Page 38 of Prudence
“No, you don’t have to do that,” I said at last, my expression softening. A part of me hated her thinking I didn’t enjoy her company. It was simply that being around her was painful because I’d laid it all on the line for her once, and she’d turned me down. “It seems that we’re going to have to get used to one another.”
Milly cast me a small smile. “It doesn’t look like Deirdre and Gigi are going to tire of each other any time soon, so yeah, that seems to be the case, I’m afraid.” Surprising me, she held out her hand, “A truce? For the sake of our kids?”
I managed to muster the faintest hint of a smile in return, though it may have looked more like a lopsided grimace, Icouldn’t be sure. “Yeah, truce,” I agreed and captured her hand in mine. Her fingers were small and cool, so delicate in my larger ones. I noticed the softness of her skin, how her nails were neatly trimmed and painted a pale shade of pink. Again, our gazes held, something vibrating between us that I tried my best to ignore but found myself lightly running my thumb over her knuckles anyway. Just like a moment ago, her breath caught. An inner warning sounded because being around her was already becoming troublesome. My mind went elsewhere as I imagined her breath catching for a very different reason. Fuck, this was bad. I would always be attracted to Milly. It was practically burned into my DNA, but I was old enough now to know how to resist the pull. I could be cordial without getting too close.
At least, that was what I was determined to convince myself of.
Letting go, I rose from the mat and turned to leave, then paused before turning back to her. “See you at the next session.”
Milly nodded, peering up at me with those impossibly innocent blue eyes. “See you then, Derek.”
***
When I got home, I took Pablo out for a run along the beach. It was one of the few activities he was still prepared to do with me, and given he was a sixteen-year-old boy who much preferred his friends and video games to his dad, I took every opportunity I could to spend time with him. The good thing was he was fairly content with his life. He hadn’t gone through a depressive episode when his mother left like Gigi had, and that was a small mercy because I wasn’t sure I was equipped to deal with two children in crisis. We slowed down to a light jog at the end and talked a bit about what was going on with him before we reached the house.
While Pablo went to shower, I made a start on the garlic roast chicken I’d prepped earlier for dinner. I was just makinga start on the vegetables when Gigi sauntered into the kitchen. She cast me a smile I recognised. It was syrupy sweet, normally indicating she was about to ask me for something.
“Dinner will be ready soon,” I told her as she slid onto a stool by the counter before placing both hands down on the table.
“Sooo …” she began, and there was an excited tremble in her voice.
I cast her an indulgent look. “So?”
“Purple Beatrice just added a last-minute date to their European tour. They’re coming to Dublin to play a show next month. Can you believe it?”
My chest warmed at her enthusiasm. It had been a while since I’d seen her this genuinely excited about anything. “So, you want me to buy you a ticket, then?”
“Yes, please, and can you get one for Deirdre, too? We want to go together.”
A smile tugged at my lips. I’d always planned on taking her to see her favourite band if they ever played a show in town, but Gigi clearly didn’t know that from the way she was nervously chewing at her fingernails.
“Of course, I’ll buy a ticket for both of you. When do they go on sale?”
“Tomorrow morning. But I have another request.”
“Oh?”
There was more nervous fingernail chewing before she blurted, “We want to go on our own, and I know you don’t normally let me go into the city unsupervised, but I’ll be with Deirdre. I’ll have my phone on me the entire time, so if anything happens, I’ll call you straight away.”
My smile faded. “You’re only fourteen, Gigi.”
“But Deirdre’s fifteen. Plus, she’s so tall everyone thinks she’s way older. And I’ll be fifteen, too, in six weeks.”
“That’s still not old enough to go into the city on your own, even if there are two of you, and even if you think Deirdre looks older, which I can assure she doesn’t.”
Gigi slumped where she sat, looking forlorn and possibly on the verge of throwing a tantrum. “I knew you’d ruin this. You’re way too overprotective.”
“I’m the exact right amount of protective,” I countered. “And you’re my daughter. I will always go out of my way to keep you safe.”
“I just want to go and have fun! I won’t be able to do that with you there.”
My cheeks twitched in amusement. “Well, that’s not at all hurtful.”
She pushed her lower lip out. “You know what I mean. Anyway, it’s not fair that you won’t let me go with Deirdre. Her mam’s already agreed to it.”
Now I stared at her. “Milly agreed to let Deirdre go to a concert in the city alone?”
Gigi held my gaze firmly. “Y-yes, because she’s a sane parent and not a paranoid, crazy, overprotective maniac like you are.”
