Shattered Hearts

Chapter 26

Charlotte felt stupidly happy for the first time in ages. Dale had called and confirmed what Rosalind had already told her; Nick's lawyer had said that he was willing to withdraw his objection to the divorce. It was by no means over but they were finally making some progress in the right direction.

"So why don't you come away with me to celebrate?" Louis said when she told him the news over dinner. "We could go up the coast for a few days, it'll give you a chance to unwind."

She snorted. "Aren't you ever going to find yourself a proper girlfriend?" Her tone was deliberately mocking but she knew she had to prepare herself for that eventuality. He wouldn't stay single forever.

Louis shook his head. "Nah, I'm not looking."

"That's probably because you're wasting your time with me, you should be out there dating other women."

"You want that?" he asked frowning.

"It's not about what I want." She flicked her hair over her shoulder feigning nonchalance. "Just because I'm a right off, it doesn't mean you are."

His frown deepened as he contemplated her words. "Stop talking about yourself like that. I doubt many men would see you as a right off. Not that I want you to see other men."

"It's sweet of you to say that," she said choosing her words carefully. "But I think you're not moving on with your life because of me. You're remembering our old relationship and thinking we could somehow resurrect it."

"I'm not and I don't want to go back to our old relationship anyway." Her eyes widened and he grabbed her hand. "I just mean that it can't have been as good as I thought it was or you wouldn't have dumped me."

"You know why that was," she said pulling her hand away.

"Yeah I do, and if we'd had a better relationship it'd never have got to that stage. I mean even at the time I knew it was a bad idea to see other people."

She sighed not wanting to rake over the past again. "Louis it was me as well. I should have talked to you instead of pretending to be all laidback about it. We were too immature to be in a serious relationship."

"But this time it could be different."

She felt her chest tighten. "You'd be throwing your future away if we got together, properly together."

"I think I'd be throwing my future away if we didn't try." She opened her mouth to object and he continued quickly. "I don't mean now, I know you've got to get the divorce sorted out, but just cos now is the wrong time, it doesn't mean it won't be the right time later."

She held in a sigh. "You don't really know me, you get the edited highlights. You don't know what I'm like as a mother, as a vengeful ex-wife, as a bad-tempered sister who's impossible to live with." 

He held up his hands laughing. "Okay I get the point, there are parts of your life that I'm not fully aware of but I want to be." He took a deep breath. "Look come away with me, no pressure. We won't talk about the past or the future, we can just concentrate on having a good time and take things from there."

"I don't know," she said remembering Rosalind's warning.

"Come on, you can't let me go by myself," he said with a half-smile. "How sad would that be?"

"It would be pretty sad." And pretty incredible that he had no one else to ask. "Okay, I'll look into it and see if it's even practicable." She gave him a stern look, not wanting him to think that it was all done and dusted. Even if it was.

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"So you're going away next week?" Louis's mom asked as she placed a cup of coffee down in front of him. "What's brought that on, I thought nothing made you happier than being holed up in that squalid apartment of yours."

"I've got holidays to use up," he said ignoring her sarcasm. "So I might as well go away."

"I guess, god forbid you spend some time with your parents."

Here we go...

"Still, at least it'll stop Charlotte Harper monopolising all your free time," she said brightening up again. "How you're ever going to meet anyone with her hanging around like a bad smell I don't know. Other girls will assume she's your girlfriend."

"Actually, she's coming with me." He picked his drink up acting as if he'd merely told her the time of day.

She slammed her cup down, the contents spilling over. "What! But she's married, you can't be serious? And what is she even thinking? I swear there is something wrong with that girl's head."

"She's hardly a girl," he said pulling a face. "And we're just friends. Friends spend time together." Her face turned red and he knew he should stop goading her, lest he gave her a heart attack. "Look it's no big deal mom."

"Are you sure you didn't get shot in the head because you're acting very stupid?" She picked her cup back up and took a small sip but he didn't miss her shaking fingers. "How can you be friends after the way she treated you?"

"That was more my fault than hers."

His mom tutted. "You're rewriting history because you feel sorry for her, that's all. She's reeling you in to get another father for her child."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Charlotte doesn't want to be in a relationship with me." More's the pity. "And she certainly doesn't want me to be a father to her child."

She rolled her eyes. "You're so dumb Louis. Of course, she wants to find another man to help raise her child. How can she do it on her own? She can't be both mommy and daddy, it's impossible."

"No, you wrong, one hundred per cent wrong," he said thinking of all the conversations he'd had with Charlotte on the subject. "And anyway Jamie still has a dad, she won't be raising him entirely by herself."

"It's hardly the same," his mom murmured as she rubbed her forehead. "And I'll be honest with you. I've watched her when I've picked Lucy up from school, I've seen her simpering over the school dads, acting like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth."

"You've seen what you want to see," he said standing up, his drink barely touched. "Look I'd better go now, I've gotta get packed."

"I'm only telling you this for your own good."

"Whatever, I'll see later." If he didn't leave now he knew they'd wind up having a heated argument that would please no one.

"Fine," she said standing up to hug him before he left. "But don't say I didn't warn you when this all blows up in your face."

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Thanks for reading, this is a bit of a filler chapter, there's more to come.