“Like I said, I've got a busy day ahead of me.” Take the hint woman.
“Suit yourself.” She sashays across the room, pausing in the doorway. “I'll call you next time I'm in town.”
And then she's gone.
Why do I do this to myself? Despite my reputation as a womaniser, I actually don't do the whole one-night stand that often. There are plenty of photos online that would have you believe otherwise but I've only slept with three women since I lost Sam.
I love sex, and a guy has needs. But that’s all it is. I’m not ready for anything more than that.
No, I'm an all or nothing kind of guy and I gave everything I have to my wife, and then I lost her. I’m not going through that again.
I pick up my phone and slide it into my back pocket as it vibrates. I pull it back out and see a text from Mia.
Mia: Will move my stuff in this afternoon. Hope that's okay?
I text back to let her know that it's fine, feeling lucky to have a few extra hours to sort out.
I don't know why I'm so worried about her finding out about my sex life, I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I'm a single, red-blooded male.
So why does the thought of her finding out fill me with dread?
Probably the same reason I spent most of Friday combing through her social media to find out more about her and then made so much effort getting her room ready.
Unlike most girls her age, she doesn't post much. Mainly book and movie recommendations, a couple of yoga posts with the odd motivational quote thrown in.
I want the woman looking after my daughter to be comfortable and happy so if that means creating the perfect safe space for her, so be it.
For Madison.
Mia: Will move my stuff in this afternoon. Hope that's OK?
I hit send and wait for him to reply. My phone beeps almost immediately.
Ethan: No problem. See you then.
I was hoping to get my stuff over there this morning, so I can get settled in and meet Madison before being thrown in the deep end tomorrow but as always, life has to be put on hold because mum has just invited herself over for a visit.
Perfect timing as usual.
This will be the first time I've seen her since the break-up and I know she'll want to know what I did wrong, so she can tell me how to fix it. She's not even here yet and my stomach is in knots.
As much as I love her, she has this amazing ability to make me feel like I'm never good enough. She means well but always goes over the top.
I guess it's because she wasn't around much when we were growing up. Her job as a cardiac specialist had her working long hours, so she was out of the house for most of our childhood and I think she's trying to make up for it now.
I stuff my phone into the pocket of my jeans and glare at my refection in the mirror.
Urgh.
My hands get to work rubbing tinted moisturiser into my blotchy skin, finishing off with a quick layer of mascara and a touch of pink lip gloss.
Lexi appears beside me, doing to same, only her makeup routine is a lot more extensive than mine. Not that she needs it, her skin is already flawless without the layers of highlighting and contouring.
“You ready for this?”
I nod before walking back into the living room and chucking my makeup bag in to one of the three boxes now sitting on Lexi's dining table. I jerk my head towards the door as the bell rings, take a deep breath, plaster a smile on my face and open the door.
Mum, Dr Diane Cooper stands in the dimly lit, run down hallway disapprovingly, her eyes looking me up and down. She takes a step past me, into the room and places her handbag on the arm of the sofa.
“Honestly Amelia, could you not have made a little more effort?” Her expression is harsh as she surveys the pale blue skinny jeans and over-sized sweater that I'm wearing. “It's not every day that I have time to take you both to lunch.”
All I can do is glance down at the floor and shuffle my feet. Come on Lexi. What are you doing in there? Honestly, I could have dressed in the same boring grey pant suit as her and I'm pretty sure she'd still find fault. If I'm going to be made to feel like a failure, I might as well be dressed for comfort.
“Alexandra, how nice of you to join us.” The hint of sarcasm in mum's voice washes over Lexi as she saunters into the room towards her, kissing her on the cheek.
“Mother.” She sighs “What brings you to this side of town? Slumming it with one of your little toy boys?”
“Nice to see you too darling.” I forgot how much tension there was in a room when the two of them get together. “I booked a table at a lovely little cafe down the road. Shall we eat?”
The two of them used to get on great before Lexi moved to London, after that you'd need body armour just to be in the same room as them. I wonder if it's got something to do with dad leaving.
We head out, following mum down the noisy street and into a quaint little coffee shop decorated like a vintage boutique, extremely out of place in the urban graffiti decorated city street. We sit down and not long after she orders lunch, we are presented with a cake stand full of sandwiches, cakes, and other little sweet treats. Before I realise, an hour has passed, and not one mention of Peter. Just mundane
