Chapter Twenty-Three
Libby’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the knock on the door. She had been dreading this moment. She looked at herself in the mirror. She knew it was pointless, but she wanted to look her best when she saw him. Her long brown hair was pulled back off her face in a low ponytail. Her green eyes stared back at her as she took a deep breath and walked calmly over to the door.
She pulled it open. Luca was standing outside looking sheepish. She was relieved to see that Jules was nowhere to be seen.
‘Libby,’ he said. He came inside and moved towards her to kiss her – or hug her, Libby wasn’t sure. She took a step back to avoid contact, resisting the urge to throw herself into his arms as she had done a thousand times before.
‘Luca,’ she said. Her heart was thudding against her breastbone but she refused to let him see the inner turmoil he was causing her. ‘Izzy will be awake any moment now.’
‘I can’t wait to see her,’ he said. ‘I’ve missed her terribly. I’ve missed you too…’
Libby didn’t know what to say. It was so strange to see him, to have him back in the flat.
‘I’ve packed up all your things,’ she said, pointing at the pile of suitcases and bags next to the door. ‘You can take them with you.’
‘Thank you,’ Luca said. ‘I’ve got a car here so I’ll get them out of your way tomorrow if that is OK?’
Libby nodded and sat down on the sofa. She felt numb. Luca came and sat next to her, careful not to sit too close. He put his set of house keys on the table. ‘Libby, I feel awful about how this ended. I owed you more respect than to go behind your back. I should have been honest with you.’
‘You should never have slept with my best friend.’ Her eyes filled with tears despite her intention to remain aloof. ‘If you weren’t happy you should have told me. I would have understood. But this was just the worst possible thing you could have done.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said.
‘I’ve had to cope with losing my fiancé and my best friend at the same time. It’s not fair…’
‘I know. I’m sorry, Libby. It just happened… and suddenly it was too late, I was in too deep and I couldn’t stop myself.’
‘You could have, Luca.’
‘It’s hard to explain.’
‘I’m not interested in your excuses or explanations. Are you still seeing each other?’
‘We are.’
‘Is she here?’
‘No. She’s in Sussex.’
‘Where are you staying?’
‘We’re staying in a flat in Lewes that belongs to friends of Jules’s. They’ve let us house-sit while they’re away travelling. It’s an hour on the train from London, so I’ve been able to get into work.’
Libby wished she’d never asked. She realised that the less she knew the better.
‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ she said. ‘You told your family…’ She had received sweet messages from his sisters, clearly upset with Luca for his behaviour, and she had been grateful for their kind words.
‘They think I’m mad,’ he said, that cheeky, helpless smile that she knew so well settling across his features. It would have made her stomach flip in usual circumstances, but now it just hurt her.
They talked a short while longer before Izzy roused from her sleep and began to chatter away to herself in her bedroom.
‘Can I?’ asked Luca, clearly longing to see his daughter. Libby nodded her head and he went into her room. She listened to him call out to Izzy and talk to her in Italian, and her heart twisted with sadness as she heard the delight in her daughter’s response at seeing her father after so many weeks apart.
He carried her back out into the sitting room. The sight of the two of them, so similar with their brown hair and hazel eyes, caused tears to fill her eyes once again. She bit her lip and turned away; distracting herself by fetching the travel cot and the bag she had packed for Izzy. Luca asked whether there had been any changes to her routine, and checked he had everything he needed for the weekend with his daughter. He was staying in a hotel down the road so they wouldn’t be far away, but it still pained her to think of their imminent separation. Libby had to stop herself from crying as she kissed her goodbye, breathing in the sweet smell of her and holding her closely. Her heart wrenched as she let them go. She knew she would have to get used to it, but it felt so unnatural, so wrong for them no longer to be the tight family unit that they had been since Izzy had arrived.
As soon as the door closed behind them, she picked up the phone and called Angus. ‘Have they gone?’ he asked, answering on the first ring.
‘Yes,’ she said, tears spilling down her cheeks.
