Chapter 13 #2
‘Well, not any more.’ Kate beamed at her. ‘He’s all yours. And yours.’ She turned to Liz. ‘And probably every other woman in the room’s, for all I know.’
‘I thought you didn’t believe in marriage,’ Liz was saying to him in a shocked whisper.
‘I was going to break it off with you anyway,’ Kate continued airily.
‘I’m in love with someone else. Probably nothing will come of it, but I might as well tell you it’s Will, since you’ll probably find out anyway.
It’s been in all the papers. His girlfriend caught us together and tried to beat me up. ’
At this the whole group erupted. Brian sat stony-faced as the session descended into chaos. Suzanne and Liz ran from the room in tears, and several other girls were throwing wounded glances in Brian’s direction. Terry stood up and pumped Kate’s hand enthusiastically.
‘Thanks for your help, Kate. I’m off home to give my wife a hand with the kids.’
‘Oh good,’ she smiled. ‘Sorry if I was a bit—’
‘No, you were great,’ he said. ‘Good luck with that bloke of yours.’
‘You’re not going back to Dublin by any chance? Only I could do with a lift.’
‘Sure, no problem. I’ll see you out front in ten minutes.’
Kate grinned triumphantly at Brian.
‘You were right,’ she told him. ‘It was very empowering.’ And with that she walked out of the room and out of his life.
* * *
Letting herself into the flat, Kate was immediately accosted by Freddie. ‘At last!’ he said accusingly.
‘Well, it’s official, my life is crap,’ Kate said, moving past him into the living room and throwing her keys on the table.
‘What happened?’ Freddie asked. ‘And why did you stay out last night? You did break up with Brian, didn’t you?’ he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
‘Yes.’ Kate sighed wearily. ‘I did. But you wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to do it – sweat lodges, sharing circles, role-playing – and it cost me three hundred euro!’
‘Bit of a bargain, if you ask me,’ Freddie muttered. ‘Well, never mind. It’s over now, and you can get on with your life.’
‘What life? I don’t have a life any more. I have no job, no boyfriend—’
‘Don’t speak too soon, Baby Bear.’ Freddie smiled enigmatically, barely able to contain his excitement.
‘Baby Bear?’ Kate screwed up her face. ‘What are you on about?’
In answer, Freddie put an arm around her and steered her across the apartment.
‘Someone’s been sleeping in your bed,’ he said, pausing outside the door of Kate’s room. ‘And he’s still there!’ he said theatrically, opening the door with a dramatic flourish.
Kate couldn’t believe her eyes because there, fast asleep, was Will, flanked by Didi and Gogo, nestled into his body on either side, purring in time with his rhythmic breathing, eyes tightly closed and expressions of transcendental bliss on their faces.
Will’s ridiculously long black eyelashes rested on his cheeks, and she saw that he was sporting a livid bruise under one eye.
For a moment she was too stunned to speak.
‘Poor thing, he must have been exhausted,’ Freddie cooed. ‘He’s been sleeping for almost twelve hours.’
‘But how did he get here? When—’
‘He came here last night, looking for you.’
‘And you let him stay?’ Kate couldn’t help feeling a little betrayed.
‘Not until I’d given him a really hard time. I’m not a total pushover, you know, not even for a face as pretty as that. I really put him through the wringer.’
Kate couldn’t imagine Freddie putting anyone through the wringer.
‘You can ask Ken!’ Freddie said, reading her expression.
‘Oh my God,’ Kate gasped, ‘you didn’t do that, did you?’ She indicated Will’s bruised face.
‘No, of course not. That’s Lorcan’s handiwork.’
‘Lorcan? What on earth got into him?’
‘He was doing the protective brother bit, defending your honour – “Unhand my sister, you blackguard.” Very Anna Karenina.’ He sighed admiringly.
‘Oh God!’ Kate groaned. She found the thought of Lorcan and Will falling out deeply upsetting – especially if it was over her.
‘Oh, don’t worry, I gather they’ve made it up now,’ Freddie assured her.
‘Oh really?’ Kate said, needled. ‘What about my honour?’ She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn’t help it. ‘Will seems to have got around everyone,’ she said peevishly.
‘Even Didi and Gogo are devoted to him,’ Freddie said fondly, ‘and you know how standoffish they can be.’
‘But what’s he doing here – apart from schmoozing the cats?’ she asked petulantly.
‘What do you think?’
Kate hardly dared to believe what he was implying. ‘Really?’
‘Why do you think I let him stay? You know I love you, Kate, but you can be awfully dense sometimes.’
They jumped as Will stirred, his eyelids fluttering.
‘Oh, he’s waking up!’ Freddie hissed and hurriedly pushed Kate into the room while he ducked out, shutting the door after him as if to stop her escaping.
Will’s eyes fluttered open. ‘Hello,’ he said groggily, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes.
‘Hello,’ Kate said, feeling incredibly shy.
‘What time is it?’
‘Almost one.’
