Page 32 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

I felt her trembling through her fingers, and something in me softened.

She might’ve been the one to push me in here, but I had to admit to myself that I’d let her do it.

If I hadn’t wanted to be manhandled into this room by a woman almost half my size, I wouldn’t have been.

No, a part of me was entirely too curious to see what she had planned.

“I know someone else booked the suite,” she said then, distracting me from my thoughts. “I overheard the couple complaining to the receptionist about it.”

Her challenging look almost did me in. I was a sucker for when she called me on my bullshit.

“Don’t waste your concern for the Longs.

The last time they stayed at the hotel, they made one of our serving staff cry because she forgot to bring Mrs Long an extra portion of sauce with her fillet steak.

They’re notoriously difficult guests, and my hope is that this might encourage them to bring their business elsewhere.

Also, I wanted you and Deirdre to be comfortable. The standard rooms are too small.”

“Well, that’s a kind sentiment, and the Longs sound horrible, but it’s still not right to change their booking just for me. You’re in the hospitality business. Dealing with difficult guests is part and parcel of that.”

“They were well compensated for the inconvenience.”

“Derek,” she said, and I enjoyed the sound of my name on her lips even if it was uttered in an exasperated tone. “Will you please just arrange for us to be moved to a different room? If there’s no space, we can go somewhere else—”

“Don’t go. Let me do this favour for you. I behaved terribly towards you for weeks, and it’s the least I can do to make up for it. Besides, the Longs will be checking out in the morning, so their stay is basically over now.”

“Aren’t there others who’ve booked the suite?” she questioned. In her eyes, I saw that she was starting to relent.

“Not for another two weeks. I’ll even show you the hotel booking system if you need proof.”

She was quiet for a long moment before she said, “Okay, well, in that case, I guess it couldn’t hurt to stay. Deirdre and Gigi have loved hanging out together in the suite.”

“Good. I’m glad they’re enjoying themselves.” With my hand still atop hers, I gave her fingers a light squeeze before letting go. If we stayed in this room any longer, I didn’t trust what I might do. Like discover if her lips still tasted as sweet as I remembered.

I moved away, and Milly cleared her throat. “Right, well, I better be going. Sorry for pushing you in here.”

Grinning at her, I opened the door, a hint of flirtation in my tone. “If I hadn’t wanted to be pushed, I could’ve easily prevented it.”

“Oh, sure, keeping telling yourself that.”

Her level stare and folded arms were adorable.

I took my time surveying her before changing the subject.

Bending down so my mouth was almost at her ear, I said, “Can I ask for a favour?” I could’ve sworn the tiniest shiver trickled over her before she lifted her eyebrows and nodded.

“Would you mind walking with me to my car and pretending to be deep in a very important conversation?”

“Why?”

“To avoid being accosted by my fan club again,” I replied dourly, and she laughed.

“Your fan club, eh? Lots of people would be delighted to receive such attention.”

“Yeah, try it sometime and get back to me.”

Milly shook her head. “Go on, then. Since it appears I owe you one, I’ll help you escape the building without being accosted.”

In the end, I was the one who walked Milly to her car, but luckily, mine was parked only a few spots over, so I managed to get out of the place without running into Iona or any of the other mothers.

When I got back to my apartment, I found my son on the living room couch with a girl I’d never seen before.

The two of them sat close together, his arm around her shoulders as some reality show played on the TV.

I paused, taking in the scene. My son hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend, nor had he said he was having anyone over.

Neither of them noticed my presence until I cleared my throat, and immediately, Pablo’s eyes rounded as he and the girl shifted away from one another.

Well, at least they’d only been watching TV.

“Dad, I didn’t think you’d be home yet.”

“I managed to get done with Gigi’s parent teacher evening a little early,” I replied then arched an eyebrow while trying my best not to smile at my son’s embarrassment. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

Pablo flushed, rubbing the back of his neck while sharing a glance with the brunette at his side. “This is Tabatha,” he said. “A friend from school.”

“Hello, Tabitha. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” she responded meekly, and I internally grimaced. Pablo and I had spoken about girls and being responsible in the past, but now that he was actually hanging out with one, I felt I was going to have to revisit that conversation. Reiterate a few things.

“Is your sister in her room?” I asked, glancing down the hallway.

“No, she’s with Deirdre, I think.”

“Are they at the hotel?”

“Don’t know.”

“Well, you’re a great help.” It was a school night, and Gigi knew she should be home by now.

I lifted my phone to my ear, hitting Call on her number, but it rang out with no answer.

I left her a voicemail as well as a text, then decided to call Milly to see why she wasn’t answering.

If Gigi was watching a movie with Deirdre, then she might’ve had her phone on silent.

“Hello?” Milly answered after a few rings.

“Hey, sorry for bothering you, but could you let Gigi know she needs to come home now. I’ll send a taxi over. It’s a school night—”

“Gigi’s not here. I thought she and Deirdre were at your apartment,” Milly responded, a note of worry in her voice. “I was actually just trying to get through to Deirdre, but her phone keeps going to her voicemail.”

Just like that, my gut twisted with unease. This wasn’t like Gigi. Even when she was in the worst of her depression, she normally just hid in her room. She never went missing without letting me know where she was.

“Maybe they went to the beach,” Milly suggested. “Do teenagers still throw parties on the beach?”

“Not on a Monday night, no,” I responded gruffly.

“We need to go find them, then.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Be ready.”

With that, I hung up and grabbed my car keys. “Gigi’s gone AWOL,” I said to Pablo. “Stay here and let me know if she turns up. I’m going out to look for her.”

“Oh, shit,” my son exclaimed, but I was too busy worrying about Gigi to reprimand him for his foul language.

No, I needed to locate my daughter because this certainly wasn’t like her. And if it wasn’t like her, then that meant someone else had influenced her, likely Milly’s daughter.