Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Keira and I had celebrated our eighteenth birthdays at this restaurant. We’d danced on the chairs and drank our first alcoholic drinks here. Well, our first legal ones anyway.
The awkwardness of this dinner was a stark contrast to that one. Natalie was animated but there was a tension around her mouth. Riley was more formal than I’d ever seen him, distrust resting behind his eyes whenever he spoke to my father. Ryan was blissfully oblivious.
“I saw Keira’s Instagram post the other day,” Natalie said. “New York seems to suit her.”
“Yeah, she’s having a great time.” I missed my best friend more than usual tonight. After dealing with Alfie’s mother today, I had little patience left for my father now.
“That’s your friend from childhood?” John asked.
“Yes, you met her when I was little.” Before you abandoned us to drink yourself to death, I thought. For Natalie’s benefit I kept that part to myself.
“Right, yeah,” he said though I could see that years of drinking had addled those memories. “You must miss her.”
“I do. She’ll come back for Natalie’s wedding though, I’m sure.”
“I hope so, we’ve settled on a date. A month from now!”
“A month?” I gasped at my sister.
“Yes, we got the Luttrellstown Castle for the reception. They called and told us they'd had a cancellation on the exact day that the church also has an opening! Isn’t that lucky?”
“Very lucky.” I looked up at my man, my chest felt like it was about to burst. I loved it when he used his powers for good.
“I’ll clear my diary,” Alfie said.
“I hope so, we can’t get married without a best man.” Natalie’s smile faded when she noticed the confused look on Alfie’s face. “I thought you’d asked him,” she hissed to Riley.
“Not yet. I was going to wait until he’d gotten a few drinks in him but the bastard doesn’t drink.” He grinned at his friend. “What do you think? Will you walk me down the aisle?”
Alfie gave him a stiff nod. “Yes. That will be fine.”
“He means he’d love to and he’s honoured you asked,” I filled in for him and Alfie gave me a wry smile.
“Thank you, dear.”
“We have to talk wedding dresses!” Natalie pulled out her phone and began showing me her Pinterest board.
I tried to ignore my fathers presence. I didn’t know how to talk to someone that was so familiar whilst also being a complete stranger. He sipped his water, entertaining Ryan who was talking about the next chapter of his book.
My foot tapped restlessly, Alfie’s hand settled on my thigh, his firm grip stilling my leg. Just that touch grounded me. I listened to the three of them chat about work, football, Ryan had been sent off the pitch again for ‘threatening behaviour’.
I admired the lace bodice that Natalie was showing me and agreed that a tiara wasn’t her thing, but out of the corner of my eye, I was watching Alfie.
Paying attention to how he was dealing with my father.
Their introduction had been…civil. I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching two territorial bears circling each other.
Ryan was peppering Riley with questions about weddings. He detested the idea of wearing a suit but he reluctantly agreed to make his mother happy. He was more excited about the cake and confused about the dancing.
“A special dance for you and mum?” He was asking Riley. “Why?”
“To show that we love each other. You can have a special dance with her too if you like?”
“Okay, and what about Grandpa?” My stomach clenched. I hadn’t heard him call John ‘Grandpa’ yet. Alfie’s hand slipped into mine as my fists clenched under the table.
“Grandpa and I will have a special dance too. It’s tradition for the bride and her father to dance together at the wedding.”
“So, Grandpa will dance with you at your wedding and then with Auntie Lo at her wedding?”
Silence.
“We’ll see about that. I might be all danced out by then!” John said. “Maybe you could fill in for me? If I can’t make it.”
“Why won’t you make it to Auntie Lo’s wedding? It’s important.”
“I know, lad.” My father gave a nervous laugh. “Kids are always full of questions aren’t they?” We echoed his laughter with our own. “Do you have any plans for children, Alfie?”
“We’ll see. I don’t take on parenting lightly.”
I squeezed his hand, now it was his turn to be protective.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
There was a silence then that made me want to sink into the floor.
“Suits! We’ll have to get the four of you measured for suits.” Poor Natalie. Desperate to change the subject.
“I have an excellent tailor,” Alfie offered. “Riley has his details.”
Silence again.
“The food here is great, don’t you all think?” I offer, doing my best to keep the conversation moving. Natalie gave me a grateful smile as everyone agreed that the food was good.
I tried not to look at my father.
He left you. He left you and now he’s just sitting here like nothing ever happened.
I forced myself to eat and smile and suggest places Natalie might be able to get a dress on short notice. This night was for my sister, not me.
Somehow, we managed to get through dinner without too much trouble. When the night was finally over, Alfie drove us back to Harrington in silence.
“So, are you going to tell me what you think or just chew on it all night?”
“I was just giving you some time to process.” He reached over, his hand squeezing my thigh in a way that made me warm inside.
“I think he cares about you. He didn’t try too hard.
He spoke to you when you spoke to him but he gave you space.
He doesn’t want you to be uncomfortable.
That could be a manipulative tactic but I don’t think he’s devious enough for that.
He’s hiding something and I’m going to keep pushing Elliot until he gets to the bottom of it, but your father does care about you. ”
Unfortunately, caring about someone and hurting them anyway weren’t mutually exclusive things, as Alfie had taught me all too well. I didn’t need to bring that up though. My father might care about me, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here with ulterior motives.
I breathed a sigh. I didn’t want to talk about our parental drama anymore today.
He slowed the car as the gates to Harrington opened, then wound us down the driveway, guided by the canopy of trees. “Do you have to leave tonight?”
“Not if you need me.”
“So that's a yes, you do have somewhere else you need to be?”
“It's a ‘nothing is more important than you.’ If you need me, everything else can wait.” We fell silent as he pulled to a stop outside Harrington. He turned to look at me, his fingers under my chin. “Do you need me, Lo?”
“I always need you.” I let him pull me into his lap. I was somehow comfortable despite the awkward position in the car. I gazed up at Harrington. “I really love it here, you know. It’s so beautiful. Peaceful. Though it probably won’t be once it's full of tourists.”
“It doesn’t have to be. I can keep it just for you if you want.” I snorted and he side-eyed me. “I’m serious.”
“Sure you are. The amount of money you’ve sunk into this place and you’re not interested in turning a profit on it? Wouldn’t your board members have something to say about that?”
He shrugged. “Harrington is my project, I bought it with my money, not company money.” I wondered why I hadn’t known that before.
I guess it had just never come up. I’d always assumed it was company property, not just private property he was making part of the business.
“I could survive the financial loss. If you really wanted it for yourself.”
“In that case, can we move in?”
“Whatever you want. I mean it, Lo. Whatever you want.”
I leaned into his chest. “Right now, all I want is you.”