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“Don’t let how average I am compared to my wife fool you. I, my friend am a great catch.”
“What, like a huge scaly fish that needs throwing back into the water?”
“Fucking hilarious, dickhead.” He leaned against the bar as we waited to be served. “Anyway, I heard about last night. How’s Maddy?”
“Rough as a bear’s arse. Emma actually puked on the pavement outside her house when I dropped her off this morning.” I was just grateful she’d managed to avoid splashing my car. “Liam and Zak did well last night, bringing the girls home.”
“Good, I’m glad that I taught him well. What’s happening with Ana anyway? Have you told her mum?”
I shook my head, still angry about it, but I’d promised Maddy. “I’m not allowed. My daughter will never to speak to me again if I do.”
“Someone needs to tell that little madam what she could have done.” Sam sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Funny, isn’t it, how when it’s your kid, it’s not right. I’m sure we must have done it to people when we were younger.”
He was right, because it had happened tomydaughter, I was furious. Yet working in bars and pubs over the years, I’d seen people slipping something stronger into their friend’s drinks loads of times. I mean I’d stopped it happening a lot, but there’d been occasions when I’d found it amusing and gone along with it. I was happy to say that I’d grown up since then, and if I spotted it happening these days, I pulled the plug on it and threw the perpetrators out of my bar.
“Yeah, I suppose we all grow up eventually.”
“Just not too quickly, though, hey.” Sam shook his head. “You know, I’m glad that Liam isn’t leaving home just yet. I’d hate it.”
At least I wasn’t alone. I thought it was just me who was a helicopter dad, freaking out about her leaving one minute and then angry the next that she wanted to stay.
“Who’d be a parent, hey mate.” Sam slapped me on the back and laughed.
“I don’t know,” I replied, turning to watch my girlfriend as she laughed raucously. “It’s not all that bad.”
It wasn’t, and I knew that I would do it all again if it was whatshewanted.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Maddy
“Do you think this is how it feels to die?” I asked Zak as he ran his fingers through my hair.
He chuckled, dipping down to kiss the top of my head. “It’ll get better, babe.”
Without moving my head because it hurt when I did, I looked up at him. “Thank you for the magic drink. It was disgusting, by the way.”
“Blame my dad, it’s his concoction. He was the one who suggested that I bring it over.”
“He knows how drunk I was?” Lifting my fingers against my face, I groaned. “I won’t be able to face them ever again.”
“They know it wasn’t you. They know it was Ana who spiked your drink.” Smoothing a warm hand across my brow, Zak sighed heavily. “What are you going to do about her?”
“I don’t want to have to think about it.” The pain in my temples intensified for a few seconds. “Dad wanted to talk to her mum, but I think I’ve persuaded him to leave it. I really don’t need that kind of trauma. She’s in a bad enough mood as it is.”
“I wouldn’t care about what sort of moodshe’sin.”
“Zak,” I said on a sigh. “She’s my best friend.”
“Who did something that could have been dangerous.” His exhale was harsh. “She was irresponsible, stupid and?—”
“Zak!”
A spike of anger hit me, sending a shooting pain to my head and making my heart miss a beat. It was anger, disappointment, and betrayal all mixed together. Ana was my friend, and I’d known her a lot longer than I had Zak, and it felt wrong for him to be bad mouthing her. As much as she was in the wrong, no matter how angry I was with her, I still felt like I should defend her. I should have some loyalty to her.
“Maddy,” he hit back.
Sitting up, I shuffled away from him, taking the thick woollen throw with me. “I’m sure she didn’t know how bad we’d get,” I said, all snippy and annoyed.
