Page 41 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

“He can’t make it. Something came up at work,” Tristan replied, and I saw disappointment flicker in her gaze for a moment before it was gone.

My eyes met Derek’s briefly, and he practically simmered as he took me in.

My breath caught as he traced a path from my face and down along my shoulders and chest before tiptoeing over my hips.

His intense inspection made me feel like there was a fire bubbling under the surface of my skin.

“Right, well, we’d better get going. The concert starts soon.”

“Lead the way,” Aidan said, and we all filed out of the house.

“We’re off now,” Nuala shouted up the stairs before there was an answering, “Okay, have a wonderful time,” from her mother.

I fell back and walked alongside Derek, while Aidan, Tristan and Nuala strolled a few yards ahead of us, chatting about the concert.

“You look beautiful,” Derek said quietly, his fingers lightly brushing mine as we walked. I wished to reach out and hold his hand, but I knew I couldn’t. We weren’t alone, and it would raise too many eyebrows.

“Thank you,” I replied in a whisper, my eyes flicking up to his. “You look very handsome.”

His lips twitched at my returning compliment, his gaze darkening ever so before he glanced away, clearing his throat as though it might also clear certain thoughts. A shiver swept over me as I wondered where his mind had gone. “So, how was the rest of your afternoon?” Derek asked.

I inhaled a breath, brushing away the fluttery feeling in my stomach at his mere proximity. “It was good. Staying at the hotel was a nice break, but I’m glad to be back under my own roof.”

“I can imagine.”

“What about you? Did your meeting go well?”

“It did.”

“It must be a lot of pressure, taking on your dad’s old role.”

Something serious flickered across his expression, and I recalled what I’d overheard Paloma saying to him, how she’d tried to reassure him he could handle running his family’s business. Had he doubted himself?

“It is, but the reality has been less intimidating than what I’d feared.”

“Were you worried about taking on the responsibility?” I studied the shadows and plains of his handsome face while I awaited his response.

Derek rubbed at the back of his neck, his eyes flashing to mine, and in a moment of unexpected honesty, he said, “I was terrified. You know, I never really got over being a worrier.” There was a small hint of self-deprecation in his words.

“I remember,” I replied fondly.

“Right, well, I kind of let my worries get the best of me. I was drinking too much, not sleeping, barely exercising. Some of it had to do with Gigi’s troubles, too, but I was spiralling out of control.” My heart clenched listening to him. “Then you …” he trailed off, and my eyebrows rose.

“Then I?”

His features gentled as he focused his gaze on me, his tender look stealing some of my breath. “Then you came back into my life and reminded me of all the reasons I needed to get back to who I was, who I am .”

Emotion caught in my throat. I didn’t know what to say. Finally, I reached out and squeezed his hand. “I’m glad I … I’m glad I helped. Who you are is pretty amazing.”

His soft look transformed into something more heated, and I realised we were standing in place, gazing at each other while the tension thickened between us. The bubble was broken when Aidan called, “Hey, you two, catch up!”

We caught up to the others and found them holding a lively chat about whether Alanis Morrisette could be considered a staple musician of our generation.

“She was a few years before our time, I’m telling you,” Aidan argued. “My older sister, Marie Claire, was obsessed with her as a teenager, and she’s firmly Gen X.”

“But I feel like I heard her music a lot growing up,” Nuala countered.

“Right, but that would’ve been nineties nostalgia.”

“He has a sister called Marie Claire?” I asked Derek quietly. “Like the magazine?”

He smirked. “Aidan’s mother is a fashion fanatic. She goes to Paris every year for their fashion week.”

“Must be nice,” I said, remembering the giant house Aidan had grown up in where he’d hold parties when we were younger. He’d been known as one of the richest boys in town back then, but with his restaurants, he’d clearly become a success in his own right.

“Wow, looks like a sold-out show,” Nuala commented as we reached the entrance. Whatever tickets Aidan had managed to snag allowed us to bypass the regular queue and head straight for the VIP area.

