‘I’ve changed my mind.’ She kissed him again pleadingly, and she felt him start to respond, but he wrenched his lips away.
‘Don’t,’ he breathed against her mouth. ‘Look, if this is about that Aideen girl, I told you?—’
‘It isn’t. It’s about you and me.’ She kissed him again, encouraged because he didn’t push her away this time. She sensed him weakening. ‘Please,’ she whimpered, running her tongue along his bottom lip, hearing his sharp intake of breath. ‘I wantyou.’ She took his hand and clamped it against her breast. ‘And if you want me to tell you in detail – I want you inside me, I want?—’
‘Christ, I want you too,’ he groaned, wrapping his arms around her, and then he was kissing her back hungrily, desperately, angling his head this way and that. She felt a triumphant thrill as his tongue slid into her mouth.
He pulled back just enough to speak. ‘Are you sure?’ he asked, his breath hot on her lips, his dark eyes burning into hers. ‘Do you really want this?’
She nodded frantically and he buried his head in her neck, placing soft open-mouthed kisses along her throat before returning to her mouth. Then he picked her up, her legs wrapped around him, and carried her to the bedroom, not breaking the kiss. They fell onto the bed in a tangle of legs and arms and tongues.
Claire woke the next morning, her limbs knotted around Luca’s, the heat of his skin against hers. He was still fast asleep – not surprisingly, since they had made love half the night, first frantically, and then more slowly, Luca kissing and touching her with infinite tenderness, almost reverence. They had looked into each other’s eyes the whole time, and it had felt so loving that she still felt cocooned in the warmth of the afterglow.
She propped herself up on an elbow and watched Luca sleeping. He was so beautiful. She dropped little butterfly kisses on his shoulder and neck, the corner of his mouth, half hoping he would wake up and they could do it again. He stirred, his eyelids fluttering, but then he settled again, his breathing returning to a calm, steady rhythm.
Eventually she got restless and uncomfortably hot lying tangled up with him. So she extricated herself and slid out of bed. She pulled on some clothes and tiptoed into the living area. When she had put the coffee on and heated the grill to make toast, she grabbed her laptop and sat down atthe table with it while she waited for the coffee to brew. After checking her emails and having a quick look at Twitter and Facebook, she opened the word processor and pulled up the draft she had written for a possible final blog post and read over it.
Fridays I’m In Love
She felt a world away now from the person who had thought that might come true. She would have to come up with a different ending for NiceGirl. Of course, it didn’t have to be true – why break the habit of a lifetime? – but this felt all wrong. Besides, it was so obviously about Mark that it would give him the wrong idea. No, NiceGirl would need a different kind of happy-ever-after. Maybe she’d leave it open-ended, with NiceGirl still searching for her Mr Right. Or maybe she had already found him, she thought, glancing towards the bedroom – albeit a reluctant Mr Right.
The coffee pot bubbled and hissed to its finale, and she had just got up to make toast when her mobile rang. She grabbed it and went outside, not wanting to wake Luca. Her heart sank a little when she saw that Mark was calling, and she hesitated a moment before picking up. She knew she needed to talk to him, to break up with him, but she didn’t feel ready to have that conversation yet. She didn’t have much experience with that sort of thing, and she needed more time to think about what she would say. In the end, she hesitated so long that the phone rang out, and the missed-call alert flashed up on the screen. She rang him back straight away.
‘Hi, Mark,’ she said, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her voice. ‘Sorry, I didn’t get to my phone in time just then.’
‘Hi. How are you?’
‘I’m okay.’
‘Listen, the thing is I’m at the airport. I’m flying over to Dublin. So can I come and see you later?’
‘Oh! You’re coming here?’
‘Yeah. Look, I think we need to talk and it’s not really a conversation I want to have over the phone.’ He sighed. ‘Emma told me you were asking her about me and Sophie – except she didn’t know it was you, of course.’
‘Oh… yeah.’ Claire felt guilty for going behind his back. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘It’s okay. I mean, I wish you’d just asked me, but I can understand why you didn’t.’ He sighed. ‘Nothing happened but… I’d really like to talk to you face to face. Can I come round? Or meet you somewhere? I’ll be in Dublin in about an hour and a half.’
‘The thing is I’m not at home at the moment.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yeah, I’m in Wicklow. I came to the beach for the weekend. With a… friend.’
‘Damn.’ He laughed softly. ‘I thought I’d surprise you. Stupid idea. I have to get back for work stuff tomorrow, so I have an early flight in the morning.’
‘Well, I’m going home today anyway – back to work tomorrow. I could meet you later.’
‘Great. I’m staying at the Merrion. Ring me when you’re home and we’ll arrange it then.’
‘Okay. Talk to you later.’
Luca woke up with a smile on his face, automatically reaching out for Claire, and was disappointed to find her not there. He sank back against the pillows, feeling rather pleased with himself as images from last night flashed through his mind. He didn’t have any regrets about it and he didn’t think Claire would either. There hadn’t been a glimmer of hesitation or uncertainty about the way she had made love with him. He knew she had wanted himevery bit as much as he wanted her, matching his passion and desire kiss for kiss and touch for touch. He’d almost told her last night – he’d almost said the words when she was lying beneath him and he was moving inside her. He’d chickened out in the end. But he would tell her later, he decided, feeling giddy and loved-up as he got out of bed, pulled on some clothes and went in search of Claire. He was in love, Mark was toast, and all was right with the world.
He heard her voice outside when he walked into the living area. Looking out of the window, he saw her talking on her mobile. She was so gorgeous. After they’d had some breakfast, he’d persuade her to come back to bed for the rest of the day. Sod the beautiful weather.
There was hot coffee in the pot and he poured himself a mug and sat at the table. As he pushed Claire’s laptop aside, his fingers brushed against the mouse and the screen lit up. His eyes drifted idly over the open document that appeared, and then he froze, his mug halfway to his lips, as the words sank in. He pulled the laptop towards him and read it through again carefully, this time letting the full meaning of it hit home.
