Page 17 of Just Say Yes
A deep rich laugh came from the other side of the car as Lorcan straightened up from where he had now finished faffing about in the back seat with something. ‘Not much chance of that,’ he said, closing the door and coming back around to the pavement. ‘This is Ireland we’re talking about. It’s not exactly known for its weather. At least, not in a good way. Lorcan O’Malley,’ he said, holding his hand out towards Tom.
‘Tom Harper,’ Tom replied, shaking his hand.
‘Pleased to meet you.’ Lorcan smiled. ‘So, you live in the village too?’
‘I do.’
‘And I understand you’re being kind enough to look after Maddie’s house for the weekend?’
Tom nodded.
‘Well, we’re both very grateful to you for that. It will be one less thing for her to worry about during our trip, won’t it?’ Lorcan looked down at me, mischief written all over his handsome face. It was clear he knew how village grapevines worked and had decided he’d have a bit of fun. That, however, was something I could soon fix. I opened my mouth to quickly clarify to Tom that the trip to Ireland was purely business but before I was able to do so, Lorcan spoke.
‘We really ought to be making a move for the airport,’ he said, flicking his wrist and checking the time on a square faced Tag Heuer watch. ‘It was really nice to meet you, Tom.’
Tom nodded, his eyes shifting between me and Lorcan briefly as Lorcan walked back around the car and slid into the driver’s seat, starting the engine so that a low throaty growl rumbled out in the quiet of the village morning.
‘I’d better go,’ I said, resting my hand briefly on Tom’s arm. ‘Thanks again for everything.’
‘No problem,’ he said. ‘After all, that’s what friends do for each other, isn’t it?’ He smiled. ‘I’d better be on my way too.’ He briefly lifted the paper that was folded in his hand. ‘This paper won’t read itself.’
‘Thanks, Tom. I’ll see you when I get back.’
‘Yep. Great. Have a good time,’ he said as I slid into the passenger side.
‘Oh, it’s a business thing.’
‘Uh-huh.’ Tom nodded, casting a glance at Lorcan as he did so. ‘Take care,’ he said before walking on.
I closed the door.
‘That was awkward.’ Lorcan grinned, pulling away smoothly and then heading towards the main part of the village. However, as that only consisted of a few essential but excellent shops and one pub, also excellent, it didn’t take him long to see the sights.
‘What was?’
‘That.’ He jerked a thumb back towards my house.
‘Tom?’
‘Yes, Tom.’
‘No, it wasn’t.’
He turned to me for a moment as he pulled up to a junction, checking it was clear. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yes. What? Well, apart from you trying to spread gossip around the village that I’m off on some romantic weekend away with you, which I’ve corrected now anyway. For a grown man, you can be terribly childish.’
‘Being a grown-up isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.’
Hard to disagree with that.
We drove in silence for a while before he spoke again. ‘So, how long did you go out with him for?’
I turned in my seat, frowning. ‘Who?’
‘Old Tom back there.’
My frown deepened. ‘I didn’t.’
