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“Yeah. Yeah, they do.” Con nodded, running his hand through his hair. “Sorry, man, I’ve been a bit stressed out about this. It’s a big decision.”
Levi reached out, this time gripping Con’s arm, spinning the other man away from Katy. “Why don’t you take things a little slower if it’s worrying you?”
Con shrugged out of Levi’s grip but reached up to squeeze his shoulder. “Soup’s ready, mate. Don’t leave Katy waiting. She hasn’t eaten anything all day.” He spun and walked to the front of the house, but even Katy could see the unshed tears in his eyes. Con was hurting too. She just didn’t understand why.
“Suit yourself then. Don’t talk,” Levi snapped. Slamming down a bowl, Katy was surprised it didn’t shatter. Fists resting on the benchtop, he stood there, breathing hard. Katy moved, tentatively standing up and walking towards him. Lightheaded, she gripped onto the furniture as she silently padded over, the timber floors warm under her bare feet.
Katy reached out for Levi, but as she did, Con came back in. He wasn’t carrying anything, but that didn’t mean anything—he probably had his bags stacked at the front door.
“Guys, I’m gonna go.”
“Con,” she pleaded, “please think about this. We don’t want to see you get hurt. We love you.”
“I love you, too. But I need to do this. Please understand,” he replied, cupping her face in his hands.
“We’ll stand by you, whatever you decide. And our door is always open for you to come home. Just don’t shut us out, please.” Katy’s eyes welled with tears. She didn’t want to lose him again, but Con was slipping from her grasp. Levi’s strong arms wrapped around her, his big body behind her. Her man gave her strength, but knowing Con was going to walk away tore her heart out.
“Don’t worry about me, Cupcake. Don’t get upset. I need to do this. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but I need to do it.”
“I’ll call you soon.” Katy slipped her arms around his waist. Levi still had a hold of her. It was like he couldn’t let her go either. “Thanks for looking after me.”
“Anytime, Cupcake.”
Con flashed a weak smile at Levi. His eyes were expressive, often revealing much more than Con thought he did. This time she saw so much emotion in them, none of it good. If he was moving in with Miranda and he was happy about it, why did he look so damn sad? Resignation, misery, and heartbreak were written all over Con’s face. The dark rings under his eyes suddenly looked more like sleeplessness rather than nights being in a lover’s arms. Watching him turn away, hands in his pockets, his gaze focussed on the floor, Con looked broken. Why was he doing this? Why was he leaving again?
“Babe,” she gasped, her tears falling freely. Levi sheltered her in his arms while she cried, tucking her against his body and holding her close. His shuddering breaths left her in no doubt he was struggling too. Watching Con walk away the second time was easily as bad as the first.
*****
“Hi Miranda,” Katy greeted her friend when she picked up her mobile. “How are you, sweetie?” She’d been as quiet as Con over the last week, and now that Katy was feeling better, she was determined she was going to catch up with her friends again. She and Levi needed to get back the balance they had in their friendship with Con, and now, with his girlfriend. As much as it pained Katy, seeing him with Miranda was better than not having him in her life at all.
“Fine,” Miranda responded sharply. Katy’s eyebrows hiked up, and she pulled the phone away from her ear looking at it as if it would shed some light on her friend’s murderous tone.
“Is Con there?” Katy asked tentatively. “I told him I’d call him, but he’s not answering his mobile. I thought maybe we could catch up.”
Miranda huffed out a laugh but it didn’t sound happy. “He didn’t tell you, did he? Fucking coward.”
“Tell me what?” Confusion laced her tone, and she frowned. What in the hell was her friend talking about?
“Ask the arsehole yourself,” she growled before adding, “He hasn’t been here since I kicked him out.” When there was no further explanation, Katy pulled the phone away from her ear again. Miranda had hung up, the line between them dead.What the hell just happened? Tell me what?
Katy dialled Con’s phone again and left yet another message. Then she waited. And waited. She had a partially decorated cake sitting in the cool room waiting for her, but there was no way she could concentrate on it with her current mood. Stripping out of her chef’s whites, she hung the jacket on the hook behind her office door and sat in front of her computer, attempting to get her mind around the mountain of paperwork sitting in her in-tray. An hour later she was pacing, walking back and forth across the length of her small office. It was quiet, so still that she could hear the ticking of her watch as the seconds crawled by.
The shrill ring of her mobile cut through the air and startled her so much that Katy fumbled, dropping it despite the death grip she’d had on it. Skittering under the desk, Katy was down on her knees in a flash, reaching for it.
“Hi, Con,” she said, sitting up and smashing her head on the desk. Rubbing the spot at the back of her crown, she complained, “Ow, shit that hurt.”
“You okay, Cupcake?” he asked, concerned.
“Yeah, I smashed my head on the desk. Why haven’t you been answering?”
“Cut to the chase next time.” He laughed nervously.
Katy was confused and downright frustrated at his evasiveness. Her tone was cutting. “Don’t change the subject.”
“Okay, okay. I’m on a lunchbreak at the moment. I have to finish off this part of Lee’s bike I’m working on. Why don’t I come over tonight and we can talk?”
“Or we could come over to wherever you’re staying.” From Con’s intake of breath, Katy knew she’d hit a sore spot. “Where is that by the way?”
