Page 26 of A Merry Irish Christmas
‘Uh… I know?’
‘I know your girlfriend cheated on you, but you’re young and insanely hot, and you have your whole life ahead of you. You’ll find love again.’
He had the gall to burst out laughing then. ‘Oh my God,’ he wheezed, doubling over as finally there was a gap in the traffic and Mary ran across the road to him. ‘You thought I was going to—’ He couldn’t even finish the sentence he was laughing so hard. ‘You thought I was going to jump?’ he managed to get out. ‘Here?’
‘Well, I don’t know, do I?’ she huffed, annoyed. ‘My mum was worried about you, coming here to be all on your own in an isolated house where you know no one. And you’re so keen to get rid of me. What was I supposed to think?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said, laughing. ‘Maybe that you’re kind of annoying and I wanted some peace and quiet?’
‘Well, why were you leaning on this railing, staring moodily into the river, then?’
‘I was just admiring the scenery.’
‘Oh. Okay. Well, I didn’t know that, did I?’
‘No, naturally you’d assume I was planning to end it all,’ he said, wiping away tears of laughter with the sleeve of his jacket. She hadn’t seen him this happy since she’d met him.
‘Just as well I wasn’t,’ he said, peering over the railing. ‘Because I think the most I could have hoped for here was a sprained ankle.’
Mary peered over the bridge. He was right. It wasn’t a longdrop and the slow-moving river below was barely more than a stream and not deep enough to drown in.
‘Well… sorry,’ she said grudgingly.
‘No problem. It’s good to know you care,’ he said with mock sincerity putting a hand over his heart. ‘And that you think I’m insanely hot,’ he called after her as she turned to go.
Mary’s face flamed as she walked back to her car. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad staying with Caroline and her girls after all.
Nevertheless, Mary decided to take advantage of Evan’s good mood and throw herself on his mercy. As soon as she heard him come in, she went downstairs and found him in the kitchen.
‘Hi. Can we talk?’
He looked mildly irritated at her cheery greeting, which didn’t bode well. ‘It won’t take long.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘You’re not going to try and do an intervention on me? Because I promise you I’m not here to?—’
‘No, nothing like that.’ She waved a hand dismissively.
‘Okay, then.’ He pulled out a chair at the table.
Mary sat opposite him, clasping her hands nervously on the table. She couldn’t help her gaze straying to his mouth, remembering that kiss Aifric had shown her and imagining how those full, beautifully shaped lips would feel on hers.
‘Well?’ Evan prompted.
She shoved those thoughts aside, took a deep breath, then launched into her pitch. ‘Okay, the thing is, I know you’re entitled to ask me to leave. And I’ll pack my bags now and go, if you absolutely insist.’
‘Okay.’ He nodded. ‘Thank you.’
‘But please don’t make me,’ she rushed on. ‘The thing is, the only place I could stay is with my aunt and uncle in Ventry.’
‘Great.’
‘But I really don’t want to spend Christmas with them.’
‘You wouldn’t rather stay with family?’
‘No – not that branch. My cousin Conor is a total sleaze and my aunt is the sort of woman who refers to her boobs as “the girls”.’
‘Thesort? You mean… that’s a whole category of women?’
