Page 75 of Lights, Camera, Love

Any second now, he will lay his hand on my shoulder, spin me to face him, and beg me not to leave. He’ll tell me how sorry he is for breaking my heart every day for nearly thirty years.

But then the lift doors spring open, and Gabriel still hasn’t come. I take a tentative step inside and turn around. Through the glass doors of the restaurant, I spot him thanking the waiter, who is setting down a large plate and a foamy beer on his table. Just before the lift doors close, I watch, through swelling tears, as Gabriel picks up a floppy slice of pizza and slips it into his mouth.

CHAPTER 19

Kye

I set my coffee down on the arm of Mike’s scuffed leather couch, a groan clawing up my throat as his Great Dane, Sadie, flops onto my feet, crushing all the bones and ligaments within. I carefully free myself and bend down to give her silky head a pat. She sighs contentedly as a litter of Jack Russell puppies yaps and whines from behind the screen door leading to the backyard. Mike’s teenage boys dart around the house, stuffing lunches into school bags and hunting for overdue library books while their mum huffs at the front door, a laptop bag in one hand and a key fob in the other. A cat climbs onto the couch and passes behind my head, brushing over my neck like a warm feather duster. It’s a chaotic, noisy scene for a Thursday morning, but I can’t help wishing I was a regular part of it.

With his family finally out the door, Mike carries a mug of tea over and drops onto the saddle-brownarmchair beside me. ‘Thought they’d never leave,’ he says with a wink.

‘You’re a lucky man,’ is all I say back.

He smiles over the rim of his mug, which is stamped with the words ‘WORLD’S OKAYEST DAD’.‘Right. Now that half the zoo animals have left,’ he says, ‘what have you got planned for today?’

I chew the inside of my cheek. ‘Catch up on work stuff, I guess.’

I’d hoped to see Evie—I’m so fucking gone on her already, it’s ridiculous. But she has her hands full today. After she met her father yesterday, she rang me, teary and out of breath. I’m hardly a font of advice when it comes to positive parental relationships, so I just sat quietly and listened. I wanted so badly to go and see her then, but Mike’s eldest kid—a young chef in the making—was cooking me a three-course meal, which he was super excited about, so we had to leave it.

And today, Evie is planning to tell her mum all about what happened with her dad, which she’s freaking out about, poor thing.

‘That was some thought train that just went through your head,’ Mike observes, calmly lifting his tea to his lips. ‘Are you ready to talk yet? About what brought you here for this surprise slumber party, I mean?’

My spontaneous visit was meant to be for one night only but has since turned into almost a week on Mike’s fold-out sofa. We’ve danced around the topic of why I’m here, but I haven’t felt like getting into it.

‘I’m sure you can guess,’ I mumble. ‘Austin and I aren’t getting along.’

‘And why not?’ He sets down his tea and cradles his chin in his palm, studying me.

If I tell Mike any of the awful things Austin said to me during our argument, it’ll just upset him, so I stick to the cause of the fight instead. ‘I’ve been seeing someone.’

Surprise springs to Mike’s eyes, and the start of a smile lifts his lips.

‘She’s Austin’s co-star in the movie he just finished filming,’ I say.

‘You mean that beautiful woman who looks like—’

‘Brooke Shields. Yeah, that’s her.’ Warmth travels up my chest, but not because Evie looks uncannily like an older version of the character fromEndless Love. It’s because of the way she holds my hand like it’s made of diamonds, and how she smiles at me with her entire being—even when I’m acting like a grumpy dick. It’s the way her face shines with unbridled joy when she dances, and how endlessly patient and positive she is with everyone she meets. The ‘Incredible Things About Evie Scott’ list grows longer in my head, but Mike pulls me back.

‘I thought Austin was dating her,’ he says, his brows squishing with confusion.

‘That … might have been planted for film publicity.’ I widen my eyes in a mock display of innocence.

Mike arches a brow. ‘Fair enough.’ He reaches for his mug. ‘So, you’re the one dating …’

‘Evie.’ The warmth in my chest expands as I tell him more about her: how incredible she is at dancing—not just hip-hop, but also salsa, and I assume many other styles, too—and how easily we seem to connect, both on and off the dance floor. I only stop when I realise that I’m gushing.

Beaming, he replies, ‘Okay, so what’s the problem?’

I pick at the sports-brand logo sewn into my shorts. ‘The problem is that Austin’s into her. Well, he says he is.’

‘Oh, he says that, does he?’ Mike blinks at me.

‘Yeah, and he shared that with me before Evie and I started dating. Because of what happened with Nadia, I think, he lost his shit when he found out about us—he even left the state for a few days—and then accused me of going after every woman he likes.’

Mike makes a face. ‘That’s not true, is it?’

‘Not at all.’ I skim my hand up the back of my neck. ‘This is the only time, other than Nadia, that a girl has come between me and Austin like this.’

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