Page 9 of A Merry Irish Christmas
‘You want me toleave?’ He made it sound like a ludicrous suggestion.
She nodded. ‘Yes, right this minute.’ She tried to push some authority behind the words.
‘And where do you propose I go?’
‘Oh. Right.’ She relaxed a little. So maybe he wasn’t a burglar at all, just a homeless person looking for somewhere warm to spend the night. ‘Okay,’ she said, holding her hands up, palms open in a calming gesture. ‘I have some money in my purse upstairs. You can have it. I don’t have much cash on me, but it should be enough to get a place for a couple of nights at least.’
‘I’ve already got a place,’ he said. ‘I’m staying here.’
‘No you’re not!’ she said more forcefully, anger at his attitude edging out her fear. ‘You can’t just go around breaking into people’s houses and demanding to stay even when you’ve been caught. I’m giving you the chance to walk away. You should take it.’
‘I didn’t break in. I have a key.’ He opened his fist and dangled it in front of her.
In her panic she’d forgotten that he’d come in with a key. Somehow that seemed to make the situation even more disturbing. ‘Where did you get that?’ Were her parents still leaving a key under a plant pot by the door for all and sundry to let themselves in? ‘Where is everyone?’ she asked, her voice shrill. ‘What have you done with them?’
‘Who? There’s no one here but me. And now you.’ He had the nerve to sound pissed off about it.
She’d edged all the way to the door now and she backed up against it, grabbing the handle, ready to make a bolt for it. ‘Take off your scarf.’
‘Um… I’d rather not,’ he said, his voice muffled by layers of wool.
‘Why don’t you want me to see your face?’ What was she saying? She was hysterical and she wasn’t thinking straight. It was obvious he didn’t want her to be able to identify him to the police. And it would be better for her too if she couldn’t. Then shewouldn’t pose a threat to him and they could both still get out of this unscathed.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping. ‘Okay, I’ll take it off.’
‘No, it’s fine. I’ve changed my mind. Leave it on!’
But it was too late. He was already raising a hand to the scarf.
‘Slowly!’ she yelled. ‘No sudden moves.’
‘It’s not an attack scarf.’ She could hear the snigger in his voice and knew he was mocking her. Still, he unwound the scarf with exaggerated slowness, revealing a handsome face that was vaguely familiar. Then he pulled off the beanie, his hair sticking up on end.
‘Hang on, I know you!’ Mary gasped. ‘You’re… Spider-Man!’
‘Evan Prentice?’ He brushed a hand through his unruly hair. ‘Yeah, I get that a lot.’
‘I bet. Because youarehim, aren’t you?’
‘No, sorry. Just a humble doppelganger.’
In the heat of the moment she hadn’t even noticed his American accent. But living in New York, she was used to hearing them all the time and they no longer stood out to her. ‘Oh come on! That’s why you didn’t want me to see your face, isn’t it? Because you don’t want to be recognised.’
He shrugged, a flash of irritation in his eyes.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said, holding her hands up in a gesture of surrender, ‘I’m not a fan. I won’t try to lick you or anything.’
His eyebrows shot up and he gave a surprised laugh. ‘Okay, guilty as charged. Just please don’t put anything on Instagram about me being here.’
Wow, this was surreal! For some reason Evan Prentice, star of the hot newSpider-ManTV series was standing here in her parents’ house in Inch. At least she didn’t have to worry that he was going to attack her. But it still didn’t explain what had happened to her family.
‘But what on earth are you doing here? And where are my parents?’
His eyebrows beetled together. ‘How should I know where your parents— Oh!’ His features relaxed, the frown disappearing. ‘Are you the McBrides’ daughter?’
‘Yes, of course. This is their house.’
‘You’re… the one who lives in New York?’
