Better Together (25 page)

Why did he want to know? Was he just being Ardbawn-friendly or did he want to know about her because he was someone who would happily cheat on the stay-at-home wife and football-mad son and wanted to find out if she was the sort of person who wouldn’t mind? Of course she was being a bit presumptuous in thinking that if he was a cheating bastard he’d want to cheat with her! The reality was that Ritz Boland was a far more attractive proposition for a bit of offside action, if that was what he wanted.

But she didn’t want him to be that sort of person. She wanted him to be a kind, decent, happily married man. Even if the idea was breaking her heart. (Don’t be idiotic, she said to herself when she thought about her heart being broken. You’ve never had a broken heart before. Even Griff didn’t break it. He just bruised it. And that was probably your ego
as much as your heart. So stop being melodramatic and turning this encounter into some weird impossible love thing. Be sensible.)

‘I don’t have an exciting life.’ And yet she wanted to keep talking to him. So she told him about her brothers instead. Most men liked to hear about her brothers. Most of them knew enough about sport to admire them.

Joe was no different. His eyes lit up when she mentioned them.

‘I’ve heard of Con and Mattie Gray, of course,’ he said. ‘Both of them were hugely talented. Wow, it’s an honour to meet their sister.’

It wasn’t the first time someone had said that to her. But it was the first time she wished she hadn’t mentioned them. She didn’t want him to like her because of her brothers.

‘I enjoy Gaelic football, but I was never any good at it. Rugby either, although I was on the school team for a while. But to be totally honest with you, I was always afraid of getting killed.’

Sheridan’s laugh was genuine, but she couldn’t help thinking that it was too loud. It would be better, she thought, to have a dainty, girlish laugh instead of a big guffaw.

‘Truly,’ he said. ‘My school was very much into rugby, and we had some fearless players. It’s just that I wasn’t one of them.’

‘You went to school here, in Ardbawn?’ She looked at him curiously, because she’d covered schools rugby for the paper and she’d never heard of one in Ardbawn competing at a high level.

‘No,’ said Joe. ‘My parents thought it would be a good idea to send me to boarding school.’

‘Oh.’ Sheridan was surprised. There wasn’t a big tradition
of boarding schools in Ireland, although many families considered them to be academically superior. But many of them did indeed have strong rugby teams.

‘I went to primary school here,’ said Joe. ‘I think my folks thought I’d do better as a boarder for secondary.’

‘What was it like?’ she asked. ‘When I was a kid, I read all those Enid Blyton stories about boarding school and it sounded brilliant. Looking back, though, I’m not sure how brilliant it really would be.’

‘I hated it,’ said Joe in a matter-of-fact voice. ‘I hated being away from home and away from my family. But the truth is that it was as much for my mother’s sake as mine. She found it hard to cope sometimes, so it was a good idea to reduce the numbers at home.’

Sheridan wasn’t sure what to say. Alice would have been horrified at the idea of sending any of her children away. But then by no stretch of the imagination could anyone imagine Alice being unable to cope with anything.

‘However . . .’ Joe smiled. ‘It didn’t do me any harm, and I probably needed to be toughened up.’

‘My parents frequently tell me I need to be tougher,’ remarked Sheridan. ‘I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, to be honest.’

The two of them sat in silence for a moment.

‘Sorry,’ said Joe. ‘I seem to have turned our conversation into a ramble down a particularly thorny memory lane.’

‘Not at all,’ said Sheridan. She realised that she’d stopped trembling. And that she was feeling more relaxed in his company. Nevertheless, she didn’t think it would be a good idea to stay. She looked at her watch and realised that she couldn’t stay anyway.

‘I have to go,’ she told him. ‘I’ve to see Hayley Goodwin from the drama society shortly, and then I need to write the piece for Ritz.’

‘I know Hayley.’ Joe nodded. ‘Nice lady. Does some fantastic work in the community.’

‘Everyone here seems to do something for the community, if all the stuff we get in to the
Central News
is anything to go by.’

‘We’re a nice bunch here in the sticks.’ Joe’s eyes were full of merriment.

Sheridan felt the frisson again.

‘Perhaps you’d like to meet me for coffee sometime?’ he asked. ‘I can tell you more about how fantastic life in Ardbawn can be.’

She caught her breath.

‘Not if you don’t want to,’ said Joe. ‘I just thought that maybe you’d like to . . . Well, it would be nice to see you. That’s all.’

