Daisy shrugged. “It depends on when he’ll be finished with this band.”
“You seen much of him recently?” I knew Gav’s inability to be present with his children when he was immersed in work. Luckily, me and Lala had Livi, and she was well aware of Gav’s tendency to be a workaholic, so when he was busy, we had her.
Daisy’s mum wasn’t like Livi. She had a career and a different life to what Livi had, and as much as she’d always been lovely, Daisy and Alfie had spent more time with nannies and childminders, whereas Lala and I had run free with family or the wide circles of friends.
“Not really. I think he expects me to be all grown up now. Which I am of course.” She lifted her head. “Are we having mimosas?”
“No. I’m driving.”
“I could still have one.”
I put my phone down on the table and felt my blood start to boil. “Not happening, Daisy. You might think you’re all grown up, but you’re really not. Enjoy being here, have a good holiday, and for fuck’s sake, don’t piss people off so you don’t get invited back.”
Daisy’s eyes filled with tears, something I expected because she cried at the drop of a hat, especially if she thought she could manipulate people into getting what she wanted.
I felt that Tommy was there before I saw him. Maybe I caught the scent of his cologne in the faint breeze, or maybe his car had been parked up near mine, but only my sub-conscious had picked it up.
“Are you upsetting children again, Jameson?” Tommy sat down on one of the spare seats. He glanced at Daisy then looked at me.
“I’m not a child!”
“So why are you behaving like one then?” His words were gentle, as if he didn’t expect an answer. Then he looked at me. “You should’ve told me you were coming here. I’d have arranged a better table for you.”
It surprised me. Tommy had done what he could to keep a distance between him and his family. He’d given little away about them, answering questions with the bare minimum of words. Not that I’d pushed for much.
I understood perhaps more than anyone the need to have a separate identity from who your family was.
“This one’s fine.” I glanced at Daisy. She looked tearful again, probably because Tommy had told her off. “We’re not staying too long.”
Tommy nodded. “Want me to join you?”
I smiled. We’d had a couple of dates, a couple of meals in restaurants, but when were together the last couple of weeks, we were mainly in bed.
“Sure.”
He did, and for an hour or so, this felt like we were a normal couple, sitting outside in the sun, sharing a meal, while my little sister became less grumpy and more like a human.
I forgot about New York and my studies. I forgot that this island was just a pause in my life. I forgot that this man was just a summer fling.
Only for an hour.
But it was precious.
The days were long,and the nights were longer. I spent the time during the day with my family, Gav flying in for a three day stay during which Lawrie was absent. My father was pre-occupied, not an uncommon state when he was in the middle of writing an album.
My nights were spent with Tommy, mainly in his apartment or in the rooms above Còctels. He was both rough and tender, spending as much time talking as we did fucking, but I never felt that I was pulling down the bricks he’d erected to form that fortress around him, and a summer was never going to be long enough to do.
We had an expiry date which loomed like a gravestone in the distance.
Tommy surprised me one morning,driving by Safir only an hour after he’d dropped me off. He was dressed differently, board shorts and a T-shirt that was worn and slightly tight, showing off his broad shoulders and pulling over his pecs.
I tried not to drool.
“You said you didn’t have plans for the day.” He threw his car keys up and down in one hand.
“I don’t. Was going to read my book.”
“Bring it with you.” He beckoned me to him. “I have plans.”