“The event manager here is a regular at one of my restaurants,” Aidan explained. “He gets me tickets for all the best shows.”

“And this is the first time you’ve invited us,” Tristan responded, feigning offence. “Noted.”

“Hey, you’re lucky I don’t have a lady friend in my life at the moment. Otherwise, I’d have invited her, and none of you would be here right now.”

“You really know how to make us feel special,” Nuala said on a chuckle.

I felt a warm palm meet my lower back as we entered the VIP area close to the stage. Tingles danced along my spine when Derek leaned in and asked, “Want anything to drink?”

I sucked in a sharp breath because he was so close I could smell his spicy cologne, and it did strange things to me, I replied, “Sure, I’ll take a gin and tonic.”

His smile was hot enough to make me melt as his gaze drank me in. “Be right back.”

“Don’t bother to offer me a drink,” Nuala commented with a tut as Derek went in the direction of the bar area. He turned to her, walking backwards, “I’ll bring you back a chardonnay.”

“Thank you!” she shouted at him before directing her attention to me. “Something’s different between you two.”

“What do you mean?” My pulse spiked because I knew exactly what she meant. Only a couple weeks ago, her brother had ignored my very existence. Now he looked at me like he was constantly thinking about pulling me into his arms and ravishing me. And yes, it was just as tingle inducing as it sounded.

“Well, he’s talking to you for a start. He also seems so much calmer lately, not to mention he’s quit drinking an entire bottle of whiskey three times a week and dodging his barber. It’s like he’s started making a real effort again in all areas of his life.”

Nearby, Aidan and Tristan were busy chatting up two leggy brunettes who must’ve either been models or actresses because they had that glossy sheen about them that marked them as famous people. I was completely out of the loop about celebrities, so I didn’t recognise them.

“I think that’s more because of your dad’s health scare and how he’s now had to take over running all the hotels,” I said to Nuala.

“The improvements were happening a while before all that. And anyway, I’ve seen how you two have been looking at one another. I mean, I always saw it, even back when we were teenagers, but I never wanted to embarrass you by pointing it out.”

“No qualms about pointing it out now, though,” I replied wryly.

Nuala laughed and laced her fingers with mine.

“Oh, Milly, life is too short. We all have to face our real feelings sooner or later.” She studied me for a moment before continuing, “What Gigi said back in the car, about Derek and Paloma, don’t let it mess with your head.

My brother was always dutiful in his marriage, but I know him better than anyone, and I saw how he was never completely happy with her.

He got two incredible kids out of the relationship, but there was a point where he and Paloma diverged.

They inevitably wanted different things, and I know for a fact that Derek will never go back to her.

He’s still fond of her as the mother of his children, but as far as romance goes, no, that won’t be happening. ”

My lip quivered because Nuala was being so kind saying that to me, but I was still worried about opening myself up to him.

It had been a while since I’d been in a relationship.

I’d been so focused on raising Deirdre and dedicating myself to my career.

I hadn’t been in the headspace to truly fall for the handful of boyfriends I’d had over the years.

But with Derek, not falling was impossible.

I was already in too deep. I also worried how Gigi might react to her father seeing someone who wasn’t her mother when it was clear she yearned for them to get back together.

“I’m still terrified,” I whispered to her, and she squeezed my hand.

“That’s how you know it’s real,” she said before Derek returned with our drinks.

“Thank you,” I murmured as he handed me the gin and tonic, our fingers brushing and causing a spark of awareness to rush through me. His expression sobered as he studied me, “Are you okay?” Clearly, he’d noticed how his sister’s words had affected me. There was a lot going on inside my head.

“I’m fine.”

He didn’t look convinced, but then his phone buzzed with a text, distracting his attention. I watched as a slow smile spread across his face, and then he held his phone out for Nuala to read. Her eyes quickly scanned the message before she burst into a delighted squeal. “Oh, my goodness!”

“What’s going on?” I asked, perplexed, before Derek explained. “Rhys just texted me. Charli went into labour about an hour ago.”

