Page 65 of Dance With Me
“I think so. I drove past the studio yesterday, and his car was there, but I haven’t heard from him or Natalia. From what I remember, she’s moving down to London soon, and I know he wouldn’t want to miss that. Plus, he needs to help Dom at the studio.” Joe put down his knife and looked at Hazel. “I don’t know what to do here. Do I go and see him? I know he’s blocked my number, so calling’s out of the question, and he was talking about changing his number.”
“I think you should give him some space, Joe.” Hazel reached across and touched his arm.
“He’s already had over three weeks, and it’s killing me not knowing where we stand. I can’t believe this has happened. Why can’t anything ever be easy? Why does it have to hurt so fucking much, Hazel?”
Before she could answer, the doorbell rang, and Hazel went to get it whilst Joe pulled himself together. Jayne and Aidan came in with a couple of bottles of wine and a case of beer.
“I know you said not to bring anything, but we couldn’t turn up empty-handed. I brought this for me and the kids as well.” Jayne handed over a couple of bottles of non-alcoholic wine and some juice for the children.
“How are you holding up, Joe? Can we help at all?” Jayne hugged him.
“Nah, we’ve got it under control. Food shouldn’t be long, and Mum and Dad will be here soon.”
Joe got everyone drinks, and they all sat at the breakfast bar whilst he and Hazel carried on prepping the food.
An hour later, everyone had arrived and the alcohol flowed freely. Joe had started to forget that today was supposed to be the best day of his life, and he was sitting on the sofa watching a Disney movie with Grace on his lap and Matty tucked into his side. If only this were his life. Watching movies with his kids, a partner to love. Would he ever have this? His thoughts drifted again to Seb, and he closed his eyes, the tears pricking them again.
He could hear his mum, Jayne and Hazel talking in soft voices, and whilst he couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, he knew they were discussing him and his mental state. He had to admit it wasn’t great at the moment, but this afternoon, sitting with his family, he’d decided he wasn’t going to let this thing go with Seb. He was going to try to win him back.
The weather hadn’t improved either, reflecting his shitty mood. In fact, it had got worse, both the weather and his mood. The skies looked ominous, and Joe had heard there was going to be a storm—a bad one. Therefore, he was surprised when there was a loud knock at the door.
“Who else is coming?” Jayne asked.
“I’ve no idea. I didn’t invite anyone else.” Joe stood and moved to open the door.
Clare stood on his doorstep, a flimsy coat held over her head to try to keep off the rain. It wasn’t working, and she was soaking wet.
“What are you doing here, Clare? I thought you had plans for today, and I actually have visitors.” Joe was not pleased to see her.
“I did, but I needed to come and see you. Can I come in? Please, Joe,” she pleaded.
Joe stood back and let her into the house. He looked around to see that everybody had gathered in the kitchen, giving them some semblance of privacy in the lounge.
“Let me get you a towel,” Joe said, just as one sailed through the air into his hands. He looked behind him as Aidan nodded.
“Thanks,” Clare said as she took it from him and started to rub her hair.
Joe looked at her expectantly. “Why did you come, Clare? Not sure we have anything to discuss. Certainly not today.”
“I thought today was the best day, actually. I want to discuss our future.”
Joe bristled at these words. “You and I have no future, Clare, and until such time as you can prove the baby is mine, we have no future to discuss. I’m not going to abandon you if it’s mine, though, if that’s what you think.”
“I know you won’t, Joe. Your integrity has never been in question. Well, other than your indiscretion with Seb.” Her haughty manner was starting to rile Joe. Too much alcohol and not enough food made him irritated.
Joe rubbed his eyes. “I’ve already told you, nothing happened until after I’d called the wedding off. I don’t want to go over this with you anymore. So I’m going to ask you again, what are you doing here?” His patience was wearing very thin.
Clare sighed and reached for his hand. “I wanted to talk to you about the baby and the wedding.”
“There is no wedding, Clare, and there never will be,” Joe snapped.
Clare went tight-lipped at that but carried on talking. “I know you’ve been questioning whether or not there is an actual baby or if I was just being overly dramatic when I caught you and Seb together. The answer is, yes, there is a baby, but as I think you already suspected, I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’s not yours.”
“What the hell, Clare? Why didn’t you tell me this before? Why did you make me think I was the father?” Joe was livid again and was quite sure he knew what she was going to say next.
Clare sat back down and looked Joe in the eyes. “When you accused me of being with someone else, you were right. I had been having an affair with Neil, and we’re still together. We’ve been seeing each other for about four months, and the baby is his. Now he’s split from his wife; we’ll be moving in together.”
Joe was struck dumb at Clare’s confession but also at the realisation that he could be with Seb with no complications. He couldn’t wait to go and see him and give him the news, but he needed to hear Clare out first. She obviously had things she needed to get off her chest.
