Page 4 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

My cousin from America, Charli, had come to stay with us for the summer.

From the moment Rhys had laid eyes on her, I could tell he was smitten.

I had a feeling Charli might like him back, but I was worried that once she headed home at the end of the summer, she’d leave Rhys heartbroken.

He was my best friend, but he’d never been with a girl before.

He also had a soft, open heart, and I didn’t want him to get hurt.

Hell, maybe I should be heeding my own advice because how I felt for Milly was unlike how I’d felt for any girl.

I wasn’t inexperienced like Rhys, but I felt just as in danger of getting my heart broken, especially considering how amped up I was to bring her to the party tonight.

“Charli’s not interested in the likes of me,” Rhys responded dismissively before focusing back on the game.

I didn’t bother contradicting him even though he was dead wrong. It was better for the lad if he kept believing she wasn’t into him. Less trouble in the long run. “I need to go pick Milly up from her house, but Tristan will be leaving to head over to Aidan’s in a little while.”

“Cool, I’ll go with him,” Rhys said, and I went to get dressed.

By the time I parked outside Milly’s house, I feared I’d put on too much cologne and hastily tried rubbing some off with a couple napkins from the glovebox while also lowering the driver’s side window to air the space out.

Once I was satisfied the car didn’t smell like the Giorgio Armani counter in some fancy department store, I climbed out and walked up to the front door before lifting the knocker.

A moment later, the door swung open, revealing a girl who was the spitting image of Milly, except she was several years younger with much shorter hair.

She took me in from top to toe with a mischievous smile on her face and then folded her arms.

“And you are?”

“Hi. I’m Derek Balfe. I’m here to pick up your sister.”

The girl’s eyes bugged. “Milly? Really?”

I grinned. “Yes, really.”

At this, she turned and bolted up the stairs. “Milly! There’s a hot boy at the door for you!” My grin transformed into a smirk. At least I’d passed her little sister’s inspection.

“Jane! No shouting please!” came a male voice, ironically shouting, too, before Milly’s dad, Ryan O’Shea, appeared at the door.

He was walking with crutches, a large cast covering most of his left leg.

Milly had mentioned that he’d fallen off a ladder while trying to clear the gutters on their roof and broke his femur while also suffering a fractured tibia.

When he was being treated at the hospital, he’d contracted MRSA, further lengthening his recovery time.

It meant he was out of work, and given he was self-employed, it had put financial strain on the family.

Milly’s mam, who worked at the local florist, had to take on a second job waiting tables at night.

It was one of the reasons I really wanted Milly to come to the party tonight.

She’d spent most of her summer so far taking care of her sisters and father, and she deserved a night off.

Her dad looked to be around the same age as mine, in his late forties or early fifties, with greyish dark brown hair and blue eyes like his daughters.

When he clapped his gaze on me, his thick, bushy brows immediately drew together in suspicion.

“And you are?”

I almost chuckled at how he addressed me the exact same way Jane had, only with a much more suspicious tone.

“Derek Balfe, sir,” I said, holding out my hand. “I’m here for Milly.”

The man stared at my hand, frowned, then reluctantly let go of one of the crutches and shook it. “Milly never said she was going anywhere.”

“We’re attending a friend’s birthday party. It’s at the Finnegan house. You might know it?”

“Yes, I—”

Before he could finish, Milly came rushing down the stairs, her little sister hot on her heels.

Her long hair fell over one shoulder as she pulled a burgundy-coloured cardigan on over her silky cream camisole, which was paired with a loose black skirt.

It was a conservative outfit, given what I knew most of the girls attending Aidan’s party would be wearing, but she still looked stunningly beautiful, and I had to work to catch my breath.

“Dad, this is my friend, Derek,” she hurried to say. “We were just going—”

“To a birthday party, yes. I’ve already been informed,” her dad said, those thick brows not letting up with their frowning.

Milly stared at her father, her throat bobbing on a swallow as she awaited his approval. He looked to me once more then back to his daughter before exhaling a long breath and muttering something to himself that sounded a lot like, “Was going to happen sooner or later.”

At last, he told Milly, “Right, well, off you go, then. Don’t stay out too late.”

“I’ll have her home before midnight, sir,” I said.

Her little sister squeezed her arm giddily, and I had to suppress a smile as Milly shot her a look that said, Calm down already , before she grabbed her phone from the entry table and stepped outside to join me.

