Chapter 34

“It’s so like him, isn’t it?” Ingrid went to the kitchen door and called out. “Girls?” She turned to me again. “He was asking about you, Allan. You should give him a call. He thinks highly of you. You know, sometimes I think my son’s a bit lonely for another man’s company.”

God, what did she mean by lonely for another man’s company? “You think so?” I asked.

But Eileen walked in. “Hi, Mom.” She kissed Ingrid and looked over at me with bright blue eyes. “How are you? It’s been so long.” She’d gained weight and her face was less pinched and gaunt. She looked fantastic. She wore a white cardigan over simple black jeans, and a loosely wrapped silk scarf around her slender neck. Her blond hair shone like a Pantene commercial.

“You look great,” she said, hugging me.

Was that Davinder’s aftershave I smelled on her neck? “So do you,” I said. “As a matter of fact, you look like an actress just off a photo shoot or something.”

She released me and laughed. “Why, thank you, sir.”