Page 35 of One Moment in Time
‘Because it was exactly six months after my mum died. It always stuck in my head. Still does. And that makes it…’
‘Exactly thirty years ago,’ Gary finished for her. She wouldn’t have been more surprised if he’d said it in Cantonese. He remembered when her mum died. There was no one else in this whole world who would have known that. To Eileen, someone with no other family, and no friends from her younger life, that suddenly mattered. Someone knew her. All of her. All her history. She’d been on her own, totally independent and fighting her own battles for so long, she’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone who knew where you came from.
Tonight, it felt like that mattered. She didn’t know why. But she did feel the swing of a wrecking ball to the wall she’d built up since the divorce, just enough to take down some of the bricks, to see a ray of sunlight through the hole and temporarily stun her resentments and furies.
Enough bricks were down to make her relax, allowing them to spend the next couple of hours eating fabulous food, chatting about a whole load of neutral subjects, laughing and generally having a good time. It felt… great. Familiar. Almost a relief. Hating someone as much as she’d loathed Gary was exhausting so it was lovely to suspend hostilities, even for a brief moment in time. Eileen had no idea what was in that champagne but she was taking a bottle of it back up to her room. Although, her memories of the last ten years hadn’t been completely erased, so she was definitely putting it on Gary’s tab.
‘Right, chaps, I’m exhausted, so I’m going to call it a night,’ she announced, and got a tiny fizzle of pleasure that Gary’s brow betrayed a flinch of disappointment.
‘Yeah, I think I’ll turn in too,’ he said.
Another surprise. She’d have bet her last fiver that he’d stay out most of the night and party like a man half his age.
‘What about you, son? Turning in?’
Aiden shook his head. ‘No, not quite yet. Think I’ll go out for a walk. Clear my mind. Get a bit of exercise.’
It had been so long since she’d seen it, that she almost missed it. The slight flush of the face. The split-second glance to the right. Both tells when he was younger that he was being slightly economical with the truth.
They were in Vegas. Her ex-husband was here. Her son was hiding something, and the bricks were suddenly jumping right back up onto her wall.
She had no idea what Aiden was up to, but she had a sinking feeling that she was going to find out. And if it was anything like his last surprise, she’d really much rather that he kept it to himself.
17
ZARA
‘I really need a drink,’ Zara announced, blowing out her cheeks for uncharacteristic dramatic effect.
‘I need the whole bottle,’ Millie countered, completely characteristically taking the dramatic effect one stage higher.
Zara was so discombobulated that she didn’t even notice the gorgeousness of the ivory padded chair that she’d just plonked herself down on at the Chandelier bar in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. The bar had come up loads of times when she’d done her research on the best venues in the city, and it was just across the road from Planet Hollywood, and next to the Bellagio, so it had seemed like the perfect place to suggest for their rendezvous with Aiden.
A waitress who could very well have just sashayed off a catwalk was by their sides in seconds to take their drinks order, temporarily suspending their conversation.
Zara didn’t even have to look at the drinks menu, given that there were only two options for her – a gin and tonic or a glass of Prosecco. That was as far as her alcohol tastes went. Tonight, circumstances narrowed her choice to the hard stuff. ‘I’ll have a gin and tonic, please.’
Millie read from the menu. ‘And I’ll have a Whiskey Business.’
‘What’s that?’ Zara asked, intrigued.
The waitress’s Southern drawl was perfect for this one. ‘Knob Creek bourbon with bitters, Amaro Meletti, that’s a caramel and chocolate liqueur, and “Old Time Rock ’n’ Roll” syrup.’
‘Wow,’ Zara exclaimed. ‘That sounds like it would either knock me out, or I’d require hospitalisation to have my stomach pumped. Cancel the gin and give me one of those too please.’
‘I have no idea who you are, but I like you a whole lot more than my usual sister,’ Millie decided.
Zara feigned disdain and sat back in her chair, exhaled and tried to bring her heart rate down to normal, which was no mean feat in the corset dress Millie had insisted she borrow for the night. It was bright red, showed a fair crack of cleavage, cinched in like a vice from hips to under the bosom, and made her walk in six-inch wiggles because the below-knee skirt was way too tight. Zara had no idea how Millie could wear outfits like this for a whole night. She’d only changed into it after dinner and already her cardiovascular system was shutting down in protest.
Thankfully, she had a prime subject to take her mind off the lack of oxygen.
‘Is it just me or was tonight the weirdest night ever?’ she asked, already knowing what Millie’s answer would be.
‘Definitely weirdest night ever. And I once had a date with a bloke who wore a gimp mask and told me his safe word was garlic mayonnaise.’
‘That’s two words,’ Zara pointed out.
‘Exactly! Weird, right?’ Millie agreed, but her mischievous grin gave away the joke.
