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“And still searching for absolution?” he asked.
I nodded.
Finn began to stroke the nape of my neck and made me melt into him a little more. “You do know there’s no need though, don’t you? I mean, apart from her ringing and checking I’m not dead every couple of hours or so, she’s been brilliant about the whole thing. And she thinks the sun shines out of your very arse.”
I reluctantly shrugged out of his embrace so I could face him. “Yeah, exactly; and that just makes me feel even worse. She deserves better from me.”
‘Uh-oh.” Finn gave a sharp intake of breath. “Oh Jesus, the Bresson moral code’s kicked in, God help us all. That’s it, something’s got to be done now.”
“Fuck off.” I reached over and grabbed a pillow and proceeded to bounce it off his head. “Seriously, I acted appallingly, Finn.”
He threw the pillow back at me. “Yeah, you’ve mentioned it once or twice. But it was kinda exceptional circumstances. You sorted things, love.”
“Yes, but only by resorting to behaviour I thought I’d put to bed months ago, not to mention referring to your frankly adorable nephew as ‘that fucking child’, for fuck’s sake. Vanessa Latimer might have deserved her evisceration, but your sister and her baby most definitely didn’t.”
“Like I’ve said, as far as Niamh and I are concerned you did what needed doing in the moment, but to be honest after all this time together I’m not daft enough to argue with you,” Finn said. “So, any ideas?”
“One or two. Well one in particular. Finn, do you think I can be excused for being rather flash if it means we spoil her a little? I don’t want to look like I’m showing off, but at the same time I really do think she might like what I’ve got in mind.”
“Sounds intriguing, and to be honest I think she’d love a bit of luxury,” I said. “And God knows she definitely deserves a bit of magic. So what have you got planned?”
Chapter Nineteen
Lilith
“Oh my goodness I feel like a total rockstar!” Niamh the Birthday Girl pressed her nose against the window of the commandeered Rossmont limo and watched the city flash by, enroute to dinner at our hotel. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a car as posh as this. Couldn’t believe it when the pair of you pulled up outside our place – the neighbours will be talking about it for years!”
I laughed at her contagious excitement. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything else you had planned.”
“Ah, our plans went down the jacks months ago. Gabriel James was gigging in Belfast last night and me and Fearg were goin’ to get the coach up and maybe even spend the night in a B and B. Got his mam sorted to take Sol and everything.” Niamh gave a sigh. “Then the suspension went on the van last month and Fearg needs it for work, so we had to flog the tickets on eBay and buy the CD instead. But that’s life, isn’t it?”
Feargal put one massive arm around Niamh’s shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “We’ll get there one day, love. Promise.” Already privy to the evening’s plans, he gave me a sly wink at the same time. “I’m sure he’ll keep himself for you.”
“I know.” Niamh smiled, and planted a kiss on Sol’s cheek. “And anyway, it means we get to be all glam and celebrate with the pair of youse and this wee man.” She paused then added, “But are you sure your hotel’s not going to mind us bringing him? I mean, I’m guessing it’s a bit upmarket if this car’s anything to go by, and all he wants to do right now is eat stuff - whether it’s food or not. He’s chewed three TV remotes to death in the past two months alone.”
“I’m absolutely positive.” I leaned across the seat and offered Sol my finger, which, true to form, he proceeded to put straight in his mouth. He drooled down the front of his tiny tweed waistcoat and gave me a satisfied, gummy grin.
“And are you sure I’m dressed properly? It’s not often I get tarted up so I’m not sure if I just look like a kid playing dress-up.” As she spoke, Niamh nervously pulled the hem of her dress a little further over her knees.
“You look amazing,” I assured her, and it was the absolute truth. Instead of her usual leggings and sweater she wore a short emerald green satin cocktail dress that clung to her already-impressive curves, and her wild Titian curls had been tamed into glossy fox-red waves that tumbled over her right shoulder. She looked like a particularly adorable Fifties pin-up girl, and Feargal the man-mountain, who had somehow managed to squeeze himself into a tuxedo, couldn’t keep his eyes off her. For the first time in a while, I actually felt like I might be getting things right.
“You’ll not be lettin’ us put anything towards tonight either, I suppose?” Niamh asked.
“Ow, you little cannibal.” I winced as Sol’s single tooth made contact with my knuckle. “No, absolutely not.”
She shook her head. “Ah, you’re a hard woman.”
Finn grinned at me. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Finn
It only took twenty minutes to drive from Finglas into another world. We pulled up outside The Rossmont and a doorman came to open the car door for us. Niamh’s face lit up once again as the fella gave us a deferential little nod and ushered us into the hotel’s impressive lobby. “Okay, so now I’ve gone from rock star straight to royalty,” she said, and grasped Feargal’s free hand as if checking this were real.
I caught sight of our reflections in the hotel’s darkened windows, and I had to admit that we did make a pretty impressive sight. Lilith looked predictably fabulous in a long sleeveless midnight-blue silk gown that had first hit the catwalk in 1953, and I’d dusted off the Dior dinner jacket that she’d insisted I pack.
For the first time I could remember I’d actually enjoyed getting dressed up. This wasn’t about Blaine Albermarle’s machinations or the need to wear a costume that I could slough off at the end of the night and destroy; tonight was about light and laughter and a long-overdue opportunity to celebrate being part of a family that until recently I thought I’d lost forever. It felt kinda good, and spending most of the afternoon taking Lilith from behind over the end of our bed had pretty much banished any anxiety I might have had.
Sol’s response to his lavish surroundings was to give a shriek of delight at the scattering of fairy lights in the trees by the restaurant door and then reach out to try and grab them. Niamh managed to catch him just before he dived out of Feargal’s arms. “And you’re sure they’re not going to mind the wee tyrant here joining us?” she asked. “I mean, he’s not exactly the best addition to some other couple’s romantic evening.”
