I felt queasy as I listened to him, and then even more so when I realised that my tiny bedroom used to be his tiny bedroom. No wonder I suffered from nightmares. Not only did Ard na Mara have a permanently bad aura, but every room seemed to possess its own unique horrors.
“That’s sick. Why didn’t she just go for your dad?” I said. “Seems like the more obvious choice if you want to get revenge without actually breaking the law.”
“Victor was fat and old by that point. Maybe the idea didn’t appeal,” Noah suggested. “I had an early growth spurt, so I looked older than I was.”
I stared at the golden, perfectly crisp pizza on the table and felt absolutely zero desire to eat it.
“Lost your appetite?” Noah asked wryly, his morbid sense of humour showing.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever sleep again knowing what Theresa tried to do to you in that bedroom.”
Noah’s fingers smoothed over mine. “You can always sleep in my bed. I don’t mind taking one of the other guest rooms.”
I scoffed. “If Vee found out she’d murder me, and I’m already high up on her kill list.”
His thumb brushed across the inside of my wrist, and I felt a tingle at the base of my spine. “Let me worry about Vee.”
I was lost in his eyes, so much so that I had to force myself to draw away.
“What happened with Sylvia and Hawkins in the end? Did it just fizzle out? Obviously, he never left his wife for her.”
Noah ran his finger along the edge of his glass. “They were still together after my dad died.” He paused as a murderous expression crossed his face. “Thick as fucking thieves if I remember correctly. Vee says he withdrew when Sylvia’s illness worsened. Guess it’s not as exciting to shag a sick widow as it is to shag someone else’s wife behind her husband’s back.”
I was vaguely aware of a new group entering the restaurant. Then, through the reflection of the window, I spotted Kean and his friends. Sally was among them.
“Something wrong?” Noah asked, his eyes following mine. “Ah, your arch nemesis. Want me to get Nico to spit on her pizza?”
“Nico?”
“The waiter.”
“Oh, right. No, don’t do that. She hasn’t been bothering me lately.”
His eyebrows rose. “No?”
I shook my head.
His lips curved. “I told you taking matters into your own hands would work. Normally, it takes more than a pimp slap and a bit of hair pulling, but well done.” He went silent as he studied me. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”
I grew tense, rubbing at a spot on my neck and listening as Kean, Sally and their friends were brought to a large table not far from ours. You know when you can just tell someone’s looking at you? Well, Kean seemed to be staring lasers into the back of my head.
When I glanced at Noah, he was clearly putting it all together. “Riordan’s son hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he walked in here,” he said, sounding annoyed. “Boyfriend of yours?”
“I’ve never had a boyfriend,” I said. “And no, not even close. I thought he might be interested but …” I trailed off. “It didn’t work out. He wasn’t who I thought he was.”
“Who is he then?” Noah questioned, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he seemed a little … jealous? He had no cause to be. Things had long since ended between Kean and me. Not that they ever really got started.
“Just a typical dickhead teenage boy,” I said on a sigh.
Noah glowered. “Did he touch you?”
“No. It never got that far.”
“Good.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why is that good?”
He moved his legs under the table so that they rested on either side of mine. “Because I’m the only one who gets to touch you.”
I barked a laugh, while on the inside butterflies filled my stomach. “You haven’t been touching me at all lately.”
His legs tightened around mine, his strong thighs like a steel trap, and those butterfly wings sliced through my gut. “Want me to?” he asked in a low, husky voice.
I was momentarily mesmerised by him when Sally’s squawk broke through. “Is she on a date with her uncle? How pathetic.”
I stiffened and glanced across the room. Sally wore her usual sneer, but Kean looked apologetic. “Shut up,” he said to Sally, kicking her leg under the table. “Estella’s all right.”
Sally’s cheeks went bright red, her eyes downcast, and something suddenly occurred to me. She had a crush on Kean. Was that why she hated me so much? No, she’d had it out for me long before Kean and I ever spoke.
“Sounds like he’s still holding a candle,” Noah said, eyebrows raised.
I gave him a pointed look. “He can hold whatever he wants. I’m not interested.”
How could I be when you take up ninety percent of my waking thoughts?