Page 49 of An Angel's Share
I drift around the house,as much as a heavily pregnant woman can drift. I feel like a leaf on the breeze, in my mind that is what I am. My reality is somewhat different, but who needs reality when your man is Jonno Greystone. And he is mine. Whatever the outcome of this mess, he is mine, and I am his. I have seen everything he is last night and this morning. Every detail of him I’ve examined. I want it all. The light, the grey, and the darkness.
God, I love the darkness. It calls to me on an elemental level, and boy can he bring it. Even in my current condition, he pushes me gently to places I’ve never been. My anticipation to see what that mind conjures up has me panting at breakfast.
I’m about as much use as a chocolate fireguard throughout the rest of the day. When both Evie and Christy are talking about the café, I dreamily look at them. They are staring at me, presumably waiting for a coherent idea, but Idon’t have any. My mind is on a certain celebrity cock. They talk about muffins, I imagine a muffin-shaped cock, with the head bulging over the top of the bun case. They talk about icing, I’m imagining licking it off said muffin-shaped cock. I need a break. Any food mentioned, I cockersise it. I definitely need a break.
“Shall we stop for a coffee and a cake? I can’t wait to get a muffin in my hands.” I think I have officially lost it.
I get pulled back to reality, and out of my cock stupor, when Liam and Patrick appear at the coffee shop. Suddenly the world is totally flat and grey. What are they doing here? They never mentioned coming over.
Christy’s lip curls. She seems less intent on playing into her strategy of getting her husband back. The way she’s dismissing Patrick, I’m not sure it’ll work. She’s obviously signed up for the ‘treat em mean, keep em keen’ school of etiquette. Although, bizarrely, it does seem to be working. I’ve never seen Patrick so eager to please her. Even earning himself a disgusted look from Liam.
Well done, cousin. Maybe you are not so far gone as I thought. You are learning.
I’m so impressed with her total lack of interest in her husband, I tell her so as soon as they leave.
“Why are you employing tactics?” Evie looks at the door the men just left through, then back at Christy. “Is he misbehaving?”
Christy nods, and I make a not so sure face.
Evie starts to laugh. “Ahh, the jury is still out, is it? What’s happening? If you don’t mind me asking. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But I may be able to help, having been through the wringer a few times myself.” She shrugs her shoulders and blows out a breath.
I look over at Christy, asking the question with my eyes. ‘Do we trust her?’ She nods. Decision made. We trust her. Girl code.
“Christy and I went into Greystones for lunch the other day and we overheard some women talking in the coffee shop. One was Patrick’s assistant.” I stop and look at Christy, whose face is stoic at the minute. “She implied there had been some intimacy, and that he was all over her. But then said she wished he’d succumb to her flirting.” I grit my teeth as I tell this tale. “So, for me, I don’t think he has actually done anything. Although not for lack of trying on her part.” I focus on Christy, she seems to be coping well.
“Aoife thinks she was just trying to compete with the woman who said she’s seeing Liam.” Christy throws me a worried glance as she states that. “Said she was handing in her notice—which she has done by the way.” Christy nods her head at that, taking in both our expressions, which are grim. “Said Liam had earmarked a penthouse for her in Dublin. Along with himself and Aoife’s baby. They are fully loved up. Even buying soft furnishings.” Christy's voice has hit a high. She’s indignant about them planning on taking my baby to Dublin.
Evie regards us both, her cool gaze moving from one to another. “Oh, well that’s it then? The old soft furnishing picking? It’ll be over by Christmas.” She starts to laugh and we both join in, not sure why the hell we’re laughing. “Aoife’s baby?” She scoffs. “Not a chance that is happening.” She looks at me, and I pull a ‘yeah I know’ face at her.
Leaning forward, she makes eye contact with each of us before pouring out some very telling and needed truths. “People say and do weird stuff. I had all sorts of people trying to break up Kell and I for no reason other than theywanted him. They wanted the life they thought he could give them, the life they saw us living.
