Page 43 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
“Coming right up. Daisy, do you want a coffee?”
“Um, no thanks.” Daisy couldn’t help feeling relieved at the interruption. A part of her knew she was playing a dangerous game – but it was one she was willing to play.
CHAPTER 19
By eleven o’clock on Monday, Daisy had got an email from the landscapers to confirm they’d be ready to start on the Granary House grounds later that week.
James had spent the whole weekend working, emerging from his office to eat, before disappearing again for hours at a time. Daisy had even tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade him to come to the local food market on Sunday for a while.
It struck Daisy that apart from Laura she still didn’t have many friends in Dublin. Part of the reason was because she’d met Matt so young, and they’d quickly formed a tight unit with Laura and Brian in college. The other reason was that her college class had been small – thirty students in all – and many of them had emigrated after graduation.
If Alma had been feeling better, Daisy would have gone down to Galway. Instead, she spent Saturday morning in town, picking up storage for Freya’s house, and got home to find Alma dozing on the couch. After Alma woke up, she’d asked for chicken soup before taking herself off to bed, where Daisy had kept her fed and watered for the rest of the weekend.
Now, Daisy found herself struggling to focus on the day ahead. She looked over the long checklist she’d made for Freya’s house. All the heavy work had been done, and its transformation from a dark, stuffy, old-fashioned house to a bright, practical family home, full of warmth and character, was almost complete. She knew she should be pleased, but she couldn’t get past the uncomfortable feeling that she kept missing chances to fix her actual life.
She leaned back in her chair and met Fionn’s eyes as he glanced up and flicked his fringe across his forehead.
“I’ve finished those 3D models. I’m sending them to you now,” he said.
“Thanks, Fionn.”
He hesitated. “Is there anything else I can do? You kinda look like you’ve something on your mind.”
Either she had a ridiculously readable face, or Fionn was a mind-reader too.
“Actually, there is something.” Could she really ask their student intern to do this? “If I give you somebody’s details, could you do a horoscope?”
“Is this Matt Deveraux?”
A mind-reader definitely. He was on to her. “Eh, yes.” Blushing, she scribbled down Matt’s birth details. “It’s a feng-shui thing.”
“Absolutely. I’m on it,” he said, straight-faced.
“Right, thanks.Em, one more thing, Fionn? Don’t mention it to Laura.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“Speaking of Laura, did she call?”
“Uh, no. Maybe she’s on site somewhere?”
Daisy tried to think. Laurahadmentioned she was being consulted on a new build, but she was pretty sure she hadn’t planned to view the house for another week. She suppressed asigh. Deep down, she knew she wasn’t frustrated with Laura, Freya or even Alma! It was James. And Matt. Not to mention that work on Granary House was now being rushed.
Laura eventually arrived in, dumping a Louis Vuitton satchel and a bottle of Evian water on her desk.
“Right, what earth-shattering events did I miss?” She eased herself gingerly into her chair.
Daisy wondered if she was overdoing things. She hadn’t been training as long as Brian and, knowing Laura, she was trying to catch up.
“A guy called Ted Fields rang and left a message about a fountain,” Fionn said. “The one for the courtyard. He said you’d know.”
“Go on.” Laura unscrewed the lid of her water and took a careful sip. When Fionn hesitated, she added, “Out with it, Fionn! I’m not going to bite your head off.”
“He said it was delivered this morning and he wants you to arrange to have it taken back because it’s not big enough.”
Laura closed her eyes for a minute, and Fionn exchanged a quick look with Daisy.
“Screw him. If he calls again, Fionn, tell him I’m out on site and can’t be reached. I went over this a dozen times with him, but he doesn’t understand that bigger isn’t always better. Or tasteful. But why would he listen to the person he’s paying to make the right decisions for his house? Stupid man.”
