‘I’ll go,’ Claire said, waving her mother back down.
‘Hiya.’ Luca grinned as she opened the door.
‘You came!’ She beamed.
‘I told you I would, didn’t I?’ He stepped into the hall and gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘I just thought you might change your mind.’
‘Why would you think that?’
‘Well, it’s not exactly cool, spending Friday night hanging out with my mum and her friends.’
‘Cool?’ Luca rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not sixteen,’ he said, as he followed her into the kitchen.
‘Luca! It’s lovely to see you again, darling.’
The doorbell rang again. Espie picked up her crutches and went to answer it, waving away Claire’s protests. She came back with Jim just as Claire was sliding the pizzas into the oven. A big bear of a man with a long grey ponytail, he was carrying a large pipes bag on one shoulder and a twelve-pack of beer in his arms. Jim was an old boyfriend of Espie’s, but they were still very fond of each other. He had been around for as long as Claire could remember and she often wondered why they had split up. They would have made such a great couple.
‘Claire!’ Jim set the beer down on the table, shruggedthe instrument bag onto the floor, and enveloped her in a hug. ‘And who have we here?’ he said, turning to Luca.
‘This is Claire’s friend, Luca,’ Espie said.
‘Very pleased to meet you, Luca,’ he said, shaking his hand firmly. ‘Do you play?’
‘Play?’
‘An instrument,’ Espie explained. ‘I forgot to ask you. We usually have a bit of music after cards.’
‘Oh no. I’m not really musical at all.’
‘You sing maybe?’ Jim asked eagerly.
‘Not really. Just in the shower, and Claire will tell you it’s nothing to write home about,’ he said, smiling at her.
Espie gave Claire a sharp look. ‘Luca’s an artist,’ she told Jim, as proudly as if he was her own son.
‘An artist?’ Jim was clearly impressed. ‘Well, isn’t that wonderful?’
Claire broke open the beer carton and started putting bottles into the fridge. ‘I’m just going to finish setting up inside,’ she said, when she was done.
‘I’ll help,’ Luca said, following her out of the kitchen.
‘Why did you say that about the shower?’ Claire hissed, as soon as they were out of earshot. She started laying out plates on the large round table. ‘Here, put these around,’ she said, handing Luca a packet of napkins.
‘Sorry. I didn’t realise it was a secret.’
‘That we’re sleeping together? Yeah, it kind of is.’
‘Why? Are you ashamed of me?’
‘No, of course not! But that doesn’t mean it’s something I want to discuss with my mum.’
‘Your mum’s cool. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.’
‘Oh, she wouldn’t. She was saying it was okay for you to spend the night here.’
‘Really?’ Luca paused in what he was doing and raised his eyebrows. ‘So I have your mother’s permission to have my wicked way with you under her roof?’ he asked, with a crooked smile.
