I roll my eyes, but hug her. ‘It was so good to see you.’
‘Are you insinuating that I can’t look after my wife?’ Jesse asks seriously as he shuts the boot of the car.
‘No, I was telling her to take care.’ She throws a small scowl over to Jesse. ‘And I would never insinuate that you couldn’t look after my daughter.’ She’s poking him. It’s like the O’Shea women have a compulsion to goad Jesse Ward.
Jesse strolls over, leaving my dad browsing around the fully loaned DBS. ‘She doesn’t need to take care because I do that for her.’ He pulls me from my mum’s grasp, reclaiming his wife from her mother. ‘Mine.’ He grins and smothers me to make his point.
‘Menace.’ Mum huffs, trying not to smile. ‘Joseph! Don’t get any ideas.’
We all turn to see my dad running his palm down the gleaming bonnet of the Aston Martin. If I was close enough, I’m sure we’d hear a sigh. ‘Just admiring,’ he says to himself. ‘I thought yours had black leather?’
I glance at Jesse and send a telepathic message to think of something fast to explain why the interior has gone from black leather to cream. ‘Mine’s in for a service. It’s a courtesy car.’ He reels off the explanation with complete ease and with no delay. He’s such a better liar than me, and I hate that.
Dad laughs. ‘I don’t get courtesy cars like this from my garage.’
Jesse smiles and leads me to the passenger side, pushing me down gently and buckling me in before adjusting the lap belt. I bat his hands away, earning myself a growl. ‘I’m not incapable.’ I mutter.
‘No, you’re very capable,’ he narrows annoyed eyes on me. ‘of driving me f**king nuts!’
‘You drive yourself nuts.’ I retort, pushing him away and shutting the door. I let the window down. ‘Bye!’ I blow my parents a kiss and watch as Jesse shakes hands with my dad and kisses my mum chastely on the cheek before making his way around the front of the car, drilling holes into me through the window as he does.
He slips in and starts the engine. ‘This weekend will be a lot more pleasant if you do as you’re told.’ he grumbles, pulling away from my parent’s house.
I wave them goodbye and turn in my seat to face him. ‘I can put a seatbelt on.’
‘But I want to do it.’ he mutters sullenly. ‘It’s my job.’
‘To put my seatbelt on?’ I laugh.
‘Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, lady.’ He starts flicking a few switches on the steering wheel. ‘It’s my job to look after you. No sickness this morning?’
‘No.’ I sigh. ‘You shoving a ginger biscuit in my mouth the second I woke up took care of that.’ I quip, bolting upright when the car stereo kicks in and Mr JT himself joins us. I turn eyes mixed with surprise and amusement to Jesse. He knows that I’m looking at him, but he’s ignoring it. ‘You had them put this CD in, didn’t you?’ I’m using every ounce of willpower not to grin.
He frowns at the road. ‘Don’t be stupid.’
‘You did. On the special request part of the form that you completed, you wrote… Please load the disc player with Justin.’ I pause. ‘Did you put a love heart and a few kisses on it, too?’ I’m most certainly grinning now.
He slowly turns un-amused eyes to me. ‘Do you think you’re funny?’
‘Yes.’ I reach forward and crank the volume up, and then start jigging in my seat, singing along and generally taking the piss out of my JT fanatical God. ‘Hey!’ I yelp when his fingers squeeze my hipbone and the music is suddenly low again. ‘I was enjoying that.’
‘You should. He’s a very talented man.’ Jesse states earnestly.
‘You’re a very talented man.’
‘I know.’ He shrugs. ‘We have a lot in common. He’s a great guy.’
‘You’ve met him?’
‘No, he keeps putting his requests in, but I’m too busy.’ It’s him concealing a grin now.
I laugh, and he slips his wayfarers on, but not before giving me a wink and a little jiggle of his shoulders.
Laidback Jesse. God, I love this man.
* * *
Jesse takes us on an adventure around the airport, dipping and weaving past cars, taking turns in the wrong direction and generally just seeming like he has no idea where he’s going. I watch the sign for the airport car park go sailing past my window and frown to myself. Then I look at the clock. It’s eleven thirty and we’re supposed to be flying in half an hour. We haven’t checked in, done security or anything.
‘Shit!’ I blurt, grabbing my bag up from the floor.
‘Ava, mouth! What’s up?’ He takes a corner too hard, and my hand shoots out to steady myself on the door.
‘Will you take it easy?’ I snap irritably. Would now be a good time to point out that his driving is stupid?