Page 78 of Just Say Yes
‘Oh. Was that nice Irish man there all the time too?’ She arranged her face to look innocent but I could see the interest in her eyes flickering behind her glasses.
‘Some of the time. But,’ I repeated, ‘it was a work trip and the only reason I was with him was because my clients want him kept up to date while they’re out of the country. Lorcan offered his assistance with the area as I’m unfamiliar with it. That’s all.’
My mind fluttered back to the night I’d fallen, when Lorcan had sat with me on the bed keeping me company – hardly in his remit – and I turned away from my visitor momentarily to shuffle through my post and hope that the blush I felt on my chest didn’t betray me by creeping up to my face.
‘Oh, that’s a shame,’ Betty said, sounding genuinely disappointed. ‘He seemed such a nice man.’
‘Looks can be deceiving, Betty.’
‘Is he not, then?’ she asked, bustling through to the kitchen and placing a plate of home-baked biscuits on the table as I glanced at my colour-coded schedule for the day tacked to the fridge. The weekend had ended up entirely unscheduled but today at least I hoped I’d be able to get back into my normal pattern.
‘He’s…’ I thought of how many times Lorcan had wound me up over the weekend, but I also remembered his kindness on the plane, his concern when he realised I’d hurt myself, and his devotion to his little dog. I tried not to remember the lingering woody scent of his aftershave when he was close to me, his laugh that wrapped itself around me like a cosy blanket, and the way his warm breath had tickled my ear when he spoke close to it, the deep tones sending waves throughout my body.
‘He’s what, dear?’ Betty asked, studying me with a casual air. From the outside, she looked like a kindly, older lady who baked and always checked up on others in the village, especially if they hadn’t been seen for a few days. But Betty was as sharp as a new pin.
‘Complicated.’
‘I see. Perhaps he has a reason to be complicated.’
‘I’m sure he does. But it’s not part of my job to find out so…’ I turned up my palms and smiled, hoping that was an end to the discussion.
‘Not everything is about work, you know, love.’
‘Right now it is, Betty. My business took a massive hit during the pandemic and I need to save it, so the last thing I have time for in my life right now is complicated men. Besides, Lorcan and I are far too different. We do, and would, drive each other round the bend inside a week.’
‘Sometimes those are the best ones…’ Betty replied, her eyes twinkling.
‘No, Betty,’ I said, laughing. ‘Definitely not now and most definitely not this man.’
‘Well now, that’s a shame. You looked ever so good together and he’s very handsome.’
‘Sometimes those are the worst ones,’ I said, turning her words back on her and she shook her head, laughing.
‘What are we going to do with you?’
‘Nothing, but thank you for the offer. Really, I’m perfectly happy as I am.’
My neighbour gave me a look that disagreed. ‘I see Tom was here, checking on the place at the weekend.’
‘Yes. I have a slight problem with the roof.’
‘He told me it was leaking like a sieve.’
Thanks, Tom.
‘I’m working on getting it fixed.’
‘Tom said he’d told you he’d happily get it done for you, and that you could pay him later.’
I really needed to have words with Tom about how much of my business he discussed with the rest of the village. The fact that he’d told the neighbours this, obviously in all innocence, only backed up what I’d said to Lorcan about gossip. If Tom went around happily telling villagers that he’d done my roof ‘on credit’, firstly, everyone would know my financial situation and secondly, it would undoubtedly cause at least a few to wonder if he was receiving payment in other ways. Which was why I was sticking to my original sensible plan of praying to any god who would listen – I wasn’t fussy – for dry weather until Peyton’s big wedding and I could begin to get my finances back on track, and my roof back to being weathertight.
‘Yes, I know. It’s very kind of him, but I don’t like to be beholden to anyone and it’s not fair. He’s a small business too so it’s hardly likely he’s got plenty of money sat around in the bank to be doing favours to people.’
‘Yes, but we both know you’re not just any old people when it comes to Tom, don’t we?’
‘No, Betty, we don’t,’ I replied in a definitive tone, which she merely waved away.
‘Oh, pssh. He’s had a crush on you since the day you moved in. You must have noticed.’