She desperately wanted to say yes to a cup of coffee with him. After all, having coffee with a man, even a married man, was a perfectly innocent thing to do. But how could she regard it as innocent when her feelings for Joe were nothing of the sort?

‘I’m really sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t think it would be a good idea.’

‘Oh.’ He looked disappointed. ‘I apologise. I totally misinterpreted . . . I thought . . .’

‘Thought what?’ Sheridan couldn’t stop herself from speaking.

‘I thought we had a connection,’ said Joe.

She was suddenly angry with him. A man like him, with
a home-cooking wife and a gorgeous son, shouldn’t be looking for connections with single women.

‘I think you’re connected enough already,’ she said.

‘Excuse me?’ This time he looked puzzled.

‘You’re married, with a gorgeous boy,’ she said. ‘And while I’ve no problem about bumping into you in a hotel or café, I don’t think that you should be trying to set up intimate cups of coffee with me.’

His eyes opened wide as she spoke. Sheridan was proud of herself for putting him on the spot, pleased that she’d done the right thing. She stood up and pulled on her jacket.

‘I’ll be off,’ she said. ‘I’m sure I’ll see you around, because Ardbawn is a small town, but I guess I’ll steer clear of you and your absolutely adorable and talented son. Who, quite frankly, deserves better from his dad.’

‘I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick,’ Joe told her. ‘I’m not Josh’s father.’

Sheridan stared at him.

‘He’s my godson,’ said Joe. ‘I bring him to all his Gaelic matches. His football and rugby games too. I’m the current president of the soccer club, so I like going to as many games as I can. Besides, I love watching him play.’

‘Oh.’

‘And I’m not married,’ he added with a grin. ‘I wouldn’t have asked you if you’d like to meet for coffee if I was. Besides, like you said, this is a small town. It’d be back to my poor wife in an instant if I was seen having cups of coffee with flame-haired reporters from Dublin.’

‘Stop,’ said Sheridan as she sat down again abruptly. ‘You’re making me feel like a total idiot.’

‘I wasn’t trying to do that,’ Joe said.

‘I thought . . . Well, it was the way you and Josh talked about going home for something to eat . . . I thought there was someone . . .’ She held up her hand as he started to speak. ‘Don’t say anything. I’m absolutely mortified.’

He laughed. ‘No need to be. And I’m delighted you have such strong principles.’

‘I doubt that.’

‘I mean it. It’s sweet that you’d jump on to a moral high horse and give out to me for not being a good enough dad. I like it.’

She sighed. He was laughing at her and she couldn’t blame him.

‘So the only other thing we need to deal with is the coffee.’ He looked at her hopefully. ‘Now that you’re not compromising, would that be OK? Or maybe we could move straight on to dinner? Unless, of course, you’re seeing someone yourself? My principles might allow me to have a go at convincing you I’m a better bet than whoever is in your life right now, but I won’t try to mess it up.’

As Sheridan listened, she realised that he’d moved on from asking her for coffee to suggesting dinner. That actually sounded like a proper date to her. Which meant that the most attractive – and thankfully single – man she’d ever met in her life, the man who made her heart beat faster and butterflies dance in her stomach, was asking her out! And it wasn’t one bit like being asked by any of the other men she’d ever known. It wasn’t like just being friends and going out together seeming like a good idea. It was sort of romantic.

The thought of spending a romantic evening with him was turning her legs to jelly.

‘I’m not seeing anyone right now,’ she said, hoping her
voice didn’t betray the excitement she was feeling. ‘Dinner would be great.’

‘Excellent.’ Joe looked pleased. ‘I’m glad we’ve got that sorted. So now the question is, when suits you? Much as I’d love to meet you later tonight, I know you’re busy with your interviews and stuff and I’m a bit tied up too. After that I’m away on business for a couple of days so I can’t, but how does next week suit you?’

‘Perfectly.’ Sheridan took a card out of her bag and handed it to him. It was an old
City Scope
business card, but she’d scribbled over the paper’s logo and landline numbers, leaving only her mobile number and email address. ‘It’s not like I have a hectic social life right now.’ She was suddenly afraid that she’d sounded too eager, that she’d handed him her card too quickly. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him that she wasn’t seeing anyone. Maybe she should’ve just said that her evenings were totally booked up with loads of important interviews. Or she could have told him that she was working on a major investigative story.

