Page 13 of Prudence
He cast me an assessing glance. “What about you? Don’t you feel responsible for Jane and Donna?”
“Well, yes, but I need to be reasonable about it. I can’t be there to keep them safe every second of every day.”
“I guess you’re right.”
I cast him a smile and squeezed his hand. “You’re a worrier deep down, aren’t you?”
His expression was suffering. “I wish I wasn’t, but yes, I do worry a lot. Me and Tristan are opposites in that sense.”
I nodded, and we ate in quiet for another minute or two before Derek started taking me in again. “So, how are you this morning? Be honest.”
Something in his probing gaze had me feeling flushed. “I’m okay.”
“You sure? Because I really hate how last night ended.” He paused to run a hand over his jaw as he cast me a grimace. “I’d been wanting to take you out for so long, and it was an unmitigated disaster.” Another pause as he continued to hold my gaze. “I hope you’ll give me another shot?”
“Another shot?”
“To take you out again.”
Something in the way he said it had me flushing deeper. “I guess we could try again,” I replied quietly, and his expression morphed into one of relief. It was still baffling how interested he was in me. If Derek Balfe wanted a girlfriend, he could have one in a heartbeat, so why did he seem to be so drawn to me in particular?
We sat talking, and like always with him, I lost track of time. Before I knew it, over an hour had passed, and I heard the front door open. My parents’ voices filtered into the house.
“Milly!” Dad called out. “Why are there two teenage boys out front working in our garden?”
Derek and I both stood from the table just as my parents and Aunt Nell walked into the kitchen.
“That’s my little brother and my friend, Rhys, sir,” Derek explained. “They’re setting up a gardening service for the summer and are offering a free trial.” I was impressed by hisability to think on his feet. I was also glad he’d chosen to lie since I definitely didn’t want to explain to my parents and aunt the real reason the two boys were labouring for free.
“Oh? Well, in that case, I’ll be happy to pay them next time if they do a good job,” Dad said, looking pleased.
“You must be Mrs O’Shea,” Derek went on, politely introducing himself to my mam. “I’m Derek Balfe, your daughter’s friend.”
“A pleasure to meet you, young man,” Mam responded, casting me a little knowing grin while I tried not to wither away from embarrassment. It was obvious to everyone that a boy like Derek wasn’t stopping by merely to conduct a friendship.
“And this is my Aunt Nell,” I put in, introducing Derek to my mam’s older sister. They couldn’t have been more opposite. Mam in her worn cardigan and flower print summer dress and Nell in her designer silk blouse and expensive chinos. Still, I expected Nell to be nice to Derek just like Mam had been, but instead, she seemed to be taking his measure, her shoulders stiff.
“Hello,” Derek said. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you,” Nell replied, but her tone said the opposite. I couldn’t figure out why she was being so standoffish.
A short moment of quiet fell before Derek said, “Well, I’d better get going.” He turned to me, bestowing me with a belly fluttering smile before he gave my parents and aunt a deferential nod and left.
“Was that Padraig and Josephine Balfe’s son?” Aunt Nell practically shrieked as soon as he was gone, and I looked at her in question.
“Yes,” I responded. “Why?”
My aunt shared a look with Mam, while Dad gave a shake of his head, shooting me an expression that almost seemed apologetic before he excused himself to the living room. It waslike he knew my aunt was about to unleash some sort of drama, and he wanted no part in it.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
“Nell dated Derek’s dad, Padraig, in secondary school,” Mam explained at last, placing a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “It wasn’t a good experience for her. Padraig was … particularly unkind.”
My pulse hammered. Derek’s dad had gone out with my aunt?
“It’s crazy. He’s the spitting image of his father. Like looking through a time machine,” Nell said as she went to sit down by the table, seeming almost shaken. Her gaze flicked to me. “Please don’t tell me he’s your boyfriend?”
“Well, no, but—”