I made sure not to touch her because her dad was still watching us from the house, but I did go around the passenger side of my car to open the door for her.

“I’m sorry about them,” she said as she lowered into the seat. I went around the other side and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“No need to be sorry.”

“Yes, there is. Jane can be a little over the top about, well, boys, and I’m pretty sure my dad thought I wasn’t going to go out with anyone until I turned at least twenty-seven.”

I chuckled. “Well, it would be a crying shame if you waited that long.” There was a pause as I pulled away from the kerb. “So, is that what we’re doing? Going out?” I tried to sound casual while being way too fucking hopeful.

When I chanced a peek at her, she seemed to be internally spiralling, her blue eyes wide and panicked like she’d misspoken.

I briefly placed my hand on her knee, my voice warm.

“Relax, Milly. Tonight can be whatever you want it to be. I’m just glad you agreed to come.

I’ve been wondering if maybe I smell bad or something because you’ve declined every invite since I started giving you lifts. ”

“You don’t smell bad,” she blurted, her expression horrified. “Oh, my God, is that what you thought?”

I chuckled low. “Well, I had wondered why you always said no to everything.”

“You smell wonderful, Derek,” she told me effusively then flushed when I grinned wide.

“I just mean … um …” she trailed off, visibly flustered, then finally continued, “My declining your invites doesn’t have anything to do with you at all.

It’s me. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m a little introverted.

Parties are somewhat terrifying for me.”

I was still hung up on her saying I smelled wonderful. Some unexplored primal part of my brain enjoyed the idea of her liking how I smelled. When I comprehended the other part of what she said, everything inside me melted.

“Do you mean to tell me you’ve been declining my invitations because you’re scared of parties?

” I mean, I knew she was shy, but I didn’t think it was that bad.

I was obviously relieved her reasons weren’t to do with not liking me, but at the same time, I felt for her.

To be so introverted that you’d prefer to miss out on a fun party was a foreign concept to me.

I wasn’t as outgoing as my brother, Tristan, but I’d always taken social situations in stride.

The fact that she’d overcome her anxiety and decided to come tonight had a burst of pride filling my chest because she was going outside of her comfort zone to spend time with me .

Milly nodded, worrying her lip before she replied, “Pretty much. I mean, my friends, Tara and Celine, aren’t the party going types either, so I don’t really get invited to stuff like that. And you and your friends, you’re, like, the popular kids in town. It’s intimidating.”

I actually knew her friend Tara because we were second cousins. Her father was my dad’s first cousin, and we’d played together as kids, but I hadn’t seen much of her in recent years. We went to different schools, and our parents didn’t interact much nowadays, having grown apart.

Tara had had pale blonde hair as a kid, which she now dyed a striking shade of blue-black.

She was a goth girl who seemed to always have her head buried in Japanese comics.

Milly’s other friend, Celine, from what I could remember from primary school, was one of those quiet girls who got straight As but wasn’t much interested in socialising.

Between the three of them, Milly might be considered the confident social butterfly of the group.

So, yeah, she was correct in describing them as not being party types.

When we came to a red light, I studied her for a minute, again struck by how ethereally beautiful she was, and she had zero fucking clue.

The girl was oblivious to the fact that I could barely stop staring at her and had to fight the urge to kiss her daily.

Not having seen her since school ended was torture.

I noticed how she anxiously chewed on her fingernail, and on instinct, I reached over and took her hand in mine before gently lowering it to her knee.

I held it in comfort for a beat as her eyes lifted to mine, wide and curious.

“Nervous about tonight?” I asked softly.

“A little,” she answered candidly on a shaky exhale.

“You don’t need to be. I won’t leave your side. And if you’re feeling like you need a break, you can just stay quiet, and I’ll do all the talking. How does that sound?”

Her look of relief had pressure building in my chest. It was a look that had me wanting to fight down demons and destroy everything in the world that might cause her distress.

“That sounds really good. Thank you, Derek. For understanding.”

“Anything for you, Camille,” I murmured.

The light turned green, and I reluctantly let go of her hand. A minute later, I pulled to a stop outside Aidan’s house, the party already in full swing with music pumping.

Climbing from the car, I went around to help Milly out. My heart thudded when she glanced up at me, a look of trust her eyes. It was a look that said although being at a party made her nervous, she felt at ease with me there. Then she quietly slid her arm through mine and let me lead her inside.