Page 90 of Just Say Yes
‘You, Mr O’Malley, make me so.’
He did that grin, the one that lit up his whole face and made those incredible eyes sparkle before turning towards the door.
‘Thanks for the help today,’ I said.
‘No problem. It’s not like I have far to go at the moment, now the schoolhouse project is under way.’
‘Yes, you’ve made yourself quite the local hero saving that.’
‘With everyone except you, it would seem.’
‘Oh, rubbish. You know I was thrilled when I found out. It’s just that I know you’re not as angelic as Betty and the others think you are.’
‘Ah, I see. You know the true me, then?’
‘Exactly.’
Lorcan’s gaze caught onto mine and, for a moment, it felt as if both of us forgot to breathe. At least I did, and from the flicker in his eyes I knew there was something else behind them too. I just couldn’t quite pin down what it was. The truth was, as much as he showed me snippets, I still wasn’t sure I did know the real Lorcan O’Malley. In fact, I wondered how many people did. And what, exactly, Siobhan back in Ballalee had had to do with that.
31
‘Hi, Maddie, how was your flight?’ Lorcan answered on the second ring.
‘Hi. Yes, good, thanks. Smooth, thankfully.’
‘Glad to hear it. Everything OK?’
‘Kind of.’
‘What’s up?’
‘Nothing really. I was just trying Calum but his phone is going straight to voicemail.’
‘Yeah, he messaged earlier to say he had a meeting with a couple so he’d be offline for a while.’
‘That’s fine. I was just letting him know I was on my way. I’ve messaged now. I’ll see you later, then. Thanks, Lorcan.’
‘OK. Call if you get lost.’
‘I have satnav.’
‘Like I said,’ he repeated, ‘call if you get lost.’
‘Funny. Bye, Lorcan.’
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said goodbye and disconnected. I turned back to the young man who had led me to my hire car for the trip. Or more accurately, shown me the tank that had been booked by Peyton, who’d had a moment of crisis and felt she hadn’t done enough towards her own wedding. In order to dispel her wobble, I’d asked if she could arrange a hire car for the duration of my trip. I’d flown to a more local airport this time as I didn’t have any of the special luggage requirements that Lorcan had with Bod, but this car just wasn’t going to work.
‘Can you find me something smaller, please? I don’t need anything this big.’
The young man frowned at me and glanced down at the paperwork then back up at me. ‘But this is what you ordered. Top level. She’s a lovely machine.’
‘It’s big enough to start a small haulage firm. I am a five-foot-three female with a single case and will be driving through tiny country lanes. This,’ I waved at the car, ‘is excess to my requirements.’
‘But it’s right here.’ He tapped his paperwork. ‘The lady that booked was most insistent we reserve the most expensive option we had.’
‘I’m sure she did,’ I said, smiling at Peyton’s thoughtfulness, ‘but, seriously, I don’t need anything remotely this size. Can you please find me something smaller?’
‘I can see what we have.’
