Page 130 of The Matchmaker
“No.”
His frown deepens and he grabs the heel of my shoe, tossing it to the side. The skirt of my dress parts, giving him a clear view of my underwear, but his focus is on my foot as he covers my arch with a warm hand, pressing on it firmly as he pushes my leg higher. Immediately the pain abates.
“Okay,” I gasp. “Keep doing that.”
The music still blares from the party, but we’re so far away that all I can hear is the muffled beat of it. The fireworks, however, might as well be right beside us the way they light up the sky directly overhead. It’s completely dark out here otherwise, but they illuminate us every few seconds in blues, reds, and greens before fading again.
“What about now?” Callum asks after another minute.
I flex my leg experimentally, finding none of the discomfort I’d felt earlier. And though a part of me doesn’t want him to stop touching me, I nod and he lets me go, gently lowering my foot to the ground.
“Are you going to start running again?”
“No,” I mutter. “Emotional outburst done.” I’m embarrassed, but he just nods, collapsing to the grass next to me.
“You’ll stain your—”
“I don’t care,” he says, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “How’s Maeve?”
“Scared,” I say. “But she’s okay. The doctor said she can come home tomorrow.”
“Then why are you upset?”
“I don’t know,” I say, and I know the answer’s not good enough for him even though it’s true.
“Did Jack say something to you?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.”
“You’re freaking me out, you know that?”
“Sorry.” I blink up at the sky, trying to control my thoughts and my fears and my wants as they scatter in a million directions, clashing with each other until I can’t tell which is which. “I’ve had a long day.”
Some of the tension leaves his body at my words, and his hand finds mine by my side.
“Jack said he’s going to offer you your job back,” I say, keeping my gaze trained up. “For that big office development in London. It sounds pretty cool, actually. They’re going to have a swimming pool on the roof of a skyscraper.”
“Sounds like a dumb idea to me,” he says, echoing my own words.
“Yeah.” I wet my lips. “Exciting though.”
I can feel him staring at me, but he waits until I look at him before he speaks.
“What’s happening right now?”
“I don’t want to leave here.” I say the words slow and clear, leaving no room for doubt. “I have never wanted to leave here. This place has been the one constant in my life and, even if it changes, even if it no longer stays the Ennisbawn I grew up in, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I don’t want to.”
“I know that.”
“Right.” I clear my throat. “But I also know that’s not for everyone.”
There’s a long moment of silence as he understands what I’m trying to say. “You mean, not for me,” he says flatly.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’ll get bored.” I press my lips together as soon as I say the words, mortified as my biggest self-conscious thought comes tumbling out.
