Page 135 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
Daisy sat down and opened up her emails, scrolling down until she came to the one she’d been waiting for.
Dear Ms Devlin, thank you for your submission to this year’s Interior Architect of the Year Award. The long list will be announced on July 15th. We will be in touch if your submission is successful. Good luck, The Association of Interior Architects Ireland.
Freya’s house was a strong contender. And she’d done her best: the rest was out of her hands. Her phone buzzed, and she hesitated when she saw Matt’s name flash up. Taking a deep breath, she swiped her finger across the screen.
“Hello, Matt.” She glanced towards the door.
“Hi, Daisy.” There was a pause. “This a good time?”
“I’m in the office. If it’s something to do with the house, I’ll ask Fionn to phone you.”
She could hear him sigh.
“It’s not the house. Look, I’m sorry for how things ended between us last time you were here. The whole thing with James wasn’t all your fault.”
Daisy almost laughed. “I didn’t think it was.” She didn’t bother to speak quietly now. “Anyway, you got what you wanted. There’s just something I don’t understand, Matt. Was it all just a game to you? The house, coming to my birthday party, that gimmick with the keyring – the night I stayed over! Be honest, because I really don’t care. I’m just curious.”
“It wasn’t a game, Daisy.” Matt paused. “It’s complicated. The truth is, I still had feelings for you even though I was angry when I believed you cheated on me. And then, when you told me you hadn’t … look, I shouldn’t have let things go as far as they did. I never wanted to hurt you.”
And what about Kayley? If anything had happened between us – if I hadn’t called ‘stop’ that night – did you even consider that you could have hurt her too?
When Daisy said nothing, Matt’s voice hardened. “Did James deny what he did that summer? I’ll bet he did.”
Daisy made herself count to five. “If you mean the deal he made with Charlie, he didn’t, because there was nothing to deny. The three of you did well at the time. Now you’ve bought out a start-up that James’ company was trying to get. There’s nothing else to say.”
Matt gave a harsh laugh. “We both know there’s more to it than that, Daisy. But life’s too short, and I wanted you to know I’ve forgiven you.”
There was a weird buzzing in Daisy’s ears. “You’ve forgiven me?”
“I’d like us to be friends. I made that final payment, by the way – I wanted to clear all my debts. Look, I’m staying on for the summer, until the concerts are over. But I’m starting to missmy life back in New York, so Kayley and I will divide our time between here and the States.”
Daisy slid in behind her desk and opened the banking app on her screen, quickly tapping in the personal access code for the company’s bank accounts. Matt’s payment had cleared that morning. She released a quiet breath and focussed her thoughts.
“Here’s the thing, Matt. Friends don’t treat each other the way you treated me. They don’t assume the worst or go out of their way to hurt other people in that person’s life.”
“You mean James? That was just business, Daisy.”
“Which is exactly what you and I are, Matt: just business.”
“Ah, Daisy, don’t be – ”
“I take it you’re happy with the work on Granary House?”
There was a pause. “You know I am.”
“Good. You have the office number if you need to reach us again.”
“Don’t do this, Daisy!” Matt said. “You’re the one who always believed in signs. We’re back in each other’s lives for a reason. It’ll hurt both of us if cut me out.”
She hesitated. What if he was right? Maybe it would be better to at least be on speaking terms with him.Do you want to have anything to do with the person who deliberately hurt James?
“You know, Matt, that’s just a risk I’ll have to take.” She hung up as Laura came back, carrying slices of cake on two plates. Daisy looked at her. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough to be so fucking proud of you.”
Daisy turned the phone over in her hands, before putting it down on her desk. “It felt like the best decision I’ve ever made. Apart from saying yes to James, obviously.”
Fionn came in with the last slice of cake. “Uh, if this is private, I can just – ”
