Page 71 of Just Say Yes
‘My normal self.’
‘Yes.’
‘Who’s to say this isn’t my normal self?’ he asked, echoing the very thought I had earlier. His propensity to keep doing that was another thing that threw me.
‘The fact you keep digging about my way of working and living my life. Anyway,’ I said, clearing my throat and deciding it would be safer to change the subject. Lorcan’s deep blue eyes were currently locked onto mine and a fluttery sensation tickled my stomach, flitting about in a manner that was definitely not in any of my schedules! ‘And yes, I’ve just got a definite booking off the back of someone seeing some of Peyton’s posts, and have three more enquiries from them too. She’s quite the influencer. I had no idea.’
‘She is. I’m glad more people are noticing your business through it. That’s good.’
‘It is. So much of business is word of mouth, isn’t it? Unless you’re some massive corporation, obviously.’
‘True. You’ve done a great job picking up the pieces with this wedding. It can’t have been easy and Peyton was a wreck when the original plans fell apart. They thought the whole wedding was in place and that woman just legged it with their deposits.’
‘I’d never heard of her. How did she talk Peyton into using her?’
‘She’s a con artist. That’s what she does. She targeted their wedding because she knew there was big money involved. Said all the right words, promised all the right things and Peyton was bowled over.’
‘And Patrick didn’t suspect a thing?’
‘Nope. Neither did I. I didn’t get on with her. Just couldn’t take to her for some reason but we all put that down to me being a grouchy eejit.’ He smiled a self-deprecating half-smile.
‘Glad it’s not just me, then.’
He flashed me a grin. ‘Definitely not. But there was just something about her…’
‘You had a gut feeling.’
‘I suppose that’s what it was, yeah. Hindsight is such a punch in the face. I should have known.’
‘Why should you? As you said, it sounds like that’s what she does, cons people. And she’s clearly very good at it. I’m sure Peyton and Patrick weren’t the first and, sadly, probably won’t be the last.’
‘They might be. Peyton’s family have a lot of money and they’ve got several people dedicated solely to finding and bringing that woman to justice.’
‘Wow. I really better not mess up! They’re lucky to have you supporting them, despite the fact that you don’t even believe in any of this.’ I waved my hand to encompass the latest editions of a couple of wedding magazines I’d picked up on my stroll with Bod earlier.
‘My opinion on it all isn’t what matters. Patrick told me that if I wanted to be his best man, which is what he wanted, then I had to get on board, irrespective of my own outlook on weddings. So I did. And then I ignored my gut feeling and let them down. It was supposed to be my job to make sure they got everything they wanted and then that woman happened. Peyton was distraught.’ His attention was now focused on the little dog, who was snuggling into his master’s shoulder, sensing he needed comfort. Lorcan’s eyes met mine. ‘Peyton is a sweet girl. Admittedly, she’s a princess and way too full on for me but she’s a good woman in her heart and I’ve never seen Paddy as happy as he’s been since he met her. He lost his mum a few years ago now and they were so close. It broke him and nobody could get through. And then he met Peyton and it was as if the clouds parted ever so slightly. The more time he spent with her, the more he let the sun back into his heart. Even though she exhausts me at times with all her mad ideas and Californian fads and craziness, I’ll never be able to thank her enough for bringing Patrick back to us and helping him through the grief he was mired in.’
‘It wasn’t your fault, Lorcan. None of it.’
He gave me a look that said he begged to differ.
I put my planner down and reached out, taking the hand that wasn’t holding up his dog, who was now half hanging over his shoulder, surveying the passing public and basking in the admiring looks cast his way. ‘I’m serious, Lorcan. None of it was your fault. You didn’t know who that woman was. If you had, of course you would have said something. But you didn’t. You couldn’t know. Just as no one else could. You can’t blame yourself.’
‘Says who?’ he replied, almost to himself, shaking his head.
‘Me,’ I said, drawing myself up. ‘I say so. In fact, it says so right here in my planner.’ I let go of his hand, flashed him the planner before closing it again and putting it back on the table. ‘And you know how much of a bible that is. What’s in there is truth and gospel. So that’s that.’
‘That’s that?’ he replied, reaching up to pull Bod back from his position as he noticed a group of teenage Korean girls gathering at the window watching the dog, and thereby us.
‘Yes. End of. It’s not your job to make sure Peyton and Patrick have the wedding they want. That’s my job, so you can relinquish that burden now. You’re there to support them, which you are. You’ve done so much to help me this weekend, and don’t forget I know that you didn’t just happen to find a space for them at the castle. You made special arrangements to ensure it was free for them to have the date they wanted, should they need it as a back-up. You risked your own income on the off chance that your friends might need the castle as their venue. We all know how much hospitality has suffered over the last few years and not many owners would do that.’
‘They would for their friends.’
‘No, Lorcan. They wouldn’t.’
‘Then perhaps they’re not real friends.’
‘Perhaps they’re just not as good a friend as you are. So let go of all that other stuff. You’ve got them a venue. You also pretty much single-handedly got them a caterer, a florist and a baker. In fact, I’m beginning to think I ought to give you half my fee.’