But that would’ve been stupid. He was single. She was single and she fancied him like mad. Besides, there was a limit to how busy she could be. What was the point in playing games?

‘Well, let’s say next Wednesday back here,’ said Joe as he looked up from her card. ‘I’ll book the restaurant for seven thirty. It’s a lovely place to eat – Ardbawn’s best. Which for a Dub like you might not mean much, but it matters to us.’

Sheridan didn’t need to be brought to the best restaurant in the town. She would’ve been just as happy with pizza and beer. But Joe was looking at her expectantly.

‘Sounds good,’ she said.

‘You’ll like it,’ he promised. ‘The food is great.’

‘I’ll see you here, so.’

‘Wonderful.’

She slung her bag on to her shoulder. She didn’t want to go but she thought that this was a good time. Leave him feeling keen – it was something that Talia believed in and which Sheridan used to laugh about, protesting that it wasn’t a game. But right now she was going to follow her best friend’s advice.

‘Better get back to the office.’ She gave him a brief smile and then turned away.

‘Don’t work too hard.’

She looked over her shoulder. ‘I’ll try not to.’

He waved and she walked out of the room, conscious that he was still watching her. Her smile was much wider when she had her back to him. In fact, she was beaming.

OK, she said to herself as she got into her Beetle. Let’s just recap. I thought I was a loser, but in fact this has turned into a winning situation. Which means that I’ve managed to fulfil my destiny already. Even if it’s one I made up for myself. Of course, I would’ve been right with my prediction even if I’d gone for the stranger in my life. Because I’ve met one. A gorgeous, handsome, available man who’s asked me on a date. A man who makes me feel like nobody else in the world.

Ardbawn is a lovely place, she thought, as she started the engine. I was right to come here. And who would’ve thought there’d be such great opportunities for me in a one-horse town!

Ever since Sheridan had asked her about Elva O’Malley’s accident, Nina hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. For the last sixteen years the day had been buried deep in her consciousness, but it astonished her how she could recall it so clearly now. When she closed her eyes, it was as though she’d stepped back in time. She could feel the warmth of the sun pouring through the French windows of the breakfast room as she served the guests. She could hear herself chatting with them about things they could do later in the day. She remembered thinking, as she cleared up afterwards, that this had been one of their best seasons ever so far.

The guesthouse had been booked solid for weeks and she’d been run off her feet tending to the visitors as well as looking after the children. Alan, due to start school the following September, had been a total handful all summer. He was an adventurous child who got into everything and who loved being outdoors. She was always terrified that one day he’d manage to escape the confines of the fenced area of the garden and find his way down to the riverbank. The Bawnee was fast moving, with plenty of eddies and pools in which someone could come to grief. Nina never quite got over
worrying about Alan and his love of danger, even when he was older and it was perfectly allowable for him to go down to the river. (Then he would construct bridges and rope ladders as a means to cross it, telling her that he was Indiana Jones, searching for treasure.)

The day that Elva fell out of the window, Nina had been worrying about Alan falling into the river. She hadn’t had to worry about Chrissie. Her daughter was far more placid than her older brother and had been happily occupied playing with her dolls.

Sean had been out earlier in the day, having told her that he’d a number of things to do, one of which was dropping some leaflets up to March Manor so that Paudie could look at them and give him a quote for printing up a glossy brochure. Nina would’ve preferred him to be around the guesthouse because it was so busy, but he promised to help her catch up with anything that needed doing as soon as he got back.

After he’d left, she’d spent the morning in a flurry of multitasking – which included spending nearly half an hour trying to find a pair of earrings that one of the guests was convinced she’d left in the residents’ lounge and which were now missing. Nina’s stomach had turned when she heard this, because the last thing she wanted was for people to think there was a thief in the house. Philly Purcell told her that the earrings were very valuable and worth over a thousand pounds, and Nina had almost been sick on the spot, even though she wasn’t sure whether to believe Philly’s valuation or not. In the end it hadn’t mattered, because eventually she’d discovered the earrings carefully placed on the window ledge of an upstairs bathroom. Philly
had apologised and said that she simply couldn’t recall leaving them there, but Nina still remembered the feeling of absolute relief that had washed over her when she’d seen the diamonds glittering in the midday sun. She remembered feeling lucky too, that nobody else had seen them and been tempted by them, or simply picked them up and put them somewhere else.