‘What?’ Gabi gasped. ‘Arsehole.’ Amber nodded.
‘I turned up at work one day and he just wasn’t there. The manager told me he’d quit. I messaged him and he ghosted me. I knew then that something was very, very wrong. I went home that night and kept it a secret from Jayden. I still thought there must be a misunderstanding. Told myself all the usual bullshit we tell ourselves. Maybe Alex had suffered an accident. Maybe he’d lost his phone. Maybe he’d lost his memory!’ She slapped herself on the forehead. ‘But he hadn’t. He’d left.’
‘I can’t believe it.’ Gabi could see the impact of it in Amber’s eyes as she told the story. The complete and utter disbelief. The hurt.
‘I couldn’t either. Especially when I finally told Jayden that Alex had left and Jayden confessed that he had told him he loved him. And when I put him to bed that night, he asked me, in all seriousness, if I thought he had scared Alex off. If he shouldn’t have said anything. That nobody wanted him because he was deaf. Honestly, Gabi, my heart hurt for him.’ Gabi reached over the wooden kitchen table and grasped her hand. Amber squeezed it back, so hard it grated Gabi’s knuckles against each other.
‘I’m a big girl, you know, Gabs. I can handle being hurt.’ Pain flashed over Amber’s face like an echo, showing it was still there. It wasn’t over, despite her bravado. She straightened in the chair. ‘But nobody breaks Jayden’s heart and gets away with it.’
Gabi nodded. She might not have children of her own, but she had family, and she understood the ferocity of that sort of love. She’d do anything for Isabella. God save Etienne if he ever did the dirty on her.
Amber shook herself.
‘So, we moved here. Fresh start and all that. And until that day in Tutto Mio, I hadn’t seen him for almost two years. And if he was surprised by the slap, all I can say is he got away lightly.’ Amber allowed herself a laugh, but she didn’t sound amused.
‘Do the others know?’ Gabi asked quietly.
‘Not all of it, no. It’s tricky, what with him and Etienne being twins. I didn’t want to cause any friction in the group.’ Gabi nodded. Amber worked for Isabella at Tutto Mio and now that Isabella and Etienne were so loved up, she could see how it could cause problems.
‘But he’s still here!’ Gabi said. ‘How’s that working out? Have you actually had a conversation with him since?’
‘What on earth could he say that would mean anything to me?’ Amber challenged and Gabi thought for a moment.
‘Don’t you even want to know why he left? Hear it from his side?’
Amber snorted. ‘Nope.’
‘Maybe he wants to apologise.’ Gabi downed the rest of her coffee and turned the warm cup around in her hands.
‘I just need to keep my distance. Better that way.’ Amber sighed and rolled her blue eyes across the table. ‘Especially because I still feel that connection.’ Gabi’s mouth fell open. She hadn’t been expecting that.
‘Still?’ she said.
‘Yup. The magnetism is strong in that one,’ Amber admitted. ‘Even though there is no future for us.’ Amber stood and stretched her arms above her head, circling her shoulders.
‘I’d better get ready for the restaurant,’ she said, moving to put her mug in the dishwasher, picking up Jayden’s cereal bowl as she went. ‘Shall I make you some toast or any more coffee before I go?’
Gabi shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I’ll be fine.’
‘What are you going to do with your day?’ Amber said, nodding at Gabi’s leg propped on the chair.
‘I scheduled in a long snooze this morning.’ Amber groaned with jealousy. ‘And then I’m off to physio.’
‘Will you be okay on your own?’
‘Always am,’ Gabi said, and Amber dropped a kiss on her cropped black hair as she left.
The physio session cleared any residual hangover that might have been clinging on and by the time Gabi hit the pavement afterwards, she felt the best she had all day. That was, until her phone pinged with a text. Her heart sank when she saw his name and realised it must be the first of April. Shame his text wasn’t an April Fool.
Papà: How are you, Gabriella? Do you need anything?
Ha. As if he really wanted to know. She frowned and tapped out a reply.
Gabi: Actually, I had an accident, broke my leg, had surgery to pin it back together and have had to move in with a friend of Isabella’s for six weeks minimum. So not great, no.
Her fingers hovered for just a second before she shook her head and deleted it. There was no point. Instead, she typed a few words and pressed send.
Gabi: I’m fine, thanks. And no, nothing at all.
