Page 86 of Twist of Fate
“Why are you doing this? Why did you come with me today?”
She squeezes my hand, and a faint smile tugs at her lips. “Because you needed me,” she says simply, then adds with a wink, “And your mom might have asked me to.”
“She was probably just so surprised to hear a woman answering my phone that she just had to see if you were real.”
“You really weren’t lying about not dating, were you?” she teases.
“No.” I give her a meaningful look.How could I date anyone else after I met you?“I wasn’t.”
“Finney!” I turn at the sound of my mother’s voice, but not before I catch Aisling mouth, “Finney”with a smirk. I roll my eyes as I’m engulfed in a tight hug.
“Hi, Mam,” I say, wrapping my arms around her petite frame.
“I went to get a coffee and then couldn’t find my way back. This hospital is horrible, it is. Hallways going absolutely nowhere, and no one around to offer any help.”
I eye Ash over the top of my mam’s head. The roots in her hair are even worse than the last time I saw her, and it looks like it hasn’t seen a brush in at least a day or two. I don’t recall a day in my life when she had hair out of place or stepped out of the house in anything less than Chanel.
“Have you been drinking, Mam?” I ask, catching a whiff of whiskey in the air.
She pushes back, her eyes blazing. “Well, how was I supposed to know your father would have a stroke today? It’s not like I planned to spend my day wandering around a hospital.”
Jesus, it is barely three in the afternoon, and my mom is completely legless.
“Why don’t we get you home, yeah?”
“We?” She turns, seemingly noticing Ash for the first time. She scans her up and down, and it’s as if her entire demeanor shifts. Her face brightens, and her posture straightens. “Hello, dear.” She extends a hand. “I’m Margaret Larkin-O’Connell. But you can just call me Maggie.”
Ash blushes as she takes my ma’s hand. “Hi, Maggie. I’m Aisling, but you can call me Ash. We spoke on the phone.”
“Yes, I remember. You’re a friend of my son’s?” Her eyes regard me as if hoping for a hint about the meaning of “friend.” I keep my mouth firmly shut.
“Um, yes. We work together.”
“Well, you must be a very good friend to accompany him to the hospital.”Well, you kind of made her.She turns to me. “Have you been in yet? I can try and find that forsaken coffee cart again if you haven’t.”
I find it interesting that she isn’t offering to go in with me, but I just shake my head. “Uh, no, that’s okay. We were just wrapping up, weren’t we, Ash?”
She nods with a bit too much enthusiasm. That girl can’t lie worth shit. “Yes, all done.”
“You both went in?”
I realize my mistake and wince. “I might have told the nurse that Aisling was my wife so I wouldn’t have to go in alone.”
I swear she gets heart-eyes at the mere thought. “Oh, well, a little white lie never hurt anyone. Besides, it’s not that hard to imagine, is it? You’d make a fine couple.”
I let that go and grab hold of my mother’s arm. “Come on, let’s get you home so you can rest. It’s been a long day.”
“It has, yeah.”
“Do you want to say goodbye to him before we go?”
I sense her flinch. “No, love. I’m grand. I’ll pop by in the morning when I’m feeling a bit more myself.”
Although I don’t want to, I turn to thank Ash for her help and tell her I can handle it from here, but my mom intercedes. “Come on, love,” she says, pulling her along. “It’s been ages since I chatted with an American. Are you all truly obsessed with Target and Taylor Swift?”
Fucking hell.
TWENTY-FOUR
