‘But surely the police can still pick him up?’
‘He .?.?. he has a boat, it’s a forty-five-foot yacht – yep, that’s the sort of life we used to have – so he can pretty much live off the grid.’
‘In winter? I’m a layperson, obviously, but wouldn’t that be a bit choppy?’
Pete sighed. ‘Tony’s no fool. They can find a place to dock for the bad weather .?.?. Turkey, somewhere like that .?.?. Greece maybe.’
‘God, sounds a lot better than miserable old Ireland.’
‘You’d be surprised,’ he said. ‘Right this minute I wouldn’t swap with him.’
Had she heard that right?
‘Still, he’s a felon, isn’t he? Have you got a lawyer?’
‘My bank accounts are frozen, remember? Lawyers cost money.’
‘My sister is a solicitor – a good one. Why don’t you come and talk to her? I know she wouldn’t mind.’
‘Thank you, Ally. But—’
‘Yeah, I know, it’s not my problem, but I can’t just watch, asyour friend, and say nothing. OK, I’m going to come straight out with it: why isn’t that house being sold and the assets divided fairly? I mean .?.?. sorry, but they’re not even your biological children.’
It was out before she could stop it. Oh crap. Had she blown it? But she just couldn’t let another injustice pass unchallenged. Then something struck her like a runaway truck .?.?. Could she be reading this all wrong? Was he just waiting to go back to them? What if that was why he hadn’t moved on?
Pete glanced at her sharply, then shook his head.
‘Selling the house wouldn’t sort anything, it’d only make things worse. If the company assets were freed up, the house wouldn’t even be an issue.’
‘I see .?.?. I just don’t understand how anyone could stand to see you in this situation. I get that she has to look after her boys .?.?. fine .?.?. but it’s just not fair.’
He glanced around to check if anybody was eavesdropping.
‘We got together when I was a very different person.’
Ally nodded. She didn’t like to admit that she’d googled him and his partner, and seen them come up at numerous glittering events.
‘I don’t think you would’ve liked me then .?.?.’
‘What, the smarty-pants in the big house with the flashy lifestyle?’
‘Something like that .?.?. Look, Tanya was a socialite. All that stuff meant a lot to her – how she was perceived, all that. Being envied, I suppose. She’d have been onDublin Housewivesif it had been still around .?.?. I mean, she was a very attractive woman.’
‘Wow. We really are different .?.?.’
‘I suppose we were a match, back then. I might’ve been a massive prick and a workaholic, but I’m not the guy who lets people down. I don’t pretend it all makes sense, but I’ve failedenough people without failing them too.’
Ally had had a long day and at that moment her patience snapped.
‘Sorry, Pete, I can’t listen to any more of this. Can you not see that this .?.?. inflated sense of responsibility, or whatever it is, is exactly what’s given certain people the chance to take advantage of you? But it’s still on them,noton you! Are you going to keep up this crazy saviour complex or are you going to cop on and fight for yourself?’
A couple of people looked around to see what the fuss was about, and Patsy lifted his little head for a moment and looked from one to the other, licking Pete’s hand for reassurance.
‘Don’t take me for a fool, Ally—’
‘Oh God, I don’t, Pete! That’s the last thing I think, but that’s what’s so frustrating. You’re such an amazing person. Look, I’m out of order. Tell me to fuck off.’
He contemplated his half-finished pint. ‘Saviour complex?’
