Free Love and Mistletoe by Zara Keane Page A

“New Year’s Eve at Clonmore Castle Hotel. Olivia is marrying Jonas on the same day, so we thought we’d make it a double celebration.”
    “I’ll definitely be there.” Sharon whipped a bottle of champagne out of the small fridge beneath the counter. “I think this calls for a toast. Just as well I picked up a bottle of bubbly on my way home from Cork.”
    “Don’t you want to save that to have with Brian?” Bridie asked.
    “He’ll understand, especially when I tell him the occasion.”
    Bridie gave a sly smirk. “I’m assuming he’ll be your plus-one to the wedding.”
    “I certainly hope so.” Sharon poured the dancing liquid into teacups and handed them to the other women.
    “Classy,” said Naomi with a grin.
    “Hey, I have a reputation to live down to. I can’t let a soon-to-be university degree and a steady boyfriend totally cramp my style.” She raised her cup. “
Sláinte
, ladies. Here’s to new relationships and new beginnings.”
    “Have you no decent man on the horizon?” Bridie asked Naomi as she stacked the beautifully wrapped Christmas gift packages on a display table.
    “No man at all, decent or otherwise.” Naomi wrinkled her nose. “Men either find me exotic—how I loathe that description—or they don’t want to go out with a black girl.”
    “Idiots,” Bridie said. “All of them. You put us pale white women to shame with your gorgeous skin tone.”
    “Plus no one in Ireland can tell the difference between black and mixed race. If you have any bit of
different
in you, that’s the part people focus on.”
    “Don’t mind them, Nomes.” Sharon reached across to give her a hug. “You need a man with discernment. Unfortunately they’re few and far between—especially in Ballybeg. I think Bridie and I nabbed the only two.”
    “Right, girls. I’m off to the hairdresser.” Bridie drained her cup of bubbly and retrieved her handbag from under the counter. “You’ll be all right to close up on your own, Sharon?”
    “No problem.” Sharon grinned at her employer. “What color are you going for this time?”
    “I’m thinking of a red rinse for the festive season,” Bridie said expansively. “Gavin and Fiona are bringing Wiggly Poo round for Christmas dinner. After last year’s fiasco, I don’t want to risk getting a tree, so I figured I’d better decorate myself.”
    Sharon was still laughing when her boss left the shop. “Okay,” she said, turning to her friend. “What’s up with you today, Naomi? You’ve been hovering for the past thirty minutes as if you want to talk to me about something.”
    Her friend grimaced. “You don’t miss a trick.”
    “Nope. And if you want a chat, now’s your chance. A customer could arrive at any moment.”
    “Right.” Naomi hesitated and drew in a deep breath. “It’s about us renting the flat upstairs.”
    “Yeah?” A sense of foreboding made Sharon’s stomach churn.
    “My sister keeps saying she can pull a few strings and get me a job at her company in Dublin.”
    Sharon blinked, then released an internal sigh. “And you want to take her up on the offer. If you have any sense, you will.”
    “I promised you we’d get a flat together.” Naomi fiddled with one of her dangly earrings. “I don’t want to let you down.”
    “So that’s why you’ve been in an odd mood lately.” Sharon moved forward to touch her friend’s arm. “Seriously, Naomi. Do you really think I’d hold you back from the chance of a fresh start?”
    “No, that’s just it.” Naomi bit her lip. “I knew you’d encourage me to take her up on the offer. If I do, where does that leave you? You can’t afford to rent the flat upstairs on your own, and I don’t want you taking on extra hours in your final year in an effort to escape your father.”
    “I’m a survivor. Always have been. Yeah, I’d like to leave the farm and my father’s odious presence, but that’s my problem, not yours. I can always ask Brian if I can study at