Chapter Thirty-Three #2
In the foyer, they stopped to exchange mobile numbers and, after a final father-son embrace, Luke left. étienne watched him halt in the doorway to pick up a call; something urgent from the expression on his face. Moments later, he disappeared into the darkness.
Back in the function suite, Cat and Nathan were at the bar.
The evening was winding down, and Ruan was about to take Aunt Em up to her room.
étienne arrived, explaining that everything had gone well but Luke had decided to return home needing some time to himself.
Nathan nodded to where a very dejected looking Raphael, with Jodie still beside him, stared gloomily into his wine.
‘He thinks he’s going to be sacked,’ he told étienne with a grin. ‘You’d better break the good news to him.’
étienne smiled and wandered over to see Raphael, leaving Cat and Nathan alone.
‘Poor Raphael,’ Cat said, seeing the look of relief which slowly spread across the young Italian’s face as étienne pulled up a chair and began to speak to him. ‘He thought his days at Fiore Del Lago were over.’
‘It seems étienne’s sorted everything out with Luke, doesn’t it?’ Nathan said, draining his glass ‘What are you going to do now?’
‘Absolutely nothing.’ Cat shrugged, trying to conceal her distress.
‘Because there is no point. You saw the way he reacted. Hearing Gareth arguing with me it must have looked as if I’d known all along.
What does that make me look like? And after the way I criticised him over keeping secrets?
No, he’d never have me back now. It’s over, Nathan. Finished.’
‘Oh, sis.’ Nathan reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a brotherly hug. ‘This isn’t like you. You’re a fighter, you never give up. You still love him, right?’
‘Of course I do.’ Her brother’s question made her eyes brim with tears and she quickly wiped them away. The thought of losing him forever was too painful to contemplate. But at the moment the possibility of staying together looked extremely bleak.
‘You want some advice?’ she heard Nathan ask, as he produced a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. ‘Go and see him first thing tomorrow. After all, what have you got to lose?’
‘My dignity, when he slams the door in my face?’ she said, as she carefully wiped her eyes.
‘Come on, that’s not going to happen and you know it,’ he said, reaching out to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
‘You heard étienne say that Luke’s gone home because he needs some time alone.
But tomorrow, after he’s thought everything through, I’m sure if you turn up on his doorstep he won’t turn you away.
Besides, I don’t want you going back to Desenzano and moping over what you could have done but didn’t. ’
‘Am I likely to do that?’
‘You might.’ Nathan’s sympathetic smile reminded her so much of Ruan. ‘And if that happened you know you’d never forgive yourself, would you?’
Cat considered the question, then handed him back his handkerchief with a shake of her head. ‘No, you’re right, I wouldn’t.’
‘So you’ll go and see him?’
‘Yes.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise.’
The next morning after breakfast, Cat and Siobhan did a quick check of the function suite to make sure the clear up was well under way. Happy that housekeeping and catering had the whole thing under control, Cat left for Carrenporth.
Parking her Mercedes in the small visitors’ car park on the eastern edge of the village, she walked along the High Street and then turned left up the hill to where Luke’s cottage was situated.
Reaching the front door, she braced herself.
Beyond it lurked the great unknown and she had no idea what sort of reception she would receive.
She had quizzed étienne over breakfast but his non-committal response led her to believe Luke still had issues over what she had known and for how long.
Still, it was far too late to turn around and leave.
Whatever waited for her behind that door she was determined to face it bravely and have her say.
She rang the doorbell twice and stepped back to wait. Eventually, she heard the sound of feet on the stairs followed by bolts being shot back. Finally the door swung open.
‘Oh.’ Cat stepped back in surprise as she came face to face with Mia Boscowan.
‘Hi, I guess you’ve come to see Luke.’ Her friendly smile only served to make matters worse. What was she doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to be living with Jordan? Cat felt confused. For a few seconds her head spun and then she raised her hands and began to back away. Time to leave.
‘No, sorry, Mia, I shouldn’t be here.’
‘Who is it, Mia?’ She heard a male voice call from above, followed by the heavy thud of feet on the stairs.
She stopped, rooted to the spot, unable to escape the inevitable.
And then, to her surprise, an untidy blond head appeared behind Mia and Jordan rested his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘Hi, Cat,’ he said cheerfully. ‘What brings you here this morning?’
‘She’s come to see Luke.’ Mia leaned back into his shoulder and smiled up at him. ‘Luke suggested we slept here last night. It was easier than driving all the way back to Port Morwen,’ she explained, seeing Cat’s confused expression.
