Page 63 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
She caught Matt’s eye as she put on the kettle, which was now on a tray on the stone floor in a corner of the room.
“That’s pretty heavy rain out there,” he said.
“Yup.” Daisy straightened, flashing Niamh a quick smile. “We’re due another storm.”
“Are you afraid of thunder and lightning, Niamh?” Matt flicked Daisy a sly glance, and she flushed hotly.
“Like, when I was five!” Niamh sounded indignant.
Matt arched an eyebrow. “I’ll bet you were a cute kid.”
Niamh burst into giggles, and Daisy suppressed a grin. She’d almost forgotten what a tease he could be.
Her phone rang and she wandered into Matt’s study to answer it, closing the door behind her. “Hi, Mum.”
“Hi, Daisy.” Miriam paused. “Tell me if it’s a bad time, loveen?”
“No, I’m grand, Mum.”
Miriam sighed. “That’s what I’m wondering, now.”
It was the party, Daisy thought. Her mother probably knew that she and Matt had spent time together at her birthday party – a long time.
“Your cousin Izzy has that tango up on her Instagram story, Daisy.”
Daisy felt a bit sick. “Can you see his face, Mum?”
“Ah, Daisy, will you listen to yourself? If you weren’t doing anything wrong, you wouldn’t be asking that. James doesn’t even know Matt was there, does he?”
“No, Mum, and he doesn’t have to!” Daisy lowered her voice. “James isn’t friends with anyone I’m friends with on social – apart from Rosie and Séan.”
“That’s not really the point.”
Miriam’s voice was gentle, but Daisy felt a flare of annoyance.
“We were catching up, having fun. It was my birthday – I was allowed to have fun!” Great, now she sounded like her teenage self. She took a deep breath. “Try not to worry, Mum. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”Not much.
“I know, loveen. I don’t mean to throw cold water on it for you.” There was a brief pause. “While I think of it, I was hoping you could do me a small favour.”
“Anything, Mum.”
“Could you get Kayley Lynch’s new album, and ask her to sign it? As an anniversary present for your dad from me. Rosie told me that she’s using Matt’s house for rehearsals, or something.”
“Consider it done.” Daisy heard a noise outside the door. “Uh, I’d better go, Mum, I’ll stay in touch.”
“Be careful. I love you.”
“Love you too, Mum.” Daisy hung up, and slipped her phone back in her pocket. Her mother hadn’t warned her to be careful since she’d first come to Dublin for college!
The door opened and Matt came in.
“Sorry,” Daisy said. “I’ll get out of your way.”
Matt smiled. “No rush.”
Daisy folded her arms. “So, fair warning: a lot of the carpentry is going to have to be done indoors today.”
“I’ll use headphones.” Matt walked further into the room. “I think Kayley and her team were hoping to get some shooting done in Powerscourt today, but I reckon they just ended up going back to the hotel. That weather is shite.”
