Some Girls Do (39 page)

‘Claire?’ His smile faded as he saw the tears in her eyes. ‘Shit, I didn’t mean to upset you. It was supposed to be a funny story.’

‘Hilarious,’ she said drily as he filled her glass.

‘Sorry.’ He hugged her, kissing her forehead. ‘No more stories about Little Orphan Luca.’

The food was laid out as a buffet in the sunroom, and Claire was relieved that when they had loaded their plates Luca found them
seats at the opposite end of the long table from his parents. She knew she was an awful coward, but she would be happy if she never had to face Jacqueline again, and was determined to avoid her for the rest of the evening – though she felt her eyes on her sometimes during the meal, watching her and Luca with that perplexed expression.

They sat near a group of Ali’s friends whom Luca knew well. They were welcoming and fun, and she was glad that Luca had relaxed and seemed to be enjoying himself as they talked and laughed.

When they dimmed the lights and everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’, Claire saw Luca watching Jacqueline as she carried a cake covered with candles to the table, her smiling face illuminated in their glow. Something in his expression struck her like a knife to the heart, and it hit her with devastating clarity why he was so truculent, defensive and cold with Jacqueline. It wasn’t because he hated her: it was because he loved her and knew she didn’t love him back. Maybe there was a bit of him that wanted to hurt her, but mostly, he just wanted to protect himself from being hurt any more than he already had been. So he pretended he didn’t care, that he didn’t love her any more than she loved him, that he didn’t want or need anything from her. Maybe that was why he kept all women at a distance.

Later, as Bono and Andrea Corr sang ‘When The Stars Go Blue’, she spun in Luca’s arms beneath the canopy of stars, the music drifting out across the bay, drowning the crash of the waves below. Sky and sea bled into one in the darkness, and Claire’s head, on Luca’s shoulder, was pleasantly fuzzy from the champagne. The party was winding down around them.

‘Tired?’ he asked her when the song finished.

She lifted her head. ‘I’m still up for a few teenage fantasies, if you are.’

‘Hold that thought.’ He clasped her hand and led her towards the house.

She followed him into his bedroom, but when he turned to her, she pushed him down onto the bed, locked the door and leaned against it. Holding his gaze, she unzipped her dress all the way down the back and pushed it off, letting it slide down her legs to pool at her feet.

‘What’s all this?’ Luca asked, his eyes dark and hungry as Claire reached around to unclip her strapless bra.

‘Call it my end-of-term showcase.’ She smiled, looking right at him as she removed her bra and tossed it aside, not squirming even when his eyes dropped to her chest. She was happy for him to look as she walked slowly to him in nothing but her knickers and high-heels.

‘You are so getting an A,’ he muttered, as she crawled over him on the bed.

Chapter Twenty-five

When Luca woke early the next morning, Claire was still sleeping soundly in his arms, her head nestled into the crook of his neck. He’d missed waking up with her like this since her mother had got out of hospital and she no longer stayed over at his place: the warmth of her body snuggled against his, the softness of her skin; kissing her slowly awake in the morning and making love to her gently, languorously, when they were both barely conscious. He hadn’t wanted to stay here last night – he’d wanted to get away as quickly as possible – but he was glad now that they had. It was different with her there.

He loved the way she had defended him to Jacqueline and replayed the things she had said about him over and over in his mind. He knew he shouldn’t feel good about it because the row had upset her, but he couldn’t help it. It meant a lot to him that she had overcome her shyness to stand up for him like that. And later, when they were alone, she had shed all her inhibitions along with her clothes and seduced him until every lonely, horny ghost of his teenage self had been well and truly laid to rest. She had been magnificent.

He was tempted to kiss her awake now, but they hadn’t had much sleep. He should let her rest. And, much as he’d like to lie there with her until she woke up, he was gasping for something to drink. So he extricated himself gently and slid out of bed, careful not to disturb her, then pulled on his clothes discarded the previous night and went downstairs.

He made coffee, took it out on the deck and sat at the table, watching as the sun rose over the bay.

‘Good morning! You’re up early.’ His father shuffled onto the deck in his dressing gown and slippers, coffee in hand.

‘Morning. So are you,’ he said, as Jonathan sat down opposite him.

‘I don’t sleep much, these days. One of the perks of getting older.’

‘Is it a perk?’

‘Well, it is today. I get to spend some time with my favourite son before everyone else is up. It’s good to see you, Luca. How are you?’

