‘Good, but now I’m here, we’ll have to rectify that immediately. Go get your mother. The quicker we get her home, the quicker I can get you home.’
I crane my neck to the VIP area just as two Magic Mikes hoist my gyrating mother on to the table with them. Oh. My. God. If anyone had any idea that she was the mother of one of the most famous actors in Hollywood, the paps would be crawling all over this. It’s not the type of publicity Nate needs before his wedding.
‘Get her down.’ I mouth to Natalie, who’s laughing and clapping along with the rest of the hens. Penny Jackson needs no encouragement.
Cillian spots her and lets out a long whistle. ‘Wow. It’s not hard to see where Nate got his flair for drama from.’
‘You’re telling me.’
ChapterThirty-Two
CILLIAN
‘Are you sure you won’t come in for a drink?’ Penny asks for the hundredth time. She stumbles across the doorstep.
Fuck my life. I could be wrong, but it looks like Ava’s father is sporting a serious wigwam in his chinos.
Could this family get anymore inappropriate?
And why am I so okay with it?
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Penny.’ Frank pulls his wife into his arms, steadying her.
Penny eyes widen as she slams backwards into him. She giggles and reaches round to his crotch. I’m mentally scarred for life.
‘It’s Friday, the kids have plans. Just like I have for you,’ Frank says.
‘Gross.’ Ava spins on her heels. ‘Make sure she drinks some water, Dad, or she’ll be like a grizzly bear tomorrow.’
I grip Ava’s hand in mine as we saunter down the driveway. Penny wasn't the only woman drinking, though Ava appears to be holding her alcohol much better than her mother. ‘Your parents are hilarious.’
‘They’re not right in the head.’ Ava sniggers, shaking her head. ‘But I wouldn't have them any other way.
I open the door of the X5 and slap her ass as she climbs in. ‘My place or yours?’
‘Mine. But we need to make a quick stop on the way.’
Twenty minutes later, we arrive at Ava’s apartment block in Ballsbridge.
The white-haired door attendant manning Ava’s hallway is the same guy who let me in a couple of weeks ago when I arrived with the pizza. His entire face lights when he spots Ava approaching through the revolving doors. Wordlessly, she hands him the white bag she insisted we stop for.
The scent of vinegar fills the air, and he sniffs appreciatively, his hearty laugh echoing off the marble flooring. ‘I told you – wife material.’
She pats his arm. The woman has a heart of gold. ‘We’ll have to save the chat for another night.’
‘We surely will.’ Aged blue eyes blaze into mine with an unspoken warning.Treat her right. She’s one of the good ones.
I nod and follow Ava into the cold chrome lift. We don’t speak. I wouldn't know where to start.
I spent the last forty-eight hours either comforting Phoebe, or comforting myself, just for very different reasons.
Life as I know it is changing.
I’m changing.
To the point I don’t even recognise the guy grinning back at me in the mirror.
The guy who’s thinking about his girlfriend and laughing like a lunatic. Wondering what he can possibly buy her for Christmas, something that will show her how much he cares because he’s not great with words, and too much talk of the future terrifies him.
