Page 26 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

Everything inside me tensed as I listened to her speak.

The idea of her knowing about Paloma leaving and Gigi’s depression over it had my protective instincts kicking in.

It was none of Milly’s business what my daughter was going through.

But then I looked into her eyes and saw only empathy and open concern.

My defensiveness faded. She was being nice, offering to find a different meditation class so I wouldn’t be put out.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” I said at last, my expression softening.

A part of me hated her thinking I didn’t enjoy her company.

It was simply that being around her was painful because I’d laid it all on the line for her once, and she’d turned me down.

“It seems that we’re going to have to get used to one another. ”

Milly cast me a small smile. “It doesn’t look like Deirdre and Gigi are going to tire of each other any time soon, so yeah, that seems to be the case, I’m afraid.” Surprising me, she held out her hand, “A truce? For the sake of our kids?”

I managed to muster the faintest hint of a smile in return, though it may have looked more like a lopsided grimace, I couldn’t be sure.

“Yeah, truce,” I agreed and captured her hand in mine.

Her fingers were small and cool, so delicate in my larger ones.

I noticed the softness of her skin, how her nails were neatly trimmed and painted a pale shade of pink.

Again, our gazes held, something vibrating between us that I tried my best to ignore but found myself lightly running my thumb over her knuckles anyway.

Just like a moment ago, her breath caught.

An inner warning sounded because being around her was already becoming troublesome.

My mind went elsewhere as I imagined her breath catching for a very different reason.

Fuck, this was bad. I would always be attracted to Milly.

It was practically burned into my DNA, but I was old enough now to know how to resist the pull.

I could be cordial without getting too close.

At least, that was what I was determined to convince myself of.

Letting go, I rose from the mat and turned to leave, then paused before turning back to her. “See you at the next session.”

Milly nodded, peering up at me with those impossibly innocent blue eyes. “See you then, Derek.”

***

When I got home, I took Pablo out for a run along the beach.

It was one of the few activities he was still prepared to do with me, and given he was a sixteen-year-old boy who much preferred his friends and video games to his dad, I took every opportunity I could to spend time with him.

The good thing was he was fairly content with his life.

He hadn’t gone through a depressive episode when his mother left like Gigi had, and that was a small mercy because I wasn’t sure I was equipped to deal with two children in crisis.

We slowed down to a light jog at the end and talked a bit about what was going on with him before we reached the house.

While Pablo went to shower, I made a start on the garlic roast chicken I’d prepped earlier for dinner. I was just making a start on the vegetables when Gigi sauntered into the kitchen. She cast me a smile I recognised. It was syrupy sweet, normally indicating she was about to ask me for something.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” I told her as she slid onto a stool by the counter before placing both hands down on the table.

“Sooo …” she began, and there was an excited tremble in her voice.

I cast her an indulgent look. “So?”

“Purple Beatrice just added a last-minute date to their European tour. They’re coming to Dublin to play a show next month. Can you believe it?”

My chest warmed at her enthusiasm. It had been a while since I’d seen her this genuinely excited about anything. “So, you want me to buy you a ticket, then?”

“Yes, please, and can you get one for Deirdre, too? We want to go together.”

A smile tugged at my lips. I’d always planned on taking her to see her favourite band if they ever played a show in town, but Gigi clearly didn’t know that from the way she was nervously chewing at her fingernails.

“Of course, I’ll buy a ticket for both of you. When do they go on sale?”

“Tomorrow morning. But I have another request.”

“Oh?”

There was more nervous fingernail chewing before she blurted, “We want to go on our own, and I know you don’t normally let me go into the city unsupervised, but I’ll be with Deirdre. I’ll have my phone on me the entire time, so if anything happens, I’ll call you straight away.”

My smile faded. “You’re only fourteen, Gigi.”

“But Deirdre’s fifteen. Plus, she’s so tall everyone thinks she’s way older. And I’ll be fifteen, too, in six weeks.”

“That’s still not old enough to go into the city on your own, even if there are two of you, and even if you think Deirdre looks older, which I can assure she doesn’t.”

Gigi slumped where she sat, looking forlorn and possibly on the verge of throwing a tantrum. “I knew you’d ruin this. You’re way too overprotective.”

“I’m the exact right amount of protective,” I countered. “And you’re my daughter. I will always go out of my way to keep you safe.”

“I just want to go and have fun! I won’t be able to do that with you there.”

My cheeks twitched in amusement. “Well, that’s not at all hurtful.”

She pushed her lower lip out. “You know what I mean. Anyway, it’s not fair that you won’t let me go with Deirdre. Her mam’s already agreed to it.”

Now I stared at her. “Milly agreed to let Deirdre go to a concert in the city alone?”

Gigi held my gaze firmly. “Y-yes, because she’s a sane parent and not a paranoid, crazy, overprotective maniac like you are.”

I firmed my jaw. “Get me her number.”

“Whose number?”

“Deirdre’s mother’s. I’d like to speak to her about her careless decision-making,” I grunted as I went to grab my phone from where it sat next to the sink.

“Um, I don’t have it …”

“I’ll get it from Nuala, then.” I turned from the room, dialling my sister while Gigi called, “Wait, Dad, please don’t …”

I shut myself in my bedroom, and Nuala answered on the second ring. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”

“Can you send me Milly’s number? I need to discuss something important with her regarding our daughters.”

“Oh, no. You sound mad. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Will you send the number?”

“Only if you promise not to be a dick to Milly. She’s already mentioned you’ve been rude to her on more than one occasion.”

