Page 59 of A Merry Irish Christmas
‘In fiction, yes. In real life, absolutely not.’
‘Ah! That explains why the whole Grinch thing wasn’t working for me. So if we were in a book…’ He gave her a mischievous smile, eyebrows raised suggestively.
‘Yeah, I’d have been all over you like a rash.’ She felt heat rise to her cheeks as Evan laughed.
‘Well, I’m going to hit the shower,’ he said, as he finished eating. ‘Then I thought I might go for that moody beach walk.’
‘Really?’
‘Any excuse to wear my cool new Aran sweater.’
Mary smiled. ‘It’s the perfect look for the broody young Grinch-about-town.’
‘You’re welcome to join me if you’d like.’
‘I might just take you up on that.’
‘Good.’ He looked pleased as he picked up his book and left the room.
When they’d both showered and dressed, they strolled down the hill to the beach. It was a bright, clear day, but chilly, with a wind that whipped Mary’s hair around her face as they walked.
‘It’s so beautiful here.’ Evan shielded his eyes against the sun, gazing out towards the horizon. ‘Oh my God, look, there are people in the sea.’ He pointed to two heads bobbing around in the water.
‘There are people who swim here every day of the year. I told you, it’s a thing.’
‘It’s a very weird thing.’
‘You don’t feel the urge for another bracing dip in the Atlantic?’
He shivered extravagantly. ‘Definitely not. Certain parts of my anatomy still haven’t recovered from yesterday.’
Mary laughed. Was it weird that she found the casual reference to his dick charming – flattering even? It was definitely a sign that he was feeling more relaxed and comfortable around her, so she decided to take it as a compliment.
‘Do you ever think about moving back here?’ Evan asked as they strolled along the sand.
‘I used to, but not in a while. When I first moved to New York, I didn’t intend it to be permanent. I thought I’d spend a year or two there and then move back home. But then I got the job at Bright Walker, I made friends… and I met Greg. Leaving wasn’t so easy then.’
Greg had been her first big commission. He’d been an ambitious young litigation lawyer looking for his next move, and she’d found him his job at his present company and negotiated a generous salary for him. He’d taken her out to lunch to celebrate and they’d hit it off right away. She still got a little buzz thinking about those days – going on dates to cool New York restaurants with her handsome boyfriend, meeting her girlfriends for Sunday brunch to pick apart the details of the night before. There had been nights at the Met, hot-ticket Broadway shows, Sunday walks in Central Park or strollingthrough galleries. She’d felt like she was living in a Nora Ephron movie.
‘Anyway, there isn’t so much call for recruitment consultants around here.’
‘I guess people everywhere need jobs?’
‘True. But it’s mostly family businesses around here, and it’s not exactly a huge market to begin with.’
‘You could work remotely.’
‘I could.’ It was true that since the pandemic more and more of her work was done remotely. People had started working from home out of necessity, and many had never gone back since – at least not fully. It was more convenient for everyone to conduct interviews and meetings online, and they all spent less time in the office now.
They walked the entire length of the beach and Mary told Evan a bit about the area and what it was like growing up there.
‘You should come back in the summer. There are so many beautiful places to visit. You could take some of Abbie’s tours. If you got good weather, you might be able to visit Skellig Michael – see the place where Rey finds Luke Skywalker inThe Force Awakens.’
‘Really? That’s here?’
She nodded. ‘It’s tricky to get there. Access is restricted and boats can’t always make a landing, depending on the weather and the sea conditions, so you have to be lucky. The crossing is rough, even on a good day, but it’s totally worth it once you get there.’
‘I bet. That place was stunning. I’d love to see it.’
