I shrug, scraping the mushrooms out of a pan and into a bowl. “Fine. How can I be anything else?”
“Dominic.” She smiles at me, a soft smile that sends warmth spreading through my chest. “You don’t have to befinewith me. Archie might be what he is, but he’s still your son. It’s understandable if you’re hurting.”
I frown as I scrape the chicken from the board into the pan, and watch it sizzle for a moment. “Kasia scolded me.”
Mia lets out a short laugh. “Did she now?”
“Said I should have seen it coming, since I’m his father.” I give Mia a weak smile. “That day you came in, raging over that pile of red lingerie, it occurred to me, you know? I’d not been involved, not like I should have been. I didn’t know you like I should have.”
Mia cocks an eyebrow. “You certainly know me now.”
My face flushes, and I laugh. “Yes, well… I mean, I should have made more of an effort earlier. We all knew things between you weren’t great.”
Mia purses her lips and taps her nails against the foot of her glass. “I feel a bit the same way.”
“You do?” I pause my stirring to frown at her. “Why?”
She shrugs, her eyes travelling along the ceiling. “I… I remember at our wedding, you were there with Anita, and you two were not speaking to each other, everyone could see things were bad.”
I swallow hard and go back to the sizzling chicken in the pan. The mention of my third wife hits hard, as does the memory of that horrid last trip together.
“That was a pretty awful time,” I say, my voice gravelly. “But then the end of a marriage always is. I’m sorry we brought it to your wedding. Probably cursed it, ey?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that.” Mia shifts in her seat, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing her dress over her thighs. “You didn’t ruin anything. I just remember feeling badly for you. You looked so tired, and I told Archie to talk to you about it. But he said it weren’t any of our business. He…” She trails off and bites her lower lip, eyeing me carefully. “He even said it were normal for you. ‘My dad and women, it’s a whole story’. That’s what he said.”
I pour everything into the pan, giving it a stir as I consider those words, then put the lid on before setting the heat to low. “Archie always made light of my relationships and their inevitable failures. I don’t think he ever forgave me for the divorce with his mum, and after that, everything was just a joke to him.”
“But… you loved them, didn't you?”
I gaze at Mia and recognise that this is all feeding her uncertainty. I’m a known ladies’ man, or whatever it is theycall it now. Not just marriages, but girlfriends by the score. To her, I’m a mess. And one she’s very well betting her heart and reputation on right now.
I pick up my wine and take a sip. “My father cheated on my mum for years.”
Mia doesn’t look surprised, and I suppose she has no reason to be. My dad’s reputation is as well-known as mine.
“My mother was extraordinary,” I go on. “She was smart and beautiful, came from a wealthy Greek family. She was the whole package. And yet, my dad couldn’t help himself. He still went out and was unfaithful to her, over and over.”
Mia rolls her eyes. “Men.”
“Men.” I lean across the counter and clink my glass against hers. “May the bad ones all be hit by a bus.”
“And you’re not a bad one?” Mia raises her glass to her lips with a sly grin. “Because you fuck like a bad one.”
My mouth quirks into a smile. “That’s a rather searing indictment on the men of the world.”
Mia shrugs. “Maybe. So you saw your dad treat your mum like garbage, and that made you, what? Want to set it all straight with as many women as possible?”
“Desperate for what I never had in my family, I think.” I scratch my fingers through my beard. “I was always looking for something that would make me feel whole. That one person who would make everything alright, who would make everything make sense.” I give her a wan smile. “Took until my big age to realise that no person can do what you don’t do for yourself.”
Mia raises her eyebrows and exhales heavily. “And there it is.”
“And there it is.” I chuckle, and give her a smile. “I am sorry I never stepped in sooner. Though to be fair, I did think you hated me and would claw my eyes out if I tried.”
“I thought you hated me, too.” Mia lifts a shoulder. “Guess we were both wrong.”
“I guess so.”
Mia gets to her feet, her expression shifting to something desirous. She backs towards the couch with a devious smile on her face. “How long til dinner’s ready?”
