Page 40 of A Merry Irish Christmas
He shook his head. ‘It’d be good to have company. I thought we could eat together.’
‘That would be nice.’
‘And you’re welcome to join me on any of my activities too,’ he said, nodding to the chart on the wall.
‘Really?’ She beamed. ‘Great. I like vegging out in front of the TV as much as the next person. And I promise I’ll try to bring the right grumpy vibe to the moody beach walks.’ Cheered by Evan’s change of heart, she found her earlier sense of desolation had melted away, replaced by warm, fuzzy feelings, and she was grateful. He was good company once he let his guard down and she was relieved she wouldn’t have to spend the next couple of days avoiding him and eating alone. It would be much more enjoyable having someone to share the time with. She just wished she could make it more fun for him.
‘You know, the beach will be thronged in the morning. You should come for the swim,’ she said impulsively, peering at the chart.
‘Uh… that’s kind of why I can’t go.’
‘It’s all pretty manic. I reckon you could get lost in the crowd.’
‘Really?’ He looked sceptical.
She nodded. ‘Besides, everyone will be too focused on trying not to freeze to death to notice you. And it’s for a good cause.’
‘I guess if it’s for charity…’ he said hesitantly. ‘I don’t have any swimwear, though.’
‘That’s not a problem.’
His eyebrows shot up. ‘It’s not, like… skinny-dipping?’
Mary hooted. ‘No!’ She shuddered as an image came into her mind of her neighbours running naked along the beach, bits flying in all directions. ‘God, no. But our friend Owen has a surf shop and he can get you anything you’d need.’
‘A surf shop? So people wear wetsuits?’ he asked, brightening. ‘That makes more sense.’
‘Well, it’s kind of considered cheating, but a few people do wear them. Most of us just wear regular swimwear. And Santa hats.’
‘Is that what you wear?’ A smile played around the corners of his mouth and his eyes lit up with interest. Was he imagining her in a swimsuit and Santa hat, she wondered, trying and failing to feel affronted.
She grinned. ‘You’ll have to come if you want to find out.’ Gah! Why was she flirting with him?
‘Okay, then. Sign me up.’
‘Great! I’ll call Aifric and tell her. I’ll just put you down as “and friend”.’
‘But no wetsuit. I don’t want to be the wimpy Yank.’
‘You can have a wetsuit if you want. I won’t think less of you.’
‘But everyone else in the town might.’
‘Okay, then. Speedos it is!’ She jumped up, laughing as Evan spluttered in outrage. ‘See you for dinner around seven? I want to eat before I go to the pub.’
‘It’s a date.’
14
Mary may not habitually read celebrity gossip, but she couldn’t help being curious and wanting to find out more about Evan’s break-up with his girlfriend. She felt bad about prying when he valued his privacy so much, but after all, it was in the public domain and everyone else seemed to be up to speed on it. How private could it be? She was probably the only person in the world who didn’t know the whole story. She felt grubby for joining in the prurient interest in his personal life, but she couldn’t help herself, and as soon as she was back in her bedroom, she hit Google and searched Evan Prentice.
There were pages and pages of results, but the first page was full of the news about his recent break-up with Olivia Mills, the actress who played Mary Jane inSpider-Man. She’d been shooting a movie in London and had cheated on Evan with the director, Adam Wright. Paparazzi had caught the pair canoodling and a British tabloid had broken the story along with some very compromising photographs. After that the internet had blown up with news of the affair.
Poor Evan! No wonder he didn’t want to see anyone. It washumiliating enough finding out your partner was cheating on you – she knew that first-hand. But she couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be to have it all played out in public, with complete strangers avidly poring over the gory details, lapping it up like their favourite soap opera. The internet was abuzz with gossip about the relationship and fans weighing in with opinions. There were already several polls on social media asking whether Evan should forgive his girlfriend or not. She was glad to see that the consensus was not and the weight of public opinion was firmly pro-Evan.
Well, no wonder he hadn’t been in a festive mood when she’d got here. She clicked on the images tab and spent a pleasant few minutes scrolling through all the pictures of Evan – in promotional posters, goofing around behind the scenes on movie sets, posing for fashion shoots, walking the red carpet at awards ceremonies… He truly was a beautiful man. Of course Olivia was with him in lots of them – petite, elfin Olivia, sitting beside him on TV talk shows and Comic Con panels, or smiling up at him adoringly as she hung on his arm at premieres. Huh! She felt a visceral dislike for Olivia.
She was curious about a picture of Evan dressed as Spider-Man surrounded by a group of kids, with a Christmas tree behind them. Clicking on the image brought her to a story about him visiting a children’s hospital. The accompanying photos showed him sitting beside hospital beds heartbreakingly surrounded by tinsel and fairy lights, and the way the kids’ faces lit up around him brought tears to her eyes. These children were sick – maybe even dying – yet they looked so damnhappy. Evan seemed to be enjoying himself too. His smile was full of warmth, and she could almost hear his laughter. The kids weren’t the only ones enchanted with him. Some of the nurses seemed just as excitedabout his visit, and grateful parents said how much it meant to them.
