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‘How come?’ she says, reaching for my hand.
‘Lou’s sister, Luciana, and best friend, Genevieve, are going to join us tonight and they aren’t very happy with me.’
‘Why?’
‘We’ve been intimate.’
She giggles. She’s taking this a lot better than I thought she would.
‘Caleb Black! Which one?’
‘Both of them.’
‘Do they know?’ She now looks concerned.
‘Yes. It was at the same—’
‘At the same time? Caleb!’
‘No, McJudgy. Separately, but at the same weekend away. Come on, it’s cold out here.’ I pull her coat round her. ‘Let’s get you warmed up.’
I open the sliding door and let us back into the luxurious living room. I take Ariella’s coat from her, add mine to it, put them on the coat stand and head to the kitchen to meet the boys.
‘Hey, guys. Got one of those for me?’
Jack opens the door to a hidden fridge, liberates a beer and hands one to me.
‘Nice flat, Jack,’ I say, raising an eyebrow.
‘Please don’t start? She’s trying to make amends, Caleb.’
‘Is she? Is that why Luci and Gen are on the guest list?’
‘Both of you stop. Caleb, if it helps, be here to support Jack. And apart from giving you a hard time about Lou’s birthday, Luci and Gen are pretty harmless,’ Tim referees.
I want to list all the harm they could do, but I keep my mouth shut. All I need to do tonight is be on my best behaviour with Ariella.
‘Fair enough. So, what’s for dinner?’
‘Soup, pasta, fish, meat and tiramisu.’
‘Bloody hell, Lou’s been busy.’
Jack smiles conspiratorially. ‘She had it all delivered. The chef, sommelier and waitress just popped out; they should be back soon.’
‘At least she put in the effort,’ Tim adds.
Luciana and Genevieve arrive with the kitchen team, so we are called to dinner shortly afterwards. I take the seat in between Ariella and Em, with Louisa at the head of the table and Luciana at the other end.
Louisa stands up just before the first course is served.
‘Thank you all for coming. I know I have a lot of apologies to make and some hard truths to hear, but for now I just wanted to share how grateful I am for you all. The team from Porto Sicilia are here and the chef would like to introduce tonight’s menu.’
We all clap. As soon as the chef steps in, he stops.
‘Ariella!’ He walks straight to her, pronouncing her name in a thick Italian accent.
‘Chef!’ She smiles as she stands up, with her head respectfully bowed, but he gives her a big hug.
