Page 110 of Twist of Fate
Least of all Ash.
Aside from that, one day in Galway, I didn’t see her struggling to walk or seeming to be in pain. She made it clear that she’s usually proactive about managing her pain, so I don’t ask.
I don’t want to be one of those people in her life who coddle her.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” she exclaims, pulling out her camera again. “When you said we were going to walk the gardens, I thought we were just going to look at some plants. Why didn’t you tell me there would be freaking monoliths and ancient stone carvings? Finn, this stuff is like porn for me!”
I choke out a laugh. “Porn, huh?”
She motions and says, “Do you see how massive that stone is? Like how did they get it here? And why? It’s fascinating!”
“Massive?” I reply with a smirk.
“Are you just going to keep repeating everything I say, or are you going to stand next to the pretty rock and smile?”
I do as the woman commands, letting her take a photo of me next to themassivestone, which is actually called a dolmen, but I keep that fact to myself. I then pull out my phone, and we snap one of her and one of us together.
“You really love history,” I say as we keep moving forward.
“I do, yeah,” she replies. “Being here really makes me sad I didn’t continue on to get my advanced degree as I had intended.”
“There’s always time.”
“Yeah.” She nods. “I guess I haven’t really thought about it until now. I’ve been so focused on being angry and miserable that I haven’t even stopped to consider what I want to do with my life. If I had, maybe I would have realized what a huge favor Theo actually did for me.”
“You’re glad he cheated on you?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I mean, no one wants that. But, in the end, it gave me the clarity to see our relationship for what it was. I wasn’t happy. We should have broken up years ago. Maybe we shouldn’t have been together at all. But the bottom line is we were wrong for each other, and I’m glad I realized that before I packed up my entire life and moved across the globe for a man who didn’t put me first.”
“Seems like it’s a good time to focus on putting yourself first. You’ve got nothing but options now.”
“That sounds exciting and overwhelming at the same time,” she says, exhaling deeply.
“Personally, I think you should just skip going back to university and join Riverdance.”
She snorts out a laugh. “Of course you do. Wait, do they still have that?”
“Hell, yes. They’ll be milking that money cow for years to come.”
“Well, as enticing as that sounds, I think I’ll pass. But I did kind of love being back up there. It felt exhilarating.” She pauses. “Is that how it feels for you when you play rugby?”
No, that’s what it’s like when I look at you…
“Used to be,” I say instead. “But I haven’t played in a while. Not seriously. A few of my mates and I try to get together and play on the weekends, but it’s just not the same.”
“What was it like going to college at Trinity? It’s probably the American in me, but I envision something eerily similar to Hogwarts.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that—American or otherwise.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” She wipes her forehead in an exaggerated gesture, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
“It does look a bitHarry Potter-like, but there isn’t anything particularly magical about it. It is beautiful and old. Terribly drafty, though. I had to carry an extra jumper in my bag for years.”
“And what was Finn Larkin like in college? Would we have been friends?”
“Probably not,” I answer honestly. “I was kind of an arse.”
“An ass?” she says, imitating my accent, which makes me laugh. “Really? You’re only what, twenty-four? Twenty-five? How much different could you have been?”
