The Only Exception

Part One - Chapter Twenty-Two: A New Friend

Brushing some hair from her face, Lucia smiled to herself as she walked into the art gallery as she thought about her talk with Lionel that morning.

Lucia couldn’t help but be amused with his actions, he had insisted that he come and get her for lunch; it was almost as if he was jealous that she wasn’t fussing over him anymore.

“Morning,” Lucia greeted the receptionist with a nod of her head, she had been working at the art gallery for nearly two weeks now.

Lucia had been surprised at how easily she had settled into her work, she had always loved art and she had studied it in her spare time when she had been a waitress.

Lucia smoothed out her black and white neck pencil dress with lace detail that she had paired with black heeled sandals; she was grateful to Shakira for insisting that she by some new clothes for her new job.

“Lucia, this is Francis Diaz,” Marco said as he walked over to the blonde, he knew that she would be able to help Francis find what he was looking for; he knew she would work well with the collector and he hoped it would make the gallery look good.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you señor Diaz,” Lucia said offering her hand to him, she smiled at him knowing that her boss was introducing them for a reason; Marco walked away leaving the pair alone, he knew that Lucia would be find on her own since he had work to do.

“The pleasure is mine señorita Messi,” Francis said with a smile as he pressed a kiss to her hand, he couldn’t believe that he was actually meeting Lionel Messi’s wife; everyone was talking about her right now.

Lucia couldn’t help but blush at the look that Francis had given her, it made her feel oddly special even if she was married; Lionel had never smiled at her like that.

“So what can I do for you?” Lucia asked as she smiled at Francis, she had to admit that he was quite attractive and she wouldn’t have been surprised if he had a wife waiting at home for him.

Lucia sort of felt disappointed at that fact, she knew she was married but she was nothing more than a friend for Lionel; she had already told the footballer that she wanted to wait a couple of years before they tried for a child.

“I’m looking for a new painting,” Francis said with a shrug, he smiled at Lucia as she laughed softly and nodded her head making Francis chuckle as he watched her; he couldn’t help but admire the blonde knowing that she was married to his favourite footballer.

“I think you came to the right place then,” Lucia teased, she knew that she needed to pull her weight and she was determined not to rely on Lionel for everything; there was a strong chance that her marriage to him would fall apart and that fact sort of scared her.

Lucia signalled for Francis to follow her, she took a deep breath wondering what it could hurt to flirt a little; it was clear that Lionel would never be able to give her what she wanted.

***

Lionel sighed as he climbed out of his Maserati GranTurismo S, he’d had a tough day at training and he was looking forward to an easy lunch with Lucia.

The footballer still wasn’t happy that she had gotten herself a job and even less that she wasn’t acting like she had when they had first gotten married; he had no one to blame but himself for that.

Lionel knew that his words had hit Lucia hard but he had really thought that she would try and change his mind, he was a little disappointed that she hadn’t.

Heading into the art gallery, Lionel started to look around for Lucia knowing that she knew he was coming; he had asked her that morning to have lunch with them since he wanted them to grow closer not distant.

Lionel walked quietly around the art gallery, his brown eyes taking in some of the pieces before he spotted Lucia talking to someone.

Lionel frowned as he watched them for a moment, his eyes easily spotting the smile on his wife’s face making jealous bubble in his stomach; he really hadn’t thought someone would make her smile like that.

Lionel glared at the man that stood talking with Lucia and making him laugh, he was going to have to find a way to drive him away from his wife.

“Lia are you ready for lunch amor?” Lionel asked as he walked over to the two and announced his presence, he smirked as he glanced at the man that was talking with his wife knowing that he wouldn’t be seeing him again.

Lucia raised an eyebrow at Lionel, she could see that something was bothering him and she was surprised since he had been fine that morning when he had dropped her off for work.

Lionel didn’t waste a moment as he pulled Lucia into a rough kiss, he held his wife close knowing that he wasn’t going to lose her to this man.

Francis cleared his throat as he watched the footballer kiss Lucia, he smirked amused knowing that this was interesting; he could see that there was something odd about the couple.

Lucia swallowed as Lionel pulled back from her, she blinked as she wondered what had caused him to kiss her like that; in the three weeks since they had slept together he had never kissed her like that before.

“Sure just let me finish up with Francis,” Lucia said as she brushed some hair from her face, she glanced at the art collector surprised that he was still there; she wasn’t quite sure what to say to him.

Lionel frowned as he turned to look at Francis, he already didn’t like the man and he wanted to get Lucia away from him as quickly as possible since he wanted her to himself.

“I am a huge fan,” Francis said as he held out his hand for Lionel to shake, his blue eyes looking at Lionel knowing that this was going to make things interesting.

Francis could see how jealous Lionel was over the fact that he was just talking with Lucia; he had a feeling that this was the first time that Lucia had actually seen him like this.

Lionel took Francis’s hand and gave it a strong squeeze, he knew that he wasn’t going to fall for the other man’s smile; he glared at him knowing that he had been flirting with his wife.

“Actually Lucia… I think I’m done for the day, I will see you tomorrow,” Francis said as he smile sweetly at the blonde, he could see the green-eyed monster appearing in Lionel and he had to admit that he was enjoying winding the footballer up and making him snap.

Lucia nodded her head as she smiled at Francis, she had enjoyed her morning with the art collector and she couldn’t help but find him sweet and charming; something that made him more attractive to her.

Lionel frowned as he realised that Francis wasn’t going to back off, he didn’t want the man around his wife but he knew he couldn’t say anything to Lucia about it.

“Okay then,” Lucia said as she turned to look at Lionel, she chewed on her lip as she spotted an annoyed look on his face and she couldn’t help but wonder what had upset him.

Francis winked at Lionel when Lucia wasn’t looking, he knew that he had found himself a way to get under the footballer’s skin.

The art collector turned around and walked away, he didn’t know anything about Lucia’s marriage to the footballer however he knew that there was something odd about it and he was going to help her make Lionel jealous.

Lionel frowned, he wasn’t going to let anyone take Lucia away from him.