Fuck, why did that make me feel like the worst piece of shit in the world? Had I upset her that badly? The idea made my conscience pipe up. “Not being overtly friendly doesn’t mean I was rude, Nuala. Now, just send me her number.”

I hung up before she could berate me further, and a moment later, her text came through. I quickly programmed Milly’s number into my phone before I hit Call. She didn’t answer, and it went through to voicemail. I figured she might not answer since it was a strange number, so I sent a text.

Hi, it’s Derek. I need to talk to you about this concert the girls want to go to.

No sooner had I sent the text than my phone lit up with a return call.

“Hello, Derek? Sorry I didn’t answer. I never answer numbers I don’t recognise.”

“That’s fine. You’re right not to. There are a lot of scams out there.

” A silence fell before I cleared my throat.

Being on the phone with her had me feeling an emotion I couldn’t pin down.

I’d just sat through an entire meditation class with her, but there was something intimate about speaking over the phone. “So, about this concert.”

“Right, Deirdre just told me about it, and I was looking up the venue. I don’t mind letting her go since they’ve never played a show here before.”

“And you’re okay with them going into the city alone?” I asked in disbelief. “Dublin isn’t a safe place for two young girls at night. I thought you’d have more sense than—”

“Hold on for a second,” she interrupted. “I didn’t say anything about them going alone.”

“But Gigi said …” My words fell off as I realised what was going on. My daughter had been trying to play me. “Okay, now I get what’s happening here.”

Milly was quiet a moment before guessing, “Did Gigi say I agreed to it to try and pressure you into saying yes?”

All I could manage was an irritated grunt of assertion as Milly gave a quiet laugh.

“Oh, the wiles of teenage girls. A couple of years ago, the mother of one of Deirdre’s friends back in London and I discovered they’d lied to us about going to watch movies at each other’s houses.

Instead, they’d taken the Tube to Leicester Square to visit M&M’s world.

They were only thirteen. I nearly had a coronary.

Thankfully, we were able to get to them before anything terrible happened. ”

“Bloody hell, I would’ve grounded Gigi for a year if she’d done that.”

“Look, don’t be too hard on her about the concert.

Deirdre is completely besotted with that band, too, and would do anything to see them live.

It’s just the age they’re at. They don’t want their parents cramping their style.

Anyway, I’m happy to go with them if you’re not up for it.

I could just hang out at the back and watch over them from afar.

That way, they can have fun without the burden of a parent watching their every move up close. ”

I ran a hand over the scruff growing on my jaw. “That does sound like a better idea. I’ll buy the tickets.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan. I better go, but keep me posted.”

“Will do. Goodbye, Milly.”

“Bye, Derek.”

Slotting the phone into my back pocket, I returned to the kitchen and found Gigi sitting exactly where I left her, looking chagrined.

“We’re not going to discuss the fact that you just lied to me, but don’t do it again.

” Her face was etched in apology as she bobbed her head.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll buy the tickets tomorrow morning, and Deirdre’s mam is going to go with you—”

“Aw, but—”

“No ‘buts.’ She’ll stay at the back of the venue to keep an eye on you, but you’ll be able to go to the front and dance and sing to your heart’s content. Deal?”

Gigi exhaled heavily. “Fine, deal. Milly’s much cooler than you anyway,” she went on with a grin. “She’ll fit in better at the concert.”

A smile pulled at the corners of my lips, but I didn’t scold her for being cheeky. It was a natural part of her personality I hadn’t seen in a while, not since her mother had gone on tour. It was nice to see a glimmer of her old self coming back, even if she had lied to me. “Oh, it’s Milly, is it?”

“She told me I could call her Milly,” Gigi asserted. “Did you know she and Deirdre have different last names? Deirdre goes by Morgan-O’Shea, but her mam is just O’Shea. Her parents were never married.”

Well, that was interesting. I turned to take the chicken out of the oven. “And where’s her father now?” I asked casually. “Does she see him much?”

“He lives in London. Supposedly, he’s a surgeon and works all the time. They made an arrangement for Deirdre to stay with him during the summer and school holidays, but the rest of the year is spent with her mam.”

“And her dad’s okay with that?” I couldn’t imagine only seeing Gigi and Pablo during the summer and for a few measly school holidays. I’d miss them far too much.

“I don’t know. Deirdre seems fine with it, though,” Gigi replied while reaching for one of the grapes in the fruit bowl.

I wondered what the relationship was like between Milly and Deirdre’s father.

Was it amicable or combative? I couldn’t imagine Milly actively keeping her daughter from seeing her dad, not unless he was an absolute scumbag, and I didn’t see her dating someone like that in the first place.

She was too good a judge of character. Then again, people could pretend to be decent at the start of a relationship before their true colours showed.

Okay, I needed to quit obsessing over Milly and her ex. Why did I even need to know? It was none of my business.

The next few weeks passed, and I saw Milly every couple of days, either when dropping off or collecting Gigi, or at meditation class.

Sometimes we’d even cross paths at the swimming pool.

We managed to keep things cordial but distant.

When the night of the Purple Beatrice concert arrived, Gigi skipped off in a band T-shirt and ripped jeans, her hair fashioned in what she informed me were called “Space Buns.” I gave her a hug, made sure she had money in case of an emergency and then off she went to meet Milly and Deirdre at the train station.

They were taking public transport because it was easier than getting caught in evening traffic and having to locate a parking spot in a busy part of the city.

About two hours passed before my phone rang, and Milly’s name showed on the screen. They must’ve arrived at the venue, and I decided she was probably just checking in.

“Hello,” I answered before a stressed sounding Milly replied, “Derek, we have a little bit of a problem.”