“Don’t be a dick,” Liam answered. “You’re seriously going to sit there and chow down while Em’s rushed off her feet?”
We all turned in unison to watch Em, and as soon as she stumbled trying to shift her weight to lift the heavy tray, I didn’t need to ask the boys again. They fell over each other to get out of the booth and help her. Kieran reached her first and effortlessly lifted the tray and took it to the kitchen.
“I’ll do drink refills,” Liam offered.
“I’m the most likeable one of you ugly fucks, so I’ll take orders,” Tommy offered. Grabbing a pen and pencil from the counter, he walked over to a table of elderly ladies and turned on the charm. “What can I get for you fine and lovely ladies this evening then?” he asked, which made them giggle like schoolgirls.
Wrapping an arm around my waist, Em kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear. “It’s lovely of them to help, but how many orders do you think they’re going to mess up?”
“Don’t worry, love,” I replied. “I doubt many people will argue with them about it.” Between us, we were good at either scaring or charming people. There wasn’t much middle ground. Kissing my cheek, she left me to collect a food order at the ring of Mike’s bell, and I started clearing another table.
Two hours later, I had a whole new appreciation for how damn hard waitresses work. The balls of my feet ached, and I’d had a fuck-full of watching people leave shitty tips for damn fine service. None of us spoke to each other as we studied the menu. We were all going to order the same thing—we always did—but it was good to check it out just to be sure.
A juicy, succulent Daisy burger was placed down in front of me, and three more followed for the guys.
“On the house,” Rhona said, “for getting us out of a jam.”
With a cup of tea and a sandwich in hand, Em squeezed onto the bench beside me. Pulling her closer, I kept one arm around her and used the other to lift up my burger, demolishing a quarter of it in one bite. She giggled as I moaned appreciatively.
“Sunshine, you should never have introduced me to these things. I’m addicted,” I told her.
“A little of what you like now and then does you good,” she told me. Giving her a squeeze, I plowed straight back into my food.
When she froze with her cup of tea halfway to her mouth, I looked up to follow her line of sight. Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged, dowdy-looking woman with plain clothes. She nervously clutched an old cloth shopping bag as she scanned the cafe, her gaze only stopping when it met Em’s.
“Who’s that, babe?” I asked, knowing from how she was acting that I wouldn’t like her answer.
“My mother,” she whispered.
*
The woman walked slowly toward us in a way that reminded me of Em when I first met her. For a moment, I felt a swell of pity when I thought about her experiencing everything Sunshine had. Then I woke the fuck up.
“Hello, Emily. You look beautiful,” she spoke quietly.
“Hello, Mum,” Em replied.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I said angrily, as I tried to urge Em out of the booth. My huge body was wedged in the seat, and with Kieran and the guys to my right and Em to my left, both unwilling to budge, I was trapped.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, staring at the ground. She seemed to be searching for her words and was visibly shaking. “I know I shouldn’t be here but I was wondering if I could speak to you alone for a few minutes.”
“No fucking way!” I answered without thinking. This bitch had done enough damage. Frank might be behind bars, but the bitch was still messing with Sunshine’s head just by being here.
“It’s okay, baby.” Em soothed me with her hand on my knee. “Let’s just listen to what she has to say.”
I didn’t like it at all, but my girl knew her mind, and she didn’t question any decisions I made about my useless bitch of a mother. I nodded to show I was okay but clenched my jaw shut, trying not to interfere.
“You’ve got five minutes, Mum. The guys will leave but O’Connell stays with me.” This calmed me down slightly, but not by much.
“Okay,” her mum agreed quietly.
Tommy, Liam, and Kieran shuffled out of the booth, taking the last of their burgers with them and shooting daggers at Em’s ma the whole time. Once they’d left, she sat down gingerly at the table.
“What are you doing here, Mum?” Em asked suspiciously. “I haven’t seen you leave the house in years.”
“Frank’s trial starts soon, and his barrister asked me to come down to London so he could go over my evidence.”
“I hope you’re not here to ask me for anything,” Em answered. “If you want to stand up for him and lie in court, that’s up to you but that animal deserves to go away for life, and I’m going to do everything I can to see that happens.” Her spine stiffened as she spoke, and I couldn’t have been more proud of her.