Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Flora
After my night in Maurizio’s bathroom, when Craig had woken from a bad dream, we hadn’t really spoken about what could have been.
The idea of the children being away all weekend had made me seriously consider cancelling my visit to see Maddie, but when I called her with an excuse all lined up, she sounded so excited that I backed down and finalised my plans with her.
I was going to wait until Maurizio returned from work on Friday night and then I was going to drive home and stay until Sunday morning.
My car was all packed up and ready to go when Maurizio returned home at the same time as his mother.
“Flora,” she called to me before being ambushed by her grandchildren who were excitedly chattering about the fun they were all going to have.
“Hi, Carmella,” I said with a smile.
“I’ll leave you all to get sorted then.” With a quick hug for the children and a wave for Carmella, I headed back into the house to grab my phone and keys before heading off, but not before exchanging a strange smile and knowing glance with Maurizio.
My car seemed to be struggling more than usual by the time I parked it outside Maddie’s house. I was barely outside when my sister was running barefoot down the path to greet me. I found myself engulfed in her arms and was disappearing beneath her kisses.
“Look at you! You look fabulous,” she gushed before lunging back in for another hug.
“Anyone would think you’d missed me,” I teased.
“Maybe, just a little bit,” she replied, already pulling me in to be hugged again before grabbing my bags from the boot and taking them into the house.
“So, the arsehole was married all along?” I stared, agog at my sister’s revelation about her last boyfriend.
“Yup! When the wife came into the restaurant and started shouting the odds and throwing names around, I could have died.”
I felt my sister’s mortification at being outed as the other woman in a crowded restaurant when she had no clue her date had a wife. The thought of her having to sit there and be humiliated in that way made me sad, but more than that, angry.
“And has the dickhead been in touch since?”
She looked at me and dropped her gaze.
“Really? And you gave him the time of day? Why?”
“I like him,” my sister replied, leaving me unsure what to say.
“You like him . . . and his wife, presumably he likes her?” I shook my head, fuming at him and Maddie.
Her mouth opened several times, but no words came out.
“Ah. Is this where you tell me that his wife doesn’t understand him?”
She shrugged and suddenly looked ashamed, something I didn’t want her to feel.
“Please, be careful. He’s a douche and is going to hurt you one way or another, and if he doesn’t, his wife might.”
In spite of the situation, we both laughed.
“So, enough of my disaster zone love life, tell me about yours.”
I blew out a breath that ended up coming out something like a blown raspberry.
“That good, eh?” Maddie moved closer and patted my knee. “We’re a bit shit at men, aren’t we?”
“I dunno if we’re shit, but we were spoilt with role models.
” We exchanged a sad smile as we each thought of our parents and the love they shared, the sort of love you only usually find in swoon worthy romance books and films. Our grandparents still shared the type of love most of us only ever dare dream of.
“We do like to complicate things, don’t we? ”
She raised a questioning eyebrow and like that the floodgates opened until I had given her a blow-by-blow account of my time with Maurizio.
We both sat in silence and then, she spoke. “He is seriously fucking hot then?”
I laughed loudly. “Yes, yes he is.”
“And he watched you touching yourself?”
“Yes.”
“And then you watched him?”
“Yes,” I repeated again.
“But we’re still waiting for the main act?”
My laugh became more of a cackle now, but I did nod.
“And his kids are away this weekend with his mother?”
“Yes.”
She rolled her eyes then shook her head. “What the bloody hell are you doing here then? Shouldn’t you be back there with Maurizio?” She overemphasised his name making me wonder if she would ever be able to say it without sounding as though she was advertising a pasta sauce, very badly.
I shrugged at her.
“Not that I’m not pleased to see you.”
“Good. Plus, Maurizio will still be there when I get back, and it’s your thirtieth tomorrow.”
“What’s the real story with him and his wife and how are things going with Bea?”
I knew she meant between me and Bea rather than Maurizio and Bea, but with the words out, I figured I might as well tell her exactly what I knew, but the truth was I still knew very little about him and Sophie.