Never Too Late by Cathy Kelly Read Free Book Online

Cedric paid that much attention to their
    adorable four-year-old grand-daughter even when she was
    right under their noses: Sasha had spent ages in the
    kitchen quietly making cards with her pens, gold and
    silver stars, glitter and the child-safe glue Olivia had
    bought for her.
    Olivia loved watching her: the small face screwed up in
    concentration, the chubby little fingers remarkably dextrous
    as she decorated a smiley face with long, golden hair:
    ‘Like yours, Mummy.’
    Sheilagh had never ventured in once, except when
    looking for tea and biscuits. It’s as if our home is some sort
    of posh station waiting room, Olivia thought with a flash
     
    of irritation, somewhere to relax after the journey from
    Navan before being chauffeured off shopping. Seeing
    Sasha to give her her presents was just an excuse.
    Stop it, she commanded. That’s uncharitable. They love
    Sasha, she’s their only grandchild and of course they want
    to spend time with her. They’re simply not any good with
    children. Or with adults, the little devil in her head
    muttered.
    In the end, she’d only managed to escape the apartment
    late that evening when Sasha was in bed and Sheilagh was
    settling in for the night with her cocoa and a mountain of
    shortbread to watch Emmerdale and The Bill.
    ‘I’ll just run to the supermarket,’ Olivia said gaily,
    politely hiding the fact that she was exhausted after a day
    of cooking and tidying up behind her guests, not to
    mention the trauma of braving the three-mile traffic jam
    into Dublin’s city centre because Sheilagh had a fancy to
    pick up some last minute gifts in Arnott’s.
    ‘You run along, Olivia,’ Cedric said magnanimously. ‘I’ll
    wash up here.’
    Olivia stifled the retort that the only washing up left
    were his and Sheilagh’s last couple of tea cups, as she had
    already tidied up after the enormous dinner, scrubbing
    saucepans until her arms ached while the dishwasher
    trundled through the dishes. But she’d been so grateful to
    escape that she’d said nothing and smiled politely as she
    shut the apartment door as quietly as she could.
    ‘Five pounds and thirty-two pence,’ counted the checkout
    girl as she handed Olivia her change.
    ‘Thanks.’ She manhandled the unwilling trolley towards
    the door.
    The security guard pulling down the supermarket shutters
    gave her a hot, admiring glance as she left, taking in
    the tall, slim figure and the beautiful face. Men always
    noticed Olivia, even when she was slumming it in her
    ancient and very comfortable Indian fringed skirt, too-large
    black coat with threadbare patches and flat suede boots
    she’d had for at least ten years.
    Flowing layers of fabric couldn’t hide the elegant, graceful
    body or the oval face with slanting silver-grey eyes and
    pale, full-lipped mouth.
    If anything, her eccentric style of dress heightened her
    unusual looks. Fashionable, tight and sexy clothes were
    too brash and in-your-face for someone like Olivia, who
    was more at home in antique chiffon blouses and long
    Edwardian dresses she picked up in flea markets than in
    the chic modern clothes Stephen liked her to wear.
    Olivia smiled faintly at the security guard, the way she
    acknowledged everyone, friend or stranger. She couldn’t
    help it: it was a reflex action.
    ‘You’re not like most beautiful people, Olivia,’ Rosie had
    said recently, faintly disapproving. ‘You’re nice to everyone.’
    ‘What’s wrong with that?’ she had demanded easily. She
    never minded what Rosie said to her. She adored her
    bolshie seventeen-year-old goddaughter.
    ‘Too nice,’ Rosie had pointed out crisply.
    Now Olivia stowed the bags in the boot of the Golf,
    shivering in the icy night air.
    She’d love to pop over to Evie’s for a few minutes. She
    had no desire to rush home and she hadn’t bought
    anything instantly perishable. If she had, Olivia thought as
    she fiddled with the heater, it’d remain frozen no matter
    how long she spent with