Page 106 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
Daisy tried to shake off a growing tension as she worked on Friday morning. The previous day, she’d messaged Laura to ask how she was, and to her relief she’d replied to say she was out of hospital, but on an antibiotic, and was taking a few days off to rest. She still didn’t explain why she had needed to be hospitalised and so Daisy didn’t ask any questions.
I feel bad putting off Stephanie like this,Laura had added.I’ll probably do a video call from home.
Daisy had messaged back to tell her to stop thinking about work. At the same time, she knew that Stephanie needed to get everything done before the triplets were born.
Now, she caught Fionn’s eye.
“How would you feel about going out on site? By yourself?”
“Say that to me again.Slowly.” A broad smile crept across his face.
“It’s Stephanie’s place, one of those converted mews off Herbert Park. Look, I know Laura had suggested keeping the downstairs open plan, but apparently Stephanie’s not sure. Maybe you could have a fresh look? Give her a ring and see if you can head out now.”
“So do I get to make some actual decisions?” When Daisy nodded, he lit up. “An actual project during my final year!”
“We’ll have to get everything done before her babies arrive,” Daisy warned.
“Right.” Fionn flicked his fringe across his forehead. “Can you manage here without me?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Daisy paused. “If you’re not sure about anything, run it by me, okay?”
He beamed again. “Real site work and a personal meeting with Kayley Lynch! Plus, Mercury is rising for the Gemini moon signs right now!”
“Which reminds me, I should check MyStarScope for today.” When Fionn shot her a horrified look, she grinned. “I know, the app’s total rubbish. It’s also totally fun. So what’s the real deal for Taurus?”
“You want the short or long version?”
“Give me the soundbite.”
“Uh, your close relationships are rocky at the moment, so proceed with caution!”
“Riiiight …” Daisy sighed. “Any clue as to when they might sort themselves out?”
Fionn looked solemn. “Sorry, Daisy.”
“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “Depressingly accurate, as it happens.”
“Except for you and me.” He looked at her. “We’re sound, right?”
“Sound.” She smiled. “Cheers, Fionn.”
By Friday lunchtime, Daisy had still heard nothing from James. Alma had messaged to say that her mother was making a good recovery, but she’d be completing her postgrad in Sweden. Daisy felt relieved that everything was okay, but even guiltier that she’d blamed her for James’ behaviour.
Fionn arrived back Friday afternoon, and handed Daisy a coffee and a pink-and-white paper bag. “I don’t know if it’s too late in the day for a coffee, but I took a chance.”
She brightened. “Never too late for a coffee, Fionn.” She took a sip. “It tastes different.”
“Yeah, our usual place is closed for staff training, so I had to go around the corner to that new bakery. Look in the bag.”
She peeked inside. “Doughnuts? You got us jam doughnuts?”
“Just please don’t tell Laura. She’ll hate me even more.”
Daisy coughed as she swallowed too quickly and burnt the back of her throat.
“Why would she hate you? Did things go really badly at Stephanie’s place?”
“No. From a design point of view, it went really well.”
