Page 41 of Prudence
“Still, thank you for coming. The girls were about to have a meltdown if they couldn’t get in to see the band.”
Derek’s gaze met mine, his focus roving over my long purple coat and navy wraparound dress. I wore a gold necklace with a circular pendant that sat in the centre of my modest cleavage. It seemed to momentarily distract him before he forced his eyes back to mine. A faint heat rose in my cheeks as I swallowed and tried to suppress the strange way he was suddenly making me feel.
Maybe it was just his forearms.
“Well, I’d better get in there,” I said, breaking the thick quiet before Derek placed his hand lightly on my shoulder.
“Wait a second.” He turned and walked back out onto the street. I watched as he approached a tout who was trying to flog overpriced tickets. They exchanged a few words, and then Derek was handing over a wad of cash. He waved the ticket at me as he returned to my side.
“Might as well stick around now that I’m here,” he said. “And this way, I can drive you all home when the show is over.”
I suppressed a smile. “I really don’t want to know how much money you just paid for that.”
“Too much,” he answered with a sigh before his hand moved to my lower back. I blinked as he showed his ticket to the same guy Gigi and Deirdre had just rushed past before ushering me in. Distracted by the heat of his hand even through the fabric of my clothing, I endeavoured to steady my breathing. I was also surprised that he’d bought a ticket and hadn’t opted to just go and wait in his car. These last few weeks, he’d gone out of his way not to spend any extended amount of time with me, but now he’d just paid over the odds to endure the entire duration of a pop concert in my presence?
“I’m sorry again for interrupting your evening like this,” I said to break the quiet between us. The venue was loud, so I had to go up on my tiptoes and shout into his ear to be heard.
“Not your fault. I should’ve read the terms and conditions on the tickets more closely. Admittedly, I’ve been so busy with work lately that it’s distracted me from other things.”
I nodded. That made sense. We were coming into the summer season, so I imagined his hotels were running at maximum capacity due to their popularity with wealthy tourists.
“Oh, I think I’ve spotted the girls,” I said, making out the backs of their heads not too far from the stage.
“Where?” Derek asked, his voice unexpectedly close. He’d bent down to speak to me over the music, his mouth near my ear. His breath washed over my skin, and the tiniest shudder went through me.
“Over there,” I answered, pointing, and Derek’s gaze followed before he nodded. “I’ve spotted them. I suppose we should hang back here so as not to ruin their night,” he went on with a hint of humour.
It was shocking to hear him almost make a joke since he was usually so grumpy and serious around me. I smiled at him. “Right, good idea.”
We stood close to one another as the opening act finished up, and then Purple Beatrice were finally taking to the stage. The excitement of the crowd was palpable, and a group of girls nearby hurried past us to try and get closer, knocking me into Derek in the process. His hands came to my waist to steady me as he glowered in the direction of the girls.
“Are you all right?” he asked, peering down at me in concern while I braced my palms against his chest for balance.
“I’m fine,” I replied with a quiet laugh. “I was bound to get a little jostled, especially since the building is teeming with overexcited teenagers.”
“Yeah,” Derek said. “They could use a lesson in manners, though.”
Something about the gruff statement had my stomach whirling. Derek’s strict, disapproving dad side was strangely appealing to me. He released me and stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets as though annoyed that he’d had to touch me. But no, that couldn’t be it. If that were the case, then he never would’ve placed his hand at the small of my back earlier.
“It looks like things are only going to get more intense,” I said as the crowd went wild for the band’s first song. “There’s a bar upstairs that’s probably completely empty right now. Why don’t we go and get a drink? I think Deirdre and Gigi should be okay on their own for a little while.”
Derek looked at me, then scanned the crowd, locating our daughters. He rubbed his jaw, seeming to decide, then said, “Sure, let’s go get a drink.”
His hand returned to the spot on my lower back as he guided me upstairs. So, yeah, he definitely wasn’t averse to touching me. I didn’t know what to make of the contact. Then again, this was probably just how Derek acted when he was alone with a woman. He was protective even if he had zero romantic intentions. It was just his personality. He’d probably been the exact same way with his cousin’s friend, Kayla, when he’d taken her on a tour around his neighbourhood. A swift bolt of jealousy swept over me at the thought, but I pushed it down. No point feeling jealous over a man who literally had to tolerate my company for the sake of his daughter. Then again, he was acting much friendlier towards me tonight. Maybe this was progress towards something resembling a friendship?
“What will you have?” Derek asked as we each took a seat by the bar. As expected, it was empty, with just a handful of other people around our age who looked like parents on chaperone duty.
“A chardonnay if they have one,” I replied, and Derek snagged the attention of the bartender.
“A glass of chardonnay and a San Pellegrino, please.”
I peered up at him. “You’re not drinking?”
My question seemed to take him off guard momentarily before he answered, “No, I, uh, I’m driving.”
“Ah, right, yeah, best not to chance it.”
The bartender was quick to deliver our drinks to us while Derek handed over his card. A few moments of somewhat awkward silence passed. I faced forward, taking a sip of my wine as I studied the bottles of liquor behind the bar, aware of Derek’s attention on my profile.
