Page 58 of Bluebird

I winced. “Ah…now actually.”

Luke pursed his lips and shook his head, before storming off into the kitchen.

“Luke, I’m sorry!” I pleaded, following him. My heart was beating rapidly and I struggled to breathe.

“You’re sorry?!” he yelled, spinning around to face me. I jumped in surprise, as did the two innocent kitchen staff prepping dinner.

“Break time. Go,” he ordered his staff, but his eyes never left mine.

They appeared dumbstruck by Luke’s unusual temper and froze.

“Just go!” he yelled, and his shocked employees rushed out of the kitchen.

“Luke…” I softened my voice, wanting him to calm down.

“You said it was over between you and him!”

“It is! But he still represents my record label. Just let me explain—”

“Go ahead, explain then. Explain to me why you’re leaving now, after everything we—”

“I’ve been offered a spot on one the biggest festival tours in the States. It’s an amazing opportunity, Luke, I can’t pass this up,” I intercepted, begging him to understand.

“What about passing this up?” He motioned to us.

The ache in my heart was hard to bear and my eyes began to well. I had to escape before I fell to pieces in front of him. So, I defaulted to my trusty defence mechanism. Pretending not to care.

“Look, the last few days have been amazing, but—”

“Oh, no you don’t, Natalie. You’re not brushing me off.”

I growled. Why did he have to make it so hard?

Closing the distance between us in a few easy steps, he grasped my shoulders and levelled his eyes with mine. “Look me in the eye and tell me the last few days have meant nothing to you,” he demanded heatedly, staring straight into my soul.

“Luke, don’t...” I whimpered, looking away from him to blink back my tears.

“Look at me, Nat.”

“I’ll be back for the wedding,” I offered, hoping this would somehow calm him down.

Luke spun away from me and ran his hands through his hair, before turning back. “I’m not waiting,” he exclaimed, staring down at me with hard eyes.

My blood boiled at the hint of his threat. “What?”

His jaw twitched. “I’m not going to wait for you anymore.”

There was no going back now. “I never asked you to wait, Luke!” I was furious at him for throwing that at me.

He swallowed slowly, as he glared down at me. “Well, then I guess it’s not a problem then, is it?”

“I guess not,” I whispered, defiantly holding back my tears. I backed away from him, but hesitated at the kitchen door. “Luke, I…”

“Just leave, Natalie. It’s what you do best.”

I sucked in my breath and angrily pushed my way through the kitchen door and stepped into the empty bar. I flinched at the sound of crashing pots and pans, before I made the door chime one last time.