Page 45 of A Merry Irish Christmas
‘Not at all,’ Mary protested. ‘I love Christmas here. At Christmas, you kind of want everything to be like it was when you were a kid, don’t you?’
She glanced at Evan, who shrugged, and she wished she could take the words back. Evan was an orphan. He could never have another Christmas like he’d had when he was a child.
‘And it’s nice to get a break from all the hustle and bustle,’ she continued. ‘Manhattan can be pretty manic in the run-up to the holidays.’
‘What about you?’ Katie asked Evan. ‘Are you from New York?’
‘No, but I’ve been living there since I was eighteen.’
‘Lucky you! If I lived in Manhattan, I don’t think I’d ever leave. What on earth brought you to this backwater?’
Owen scowled at her.
‘I felt like a change of pace. Like Mary said, sometimes it’s good to get a break from the city and all the crowds.’
‘I’d give anything for a bit of hustle and bustle.’ Katie sighed. ‘Though I suppose you must get sick of people hassling you, reporters chasing you around and all that – especially after your break-up with?—’
‘So are you coming for the swim tomorrow, Katie?’ Mary broke in, though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She was aware of Evan giving her a grateful smile in her peripheral vision.
‘God, no!’ Katie shuddered, stretching one hand out toexamine her long, painted nails. ‘You won’t catch me getting into the sea at this time of year.’
‘Or any other time of year,’ Aifric murmured.
‘But I’ll be there to dish out coffee and hot chocolate, and cheer my man on.’ She threw Owen a coy glance from under her long false lashes.
Mary and Aifric exchanged a furtive eye-roll.
‘I would have doled out mulled wine too,’ Katie continued. ‘But Owen won’t let me. He’s banned alcohol from the beach.’
‘It’s not safe. Alcohol and cold water aren’t a good combination,’ Owen explained.
‘Oh, here’s Ryan,’ Aifric said, looking to the door. ‘Ryan!’ She waved to him. ‘Over here.’
He strode over to join them, beaming as he greeted everyone. ‘Mary!’ His eyes widened as they lit on her. ‘What are you doing here?’ He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. ‘I thought they were all going over to New York to surprise you.’
‘Yeah, we got our wires crossed. Unfortunately, great minds think alike. I had exactly the same idea and came here to surprise them.’
He gave a hoot of laughter.
She introduced him to Evan – they hadn’t met before, but made complimentary noises about each other’s work – and scooched along on the sofa so Ryan could sit on her other side. ‘You’ve been talking to Abbie, then?’ she asked him.
‘Yeah. Just texting, you know.’ His eyes drifted away shiftily.
Mary wondered how her sister felt about that. Abbie was so guarded and defensive about her relationship with Ryan. She was never clear as to whether they’d officially split up or were doing the long-distance thing. Sometimes Mary wondered if it was because Abbie didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t sure herself. ‘Are you coming for the swim in the morning?’ she asked Ryan.
He grinned, revealing his dazzling white, perfectly even Hollywood teeth. ‘I thought I might sit this one out – now that I won’t have Abbie goading me into doing it.’
‘Wuss!’ Owen said, overhearing. His teasing smile and tone didn’t match the flintiness in his eyes.
‘We can’t all be Bear Grylls’ evil twin,’ Ryan said.
‘Evan’s doing it,’ Owen told him.
‘Fair play!’ Ryan raised his pint to Evan in salute.
‘So am I,’ Mary said. ‘And Aifric. We’re not chickening out just because Abbie’s not here.’
‘Come on,’ Aifric said. ‘It’ll be great publicity for the cause. And you don’t want to deprive all your little fans of the chance to see you in your Speedos after looking forward to it all year.’
