You Loved Me Once

14: The Way You Look At Her

“You sure about this, aren’t you?” Alba posed as she fixed the veil that had been pinned to the top of Eva’s hair, a small smile on her face. It had been a quiet morning, with everyone focussed on the wedding which stood only minutes away, Eva’s attention had been pulled away from Alba and the blonde was grateful. The last thing she wanted was to have another discussion about her and her feelings towards her former boyfriend. She knew that Eva knew about the almost moment the previous night, Oscar had never been the most discreet, but she was grateful that she hadn’t bought it up. It meant that it was likely that she would leave Argentina the following morning without having discussed Lionel again.

“Never more so” Eva replied “You’re sure I look OK?” she posed.

“You look beautiful, Eva” Alba smiled “Like you used to dream of when we were kids” she enthused.

Eva grinned to herself, something which made Alba lean across, kissing her cheek gently. “You’re marrying a great guy, Eva” she insisted gently “You’re very lucky” she added.

“Your day will come” Eva replied softly “But until then, I am glad you stuck around, Alba. I know the last month hasn’t been great for you with Leo and everything, but I am glad that you’re here. I don’t think I would want to do it without you” she enthused softly.

Alba smiled. “I’m glad I stayed too” she murmured gently before Eva’s father appeared beside them, signalling that the ceremony was about to begin. “You look great” Alba assured her as Eva nervously took her father’s arm “And Oscar, he’s a lucky guy. Smile, Eva, you’re about to become Mrs Oscar Garcia” she enthused before she turned on her heel, taking the bouquet of flowers which was held out to her.

Taking a little breath, she offered Eva another reassuring look over her shoulder before she started up the aisle, smiling a little at the sight of a nervous Oscar before she flicked her stare over to Lionel, not missing the way he watched her. It wasn’t the first time, since she’d found out that he was hanging around, she had caught him staring more than once, but it still made her cheeks redden slightly, especially after the previous night. She didn’t want to admit it, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing that he could do to fix it, but the previous night she had wanted to kiss him, something which had a knot in her stomach.

Part of her hated that they had been interrupted when they had been whilst another part merely wanted to get out of Argentina, and away from Lionel, as quickly as she could.

~#~
“Now, for their first dance, I present Mr and Mrs Garcia, Eva and Oscar” Lionel smiled as he stood on the stage, his dark eyes watching Oscar and Eva who appeared to in their own little world. It had been a beautiful ceremony, from the second that Eva had stepped into the room, Oscar hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her, and Lionel was happy for them, even if he was a little envious, he was pleased that both Eva and Oscar had found the person they wanted to spend their life with.

Settling the microphone back onto its stand, he made his way towards the side of the dancefloor, stopping beside Alba who held a camera in her hand, snapping pictures of the happy couple. “Don’t they have a photographer for that?” he posed.

Alba, who’d not noticed him, startled a little.

“I didn’t mean to scare you” he noted softly.

“It’s alright” Alba murmured “And they do have a photographer, but you know Eva. She’s not one for waiting so she asked me to take a few so she didn’t have to wait for them to be developed” she explained.

“Always so impatient” Lionel commented, his eyes watching Oscar and Eva who hadn’t stopped grinning at one another “They look good” he added.

Alba nodded. “Very good” she agreed gently “I’ve never seen her so made up before” she added, her tone wavering softly.

Lionel tilted his head. “Alba?” he posed gently.

“It’s nothing” Alba muttered, shaking her head a little.

“Are you sure?” Lionel posed “Because I know it has been a while, but I think I can still tell when you’re upset” he added, his expression soft.

Alba shook her head. “It’s fine, Lionel” she muttered.

Lionel offered her a slightly dubious look before a round of applause started up, drawing his attention back towards the dancefloor where Oscar and Eva stood, grinning as their first dance concluded. “Alba” he murmured “If you don’t want to do this…”

“It’s a 3 minute dance, Lionel” Alba cut in as she moved to place her camera down “I think I can handle that” she added before she offered him her hand. Lionel eyed her smaller hand for a moment before he took it, leading her towards the dancefloor whilst the next song started.

Alba watched him for a moment, shifting a little as his hand settled on her hip, before she let out a quiet sigh, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She was happy for Oscar and Eva, she wanted the two of them to be happy, but the idea of being at a wedding, especially one that had seen her spend time with her former boyfriend, made her uncomfortable. It was the first one she had been too since she had cancelled her own wedding plans and for a moment, it felt overwhelming, something which wasn’t aided by Lionel who held her close, swaying her softly. “I need to get out” she babbled.

Lionel frowned. “Alba?” he posed.

“I need to get out of here” Alba babbled, quickly unwrapping herself from his arms “I’m sorry” she added quickly before she stepped out of the room.

Lionel watched after her for a second, a little caught off guard.

“Don’t just stand there” Eva commented.

Lionel jumped at the sound of her voice.

“Go after her” Eva added.

“I don’t think that that is going to help” Lionel countered.

Eva scoffed. “You’re never going to win her back if all you do is let her play it her way. I’d think if anyone knew how she could be, it would be you” she noted.

“What makes you think I want her back?” Lionel muttered.

Eva snorted. “I’ve seen the way you look at her” she noted as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lionel shook his head. “I don’t think that she sees it that way” he murmured “And I can’t ask her to take me back. I fucked up, Eva” he muttered.

“You did” Eva agreed “But despite that, I know that that woman still cares about you” she added.

“What am I supposed to do?” Lionel countered, shaking his head slightly.

“Show her why she fell for you the first time” Eva shrugged before Oscar appeared, pulling her way to dance once more.

Lionel watched after his two friends for a second before he stepped towards the door that Alba had left through, Eva’s words ringing in his ears. He knew that it wasn’t something he was going to do easily, if he knew one trait of Alba’s it was that she was awfully stubborn when she wanted to be, but he knew he would regret just not trying. He wanted her, he always had, and he wanted to show it to her.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 for the comments :)