Page 23 of The Moon Also Rises
I don’t hide my surprise. “You’re having therapy already? Surely that’s for later down the road when one of you doesn’t pick up your socks and the other never takes the bins out?”
“Oh, no, a healthy relationship always needs help and so we’re using it to deepen our bond,” Lionel says.
“Of course you are,” I mumble, possibly a little tartly.
“I think it’s very romantic,” Rami says loud enough to cover my words but then silence falls again.
And it lingers long enough for me to notice the way Lionel and Luigi look at each other and how they instinctively lean towards the other, their arms touching. I am busy observing their intimacy, feeling all manner of prickly and unpleasant feelings, when Rami breaks the silence.
“This venue really is incredible. How did you find it?”
I may be a little surprised he speaks first, but I am completely shocked that he does so while slipping his hand back into mine and giving my fingers a quick squeeze, hard enough that it makes me turn to look at him. It could be my imagination, but he gives me exactly the same kind of look Luigi and Lionel just shared – chin dipped, eyes boring into me, unblinking – and I smile back at him, another wave of relief washing over me.
Fuck, I really am going to have to thank him for today, aren’t I?
“Isn’t it stunning? It’s owned by one of Luigi’s clients and they practically insisted we use it, didn’t they, darling?”
“They did indeed,mi amore,” Luigi replies, and I hear again his perfect Italian pronunciation. Brilliant. He’s fucking bilingual.
“Have you seen inside yet? Shall we give you a quick tour?” Lionel asks. “Oh, silly sausage me. I haven’t even asked you how your journey was?”
“It was fine,” Rami replies. “At least it was for me. Jake drove so I was able to relax a bit. He’s good to me.”
I wish I didn’t see the way Lionel recoils at this, as if he’s surprised.
“You know,” Luigi narrows his stare on Rami. “You look ever so familiar. Do you work in fashion? Modelling?”
“Him? Modelling? Ha!” I exclaim and only regret it when I see how horrified Lionel and Luigi look. I’d forgotten how Lionel has a different sense of humour to me.
“I work in events,” Rami says, smoothing over my blunder.
“He’s our new Head of Events,” I add.
“Oh, you work together?” Lionel says. “That’s… nice.”
My stomach drops when I realise where this stilted reaction has come from. When Lionel and I were hooking up together I frequently used our working together as a reason we could never be an official couple. At the time I did think it was the right thing to say, to do, and ironically, I still think that way – Rami and I are a fake relationship after all – but I can hardly explain that now.
“It’s a funny story, actually,” Rami begins. “I had to move into Jake’s office on my first day as mine wasn’t ready – still isn’t, in fact – and so we were literally sort of forced together. He couldn’t escape me.”
“I wouldn’t call that a funny story, at all.” I wrinkle my nose.
The silence returns and I am about to curse my own dry sense of humour when I feel Rami’s body shake with chuckles.
“You can be such a sarcastic bitch sometimes,” he says, nudging into me. “You’re lucky that it’s one of the things I like about you.”
As if it’s an invitation to laugh with him, Lionel and Luigi join in.
“So, about that tour?” Lionel then says.
“Yes, we can take you to your room first and then show you everything else. We have to keep some of the details of the ceremony a secret, of course, but I think we can show you where everything is happening,” Luigi adds.
“Oh, we don’t want to put you out,” I say quickly. The thought of a pre-wedding preview is nauseating. “We’ll just check-in and go to our room…”
“Jake can barely keep his hands off me,” Rami says, leaning forward. The words – and the implied meaning – are so foreign in his deep, serious voice, I am momentarily stunned while he keeps talking. “You know what it’s like, the early stages of a new relationship.”
“Oh, we do,” Lionel says, and a blush of colour rises in his brown cheeks. He gazes up at Luigi as he speaks. “Do you remember that one time you locked your front door and hid the key so you could keep me all to yourself for a weekend? And then you went and forgot where you hid the key so on Monday morning. We had to practically turn your place inside out to find it.” Lionel turns back to us. “And do you know where the key was?”
There’s a pause before we realise he’s actually waiting for an answer.
