Page 34 of Just Say Yes
‘Suppliers,’ he finished for me. ‘I get it.’ He pushed his chair back, wood scraping against the floorboard as he held out his hand. ‘Come with me.’
‘Lorcan, I really don’t have—’
‘Come with me.’
I stayed where I was for a moment, challenging him with my eyes. He remained impassive.
‘Ugh. You’re impossible.’
‘You do say the nicest things, Miss Madeleine.’
‘It’s Ms.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he noted, helping me on with my coat. His hands moved to my belt, one holding one end, the other holding its opposite and gently pulled, the action turning me around to face him. Deep blue eyes looked down, locking onto mine for a moment before his gaze dropped to the belt, which he fastened around me securely. ‘Chillier than it looks out there today.’ His voice was soft and that rolling lilt only enhanced the gentleness of the words. I took a step closer so that there was barely an inch of space between us and stood up on my tiptoes, even then still only reaching his jaw, rough with the shadow of dark stubble, with my temple.
‘You’re forgetting something,’ I whispered.
‘What’s that?’ I could hear the faint rasp in his words, underlying the deep, smooth tones.
‘Your charms don’t work on me.’ I made to step back but his hand quickly caught mine, making me stop and look up.
His eyes fixed on me and I couldn’t help but look back, part of me wanting to stay there, locked in that moment, and part of me wanting to push away. What felt like ages probably lasted only a beat before Lorcan spoke again.
‘Come with me.’ And without waiting for an answer, he took my hand and led me with long-legged strides out of the room.
‘I need my planner!’ I huffed out, a little breathless from keeping up.
‘Got it,’ he said, holding it up in his other hand. ‘God forbid we should go anywhere without it.’
12
‘Where are we going?’ I asked as we strode down the small pavement of what seemed to be the central street of the village.
‘You’ll see.’
‘Where’s Bod?’
‘Staying with Brighid for a bit to be thoroughly spoiled.’
‘I don’t think you need to hold my hand.’
‘Got to keep up, Maddie.’ Lorcan stopped without warning and I came to a sudden halt. ‘After all, we have a lot of work to do.’ He gave a quick wink as he tossed my words back at me before starting off again.
I swore under my breath.
‘Any more of that and we’ll have to make an extra stop at the church for someone to take confession.’
‘You know, you’re not as funny as you think you are,’ I said, taking two to three steps to his one, determined not to fall behind.
‘That’s what I like about you, Maddie. You keep a man grounded.’
I opened my mouth with a riposte when Lorcan halted, rapping on a glass door with the back of his knuckles. Swallowing my retort, I looked properly at the place we had stopped at. It was a double-fronted premises set in what appeared to have once been a large house. The roof and paintwork were both new but the door gave nothing away. To the side of it, however, was a small sign.
Ur
‘It means “Fresh” in Gaelic,’ Lorcan explained, following my eyeline just as the door opened and a tall, rangy man with striking green eyes and a shock of red hair tied back in a short ponytail appeared.
‘I was just wondering where you’d all got to.’ The man smiled, shaking Lorcan’s hand enthusiastically, before switching to me.
