Free Beneath an Irish Sky (Choc Lit) by Isabella Connor Page A

hardly know Jack!’
    ‘You’ve had lunch with him twice. And both times he paid. Nowadays that’s virtually a proposal of marriage.’
    Emer smiled and wrapped some noodles round her fork. She’d never been able to get the hang of chopsticks even though a Chinese takeaway at her flat had been the sisters’ monthly ritual for years. ‘After lunch, we went for a walk on the Green and then up to Trinity.’
    Maeve waggled a chopstick in Emer’s direction. ‘You’re out with a hot man and you show him round your old university. Did you never watch
Blind Date
? You clearly need some tips.’
    Emer laughed. ‘He wanted to see the sights. We had a really nice afternoon.’
    ‘I don’t think men like him are looking for “nice”, to be honest.’
    Emer frowned. ‘Men like what?’
    Maeve grabbed the computer printout about Jack that Emer had shared with her earlier. ‘By all accounts, he’s a rich man. He could have any woman he wants. He’ll not be one you can keep on hold for long.’
    ‘So what should I have done, Maeve? Lunged at him in the hallowed cloisters of Trinity College?’
    ‘Well, it would have given him some kind of sign at least.’
    ‘A sign of what – that I’m a willing whore?’
    Her sister dropped the takeaway carton and gave a mock shriek. ‘Emer Sullivan, wash your mouth out with soap!’
    As usual, Maeve did an expert impression of their mother and both women burst out laughing. Emer looked at her sister with affection. It had been a big decision to tell Maeve about Jack – it made him and the beginnings of what they might have together seem more real.
    ‘Are you seeing him again?’ asked Maeve, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.
    ‘Tomorrow. He’s taking me to dinner at the Beaumont.’
    ‘Ooh – swanky. That’ll give you a chance to dress up a bit. Now, let’s see if you’ve still got anything suitable in your wardrobe to entice a man. Or did you get rid of it all after that idiot Colm made the biggest mistake of his life?’
    They went into the bedroom and Maeve critically swished through the hangers of clothes in the wardrobe. Emer was in two minds about Jack. She
was
attracted to him but there were still so many unknowns. And whether he realised it or not, he was grieving for his dead wife. Not only that, but all the trauma of her leaving him had also been resurrected. It wasn’t the best time for him to get involved with a new woman. If it all went wrong, Emer would be left the wrong side of thirty holding the pieces of another failed relationship. That was a sobering thought and Maeve’s excitement as she pulled out what she called The Seduction Dress couldn’t make it go away.
    The campfire was strong, the wood crackling and snapping. It gave everyone’s face a golden glow. Luke watched them all, parents and children, huddled together, delaying the dead of night with their laughter. Potatoes were cooking on the fire and his friend, Padraig, was flipping a coin through his fingers, trying to make it disappear. It had been their favourite game all summer since they’d seen a street magician do it. In the background, one of the men was singing a lullaby to his baby daughter.
    These were his people. This was his life. And it was good. He pitied folk stuck in their houses. They missed the sun creeping slowly up of a morning, and they never fell asleep under the stars or stood in the woods during a rain shower to catch that earthy growing smell as the plants drank their fill. They missed out on so much.
    ‘Now then, young Luke, let’s see what the future’s storin’ up.’
    Jessie had taken hold of his hand, smoothed the palm out flat, and she was peering hard at it in the dim light. No one really believed she had the gift of sight. It was just a bit of fun. Some of the men laughed at her and said certain things happened to everyone so it was easy to guess them. Luke only knew he loved Jessie with her mop of grey-white hair and easy smile, and he’d do