‘Fine.’

‘It’s nice to have you here.’ Jonathan looked out at the horizon. ‘We’d rather see you, you know,’ he said tentatively, turning to Luca. ‘Even if it means rows.’

‘You don’t have enough aggro in your lives?’

‘We’d rather you came round for a fight than not at all.’

‘Fun for all the family, eh?’ Luca laughed and Jonathan joined in.

‘Maybe that’s the best we can do,’ he said wryly.

‘Sorry,’ Luca said seriously. ‘I don’t want to be mean. I just think it’s probably better for everyone if I stay away.’

‘She does regret that bloody book, you know.’

‘Really?’ Luca ran his thumb around the edge of his mug. ‘She’s never said sorry.’

‘Have you?’

Luca raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement – it was a fair point. ‘She just winds me up every time. I try to be nice and not lose it but—’ He broke off, sighing in frustration.

‘I know you do. But she tries too. You have to give her a chance.’

‘Well, she started it,’ Luca said, aware of how childish he sounded. ‘What did she mean by saying Claire wasn’t what she expected?’

‘It wasn’t an insult. You have to admit, most of the girls you’ve been with have been a bit more … well …’

‘What?’ Luca knew exactly what Jonathan meant, but he couldn’t imagine him actually saying it. What word would
he use? Sluttish? Tarty? Jonathan was far too dignified and courteous to call a girl anything like that.

‘Well, more … outgoing,’ he finished awkwardly.

Luca grinned. ‘Claire’s very reserved.’

‘She seems lovely.’

‘She is.’

They sat in silence for a while, drinking their coffees as the sun rose in the sky, sending a streak of yellow across the bay.

‘I’m not an alco, you know,’ Luca said eventually. ‘Just by the way.’

‘I know you’re not.’

‘Then why can’t she see it? Why does she have to accuse me of that in front of everyone and treat me like a lush who’s fallen off the wagon? It’s not fair!’

Jonathan sighed. ‘Your mother has … issues about drinking. Her father
was
an alcoholic.’

‘I know, but it’s not as if we’re related. She doesn’t have to worry about it running in the family.’

‘That’s not the point. Things were very bad for her growing up. And you had the drug problem. She doesn’t think there’s any grey area. It scares her, that’s all. You have to make allowances.’

Luca drained his mug. ‘I’d better go and see if Claire’s awake,’ he said, getting up. As he stood, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. ‘Oh, my God, did you see that?’

‘Is it a dolphin?’ Jonathan jumped up, looking out to sea.

‘There – look!’ Luca pointed as it arced out of the water again.

‘Wow, that’s amazing! It’s so close.’

‘We’ve seen them a few times in the past couple of weeks.’

‘I must go and get Claire.’

Claire woke up alone and wondered where Luca had got to. She hoped she hadn’t slept very late. She would have liked to sneak away before everyone else was up and avoid seeing his mother again.

‘You’re awake!’ Luca exclaimed, as he burst into the room. ‘Come outside, quick – there’s a dolphin.’

He threw himself onto the bed beside her, and all the urgency seemed to go out of him. He sighed happily as he studied her face. ‘Good morning.’ He kissed her and his mouth tasted of coffee. His tongue slipped into her mouth as he rolled on top of her, and their kisses became hot and greedy.

‘I thought you wanted me to go see a dolphin,’ Claire breathed, as his lips moved to her neck.

‘Dolphin schmolphin,’ Luca mumbled into her throat. He kicked off his shoes, then tossed back the duvet and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him.

Claire giggled. ‘Maybe I want to see a dolphin.’

‘You can see it another time. I’m sure he’s not going anywhere.’ His hands cupped her breasts as he thrust upwards, the seam of his jeans rubbing against her tantalisingly. ‘Dad says they’ve been hanging around here for weeks. Ten a penny.’ His eyes were hot as she ground against him greedily, seeking more friction. ‘Anyway, you’ve seen a dolphin before, right?’

‘Well … only on TV.’

‘There you go. Seen one dolphin, seen them all.’

Claire had missed her chance of escaping without bumping into Jacqueline, because by the time they finally made it downstairs, everyone was up. Ali was sitting with her father on the deck and Jacqueline was in the kitchen presiding over the grill, while the mouth-watering smell of bacon filled the air. Claire felt seedy in her party clothes, and more than a little ridiculous teetering around in her fancy shoes and dress first thing in the morning. She really hadn’t thought this through at all. She wanted to get home as quickly as possible and change.

