Page 70 of Just Say Yes
‘I heard the same. I’ll message Rob and get him to book us a table. Are you bringing anyone?’ Her words were innocent enough but I knew she was fishing.
‘Nope, it’ll just be the three of us,’ I replied, laughing. ‘Do you reckon he’ll be able to get us in at short notice?’
‘No problem. He’s actually done some work for them and they think he’s marvellous so I’m sure it won’t be a problem.’
‘That’s handy.’
‘Yes, he has his uses.’ She giggled. ‘It’ll be so lovely to see you. Safe flight and see you at six on Wednesday.’
* * *
‘Hey.’ Lorcan’s deep tones made me jump and I looked up, startled, having been absorbed in some provisional ideas for another wedding I’d just been booked for.
‘Oh, hi!’ I said, returning the smile he gave me. He really did have a great smile. It was a shame he didn’t let it show more often. ‘How did your meetings go?’
‘Really well, thanks for asking.’ The smile remained, his gaze hooking on mine for a moment before it dropped to where Bod was back snoozing on my lap. ‘It’s nice that one of you has noticed my return.’ A quick scan of the café told me quite a few people had noticed him, but that didn’t appear to have registered. I’d once dated a man who liked to see exactly who was checking him out every time we went anywhere, and wasn’t averse to throwing back a smile to those whom he approved of. Needless to say, that particular relationship hadn’t lasted very long. Lorcan might be a bit of a player when he wanted to be, from what I’d heard about the trail of broken hearts behind him, but I had to give him the fact he certainly wasn’t vain.
‘Has he been asleep the whole time?’ he asked, scratching the top of the dog’s head, who had now finally deigned to open one eye to see what was going on. Of course, once he saw his master, there was a sudden flurry of paws, fluff, ears and tail as he scrabbled to leap from my lap into Lorcan’s arms, whereupon his owner’s smile became a laugh, his whole body relaxing into the moment, the hard planes and frown of his face softening at the dog’s antics. I watched, enjoying the loving warmth reflected from the scene. I liked this side of Lorcan. I’d seen glimpses of it over the weekend, especially when he gave up his Saturday evening to keep me company. I still blushed a little at the memory. I hadn’t asked anyone to stay and keep me company since I was a child. Typical that the first time I did so, it would be Lorcan O’Malley that I made the exception for, even if it was through a drug-induced haze.
I couldn’t help wonder if the mysterious Siobhan we’d run into this morning had something to do with him developing that tough shell he protected his softer side with. Either way, I was glad to see this crack in it, glad to see the light getting in and showing the world the true nature of this man who, in the short time I’d known him, made me think that he was the most infuriating man I’d ever met – but also the kindest. Lorcan O’Malley was someone whom it would be very easy to fall for if one was so inclined. Thankfully, I was definitely not inclined so that was good. Right. That was that cleared up, then.
24
‘You look as if you’re very deep in thought.’ The melodic tones drifted around me as I watched Bod greeting him as though he’d been away for months, not a few hours.
‘Oh! Do I? No, not really,’ I replied too quickly, feeling the flush creeping up my chest. Being a redhead with pale skin had never done me any favours when it came to telling fibs.
Lorcan didn’t say anything but his eyes locked onto mine and told me he knew better. I gave what I hoped was an innocent shrug, which, judging by the way his mouth tipped up far too sexily at the corners, just made it worse.
‘I hope Bod didn’t disturb your work too much,’ he said, thankfully letting the previous subject drop.
‘Not at all. The staff were kind enough to look after my stuff and our seat while I took him out for a walk. It was a good excuse to take a break. They gave me some directions to a place he could have a little run around so we did that and then came back and he had a nap. I was sorely tempted to have one myself. He looked so comfy and content.’
‘You should have done.’
‘I couldn’t,’ I said, laughing, ‘as nice as that would have been.’
‘Not in your schedule?’
The laughter died away and I glanced out of the window at the people passing by the large plate-glass windows, some hurrying, others taking in the scenery, stopping regularly to snap photos or take selfies.
‘No,’ I said simply, flashing up a smile that I knew didn’t reach my eyes. Lorcan O’Malley wouldn’t notice that detail anyway. This was why I had my own guards up. Because just when you started to relax with people, they did, or said, something that made you feel foolish. Yes, I was a bit uptight. Perhaps a little too organised but that was how it was. How it would always be because that was what I could deal with and I could do without Lorcan taking the piss. I understood that he didn’t have all the relevant information, but it irked me that he couldn’t just accept this was the way I worked. Accept the way I was.
Silence hovered between us, thick and heavy, replacing the light and pleasant atmosphere of moments before. Bod pricked his ears and looked between us both as if sensing the change. I’d noticed this action before. The dog was a sensitive little thing – certainly a lot more sensitive than his master anyway, that was for sure.
‘You looked busy when I came in,’ Lorcan said.
I waited for the follow-up, some further dig about something or other. ‘Is business picking up?’
I looked up at him.
‘Paddy insisted I follow Peyton on social media and like all her posts. There’s an awful lot of wedding ones and I saw she’d tagged you in them.’ He gave a shrug. ‘She has quite a lot of followers and knows a lot of people. I just wondered if you were getting anything from that. I hoped you might be, anyway.’
I tilted my head. ‘What are you up to?’
‘Up to?’ He looked genuinely confused.
‘Yes. You’re being nice, and thoughtful. It throws me when you do that. You’re easier to deal with when you’re being your normal self.’
