Page 91 of Finding Him
“Luca.”
“Right,” I take a breath. “I mean it, I really do. I’m not—I’m not trying to mess her about. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
He studies my face, like he’s searching for a lie, a tell, a crack in the armor. But I know he won’t find anything—because I’mbeing truthful. Finally, the hard line of his mouth softens into a slight smile.
“Alright, Niall,” he says, reaching out and clapping his hand on my shoulder. His damp palm leaves a wet spot on my nice shirt, but I don’t dare complain. “Just making sure we’re operating on the same page.”
He turns the water back on, turning back to the dishes.
??` ?? ?´?
THE HEAVY OAKfront door is propped wide open, letting in the icy wind of the November night.
“Thank you again for having us,” Molly’s mother is saying to mine in the hall, pulling her coat on. Her dad went out to warm up the car. “We’ll have to return the favor soon.”
“Anytime, anytime at all!” Ma beams. She says goodbye to Jamie and Molly’s mother, and then to Lorraine—who’s arms are covered in colourful bracelets Claire had gifted to her, and she gives Ma a big hug.
Molly doesn’t say her goodbyes, since she’s staying over with Claire again tonight, and Molly’s dad is supposed to be picking them up and taking them both to some concert tomorrow.
Once the door shuts, Ma announces she’s going to be taking a bath with a glass of wine, and not to bother her for the rest of the night (in the sweetest way possible) and gives Claire and I each a kiss on the cheek goodnight.
Claire and JJ are already watching a movie in the sitting room, and Molly and I are technically supposed to join them. But the two of us stand frozen in the front hall, the tension between us thick enough to choke on.
“What’d my dad say to you? While you were washing dishes?” she asks quietly, tracing a ridge on the hardwood floor with her socked foot.
“Nothing much, just interrogating me.”
Her head snaps up, her blue eyes wide and panic-filled. “Oh my god. He did? What did he say? Did he threaten you? I told him to be cool, I swear—”
“No, no, he didn’t threaten to kill me,” I assure her. “Just sized me up a little. Told me if I was gonna be a distraction, I had to be a good one.”
A flush creeps up her neck, and I can see her biting the corners of her bottom lip—a beautiful nervous habit I could quickly become obsessed with. “I’m sorry. He’s... I don’t know.”
“It was fine,” I say softly, truly meaning it. I take a slow step closer, the space between us feeling magnetic and I can’t help but be pulled in. “I don’t mind being good for you, Molly.”
She doesn’t step back, just lets her eyes meet mine and smiles. “You don’t?”
“Course not,” I say. “Do you maybe wanna... talk?”
“Talk?”
I nod. “Sneak away for a bit.”
Molly holds my gaze for a suspended second, before reaching for my hand. “Of course, I do.”
37
Promise Me
Molly
November, 2007
IWASN'T SUREwhat I had in mind when Niall suggested to “sneak away for a bit,” but this wasn’t on the list.
Instead of doing something normal like taking a walk down the street, or maybe just slipping out onto the back porch, I’m standing in the middle of Niall Blue’s bedroom and staring dubiously at his open window.
“Ma would have my head on a spike if we went anywhere,” he had explained when moving the chair full of laundry out from in front of it and removing the screen. “She’s got ears like a bat. She’ll think we’re eloping if she hears the front door latch. She’d kill me.”