‘Good morning! Will you two have bacon butties?’ Jacqueline asked, as they came into the kitchen.

‘Yes, please!’ Luca said. ‘It smells fantastic.’

‘I really should be going,’ Claire said, ‘but thanks anyway.’

‘You’ll stay for some breakfast, surely?’ Jacqueline said. ‘It’ll be ready in a few minutes.’

‘Yeah, you don’t have to rush off straight away,’ Luca said. ‘You can stay for some breakfast at least.’

She had called her mother the previous evening and told her she was staying over. Her brothers always visited on Sunday mornings, so she didn’t even have the excuse that her mother would be on her own. Anyway, she hadn’t managed to avoid Jacqueline, so she might as well stay. Besides, her stomach was doing somersaults in anticipation of that bacon. ‘Okay, thanks.’

‘Go and join them on the deck and I’ll bring it out when it’s ready.’

Luca headed out, but Claire hung back, letting her hand slip from his. Now that she was faced with Jacqueline, she felt she had to say something to clear the air.

‘Um, is there anything I can do to help?’ she asked.

Jacqueline looked at her in surprise. ‘Thanks. You could make tea. The kettle’s just boiled.’ She nodded to a teapot sitting in front of the kettle.

Claire’s heart pounded as she drew out the tea-making, trying to summon the courage to say her piece. ‘I’m sorry I was rude to you last night,’ she said finally, while she poured boiling water into the pot, glad that she had something else to focus on and didn’t have to look at Jacqueline as she spoke.

‘But you’re not sorry for what you said.’ Jacqueline looked at Claire sharply, seeming almost amused.

‘Well, I …’ Claire felt herself going puce.

‘It’s okay,’ Jacqueline said with a bitter smile, turning back to her bacon. ‘As you so rightly pointed out, I put our lives in the public domain, so everyone is entitled to an opinion.’

The sound of laughter drifted in from the deck.

‘I really do want the best for him,’ Jacqueline said, looking out through the glass. Luca was leaning on the rail, laughing as he chatted with his father and sister. ‘Despite what you may think.’

‘I’m sure you do.’

‘There’s a jug of Buck’s fizz in the fridge,’ Jacqueline said briskly, as she loaded a plate with butties. ‘Could you bring that out as well?’

Claire tottered over to the fridge and took out the jug.

‘Oh, God, those shoes,’ Jacqueline said, her eyes on Claire’s feet. ‘Be careful. Don’t worry about the teapot. I’ll come back for it.’

‘I’ll just take them off,’ Claire said, bending down to remove them. ‘I didn’t know I’d be staying over.’

‘What size are you? Maybe we could find something more comfortable for you to wear.’

‘Five.’

‘Oh, I’m a five. I’ll have a root around after breakfast.’

‘Thanks. That’s very kind of you.’

Barefoot, she followed Jacqueline onto the deck and they laid everything on the table.

‘Oh, poor Claire!’ Ali said, when she saw her. ‘You only have your party clothes. I could have lent you something to wear.’

‘It’s fine,’ Claire said, as she sat down beside Luca and they helped themselves to bacon butties.

‘Buck’s fizz?’ Jonathan raised his eyebrows as Jacqueline poured the cocktail into champagne glasses and began passing them around.

‘Well, it is my birthday,’ Ali said, taking a glass from her mother. ‘That means champagne at every meal, even breakfast.’

‘It was your birthday yesterday,’ Luca said to her.

‘But the festivities go on all week,’ Ali said. ‘One day isn’t enough to celebrate the wonder of me!’

‘Luca?’ Jacqueline held out a glass to him, with a tight smile. She looked like a hostage who was trying to appear relaxed while someone held a gun to her back.

Luca held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. ‘I’ll just have juice.’

‘Go on, take it,’ Jacqueline said, and Jonathan smiled at her with something like pride.

‘No, really – thanks.’

‘Okay.’ Jacqueline visibly relaxed as she put the glass down.

It had been a small conciliatory gesture on her part, and Claire was glad that Luca met her halfway and was making an effort not to antagonise her. ‘I’ll just have juice too, please,’ she said. ‘I have to drive home straight after this.’

‘I’ll get it,’ Jacqueline said and went indoors.

Jonathan smiled at Luca, giving him a pat on the back. ‘Are you two staying for lunch?’ he asked.