Page 16 of The Rebound
“Do we have to talk about work?” Luke asks, pouring himself more water. “It’s Saturday.”
“Not the best lunchtime conversation,” Susan agrees, sending a warning glance to her husband. “Are you staying long, Abby?”
“She’s leaving at Easter,” Louise says. “Right, Abby?”
“Right,” I say.Right.
“Three weeks!” Susan smiles. “That’ll be a nice break. You should take her to the beach, Luke. Before the schools are out.”
“Great idea,” he says, and I perk up some more.
Itisa great idea.
Luke Bailey at the beach. Luke Bailey in swimming trunks. Luke Bailey stepping out of the ocean with water running down his presumably chiseled chest.
“You know that hotel got planning permission,” Louise says, interrupting my fantasy.
“You’re joking,” Susan gasps. “The one by Castlebay?”
“They want to seal off the south beach.”
“Honestly,” she says with a shake of her head. “You won’t be able to go anywhere in this country in a few years. I’m sure you’ll be fighting it?”
“If we have to.” Louise works for the Irish Oceans Association, a charity dedicated to the conservation and protection of our waters. A few Christmases ago, she gave me a certificate informing me I’d adopted a whale. The year before that it was an eel, so I like to think I’m slowly moving up in the marine world.
“It’s a pity you’re not here for the summer, Abby,” Susan says. “The town is so quiet at the moment. Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”
“I doubt she’ll even make it to Easter,” Pat says, pointing his fork at me. “She’ll be bored out of her mind in two days. I guarantee it.”
“It’s okay,” Tomasz says. “Her fiancé will come and rescue her.”
My knife slips from my grasp, falling with a clatter to my plate as everyone turns to me.
“I didn’t see a ring,” Susan says.
Oh my God.
I bring my left hand to my lap as five pairs of eyes drop to my fingers.
Oh myGod.
“Actually, yeah,” Louise says, peering at me. “Where’s your ring? Mam wouldn’t shut up about that picture you sent her.”
“I don’t like wearing rings,” I say after a moment. “It’s on a chain upstairs.”
“You’re engaged?” Pat wipes his mouth with his napkin. “But that’s brilliant news. Who’s the lucky man?”
My eyes dart to Luke but he’s looking at his plate, his expression calm even as his knee moves from mine.
“Tyler Olsen,” Louise says when I don’t answer. “He’s some lawyer.”
“He’s a senior associate,” I say automatically, his little beige business cards flashing through my mind.tyler olsen. benton, dwyer, and barnes.One of the top law firms in New York. We’d been together only a few weeks when he got the job. I thought he was the most impressive man I’d ever met.
“He sounds wonderful,” Susan says, finding her voice. “When’s the wedding?”
Louise pokes at her salad. “They haven’t set a date.”
“Louise,” I snap, clenching my fork so hard my fingers start to ache.
