Page 72 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
“Perfect timing,” Matt said, putting breakfast on the table.
“Great. I usually just grab some toast in the morning, or a pastry on my way into work. Although I always get a coffee. Two, sometimes.” And now she was babbling. Nervous babbling! He’d never guess.
“Why don’t you just stay another night and I’ll really spoil you.”
He shot her a sly smile, and a mix of desire and panic spiralled through her. She’d spent one night at Granary House and look what had nearly happened! But clearly, they couldn’t ignore it.“Matt, about that kiss – ”
“About last night,” Matt began at the same time.
Shit, he regretted it, she thought.
“It was late,” he said. “We both got a bit carried away.”
“Exactly.” She nodded vigorously. Good. This was what she wanted. Or at least, it should be.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not still attracted to you,” Matt said slowly. “I’ll be honest. I wondered how I’d feel when we met again. Like, would there still be a spark?”
“And you thought you’d still feel something even though you thought I’d cheated on you?” Only why was that so strange? Every day for the last five years she’d thought about him.
His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry I never asked. It wouldn’t have made everything right, but it would have helped.” He rested his elbows on the table and met her eyes.
Why wouldn’t it have made everything right? He’d said there’d been other things going on at the time. But surely she deserved an explanation now? Especially as it was pretty clear after last night that they were still attracted to each other! Last night ... God, she had to stop thinking about last night. It had definitely complicated things a bit. More than a bit.
What if it was a sign, though? If she ignored it, she could end up experiencing another sliding-doors moment.
Matt pushed his plate away. “I meant what I said about wanting closure. Or that’s what I wanted when I got back.”
“Right.” Daisy stared at the congealing eggs on her plate. “What about now?”
“I’m not sure if that’s enough anymore.”
She looked up, unsure how to respond. She knew he was just out of a complicated relationship. But it was the only thing she knew about these last five years. Despite how familiar Matt felt, he wasn’t the same person. She wasn’t either. She got up and took her half-finished food and coffee to the sink.
“You don’t have to do that.” Matt came over, and put his hand briefly over hers.
“Thanks for breakfast.” She smiled brightly as she met his eyes. “I’ll work in the main house until the road is cleared.”
He gave a brief nod. “I’ll let you know.”
Upstairs, Daisy leaned for a moment against the bedroom door, her mind racing. Matt had finally admitted what she’d suspected. But he’d hurt her badly before, and she’d no guarantees that he wouldn’t do it again.
The truth was that nothing was guaranteed. Not Matt, not James, not even her friendship with Laura. And, more importantly, she knew now that she’d done nothing wrong. It had all been a misunderstanding. The only problem now was that she’d no idea what was supposed to happen next.
CHAPTER 32
@Deuxmoi: Kayley Lynch and her band in high spirits as they leave Dublin’s fashionable Bitter Honey Club in the early hours of the morning.
By the time Daisy got to the office that afternoon, she was convinced Laura would take one look at her, and know exactly what had happened. Or what hadalmosthappened, she reminded herself.
Now she knew why Matt had left, it was painful to imagine how different their lives could have been if he’d just asked her the truth about that stupid party.
She also knew she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about it. Laura already hated Matt enough, and Daisy guessed that if she told her why Matt had left, she’d judge him even more harshly than before. She couldn’t understand why Brian would have told Matt something like that. Even now, she suspected it had just beenan awful mistake. And she wasn’t ready to accuse Brian and risk alienating Laura.
She needed time to sort through everything for herself. Which meant she had to pretend that everything was normal.
“Anything new this morning?” she asked brightly.
Laura narrowed her gaze. “Why are you talking like that?”
