Page 22 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

“Ah, I see,” I replied as I grabbed some eggs and peppers to make an omelette.

Purple Beatrice was a Korean pop band that my daughter had been obsessed with since she was eleven.

She was forever begging me to bring her to one of their concerts, but they hadn’t played a show in Ireland yet.

I’d actually been contemplating taking her to see them at one of their shows abroad, make a little weekend trip out of it.

However, if I knew my daughter, she wouldn’t want to go to a concert with her dad.

I might be able to convince my sister, Nuala, to take her, though.

Gigi adored her aunt, and in fact, she was one of the few people who could get her to smile these days.

More giggles filtered down the hallway from her bedroom as I went to check on her.

I knocked twice on the door, then called, “Gigi, do you want some dinner?”

“No, thanks, Dad. Deirdre and I already had pizza.”

Deirdre? That must be the friend. I was tempted to open the door but then thought better of it. Gigi sounded happy for the first time in ages, a lightness to her voice that eased the worry and tension I’d been carrying. I’d leave her to spend time with her new friend.

Returning to the kitchen, Pablo said, “I could eat a little more.”

I chuckled, because he’d just made short work of a giant chicken and bacon sandwich. I remembered being his age and the amount of food I needed to put away just to keep my hunger at bay. I gave his shaggy hair a scruff. “Course you could. So, how was school?”

“Fine. James got into trouble for speaking out in Maths again. Mr Kelleher is threatening to drop him down to Ordinary Level.”

“And how does James feel about that?” I queried.

He and Pablo had been mates for years, but the kid could be a bit of a bad influence at times.

I’d once caught him trying to smuggle a bottle of gin into Pablo’s bedroom when he’d come to over to play video games.

If he didn’t find me so scary, I was pretty sure he would’ve mouthed off to me about confiscating the bottle.

That was one of the benefits to being tall and grouchy. It intimidated unruly teenage boys.

“I think he’s fine with it. The only reason he tries to stay in Higher Level is so we can be in the same class.”

“Yeah, well, don’t you go getting any ideas about dropping a level,” I warned. Maths was Pablo’s best subject.

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I need it if I’m going to study engineering. Besides, that’s my easiest class,” he went on with a shrug, and I shot him a proud look before focusing back on the omelette I was making.

“She’s dead posh,” Pablo went on, and I arched an eyebrow at him.

“Who is?”

“Gigi’s friend. She’s from England, talks all fancy.”

This piece of information had me going still.

Nuala mentioned something a while back about Milly having a daughter, but I couldn’t recall if she was Gigi’s age or not.

To be honest, when it came to Milly, I hadn’t wanted to know too many details and tended to change the subject if my sister ever brought her up.

There was no point pining over someone who’d refused me.

Was it a coincidence that Gigi had made friends with the new girl at school who just so happened to be from England right at the same time Milly had moved back from London with a daughter?

Just as I was asking myself the question, the apartment buzzer sounded.

Thinking it was probably my parents stopping by to see the kids, I went to answer it.

“I’m buzzing you through,” I said just as a hauntingly familiar voice said, “Hello? I’m here to collect Deirdre.”

Of course, it was her. I’d thought running into Milly at my mother’s party, then again at Christine’s and again at the swimming pool were bad enough.

Now it appeared our daughters had forged a friendship, one that had made Gigi sound so happy I didn’t have it in me to tell her she had to stop being friends with the new girl.

“Okay, come on up,” I replied flatly and suspected from the prolonged pause that followed that Milly had recognised my voice just like I’d recognised hers.

A minute later, there was a gentle knock at the apartment door. I went to answer it and found her standing there with her long hair hanging straight and neat around her shoulders, a purple woollen coat on over a navy dress. She was stunning, like always, and I gritted my jaw in annoyance.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous,” she said after holding my stare for several long beats.

“You’re telling me,” I practically growled as my traitorous eyes refused to stop soaking her in.

Milly blew out an exasperated breath. “Well, it looks like our daughters have become friends.”

“Yep.”

“I’m just here to collect her, if you could let Deirdre know I’m here.”

“I didn’t know you had a teenager,” I said, unable to keep the statement in.

“I do, and you have two kids, right? Nuala mentioned them.”

I nodded. “Gigi and Pablo. How old is Deirdre?”

Milly’s brow crinkled. “She’s fifteen.”

“Really? You must’ve still been in college when you had her.”

She stiffened. “I don’t see how that’s pertinent.”

I shrugged, unable to hold back the acidity in my tone.

“It’s just surprising for someone who prides themselves on making prudent decisions.

” Milly’s eyes flared wide as I threw her choice of words from so many years ago in her face.