“I’m going to get to cuddle a newborn soon,” Nuala cheered. “I can’t wait.”

“What’s all this about a newborn?” Tristan asked, Nuala’s excitement having garnered his and Aidan’s attention.

“Charli’s having her baby,” Nuala explained. “She’s gone into labour.”

“Oh, score! If it’s a boy, they better name him after me,” Tristan joked while Nuala rolled her eyes.

“If it’s a boy, they’re naming him after Rhys’ uncle, Eugene, and if it’s a girl, they’re naming her after Aunt Nadine.”

Nuala had once confided in me how her Aunt Nadine had died right after Charli was born and that Charli had grown up never knowing who her real birth mother was. It had all come out when she was eighteen. Apparently, it was a tough time for the entire family.

“I love babies,” one of the brunettes that Tristan had been chatting up said with a flirtatious smile, and he threw his arm around her shoulders. “They’re so cute.”

“You’re cuter,” Tristan countered, and Nuala made a disgusted face, which caused me to chuckle.

When I looked up, Derek was smiling down at me, his expression full of tenderness.

He stood close enough that our arms brushed every so often.

I was hyperaware of each time it happened, my stomach in flurries of nervous tension mixed with excitement.

I liked being near him, just existing in the same space.

It struck me that I’d never felt that with anyone else.

I’d felt attraction, sure, but never the kind of pleasure merely to be in proximity.

Derek was the only one who could make me feel that way.

When Alanis finally took to the stage, I let myself get lost in the music.

Nuala sang along to all the words, although I could only remember the choruses.

I was relieved that Derek didn’t bring up what we’d spoken about in his office earlier that day.

I was enjoying being carefree and wasn’t ready to return to serious topics.

When the concert was over, it took us a while to get off the castle grounds, and when everyone was splitting up to go their separate ways, I found myself suddenly alone with Derek.

“I’ll walk you home.”

I rubbed at my overheated skin, a mixture of endorphins from the show and pent-up need from being around him. All night, I couldn’t stop staring at him, the way his shirt hugged his broad shoulders, tapering down to a trim waist.

“You don’t have to.”

“It’s on my way.”

Was it? Technically, Derek’s apartment was on the way to my house, with the addition of a five-minute detour, but he seemed determined to walk with me, so I nodded, and we started our stroll in companionable silence.

“Did you enjoy the concert?” I asked, breaking the quiet.

Good, Milly, a nice normal question . So far, I was keeping it together when all the while my brain was shouting at me to tell him how sexy he was and that I was obsessed with his five o’clock shadow and the way his dark hair highlighted the gold notes in his eyes.

“I did. Did you?” The aforementioned eyes met mine, and it was all I could do not to swoon. Why was he so … so … smouldering?

“I had a lot of fun. And I liked that you were there.” Okay, I hadn’t meant to blurt that last part.

A handsome smile slowly shaped his features. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Another few moments of quiet elapsed before we finally reached my house. I’d made it. God bless my self-restraint for holding onto decorum and not throwing myself at him. I dug in my bag for my keys while stepping up to my front door.

“Well, thank you for walking me home. Good—”

Before I could finish Derek said, “I should come in, check out the finished repair work.”

Oh, no. This was dangerous. Suddenly, my mouth was parched. “Um, it’s a little late.”

His smirk had my stomach flip flopping, especially since it was paired with a sexy arched eyebrow. “It’s barely eleven.”

“Yes, but—”

“Camille.” The way he said my name garnered my attention, and suddenly I was unable to say no to him. Besides, if I were being honest with myself, I didn’t want him to go yet.

“Well, all right, if you insist. I can make us some tea.”

Slotting my key in the door, I’d barely gotten inside before Derek had me pressed up against the wall.

His knuckles caressed my jaw before reaching up and pulling free my hair tie.

It fell around my shoulders in long, silky tresses, and Derek growled, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” before his lips crashed into mine, and I lost the ability to think coherently.