Page 2 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

My dad was an electrician, and my mam worked at the florist in town.

Both were hard workers but somewhat scatter-brained in various ways when it came to finances and running a household.

For example, Mam was great at her job, but she could not for the life of her remember to pay a bill on time or complete a weekly grocery shop before we ran out of food in the house.

The same went for my dad, who also liked to spend large chunks of money on random tools and gadgets he thought would make his life easier but ultimately ended up gathering dust in the shed or up in the attic.

All in all, my parents were good people, but they were not adept at handling the mundane necessities of daily life.

As the eldest child, those tasks often fell to me, which could be exhausting at times.

“Who was that in the car?” Jane asked as she eyed my bedraggled appearance.

“Oh, just a classmate from school who saw I’d gotten caught in the rain and offered me a lift,” I lied because Jane could get a little overexcited when it came to boys.

She was obsessed with the idea of me getting a boyfriend since I’d just turned eighteen, and in her opinion, it was time.

I had to continually remind her that between keeping our parents afloat and my studies, I had no time for boys.

I only had two months left of Fifth Year.

Next year, I hoped to achieve enough points to study medicine at Trinity College.

It had been my dream to become a doctor since as far back as I could remember.

When I was a kid, I’d been obsessed with tending to family members when they got sick and rejoiced when they recovered as though it was my care that cured them and not the prescribed medication from their doctor.

“Where’s Donna?” I asked as I shouldered off my bag and headed upstairs to change into something dry.

“She’s in her room playing on the computer,” Jane replied, following me up. “Mam’s cooking cottage pie for dinner, but she forgot the potatoes, so she’s using turnips instead.” My sister made a disgusted face. “I told her I don’t think that’s going to be very nice, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Turnip topped cottage pie? Well, I definitely preferred potatoes, but it wasn’t the worst concoction my mother had ever dreamt up.

“It’ll be fine. We’ll just put lots of salt and butter on top to make it tasty,” I said as I grabbed something to wear from my closet. Jane didn’t look convinced, but she turned and left me to change anyway.

The following day, I was walking home from school again.

My friends, Tara and Celine, lived on the other side of town, so we rarely walked together.

I didn’t mind, though. I enjoyed my solitary strolls.

It was often the only part of my day that I got to myself, where I didn’t have to be present in class or help my parents or younger siblings and could just let my mind wander.

Unsurprisingly, today, my mind was constantly wandering to Derek Balfe and our short car journey. I couldn’t stop replaying the way he’d looked at me, how he’d playfully tried to guess my name, but most of all his devastatingly handsome smiles. Butterflies filled my stomach every time I remembered.

I hadn’t had very many boys look at me how Derek had.

Well, none had looked at me precisely as he had, but my next-door neighbour, PJ, asked me out last year, and it’d taken me so much by surprise that I’d requested a day to consider it.

Then I’d gone into my house, and my favourite aunt, Nell, was there visiting with Mam.

Nell gave great advice, mostly because she’d lived a full and interesting life, having been married and divorced three times over, not to mention having a career as a top talent agent in the entertainment industry.

Some of her clients were super famous actors from both stage and screen, and she split her time between her house in Ireland and her apartment in London.

I was in awe of her, and though I wasn’t interested in the same career path, I wanted to be just as successful as her when I was older.

When Mam went to use the bathroom, I confessed to Nell that PJ had just asked me out. I’d never been particularly interested in him, but he was good looking in a laid back, musician sort of way. His band often played gigs at some of the local venues and community events.

“Do you mean the guitar-playing stoner boy who lives next door?” Nell had replied, aghast. “Goodness, no, Milly. You can do so much better than that.”

Her opinion had sealed the deal, and I’d told PJ the very next day that I couldn’t go out with him.

I wondered what Nell would think of Derek.

He wasn’t anything like PJ, and his father was one of the most successful hoteliers in the country.

People from far and wide came to stay at the prestigious five-star Balfe Hotels.

I had no idea what Derek was going to do when he finished school.

Though coming from such an esteemed family, he probably planned on going to college.

I was still lost in thought when a car horn beeped.

My heart pounded when I turned and saw Derek’s Audi.

He wore sunglasses, his dark hair stylishly mussed.

Something about the texture had me feeling the odd urge to run my fingers through it.

He lowered the window as I approached, gripping my backpack.

He also looked really good in his navy school jumper and white shirt.

“Hello again.”

“I was just thinking,” Derek began, “since I drive by you on my way home almost every day, and your house is on my route, it would be rude not to offer you a lift.”

“Um, that’s very kind, but I’m actually not going straight home. I have a couple errands to run first.”

“That’s okay. I can take you.”

Was he serious?

I swallowed thickly. “Are you sure? Because I have to shop for groceries, then pick up a prescription for my dad.”

“That’s fine. Get in,” he answered breezily.

Feeling like I might be imagining this—because honestly, one of the most popular boys in town offering to take me grocery shopping was not on my bingo card—I climbed into his car just like I had the day before.

It was different this time, though, because I wasn’t distracted by wet clothes, and the luxurious leather seats felt soft and sumptuous beneath me.

It also smelled like his sage and sea salt cologne, which was a little heady.

“I’m just going to Tesco,” I said, feeling shy, and Derek nodded, putting the car in gear.

“Where’s your, um … Don’t you have a brother?”

“Tristan,” Derek confirmed. “He has rugby training most days after school.”

“Ah, I see.” I paused, running my teeth over my bottom lip. “You don’t play?”

“Nah, I’ve never been much into team sports. I prefer running and swimming, sometimes tennis.”

“I love to swim, too, but I haven’t gone in a while.”

“You should stop by the hotel. We have a twenty-five-metre pool and a sauna, plus a larger gym than you’d typically find. I go a couple times a week.”

Well, that explained how he was in such good shape. Derek couldn’t be any older than nineteen, but his arms were more muscular than any of the boys I’d ever ogled at the beach with Tara and Celine during the summer.

“I might do that,” I replied, though I had no intention of following through. The very idea of donning a swimsuit in front of Derek Balfe had my nervous system going haywire.

We fell into silence for a few minutes before we arrived at the supermarket. Derek got out first then walked around to open my door, and I came over a little breathless. No one had opened a car door for me in recent memory, and I was struck by the gentlemanly gesture.

“Shall we?” Derek asked, motioning toward the shop entrance.

I swallowed down my nerves and nodded. I was about to go grocery shopping accompanied by the hottest guy I’d ever spoken to.

Now, if only I could concentrate on what I needed to purchase instead of being distracted by his ridiculously handsome face, that would be a great start.