Cat could only stare in surprise. ‘Are you two really—?’
‘Together, yeah,’ Jordan grinned, ‘nine months and counting. I’m afraid you’ve missed Luke, he left about an hour ago.’
‘Luke’s gone?’ She couldn’t believe her bad luck.
‘Early this morning.’ Mia nodded. ‘Dad has a crew taking a new yacht to its owner. He had a call last night to say one of the guys whose wife is pregnant had gone into labour. So he contacted Luke and asked whether he could take his place. Like Jordan said, he left about an hour ago.’
‘Have I time to catch him?’
‘Not sure. I’ll just give Dad a call,’ she said, disappearing inside.
‘Come in,’ Jordan said, stepping back and showing Cat into the front room. ‘Mia won’t be a moment. I’m about to head off to do the shopping run.’
‘Shopping run?’ Cat’s eyebrows rose. ‘Heavens, Jordan, when did you become Mr Domestic?’
‘You will never believe how much I’ve changed, Cat,’ he said, settling himself on the edge of one of the chairs.
‘What happened with my mother was a wake-up call. My dad was so angry and I guess he had every right to be. I took a good look at myself and didn’t much like what I saw.
He kicked me out and I went on a bit of a bender at The Smugglers.
Luke took me in, looked after me. He had to be one hell of a guy to do that after the way I’d treated him.
And now this thing with étienne. I always thought my father had been the one bankrolling his university and travelling.
I was angry. I thought how unfair it was, Selina’s son getting preferential treatment. Again, big mistake.’
‘I guess you had a right to feel that way. None of us knew. We simply thought Gareth was looking after his family.’
‘Yeah, and now the best thing of all is that Luke and me are really good friends. It’s great to have him in my life,’ he said, shoving to his feet. ‘Well, I’d best get on, that shopping won’t do itself. Take care, Cat,’ he said, reaching out to give her shoulder an affectionate squeeze as he left.
‘You too, Jordan.’
As the front door closed, Mia reappeared. From her solemn expression it appeared the news wasn’t good.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, settling herself next to Cat. ‘I’ve been trying to get through but Dad’s not answering the phone. The yacht was due to leave at nine thirty, twenty minutes ago. Unless something has happened to delay it, which I doubt, I’m afraid you really have missed him.’
Cat hid her disappointment. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. However, there was nothing she could do, she would simply have to leave it for today. ‘I’ll try and catch him tomorrow,’ she said.
‘Tomorrow? How long are you staying?’
‘I’ve an early evening flight back to Verona.’
‘Ah …’
‘Is there a problem?’
‘Yes, the client is based in Valencia. They’ll be gone for nearly a fortnight.’
‘A fortnight?’ Hearing the bad news, Cat cupped her head in her hands and groaned.
It was impossible. She simply couldn’t stay here for another two weeks.
The arrangements for the opening of Hotel Isabella Di Marco were on a tight timeline.
It would be impossible for Raphael to complete the project all by himself.
‘Don’t worry. Dad is in regular radio contact with the yacht. I could get a message to Luke later,’ Mia said helpfully.
‘If you could, that would be great. He already has my mobile number but I’ll give you the hotel number too,’ she said pulling a pen and pad from her bag and scribbling down the details. ‘I just need him to call me.’ She tore off the slip of paper and handed it to Mia. ‘We really do need to talk.’
Late the following afternoon, étienne, Cat and Raphael settled themselves in the Bentley and left for the airport amid a flurry of hugs and goodbyes.
Aunt Em, along with Gerren and Jenna, had left just after breakfast, Jenna grumbling about the length of time it had taken to get Em to make a decision on the clothes she would be taking with her.
By now they would be boarding at Southampton.
Cat smiled as she watched the countryside passing by the window.
Em hadn’t been away for years. It had been Ruan who had come up with the idea when he realised his parents were planning to book a Southampton to San Francisco cruise on the Queen Mary 2.
It seemed an ideal two-in-one birthday present: a luxury cruise, plus the chance to spend time with her brother and sister-in-law, two people she had missed so much since their move to France.
Her thoughts turned to Luke, wondering how far his yacht had travelled.
Two weeks seemed an eternity, but back in Italy there was enough going on at the hotel to keep her distracted.
However, it wouldn’t stop her ticking those days off the calendar one by one, hoping time away had mellowed his anger and he would pick up the phone and make that call.