The flicker of hurt in her expression made me want to instantly snatch back what I’d said.

What the hell was wrong with me? Just because I was deeply irritated by her continually turning up in my life didn’t give me the right to be a judgemental arsehole.

I opened my mouth to apologise when Milly fired back, “Well, judging from what a prick you’ve turned out to be, I’m glad I managed to at least stick to that one prudent choice. And for your information, having Deirdre was the best decision I ever made.”

Running my hands through my hair in agitation, my guilt continued to expand.

I really was a piece of shit, and Milly clearly had zero regrets about having her daughter.

Bowing my head in shame, I stared at my shoes, searching for some way to repair the damage I’d done with a single snide remark.

In the end, I swallowed thickly and lifted my gaze.

Milly’s blue eyes were hard as she stared at me.

At last, I cleared my throat, managing to respond, “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll go get her for you.”

Turning, I closed the door without inviting her in.

It was rude but necessary. If our daughters wanted to be friends that was fine, but I couldn’t allow myself to soften too much when it came to Milly.

That was a slippery slope to getting attached and developing feelings for her, which hadn’t panned out very well for me the last time.

At least if I acted like a dick on the surface, it would keep her at a distance and save me from getting too close at a time when I still trying to fix what was going on in my own head.

“Gigi,” I said, knocking on her bedroom door again. “Deirdre’s mother is here to collect her.”

Both girls made almost identical groans of disappointment that their evening had come to an end.

A moment later, the door sprung open, and Gigi emerged with Deirdre, a tall, fair-haired girl with green eyes.

She didn’t look much like her mother at all, which was a relief in a way.

If she were going to be spending time over here with Gigi, then at least I didn’t have to look at a carbon copy of Milly day in and day out.

“Hello,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Deirdre.”

Ah, hell, so she might not have looked like Milly, but there was definitely something in the way she spoke, the intelligent aspect to her eyes that was so like her mam.

You’ll just have to deal with it , I told myself. For Gigi.

“Deirdre,” I replied. “Nice to meet you, too.”

She smiled at me then turned back to Gigi and pulled her into a hug, making arrangements for Gigi to come have dinner at their house the following evening.

Bloody hell, it was already getting out of hand.

Were they going to want to spend time together every day after school?

I walked Deirdre to the door, opening it and finding Milly still waiting there, an unhappy spark in her eyes to have been left standing in the hallway.

“Hey, Dee,” she said, handing her daughter her car keys. “Go on down and wait for me. I just want to have a quick chat with Gigi’s dad.”

“Sure,” Deirdre replied, taking the keys and heading downstairs. Once she was gone, Milly cast me an uncomfortable expression, running a hand through her long hair as she sighed, “Look, I understand this isn’t ideal.”

I emitted a joyless laugh. “You could say that again.”

She frowned, eyeing me speculatively before continuing, “You clearly want nothing to do with me, and I have every intention of staying out of your way, but I’d really appreciate it if you’d let our daughters continue to be friends.

” There was something vaguely pleading in her tone that had a measure of my hostility fading.

“Deirdre’s had to upend her life to come here with me, and she was having trouble making friends the first few days of school. Now she’s met Gigi, and she seems so much happier. They like a lot of the same things, and I’d really hate for anything to upset their friendship.”

I stared at her, a thick lump forming in my throat.

She had no clue the lengths I would go to make Gigi happy, especially with how things had been for her the last few months.

Swallowing down the lump, I forced myself to put my own personal feelings about Milly aside as I revealed, “Gigi’s actually been going through a hard time lately, too.

Tonight was the first time I heard her laugh in months. ”

Milly’s expression flickered before empathy filtered through, her pretty lips forming a surprised ‘O’ shape. She obviously hadn’t expected me to reveal anything so personal. “Well, I’m glad the friendship with Deirdre has cheered her up some.”

A short, awkward silence ensued before I said, “I won’t get in the way of their friendship.”

“Okay, thank you. I won’t either.”

I cleared my throat and rubbed at the tension in my jaw. “I heard them arranging to have dinner at your house after school tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay. Well, Deirdre hasn’t mentioned it to me yet, but I’ll be happy to have Gigi over.”

“Good,” I said gruffly. It was about as much cordiality as I could manage.

“All right, well, goodnight, Derek.”

“Good—” Before I could finish, Milly turned and walked away.

Well, I guess I deserved that. I’d certainly been doing it to her an awful lot lately.

The barest hint of amusement tugged at my lips as I stood in the doorway, watching her petite frame and graceful gait as she disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall.

I remained in place, listening for the recognisable ping of the lift, the doors opening and closing, signalling her departure.

Then I turned and went back inside my apartment.