Love Getting Even : A rom com about healing broken hearts and getting petty payback by Ives Laura

Author:Ives, Laura
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

16

Two large glasses of fine Italian wine later, Katie seemed relaxed and back to her playful self.

The waiters had, as expected, flirted shamelessly with her, admiring her pale skin and red hair. One kept walking by, grinning at her and pointing at Tom. ‘He’s your brother, no?’

Every time Katie grinned and shook her head, no, he’s not my brother, the man clutched at his heart and made a sad face. He gave the same over-the-top pantomime attention to all the women, but it made it no less enjoyable.

Italy was the place to be for the broken-hearted. Katie was still getting over the shock of it all but seemed to be realising she didn’t miss Ryan as much as she had expected.

They were seated outside at a restaurant that had a mixed clientele of Italians and tourists. Red and white checked tablecloths fluttered in the breeze, and a busker with a deeply lined and weathered brown face played the violin just a few metres from them, a soft cloth cap on the ground in front of him. Pigeons wheeled in and out of the piazza, occasionally rising in great numbers when a pedestrian waded through their midst, and the shouts of waiters mingled with the buzz and thrum of scooters passing by.

When the waiter returned to top up their glasses, Katie raised her hand and shook her head. The waiter gave a mock glare at Tom, then grinned and sauntered off.

‘You know, you haven’t said much about how you feel about Melissa since it all,’ Katie waved her hand, ‘happened.’

Tom nodded but didn’t speak immediately. He wanted to organise his thoughts. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure how he felt himself.

‘Sorry,’ Katie said, ‘I didn’t mean to press you, if it’s too painful––’

Tom burst out laughing. ‘God, no, it’s not that. I’m not heartbroken. I’m just trying to explain it without…’ he paused, ‘without sounding callous.’

Katie watched him, slowly spinning her wine glass on the table by the stem. Her red hair seemed even more vibrant in Italy, being more of an anomaly. Her pale skin was luminous, and her eyes, fixed on his face, unreadable.

‘I don’t honestly know how to explain it,’ he began, ‘except to say…’ he took a breath, ‘it’s like a switch has gone in my head. She made her choice. She’s shown me what she wants and who she is. There’s nothing left to think about.’

Katie had stopped spinning her glass and was still.

‘In those first few weeks, when I was still trying to get my head around it all, I was hurt. Really hurt. I wondered what I had done wrong. Or not done.’ He smiled. ‘All the things I imagine you thought, too. What could I have done differently? What’s wrong with me?’

He glanced up, worried he sounded too soft, but Katie was completely still, watching him. He gave a nervous laugh.

‘And then, at some point, when I had gone through that, when I had returned her stuff to her and collected mine, and the dust had settled a bit….

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.