Page 56 of One Midnight With You
It would be so great to have those moments again. Grandad had gone, but Gran, Mum, Dad, her and Cormac…
The bubble of happiness was burst by that thought. No. Not her and Cormac, because she’d never be able to forgive whatever he was doing today, or whoever he was doing it with.
And that led Emmy to her answer. Because how could she ask her mum to forgive her dad when she wasn’t prepared to do the same in her own relationship?
‘I think you have to do whatever you feel is right, Mum. But don’t do anything because you feel obliged to. Or because it’s easy. Or because he wants you to. He has to deserve you because you’re worth so much more than the way you’ve been treated by him. Just do what’s in your heart. And if that means going back to Dad, I’ll support that too because even though he’s been a complete moron, I still love him. Although if you reject him, the two of you aren’t getting me on alternative weekends,’ she tagged on, trying to lighten the mood, because she could feel her chin begin to wobble.
All night, it had felt weird being here, and she’d tried to join in the spirit of it, but she was too consumed by devastation. On top of that, there were just so many memories, both good and bad. And now, Cormac’s absence had added another one, a crushing weight in her chest that was making it difficult to breathe.
All this emotion, and the prospect of the midnight celebration, was unravelling her. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t be here.
‘I’ll be back in a second,’ she said, but her mum immediately objected.
‘Emmy, wait. It’s almost midnight. You’ll miss the bells! Hang on?—’
‘I’ll be back, Mum. I just need to quickly grab something from the car and give Cormac a call to wish him Happy New Year.’ It was all she could come up with, and the last words she got out before her throat clammed shut. She wouldn’t be back and she wasn’t going to call him either. She just couldn’t be here. Couldn’t stand to watch all the happiness, all the love, all the joy, when her life was exploding around her.
Dodging staff and diners, all rushing to get into position for the bells, she crossed the restaurant in seconds, making her way to the front door, trying desperately not to attract attention and make sure Minnie didn’t spot her either. The last thing she needed was her gran haring out after her and slipping or stressing.
Almost there. Katie at the hostess stand at the door gave her a quizzical smile, but Emmy ignored it.
Almost there. She reached the front door.
Almost there. Slammed it open and…
He was there.
Cormac.
Standing right there in front of her.
Huddled together with Yvie.
And Emmy thought her heart was about to stop.
Her eyes went from one to the other, desperate to be mistaken.
Yvie was the first one to spot her and let out a strangled yelp of, ‘Nooooooo.’
And from somewhere inside, Emmy heard the sound of Carlo hushing the crowd again.
It was almost midnight.
31
DARIO
Brodie was leaning against the wall of Dario’s office, phone in his hand, ready to make the call.
And Dario still couldn’t pull the trigger.
He was slumped on the sofa, Nicky next to him, and Matty was perched on the desk, all of them looking to him for a decision. One that he couldn’t bring himself to make.
The last couple of hours had been excruciating. He’d interrupted his dad just after his dinner with Minnie and asked him to come talk to him one more time to plead his case.
Gino had reluctantly agreed, and as he’d walked to the office, Dario had felt a stab of grief for what he was doing to the elderly man beside him, a father who seemed to have aged even since this morning. Pain did that. Sadness did that. And Dario knew that, because he was feeling all those things too.
For a brief interlude earlier, he’d managed to forget that the walls were closing in. When Ailish, Gwen and Rhonda had arrived, they’d made him feel human and hopeful for the first time in weeks, but the sight of his father, lowering himself into the chair, had slammed the door shut on any happiness he could possibly feel.