But it never would have been, because I’m me and he’s him with me. He’s not the same if I’m not there. It works because it’s ours, it’s amazing because we are amazing together.” Her confidence is infectious. “But with anyone else, it’s something different. People want what they think you have. They think it will be the same for them. But it never is or will be.”
She stops and looks directly at Christy. “But if you still want it, want him, take it from them. Hang on so tight to it. Don’t let them try and sully what you have. Do you love him?” she asks Christy. I notice she hasn’t addressed me once at all in this conversation.
“I do, but I also want to punish him. Is that wrong? I want him to feel the pain. I want him to hurt, the same way I did when I heard her say those words.” Tears fill her eyes and she closes them as she continues what’s so obviously painful for her to acknowledge. “Hearing her say how much he wanted her, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. I’m not sure I can get past it. I know we said I wouldn’t let them take it away from me, our marriage, but I’m struggling so much. I can barely look at him. I want to smack his face.” Tears start to brim over her eyelids and trickle onto her cheeks.
I pull her in for a squeeze. “You’re doing great, Christy. It’s normal to want to throttle him.”
She hiccups and opens her eyes, anger and fear taking over from sadness. “And now he’s told me, the building they’re buying is due for payment. And Liam’s told him it’s another two million, which is a million more than originally planned. If he can’t raise it, we’ll lose all our deposit. The deposit was two million. All our money, all my inheritance from my dad. Everything has been sunk into that building. Idon’t want to smack his face, I want to punch it, and just keep going.” Her voice has taken on an hysterical edge. Her husband, throwing away his life bit by bit, dragging them all down with him.
She takes a massive bite out of the muffin, tears pouring down her face. My eyes fill with tears. How could Patrick get them into so much of a mess? Christy loved her dad, he scrimped and saved for years. The fortune he left was a surprise to everyone. Christy never even had new clothes growing up. I used to give her a lot of my hand-me-downs.
“Where is this building?” Evie asks, taking hold of Christy’s hands, holding them in both of hers.
“Dublin, on the riverside,” Christy answers with a choked voice. “It's lovely, a really nice place to live. Or it would have been. We were going to save and have a city centre apartment. To keep for the kids for when they go to Trinity. But that’s likely gone…” The tears start again. Her future for her kids disappearing along with her marriage and her trust in her husband. I’m going to kill Patrick myself.
“Well, I’m into property. Let’s go see it tomorrow. I fancy a run into Dublin. I could do with giving my hair a treatment. Let's go under the guise of a pamper trip and call and see the agent.” She’s tapping Christy on the hands. A plan of action. “They’ll know the score, there might be some wiggle room. There usually is on buildings. People will wait for money if they know the people involved will give it. And I would have thought, although your husband is a bit of a scumbag to you at present, they might think he’s an upstanding businessman with the O’Clery name behind him.” She’s so positive, she has Christy’s eyes lighting back up.
“It’s worth a shot, Christy. I’m happy to go and sing like acanary at them. Praise my idiotic cousin. Evie is a really well-known developer. Between us, we might be able to get you some time so you can raise the money. We will all help.”
Christy bursts fully into tears, and both Evie and I hug her as she sobs.
“Is it going that badly?” Jonno comes into the café looking worried. He has little Rio in his arms, who starts to gurgle loudly and squeal when she spots her mammy. “Lunch, Kitten. You’re needed.” He hands the baby over with a huge smile. I’m back to cockercising. “Have you got anything done?” he looks around at the discarded coffee cups and extensive debris of muffin wrappers.
“Lots actually, brother. I have the plans and mostly we’ve decided we just need to move those cabinets, do a whole internal refit. I’ve got some lovely interior bits that will suit. But I’m also off to the distillery warehouse this afternoon to see if I can repurpose any items. I bet there'll be lots we could reuse.” Her face has lit up like a Christmas tree, her whole body bouncing in excitement.
“Oh God, I’ll see you all next week then. If you let her loose in an old building with ‘things’ in it, you won’t get out for weeks. She once locked Jude in a warehouse on purpose so they had to stay and pick out items for a building that told her it wanted old machinery in it.” He widens his eyes at us. “Be afraid, girls, be very afraid.”
