Page 7 of Prudence (Balfe Family #1)

Milly

I stood in place, teeth chattering, body shaking, my entire outfit soaked to the skin as I peered up and saw someone had levelled a bucket above the door attached to some sort of string and pulley system.

I had no idea what had happened until Derek’s brother Tristan and his friend Rhys appeared a second later, both breathless and panicked.

“Fuck!” Tristan swore, a petrified expression on his face while Rhys stared at me, pale and horrified. “Milly, this wasn’t meant for you. We were trying to play a birthday prank on Aidan.”

“What the hell is going on?” came a deep, gravelly voice just before Derek appeared. As soon as he saw me, his expression morphed into one of absolute fury, all levelled at his brother.

My throat bobbed on a swallow as tears rushed forth. I’d taken off my cardigan earlier in the night, so I wore only my thin cream camisole, the pale material was soaked through and exposed my white bra underneath. Humiliation needled at my pores as several tears leaked out and fell down my cheeks.

“It was meant for Aidan,” Tristan repeated. “It was just a prank to get him back for—”

“I don’t give a shit,” Derek fumed. “You shouldn’t have done it.” He moved closer, pulling off his jacket and wrapping it around my shoulders as he rubbed his hands up and down my arms. “Milly, I’m so sorry about this.”

“We’re sorry, too,” Tristan added, and Derek shot him a glare.

“I’ll deal with you later,” he practically growled, and Tristan shared a look with Rhys before they both scarpered.

“What’s all the shouting about?” Aidan asked as he rounded the corner, Francesca and several of the girls close behind him.

Various degrees of shock and surprise clouded their faces when they clapped eyes on me, and I’d never felt so mortified.

Francesca barked an amused laugh and commented to the girl next to her, “Appearance-wise, I think this might actually be an improvement.”

Derek shot her a cutting glare, his retort biting, “Shut it, Francesca.”

She was immediately silenced, but his defence didn’t do much to cut through my humiliation. Was this what I got for finally facing my fears and saying yes to a date with Derek Balfe? One of the best nights had somehow turned into one of the worst.

“I’d like to go home now,” I said in a quiet, steady voice while trying to maintain some composure and dignity. Derek tightened his arm around my waist, ushering me away from all the gaping spectators.

“Let’s go dry you off first,” he replied, guiding me towards one of the other rooms, but I shirked him off, stepping back.

“No, I’ll dry off when I get home.” My teeth continued to chatter as I met his gaze. “Goodnight, Derek.”

With that, I rushed away from him, but he was hot on my heels.

I heard him only a few steps behind me, so I quickened my pace, driven by the need to escape this house, this night.

I heard a few people ask questions like, “What the hell happened to her?” as I rushed by, but I did my best to block them out.

“Milly, where are you going? Let me drive you,” Derek called after me.

“No, thank you. I’ll make my own way h-home,” I shouted over my shoulder.

More tears fell as I broke into a run, and I made it out onto the street, managing to lose Derek in the process.

I just needed to get away from the feeling of utter embarrassment.

I might’ve had shorter legs than him, but I was fast. I was several houses down from Aidan’s when Derek finally caught up to me, catching my arm and gently wrapping his fingers around my biceps.

Stopping in my tracks, I turned and saw he held my cardigan that I’d left back in the house.

So that was how I managed to outrun him.

I might’ve been fast, but I was clearly no match for Derek’s superior speed. He did run every day after all.

Still, he was a little out of breath, his chest rising and falling with his laboured breathing. His eyes flickered back and forth between mine as he took me in. “I’m going to murder my brother,” he said at last.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, refusing to shed more tears in front of him. “It’s not Tristan’s fault. Like he said, the prank wasn’t meant for me.”

“Come back to the house, Milly. I’ll drive you home.”

I stood firm, lifting my chin. “I’m not going back there.”

He let out a heavy breath. “Fine, then I’m walking with you.”

“No, you—”

Before I could finish my protest, he stepped into my personal space, and his heat and scent invaded my senses.

I was dumbstruck as he removed the jacket he’d placed around my shoulders a few minutes ago.

Goosebumps lingered on my frozen skin, and my breath caught when, with careful hands, Derek helped me back into my cardigan.

He tugged it tight around my body, making sure the fit was snug before he put the jacket back on.

