Page 46 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
Laura laughed dryly. “I’m not just talking about the earrings, I’m talking about all this! Renting out this place, all the catering – it wasn’t cheap.”
Laura was right, and James had done it all for her – she’d just been misreading the signs! Daisy felt a rush of happiness.
“Laura, before I get too drunk, I want to say –”
“Stop!” Laura held up a hand. “Are you about to get mushy on me?”
“A bit.”
Laura sighed. “Say it. Quickly.”
“Thank you for being part of this. You’re my best friend, and I love you.”
CHAPTER 21
“Fancy running into you here!”
Daisy spun around at the sound of the familiar voice. “Matt!” She narrowed her eyes. “Did you remember, or ... ?”
Matt grinned. “Of course I remembered.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek, and she breathed in the scent of his subtle aftershave. “For you.” He handed her a small, beautifully wrapped gift, the size of a ring box.
Daisy blinked. “Thank you.”
“I hope you don’t mind me turning up?” He sounded unsure. “Brian invited me.”
“Of course not. I’d no idea they were organising this.”
“Not a clue?” He looked at her.
She shook her head. “Honestly, James just said he was taking me out for my birthday.” Automatically, she found herself anxiously scanning the room for James, guiltily relieved when she couldn’t see him anywhere. When she turned back to Matt, she thought she saw a flash of annoyance on his face, and wished she hadn’t mentioned James. Then he smiled, and she told herself she’d imagined it.
“Open it?”
“Sure.” Daisy felt her face warm as she fumbled with the intricately tied ribbon. “You shouldn’t have got me anything, Matt.”It’s a tiny box, small enough forjewellery.Oh God, he’d bought her jewellery – exactly like James.
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?” She looked down at the wrapped box and then back up at him, trying not to appear too confused. Carefully, she tore open the wrapping and opened a small, black-velvet box to reveal a key. “Haha!If you’ve bought me a car, I’ll have to say no.”
Matt grinned. “It’s a spare key to the house. I thought if I wasn’t there, or if I was busy, you could just let yourself in.”
Why hadn’t she thought of that? It made perfect sense. It was a practical gesture, not a gift at all. She decided not to make any comment about its odd presentation, and smiled brightly at him instead.
“Thank you, it’s such a good idea!”
Scooping it out of the box, she noticed it was attached to a key ring: a tiny photo moulded in hard plastic. “Wow, I’d almost forgotten about this picture!” It was of her and Matt one New Year’s Eve in Trinity College front square. She’d gone home for Christmas, she remembered, but had come up to Dublin that morning, to bring in the new year with Laura, Brian and Matt – her first New Year’s Eve with him.
In the photo she and Matt wore puffa jackets and woolly bobble hats. Their arms were wrapped tightly around each other, their breath almost visible in the ice-cold, night air, their excitement palpable, as they smiled for the camera. It reminded her of the other photo in Matt’s bedroom, and she felt a sudden surge of jealousy that the only photo he had on display in his house, was of him with some other woman. Clearly, she was losing her mind.
“Um, did you get it especially made?” Was it weird that he’d given her such an intimate photo on a keyring? It was like he was making a point.
Matt looked surprised. “No, I’ve had it a while. I discovered it in the move and I thought you’d like to have it.”
She studied him for a moment, unsure whether he was playing with her. They’d had one each. Hers was just a small framed photo in a box in her parents’ house. The keyring was a nice touch, she supposed. And maybe he viewed it the same way as the photo of him and his ex-girlfriend at some ski resort.
“I saw your folks when I came in,” Matt said. “I’m not sure if they remembered me, though.”
There wasn’t a chance that they hadn’t recognised him; it had only been a few years, and her parents never forgot a face. Still, if her dadhadseen him and had decided to ignore him, that was definitely the best-case scenario. Once they didn’t mention anything to James.
