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I let the tension seep out of my body.
“Good. Are you happy to sign?”
“I am,” she says, giving me a genuine smile, that makes my heart stop in my chest.
“I’ll arrange for us to call in to my solicitors this evening,” I say. “Get the ball rolling.”
Leah stands up and moves towards the door, pausing just before she reaches it.
“Just so you’re aware. I stopped taking the pill the night we discussed this.”
My jaw opens, but Leah doesn’t wait, leaving me sitting open-mouthed at my desk.
We’re really doing this. Warmth spreads through my body.
I look at the clock and pick up the phone.
“Mark,” I say when my friend answers.
CHAPTER 22
LEAH
Three weeks have passed since Gabriel’s mother’s impromptu visit and we signed the co-parenting contract Gabriel had drawn up. Life has pretty much returned to normal. Gabriel is all business. The man is undeniably a workaholic, his phone or laptop always close at hand. He comes home, has dinner and then disappears into his man cave for hours. When I’m in the apartment, I spend most of my time in my room, reading or watching television. If not, then I’m making the most of the well-equipped gym or fifty-metre swimming pool. When Gabriel pointed out that I wouldn’t be in his way, he wasn’t joking.
The flood damage to the apartment has been fixed, but we’re now waiting for the new furniture to be delivered. It’s being shipped in from Italy and various other places in Europe. Not sure why a rental needs a twenty-thousand-pound sofa, but it’s his place, so who am I to argue. It’s not like I’m slumming it in the penthouse of the El Castillo. The only issue is I wish he’d kept it quiet. I’m going to be terrified to sit on it, or let Stella or Nat anywhere near it. I’m going to ban red wine permanently from the apartment.
My phone rings, and I look down at the caller ID. Mum?
“Hi, Mum,” I answer. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you?”
We discussed when they left, that we would either video link or send emails. We have managed one link since they arrived, but with the time difference and their travel home’s limited Wi-Fi, we’ve mainly stuck to emails.
“Hi darling,” she says. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I finally got hold of Vince, and he said you and he... What’s going on, Leah? Vince said that you’ve moved out.”
Damn Vince, he could have given me the heads up. My heart sinks.
“Er, yes. We split up a while ago,” I say.
“And you didn’t tell us?”
The hurt in my mum’s voice makes my heart clench.
“I didn’t want you and Dad to worry. And, honestly, it’s for the best,” I add, needing her to believe it.
“But Leah.” Her tone changes to my super-efficient mum. “Where are you living? Have you found somewhere safe to stay? I know some places in the city. They’re a nightmare.”
“I’m fine. I’m staying in El Castillo,” I say, holding my breath, waiting for the fallout.
“El Castillo? As in the El Castillo, on the waterfront? How? What’s going on?”
Of course, Mum would remember the El Castillo. It was being built when she and Dad came to visit Vince and me. Even in the early stages, the building was impressive, making its mark. It was also one of the first buildings to embrace smart, sustainable architecture. It had been big news when Jaxson Lockwood and Caleb Frazer joined forces to transform the city.
I take a deep breath and begin to fill her in on what’s been happening. From Vince and I breaking up, to Gabriel offering me his apartment to live in. I miss out the part about Vince getting someone else pregnant. She doesn’t need to know that when she’s halfway around the world. Instead, I tell her we fell out of love. A conclusion I’ve come to over the past couple of months. I don’t miss him and realise we were already living separate lives. Yasmin had merely been a catalyst for us to do something.
“Leah Walker. Are you in a relationship with your boss?”
Wow. How did she jump to that conclusion?