‘Christ! I can’t believe I slept so long.’ His voice was thick. As he sat up higher in the bed, Didi and Gogo meowed in protest at being disturbed and jumped off to stalk away moodily.
Will pushed a hand through his hair and blinked rapidly, then smiled up at her. Kate couldn’t help thinking how good he looked in her bed, stripped and ready for action – her favourite fantasy come to life. ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked.
‘Oh, Freddie said it would be okay – since you weren’t coming back last night.’
‘I meant here in Ireland.’
‘I came to get you.’
‘You did?’ Kate perched on the end of the bed. ‘But I thought you’d gone straight back to Tuscany.’
‘I had. But I thought you were still at the villa until I got back there and discovered you’d left.’
‘I’m sorry I ran off like that.’ She plucked nervously at the duvet, her eyes downcast.
‘Christ, I’m sorry about the whole thing, Kate. It should never have happened. If I’d known—’
Kate leapt off the bed as if she’d been scalded and scuttled over to the window. She couldn’t bear it – he was going to give her the what-happened-between-us-was-a-mistake speech. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said, affecting all the nonchalance she could muster. ‘No permanent damage done.’
Will squinted at her. ‘But that night, it wasn’t—’
Whatever he was about to say, she didn’t want to hear it.
‘Look, I’ll leave you to get dressed,’ she said and dashed from the room before he could say another word.
* * *
Freddie was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and flicking through a glossy magazine when Kate came in.
‘Well, when’s the wedding?’ he asked casually. ‘You’d better be making me bridesmaid.’
‘What wedding?’ Kate snapped. ‘You got it all wrong. He just came here to say that what happened was a mistake and to get me to go back to work.’
Freddie was aghast. ‘Bloody heteros! You couldn’t organise a shagfest in a brothel!’
Leaping to his feet, he grabbed Kate’s hand and dragged her back to her bedroom door.
‘He loves you, you love him,’ he hissed. ‘Now, get back in there and don’t come out until I’ve got a hen night to arrange and a wedding dress to design.’ He opened the door and gave Kate an almighty shove in the back, sending her staggering into the room.
‘You’re back!’
‘Freddie thought I should listen to what you have to say,’ she mumbled.
‘Remind me to lobby the Church for his canonization.’
‘So?’ Kate prompted. ‘What were you saying?’
Will sighed. ‘Just that I’m really sorry about everything. I had no idea about all the flak you’d been getting in the papers.’
‘Oh!’
‘If I’d known, I’d have come back sooner. I wouldn’t have hung you out to dry like that.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Kate told him. ‘It was my own fault, really. I shouldn’t have run off like that.’
‘No, you bloody shouldn’t. I sacked Louise when I discovered her part in it.’
‘You didn’t!’ Kate gasped, her eyes huge.
‘Don’t worry,’ Will laughed, ‘she told me to fuck off. But you have to come back to Tuscany with me. I’ll be lynched if I go back without you! They’re all threatening to go on hunger strike.’
‘But what about Tina?’ Kate asked, bracing herself.
‘She’s always on hunger strike.’
‘You know what I mean. I’m sure she wouldn’t want me there.’
‘I don’t see what it’s got to do with her,’ Will shrugged casually. ‘As far as I know, she’s busy reinventing herself as the Mother Teresa of Cambodia. Good luck to her!’
‘Don’t you mind?’ Kate asked. It was like picking a scab. She knew no good could come of asking, but she had to know.
‘Mind! Why should I mind?’ Will looked puzzled.
‘But I thought – I mean, aren’t you—’
‘No, I’m not heartbroken. No, I didn’t beg her to take me back.’
‘You didn’t?’ Kate asked, edging closer and sitting on the bed.
‘No. We had a huge row after you’d gone. I told her she and I were through. I’m afraid she chose to spin that as a declaration of undying love.’
‘So, you’re not still in love with her?’ Kate asked, feeling as if the sun was rising after the longest, darkest night.
‘No.’ Will shook his head, gazing at her intently. ‘I never said all those things Tina claims I did. She made it all up. I’d have thought you’d know that.’
‘Me?’
‘You.’ He looked at her for a long time. ‘I love you,’ he said eventually. ‘I came here to tell you that.’
Kate could hardly breathe, her heart was pounding so wildly. ‘You do?’
‘Yes, I do. I thought I’d made that pretty obvious. Am I too late?’ he asked.
‘Too late? What do you mean?’
‘Freddie said you’d gone to see Brian yesterday.’
‘Yes, I did – to break up with him.’
‘But you didn’t come home last night,’ Will said, his eyes dropping to the duvet. ‘What happened? Did he talk you out of it?’
When he looked up again his expression was impassive, but the tightening of the muscles along his jaw betrayed his anxiety.
Kate realised that he actually felt unsure of her. ‘No, he didn’t talk me out of it.’
‘So you did break up with him?’
‘Oh yes. Very publicly and spectacularly.’