I stood in place, tingles dancing along the back of my neck as he tucked some hair behind my ear, his minty breath with the faint sweet hint of rum and Coke meeting my cheeks as he bent down and pressed his forehead to mine.

I swear all the air left my body when he asked in a rough, rumbly voice, “Better?”

I nodded silently, unable to form words. The contact sent a flurry of adrenaline through me and all I could do was try not to stare at his gorgeous lips.

Derek was being so kind and caring, and honestly, it wasn’t his fault that I’d fallen victim to his brother’s prank, which was meant for Aidan.

It was my own fault for not paying attention to where I was going.

Something about his warmth and heady scent had my mind travelling back to that day when he’d offered me a lift home, a warm shelter from the rain and hail.

This was the second time he’d come to my rescue after I’d gotten drenched.

Only tonight was far more upsetting because it had taken so much courage to say yes to his invite in the first place.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Milly,” he said, his voice pure gravel.

His forehead was still pressed to mine, and his proximity made me a little dizzy.

“You can walk me home,” I said at last and watched as his lips curved into a handsome smile. I felt his hand run along my shoulder and down my arm before his fingers slid between mine. He held my small hand in his much larger one, and my heart skipped a beat.

With both my cardigan and his jacket on me, I started to feel a modicum dryer and a little less like I was going to succumb to frostbite.

During my studies, I’d read about how quickly people could freeze to death, but this was the first time I’d felt a sensation close to what those poor souls experienced when trapped in the cold.

“How are you feeling now?” Derek asked when we’d almost reached my house.

“A little better.”

He looked me over. “Good.” A pause as he turned to the street ahead of us, his jaw working before he grunted, “Tristan is going to rue the day he ever decided to pull that prank, I promise you.”

I was touched by how angry he was on my behalf, even if I was still bristling at the spectacle that was made of me.

The only saving grace was that most of the people at the party went to St. Mark’s, which meant the rumour of how Milly O’Shea had the gumption to think she could go to a party with the likes of Derek Balfe and was swiftly reminded of her place was unlikely to spread at my own school.

A few minutes later, we arrived outside my house. The lampshade was on in the living room. My parents were probably sitting down to watch TV. It was barely ten, and Derek had told Dad I’d be back by midnight. I hoped he didn’t question why I was home so early.

“Thank you for walking me back,” I said. I was about to remove his jacket when Derek stopped me.

“Keep it. You might need it.”

“I’m about twenty steps from my front door. I think I’ll be okay,” I responded lightly.

“Still,” he said, his hand leaving mine as he tugged the sides of the jacket tighter around me, his eyes fixed on the zipper. His heated expression told me he liked seeing me in something he owned. “I’d rather not take any chances.”

“Okay,” I breathed because, oddly enough, I didn’t want to remove the jacket yet either. It smelled of him, and his scent was an unexpected comfort after such a horrifying ordeal.

“Can I stop by to see you tomorrow? I’ll bring doughnuts from that new shop in town everyone’s been raving about.”

Hmm, I was partial to doughnuts even though they were inordinately high in cholesterol and saturated fat.

Still, I decided I was too young to be worrying about heart disease just yet despite it being on the rise.

“Sure, that sounds good,” I responded, shooting him a grateful look.

Our night might’ve ended badly, but Derek had been a gentleman.

A flirtatious one, sure, but a gentleman, nonetheless.

“I’ll see you in the morning, then,” he said as he walked me to the door, his hand warm on my lower back.

Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to my cheek, and butterflies swarmed to life in my belly.

It was only a brief peck, but it still made my heart flutter.

I shot him a little wave before I used my key to get inside, closing the door behind me and emitting a long, shaky breath.

The effect that boy had on me scrambled my equilibrium.

It worried me because, as demonstrated tonight, I was not the only girl in town who had eyes for Derek Balfe.

The thought of constantly having to fret about someone else snagging his attention was stressful, to say the least. Still, he’d barely glanced at anyone except for me all night, and that notion had the butterflies in my stomach increasing tenfold.

“Milly, is that you?” Mam called when she heard me shuffling out of my wet shoes in the hallway. I set them down beneath the radiator, hoping that would dry them off.

“Yes, just me,” I replied.

“How was the party?” Dad put in.

“It was fun. I’m going to bed now,” I lied.