Page 54 of Prudence
“Not yet. I’ll go talk to him now,” I said, and the girls shared excited smiles before hurrying off to join Gigi’s other friends.
I couldn’t see Derek anywhere, so I found Nuala instead, “Hey, where’s your brother?”
“Older or younger?” she queried.
I was amused by her referring to Tristan as younger since they were twins, and she’d only been born a few minutes before him. “Older, obviously.”
Nuala smiled and motioned inside the house. “He’s upstairs grabbing Gigi’s present.”
“Thanks.”
I stepped inside before heading up the wide staircase. It felt like an age since I’d traversed these steps, another lifetime. When I got to the top, I turned in the direction of his old bedroom, deciding that was probably where he’d gone. I was almost at the door when I heard voices and paused just outside the threshold.
“You look much better than the last time we video called,” Paloma said, her accent immediately giving her away. “It’s nice to see you’ve finally gotten rid of the beard, and your mother mentioned you’ve stopped drinking.”
“Yeah, it was about time I got my act together,” Derek replied.
“Is your father still hoping you’ll take over his position when he retires this year?”
“We haven’t discussed it in a while, but yes, that’s still the plan.”
I hadn’t known his dad was retiring, but it made sense. Most people retired at sixty-five, and Derek’s dad had to be pushing seventy since he was the same age as Aunt Nell.
“If you want my opinion, I think you’ll be a great replacement. I believe you’ll breathe new life into the hotels, new ideas. You and your brother did most of the leg work opening the location in Cork, and that’s been a huge success. You should have more confidence in your abilities, Derek.”
“I’m getting there,” he said, and though I knew I was eavesdropping on a very private conversation, I found myself stepping forward and peering through the crack in the door. Derek’s bedroom looked almost exactly as it had when he was a teenager, and I fought against a surge of memories. He and Paloma stood by the window, and she had her hand on his upper arm as though to comfort him. Something twisted in my stomach to see her touching him, a possessive emotion I forced down. She was the mother of his children and had far more right to touch him than I did.
A moment seemed to pass between them before Paloma smiled, “So, is there any particular reason you’ve started to take better care of yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, one of the main reasons a man starts making improvements is for a woman.”
“And?”
“I was just thinking maybe we could have a night together? Just sex. This tour has been gruelling, and I’ve sadly been neglected in that area. I wanted to make sure you’re not seeing someone so that I’m not treading on anyone else’s toes.”
My mouth fell open in silent shock. She was propositioning him? Seriously? Was this a regular thing between them? I suddenly felt ill, and I knew instantly from my reaction that what I’d been feeling for Derek ran so much deeper than simple attraction. The idea of him having a no-strings night of passion with his ex-wife made me feel panicked and jealous and heartbroken and so many other dizzying emotions I had no business feeling.
Needing to leave, I stepped away from the door, but I was so frazzled that I basically tripped over my own feet, creating a racket as I levelled my palms against the wall to keep from hitting the floor. I heard Derek’s low, gruff response, “Not that it’s any of your business what I do or who I see, but you and I definitely won’t be—" His words fell off as he seemingly heard the noise I made, and a second later, he emerged from the bedroom.
“Milly?”
My throat clogged with embarrassment, and I could scarcely talk. Tears pinched at the corners of my eyes. Finally, I managed to blurt, “I’m sorry. I needed to speak to you about Deirdre sleeping over at your place tonight. I didn’t mean to—”
I fell silent when Paloma appeared, standing next to Derek and looking between us in question. “Oh, hello, we haven’t met yet. I’m Paloma, Gigi’s mother.”
Tears continued to fill the backs of my eyes, but I managed to hold them at bay. “Yes, hello, I’m Milly. Deirdre’s mam.”
“Milly!” Paloma gushed. “I’ve been dying to meet you. Gigi’s told me so much about you and your daughter. Deirdre sounds like such an amazing young woman.”
I nodded, feeling the intense urge to flee. “She is. And Gigi is just wonderful, too. It’s nice to meet you, but I better get back to the party.”
Awkwardly, I turned and began walking back toward the staircase when I heard Derek say, “Give us a minute.” A second later, a strong arm locked around my middle and gently guided me into Nuala’s old bedroom. Derek closed the door behind us, and I spun around, flushed, “What are you doing?”
“Why are you acting like you’re about to have a panic attack? What happened?” Derek’s dark brows furrowed, like he had every right to pull me in here. Then again, perhaps this made us even since I did almost the same thing to him at the parent teacher evening.
“I’m not having a panic attack,” I said, my voice clogged with unshed tears. “I just—”
