He surreptitiously wiped his eye, and waved away her thanks with a shy smile.
Dana paused for a moment and took a sip of water. 'The Perfect Family hasn't been easy to write.'
A hush fell on the room as Dana's voice dropped.
'It is a novel but, as you all know, it's been greatly influenced by my own experiences and, of course, my brother's. I want to thank Ed for giving this project his blessing and throwing himself into the publicity. Talking about any kind of abuse is hard, but talking about it with a journalist or in front of a camera or microphone is even harder. But when I asked Ed to do just that, he immediately said yes.' She looked at her brother and smiled. 'For your eternal selflessness, love and support, Ed, thank you.'
Ed inclined his head, his eyes bright with tears.
'The Perfect Family has been number one in Ireland for two weeks now—'
Everyone whooped and cheered but Dana held up her hands for quiet.
'And we just got word yesterday that it's entered the UK chart at number forty-nine.'
The room erupted this time and there were hugs and kisses and a few tears too.
'It's too soon to talk about figures,' she said, when everyone finally calmed down. 'But let's hope we're going to make a lot of money for the ISPCC.'
'Hear, hear,' Gus called out.
Her eyes met his. 'And finally, I want to thank my wonderful husband for giving me another chance. He is the love of my life and I ir.tend to spend the rest of my time in this world making him happy.'
He came down to kiss her and Judy reached for a tissue as everyone cheered.
Walter was immediately on his feet. 'On behalf of us all, I'd like to say thank you for welcoming us to your beautiful home.' He turned to look out at the view. 'I can completely understand why you would want to live here, but don't forget us. You'll always be welcome in London and Dublin and,' he smiled shyly at Ed, 'Wexford.'
'Hear, hear.' Judy grinned.
Wally raised his glass. 'To our hosts, Gus and Dana.'
'To Gus and Dana.'
'Will you really come back to Wexford?' Judy asked later, when she and Dana were alone in the kitchen.
Dana kicked off her shoes and flexed her toes. 'I have to. Ed has made it his home.'
'It will be fine,' Judy reassured her. 'You'll hardly recognize the house. Ed has done an amazing job. Do you think Walter will move in with him?'
'No, Wally's life is in London. But I think he'll be spending a lot of time in Wexford too. Ed insists they're taking things slowly, but it's obvious they're mad about each other.'
Judy grinned. 'It is, isn't it? I think for Ed to end up living in the family home with his gay lover is the ultimate triumph over your father's homophobia.'
'I suppose it is. My mother would be so happy. Not only has Ed finally come home, but he's happy too.'
'And you, Dana?' Judy asked. 'Have you found peace?'
Dana put a hand down to caress her large bump and smiled. 'Oh, Judy, I've never been happier.'
Between The Sheets Page 33