‘Okay?’ Aiden asked uncertainly.
‘Okay. I’ll come, and I’ll make an effort, because you’re right. Life is long, we’re a family and it’s not your fault that your dad is a tit.’
Her son shook his head, but she could see he was trying to contain a smile. Gary, not so much.
‘And it’s not his fault that his mother is a smart-mouthed, unreasonable git either,’ her ex threw in for good measure.
Aiden resorted to more beer. ‘It was going well for about five seconds there,’ he chided them. His exasperation was clear, so she stepped in with a conciliatory gesture.
‘I’m sorry. Please apologise to my future imaginary grandchildren for that momentary lapse. I’ll try not to let it happen again. Like I said, I’ll come to Vegas and I’ll make an effort. And so will your father. Won’t you, Gary?’
For the first time since they’d arrived, she let her gaze sit on her ex-husband and read his face and, to her surprise, she saw what looked like genuine happiness there. Although, that was probably the Vegas thing. He was easily swayed by hedonistic endeavours.
‘Yeah, I’ll go with it. We’ll make it work.’ He met her eyes and they came to an unspoken agreement. This wasn’t about them – this was about their son and his happiness, so it was time to put all the bullshit to one side, let bygones be bygones and sort their issues out, at least on the surface. Gary held out his hand. ‘Deal?’
The gesture threw her, and she hesitated. The first time she’d touched this man, she’d felt an irresistible pull that that been almost visceral, an electricity that had set every cell in her body on fire. The last time she’d touched him, she’d felt nothing but pain and disgust as she’d punched him square in the face for breaking her heart.
Realising this was a ‘put up or shut up’ moment, and her son was watching, she forced herself to respond and shook his hand. This time she felt… confused. Angry. Cornered. But something else too. Hopeful? Relieved? It had been so long since she’d dipped into any kind of emotional place with her ex, that she was wasn’t quite sure.
‘Is it wrong that I want to order champagne and celebrate this moment?’ Aiden joked, but Eileen could hear the relief in his voice and she was glad. He'd obviously put a lot of thought into this and his intentions undoubtedly came from a good place and a need to make this situation better for all of them, so she wasn’t going to spoil it.
‘I’ll have some of that, but let’s go check in first before I change my mind,’ she said, grinning. She needed to walk, to think, to come to terms with this moment and shore up her inner resources to deal with it. She’d spent the last ten years hating Gary, and that had been a comfortable place for her. It had allowed her to shut down her emotions, to close off any part of herself that could be vulnerable. Now Aiden was asking her to take the lock off the door and let his father in, just a little bit. Problem was, she wasn’t sure how to do that or how far the door should open.
They picked up their bags and climbed off their chairs, and to her surprise, just like countless trips before this one, Gary automatically reached for her suitcase and began to pull it.
‘Hey!’ She put her hand out and stopped him. ‘I can get my own case.’ As soon as it was out, she heard how churlish that sounded, so she immediately followed it up with a more conciliatory, ‘But you can buy the champagne when we get through security.’ She accessorised that one with a smile and heard a sigh of relief from Aiden.
As they walked towards the check-in desk, Eileen pulling her own case, she nudged Aiden with her shoulder.
‘Well played, son. But just promise me something…’
He threw his arm round her shoulder. ‘Anything, Maw.’
‘Promise me there’s no more surprises.’
‘Only good ones, Maw. Only good ones.’
She had no idea why, but she had an eerie feeling that might not be true.
13
ZARA
Las Vegas. Sin City. Zara had spent the whole, chaotic, horn-beeping, music-blaring, traffic-crunching, incredibly slow, thirty-minute ride from the airport with her eyes wide, taking in the sights and sounds of a city that was like nothing she’d ever seen. It was like an out-of-body experience and, right now, that body was on the set ofOcean’s Elevenand delighted to be there.
Millie’s wide smile and twinkly eyes left Zara in absolutely no doubt that her sister was waiting for George Clooney and Brad Pitt to wander past at any moment too.
Her mum and dad, however, were… she struggled to pin down the word. Underwhelmed? Uneasy? Especially her mum. Zara knew her well enough to see underneath the veneer of her fixed smile and fake enthusiasm and she just didn’t get it. Maybe she was still tired. Yep, that must be it.
The limo dropped them at the reception on the ground floor at the back of Planet Hollywood, and they checked in using an interactive machine in a lobby that was busy with a crowd that was a bizarre cross between Primark and Prada on the first day of the January sales, only with more sequins and bigger hair.
After three false starts and the firm conviction that they’d be lost forever, wandering between the casino tables and the restaurants on the ground floor of Planet Hollywood until the end of time, they found the lifts and made it to their rooms on the thirty-fourth floor of the hotel. Zara and Millie went to their parents’ suite first.
‘Swanky,’ Millie commented, scanning the huge king bed, with the grey padded headboard, and the punkish artwork on the wall above it. There was a barn-style sliding door into the huge white marble bathroom, with a shower that had more bits on it than Zara’s car. There was also a gorgeous fruit basket and an anniversary congratulations card, as per Zara’s request. But it was when she threw open the curtains, they all gasped. The Bellagio fountains were directly ahead and in full flow and, wow, it was a breath-taking sight. As the four of them stood watching, Zara spotted a tear running down her mum’s cheek and leant over to give her a hug. Finally! Tears of happiness.
‘Does it feel different from last time, Mum?’ Millie asked.
‘Completely. Last time we were so… young. We stayed in a hotel off the strip. I couldn’t even tell you where now.’
