Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Dinner will be ready soon,” I told her as she slid onto a stool by the counter before placing both hands down on the table.
“Sooo …” she began, and there was an excited tremble in her voice.
I cast her an indulgent look. “So?”
“Purple Beatrice just added a last-minute date to their European tour. They’re coming to Dublin to play a show next month. Can you believe it?”
My chest warmed at her enthusiasm. It had been a while since I’d seen her this genuinely excited about anything. “So, you want me to buy you a ticket, then?”
“Yes, please, and can you get one for Deirdre, too? We want to go together.”
A smile tugged at my lips. I’d always planned on taking her to see her favourite band if they ever played a show in town, but Gigi clearly didn’t know that from the way she was nervously chewing at her fingernails.
“Of course, I’ll buy a ticket for both of you. When do they go on sale?”
“Tomorrow morning. But I have another request.”
“Oh?”
There was more nervous fingernail chewing before she blurted, “We want to go on our own, and I know you don’t normally let me go into the city unsupervised, but I’ll be with Deirdre. I’ll have my phone on me the entire time, so if anything happens, I’ll call you straight away.”
My smile faded. “You’re only fourteen, Gigi.”
“But Deirdre’s fifteen. Plus, she’s so tall everyone thinks she’s way older. And I’ll be fifteen, too, in six weeks.”
“That’s still not old enough to go into the city on your own, even if there are two of you, and even if you think Deirdre looks older, which I can assure she doesn’t.”
Gigi slumped where she sat, looking forlorn and possibly on the verge of throwing a tantrum. “I knew you’d ruin this. You’re way too overprotective.”
“I’m the exact right amount of protective,” I countered. “And you’re my daughter. I will always go out of my way to keep you safe.”
“I just want to go and have fun! I won’t be able to do that with you there.”
My cheeks twitched in amusement. “Well, that’s not at all hurtful.”
She pushed her lower lip out. “You know what I mean. Anyway, it’s not fair that you won’t let me go with Deirdre. Her mam’s already agreed to it.”
Now I stared at her. “Milly agreed to let Deirdre go to a concert in the city alone?”
Gigi held my gaze firmly. “Y-yes, because she’s a sane parent and not a paranoid, crazy, overprotective maniac like you are.”
I firmed my jaw. “Get me her number.”
“Whose number?”
“Deirdre’s mother’s. I’d like to speak to her about her careless decision-making,” I grunted as I went to grab my phone from where it sat next to the sink.
“Um, I don’t have it …”
“I’ll get it from Nuala, then.” I turned from the room, dialling my sister while Gigi called, “Wait, Dad, please don’t …”
I shut myself in my bedroom, and Nuala answered on the second ring. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”
“Can you send me Milly’s number? I need to discuss something important with her regarding our daughters.”
“Oh, no. You sound mad. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Will you send the number?”
“Only if you promise not to be a dick to Milly. She’s already mentioned you’ve been rude to her on more than one occasion.”
Fuck, why did that make me feel like the worst piece of shit in the world? Had I upset her that badly? The idea made my conscience pipe up. “Not being overtly friendly doesn’t mean I was rude, Nuala. Now, just send me her number.”
I hung up before she could berate me further, and a moment later, her text came through. I quickly programmed Milly’s number into my phone before I hit Call. She didn’t answer, and it went through to voicemail. I figured she might not answer since it was a strange number, so I sent a text.
Hi, it’s Derek. I need to talk to you about this concert the girls want to go to.
No sooner had I sent the text than my phone lit up with a return call.
“Hello, Derek? Sorry I didn’t answer. I never answer numbers I don’t recognise.”
“That’s fine. You’re right not to. There are a lot of scams out there.” A silence fell before I cleared my throat. Being on the phone with her had me feeling an emotion I couldn’t pin down. I’d just sat through an entire meditation class with her, but there was something intimate about speaking over the phone. “So, about this concert.”
“Right, Deirdre just told me about it, and I was looking up the venue. I don’t mind letting her go since they’ve never played a show here before.”
“And you’re okay with them going into the city alone?” I asked in disbelief. “Dublin isn’t a safe place for two young girls at night. I thought you’d have more sense than—”