Page 53 of The Matchmaker
“You know what,” Callum snaps, and that’s all I hear as Jack closes the window and drives off.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“You ready?”
“No.”
“On the count of three.”
“I’m not ready,” Nush says loudly from above me. Her legs are wrapped around my shoulders, and she’s squeezing me like she wants to snap my head off.
“One.”
“I take back what I said. I don’t agree to this.”
“Two.”
“Katie, seriously don’t—”
“Three.”
She yelps as I rise from my crouch, hitting me in the face with the feather duster in one hand, while her other grips my hair like a rein, holding on for dear life.
“You’re going to pull my hair out,” I snap.
“Well, you’re going to drop me.”
“I’ll only drop you if you keep pulling my hair! Just—ow. Nush!”
“Katie?” I blink rapidly as the feathers sting my eye and glance to my right to see John Joe at my elbow. “Can I have a word?”
“I’m a little busy right now,” I tell him, and his gaze goes up.
“Oh, hi, Anushka.”
“Gross,” Nush complains, ignoring him as she swats at a cobweb. “Gross, gross, gross.”
“It won’t take a second,” he says to me. “I heard a rumor you were looking for some fireworks.”
“It’s not really a rumor,” I say, as Nush wobbles dangerously, trying to reach up into a corner. “I’m going to close the festival with them.”
“Right. Well, I wanted to let you know that I know a guy who might be able to help with that.” He lowers his voice for the last bit, and I frown.
“Fireworks isn’t a code word for some new drug, is it? Because I don’t really—”
“It’s my cousin,” he explains. “Colin. He could use the job. Between Paddy’s Day and Halloween, it’s a little barren, gigs-wise.”
“I don’t know,” I say slowly. It’s not that I don’t like John Joe, but I definitely don’t trust anyone who tells me theyknow a guy. “The last thing we need is to have the guards on our case. Glenmill would have a field day if something went wrong.”
“It’s all perfectly legal,” he assures me. “He’s got a license and everything, but he’s up against the big event people, and it’s a struggle. Really, he’s a bit like us if you think about it.”
“Uh-huh.” I wince as I clutch Nush’s ankles tighter.
“He could also get you a discount,” he says, as my attention goes back to Nush. “Thirty percent off the market rate.”
Thirty percent? I pause, thinking it over. I really want fireworks. People love fireworks.Ilove fireworks. But fireworks are expensive. “And it’s definitely legal?”
“He can show you all the paperwork.”
