The Only Exception

Part One - Chapter Twenty-One: Poppy Comes Home

“Yes you are coming home with me,” Lucia cooed as she cuddled Poppy close to her, the puppy was nine weeks old and was finally coming home; she grinned as she sat the blue merle Border collie that was sat on her lap.

Lionel glared jealously at the puppy as they waited for the paperwork that meant that they could take Poppy home; the past week had been hard for him especially since Lucia seemed more interested in her own life than him.

Lionel didn’t know what was going on but he didn’t like it, Lucia had fussed over him a little when she had first come to Barcelona; however now she barely had time for him anymore between her new job and spending time with Shakira.

Lionel crossed his arms as he watched the puppy knowing that it was going to be another thing that took Lucia’s attention away from him; what he had been said two weeks earlier had been harsh but he hadn’t expected her to do this.

“I can’t wait to get her home,” Lucia said as she looked at Lionel, she had been doing what her friend had suggested and she was surprised to see how quickly Lionel had changed since she had stopped showing him so much attention.

Lucia was still in love with Lionel however she had taken Shakira’s advice and started to show Lionel what he was missing out on.

Lionel nodded his head as he watched her with Poppy, he wouldn’t admit that he was jealous of the puppy; he had no right to be since he had told Lucia that he would never love her, he wanted her to be happy.

“Do you have any plans later?” Lionel asked curiously, he wanted to spend time with her since he had barely seen her lately; it was almost like she was doing this to annoy him.

Lucia paused as she looked at Lionel, she knew that he wanted them to be friends even if they were married; however she had to admit that she wasn’t ready for that just yet.

***

Lionel glared at Shakira as he allowed her into his home with Milan, he knew that he shouldn’t be mad at her; but she was the reason for the change in Lucia’s behaviour.

Lionel wanted things to be like they had been before he’d drunkenly seduced Lucia, things had going so well for them and now they had all fallen apart.

“Lounge,” Lucia called making Shakira smile as she followed her friend’s voice, she didn’t pay any attention to Lionel before she headed for the lounge.

Gerard raised an eyebrow at his friend, he had heard about what had happened between Lionel and Lucia and he had to agree with his girlfriend that Lucia needed to build her own life right now.

“Bad day?” Gerard asked as he recalled listening to his friend’s rants about Lucia and how she had changed recently; she seemed a lot more confident and it worried Lionel what would happen.

Lionel nodded his head, Gerard was aware about why he had married Lucia; he was the only person that did aside from Shakira and the footballer was glad that no one else knew of her arrangement.

“Why don’t we go out for a drink?” Gerard said sensing that his friend needed to talk, he had been trying to talk sense into Lionel for a while now; his refusal to see Lucia properly was going to do more damage than good.

Lionel nodded his head knowing that his wife would be fine on her own, she had Poppy to occupy her and Shakira would be here for a while; he just needed someone to rant to right now.

“We’re going for a drink,” Gerard said winking at his girlfriend, he knew that she would understand since the two of them were plotting to make Lionel realise just what he had.

Shakira nodded her head with a secretive smile as she looked at Lionel as Lucia only glanced at him as she continued to play with Poppy and Milan; she knew that he would see soon what he was missing.

“I’ll see you later,” Shakira said as she wondered how the footballer felt about everything that was happening, he had seemed so attached to his feelings for Antonella that this all must have been confusing for him.

Lionel had sworn never to love another after his relationship with his ex-girlfriend had ended and now he was married to Lucia who loved him; he had to see that there was still a chance for him no matter how hurt he was.

Gerard nodded at his girlfriend, he wrapped an arm around Lionel’s shoulders to led him from the house; he was going to lend an ear to his friend then slowly push him in the right direction.

***

“And you’re surprised about this?” Gerard asked as he sipped on his beer, his blue eyes watching Lionel knowing that for being a genius at football; he was pretty stupid when it came to other things.

Lionel looked at his best friend as he messed with the label on his own drink, he had spent the better part of thirty minutes ranting about his wife; he couldn’t understand why she was moving away from him.

“Leo, the woman is in love with you and has been for years. You told her that you can’t love her because of your ex-girlfriend,” Gerard said shaking his head, he still couldn’t believe that Lionel couldn’t see that things with Antonella wouldn’t have worked out; the two of them had been great friends but they just didn’t have the right chemistry.

Lionel looked down at his hands, he knew he’d been harsh but he wanted Lucia to understand that he couldn’t love her like she wanted; she deserved better and he knew that none of this was fair to her right now.

“I know,” Lionel murmured as he scowled at his drink, he was still upset that she was spending more time with Shakira than with him and he had hated that she had been cuddling the puppy; he just didn’t understand it all.

Gerard chuckled as he watched his friend, he had never seen Lionel jealous before and he had a feeling that this was only the start.

“No you don’t… Leo, you’re jealous over a puppy right now,” Gerard said with a smile on his face, he had to show Lionel that he was going to lose the blonde unless he did something.

Lionel opened his mouth to protest when he saw the look on his friend’s face, he knew that it would be pointless to do so since Gerard was one of the few people that truly knew him as a person.

“I know you keep saying that you can only love Anto, but maybe you should try and move on,” Gerard said as he set down his beer, he doubted Lionel was going to be welcoming to the idea however anything had to be better than what was going on right now.

Lionel glared at Gerard, he didn’t think his friend understood just how much he loved his ex-girlfriend and he was sure that no one would understand his continued feelings for her.

“Listen… just think about it, do you really want to lose Lucy one day?” Gerard said softly knowing that while the blonde had agreed to the contract; there was still a chance that she would meet someone and would want to be with them when Lionel wouldn’t give her what she wanted.

Lionel stared at Gerard as his friend’s words sunk in, he knew that there was something more to those words.