Page 16 of A Merry Irish Christmas
‘Great. Where am I going?’ Evan looked up at Max from his seat on the sofa.
‘Ireland!’ Max announced with the exaggerated glee of a kids’ TV presenter. But there was a nervous look in his eyes that set alarm bells ringing in Evan’s head.
‘Ireland?’ Evan frowned. ‘That seems a bit extreme.’
‘What’s extreme about Ireland? People go to Ireland all the time. It’s perfectly normal.’
‘It just seems kind of a long way to go for a few days. But it’s fine.’
Max swallowed hard, not seeming reassured.
‘Tell me more,’ Evan prompted. There was something about the moment’s hesitation and the shiftiness in Max’s eyes that gave Evan a sense of foreboding.
‘I got you a house swap in Kerry!’
‘Ahouse swap? You got me ahouse swap?’
‘Yes, a house swap, not a body swap. Jeez, calm down.’ Max rolled his eyes, regaining some of his characteristic chutzpah.
‘What the hell?’ Evan sighed wearily, rubbing his eyes. He should have known better than to give Max carte blanche. But he’d asked for it, literally. He’d said he didn’t care where he went.
‘Why on earth were you even looking at house swaps?’
‘Oh, it wasn’t for you. I was noodling around on this house swap site in my own time – you know I’ve always wanted to do that – and I found this great place.’
‘Why don’t you go and stay there if you think it’s so great?’
‘I wish!’ Max sighed. Evan knew that Max’s husband Ben was a workaholic finance guy who rarely took vacation, so Max resorted to travelling virtually on the internet and enjoying Evan’s trips vicariously.
‘I knowyou’vealways wanted to do a house swap. I don’t remember ever saying I wanted to do one.’
‘Well, you said you didn’t care where you went. And this place is gorgeous – overlooking the ocean, really remote. No one’s going to bother you there and it’s the last place the paparazzi would look. Here, let me show you.’ Max sat beside Evan on the sofa and placed his laptop on the coffee table, turning the screen towards Evan. ‘See?’
Admittedly, it was a great house and the location was stunning.
‘Isn’t it adorable?’
‘Very nice.’ Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…
‘It’ll be great. You’ll be like Cameron Diaz inThe Holiday, having madcap adventures in a little village, falling for a local hunk – hunkette in your case – meeting all the quirky locals at the pub, doing céilí dancing.’
‘But I don’t want to meet anyone. That’s the whole point.’
‘Well, there’s plenty of room to roam around doing that whole brooding thing you’re so good at.’
‘But hang on – a house swap? So… are you giving them your place?’ Evan had a horrible feeling he already knew the answer.
‘Uh… no.’ Max flashed him a look as if he was being silly. ‘Where would Ben and I go?’
‘So that means someone’s going to be staying here?’
Max nodded. ‘A lovely woman called Sheena McBride and her family.’
‘Herfamily? How many of them are there?’
‘Sheena and her husband and her four kids?—’
‘There are going to be children here?’
