that but hey, I don’t know the guy.’
‘Be nice to him. He deserves it.’
Ava was confounded and confused. She had comforted her sister right here on this sofa, held her when she’d sobbed for her marriage, cradled her head and made her chicken soup to assuage the headache from all the crying. And now Lulu was asking Ava to be nice to the man who’d broken her heart?
‘So, sis, what did you want to tell me?’
‘Oh.’ She suddenly chickened out. Perhaps she’d jumped the gun. It wasn’t yet certain that she would do the job for Callum. What if artistic differences got in the way and they couldn’t agree on a design? What if he didn’t come through on his offer of payment? And what if she finally saw good sense and said no to him? ‘It’s totally slipped my mind. So tell me: What did Michael make of the Malones?’
‘He was surprised.’
‘Surprised?’ Ava asked.
‘Yes. At how normal they seemed to be, considering, you know, who they are.’
‘Yes, considering,’ Ava said. ‘I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.’
‘Love you, too.’
When Ava ended the call, she noticed an unread message. It was from Callum. It was the one he’d sent earlier. Before the hug. Before she’d fled.
Cheesiest name for a business I’ve ever heard.
She flopped her head back on a scatter cushion and pinched the bridge of her nose. It always helped her think and when she did it she could squint her eyes closed and sit in the dark and block out all distractions and try to get her spinning head settled.
What if she was holding on to a grudge against Callum for something that even Lulu had forgiven him for? It was possible that Lulu had put all that heartbreak behind her now that she’d found love again with Michael. She had never liked things to be messy or complicated and maybe this was her way of shutting off the pain of their break-up. Getting in the middle of other people’s stories was always messy.
Ava got up off the sofa and padded in bare feet to her kitchen, where she put the kettle on to make herself a cup of peppermint tea. She needed something to distract her from thoughts of Lulu and Callum and the Malones. Of bad marriages and love gone wrong and love she could never have.