Saving Christmas in the Little Irish Village (The Little Irish Village #5)

Chapter 40

40

‘Hannah, it’s me, Tom.’ The tall, lean figure, clad in a Burberry coat, approached her with both hands in front of him. His glasses glinted in the light, and his hair needed a trim, but it was Tom all right.

The scream, still bouncing off the stone walls, died in her throat as Hannah, in fight or flight mode, automatically stepped backwards into the doorway, ready to run. It took a moment for her thumping heart to catch up with her brain and communicate she knew this person.

‘Shush,’ she soothed Princess Leia, whose barking was ear-splitting for such a small dog. She swallowed, moistening her throat as she cuddled the trembling chihuahua. ‘It’s all right. You know Tom.’

When she could no longer feel her shaking, she set her down on the ground and squared up to him.

He stopped in his tracks.

‘It would serve you right if she did bite your ankles,’ Hannah rasped, assuming it was Princess Leia he was wary of. However, she could be equally ferocious when she wanted to be. He should be afraid of them both.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you such a fright.’

‘Oh, I see, so lurking in dark corners of haunted cottages wasn’t supposed to frighten me?’

‘Fair play.’ Tom kept a watchful eye on Princess Leia as she sniffed around his legs.

‘And you could have given Princess Leia a heart attack. She’s only got a tiny one, you know.’

‘Sorry.’

‘You already said that, and you should apologise to her.’

‘Erm, sorry, Princess Leia.’

Princess Leia didn’t accept the apology gracefully, growling her response.

‘What are you even doing here, Tom?’

‘I came to see you.’

Hannah wasn’t sure what question to roll with first – why he wanted to see her or how he knew where she was. She ran with, ‘But how…’ her voice trailing away as the answer dawned on her. It had to have been Nan. It didn’t explain how he’d got there so quickly, though. She hadn’t seen a car in the lane. Why was he back in Emerald Bay in the first place?

Tom pre-empted the question. ‘I was driving into the village when Kitty rang me to say you were on your way here, so I came in the back and parked out of sight around the bend in the lane. I knew if you saw the car or if I were to wait outside the cottage, you’d turn around and walk away when you saw me.’

Hannah couldn’t believe Nan could go behind her back like so. What was she playing at? And Tom was right. She would have walked away if she’d had an inkling he was here.

‘So you’ve come all this way to gloat, is that it? Because I can’t imagine you’ve much work to be cracking on with here until after Christmas. Or are you chomping at the bit for the diggers to break soil?’ She hoped he hadn’t rechecked into the Shamrock – that would be too much to bear. She’d pack her bags and go and stay with Imo or Shannon if he had.

‘What?’ Genuine bewilderment clouded his face.

‘You heard me.’

Weak light streamed in through the entrance where Hannah stood, and Tom moved closer, ignoring Princess Leia. Frowning, he scanned her face. Then his hand reached out and gently stroked her cheek. ‘You’ve been crying.’

Hannah was taken unawares, and it took her a second to respond. ‘Don’t.’ She shoved his hand away and swiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. ‘They’re tears from the cold, is all.’

‘Hannah, let me explain.’

‘Is Judy your client? Is she behind the Greenhouse project?’ His expression told her she was.

‘Did you know she was related to us?’ she demanded. His eyes shifted away from her momentarily telling her all she needed to know. ‘I thought so. But you said nothing. I don’t get how she can inveigle her way into my family without mentioning her business interests. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ Hannah pulled out Dylan’s turn of phrase, but there was no hint of melting chocolate in her voice. ‘Why couldn’t you tell me the truth? I trusted you. Why did I have to learn that the sale’s going through via an arsey reporter ringing me for my comment?’

Princess Leia, seemingly bored, trotted off with her lead trailing after her to investigate the other room in the cottage, leaving Hannah and Tom facing off. A fine guard dog she’d make, Hannah thought, abandoning her post like so.

‘OK. So, firstly, I’d signed a confidentiality clause. I couldn’t tell you about Judy. And, believe me, Hannah, I wanted to.’

‘Don’t try to soft-soap me. Just say what you’ve come to say, and then go away and leave me alone. I don’t want to see you ever again. Oh, and I’m formally revoking your invitation for Christmas dinner. You’re not welcome.’

Tom stood his ground. ‘I wasn’t in contact with you because I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I knew it would be a miracle if I could pull it off. I’ve been working round the clock since I left the bay to make it happen. But I can see not getting in touch was a mistake.’

Hannah was about to wade in again with a sarky ‘bully for you’ remark.

‘No, don’t interrupt. You’ve had your turn. It’s mine now. So I made what clearly was an ill-advised decision to come back to Emerald Bay and surprise you in person with the good news.’ He held his hands out, palms up, speaking with his body as much as his mouth as he added, ‘And obviously it’s backfired. Kitty did warn me you’re not good with surprises.’

She was definitely having words with Nan when she got home.

‘I’m lost.’ Hannah risked a glance at him, not wanting to be swayed from her moral high ground by his silver-grey eyes, intense in the dim light, or that mouth that tilted a little on the right-hand side.

‘This here’ – Tom’s arms swept around the cottage – ‘and the land, your reporter man was right. It has been sold.’

Hannah’s shoulders tensed.

‘But it hasn’t been sold to Judy and her husband’s company or any other developer.’

Now she was holding her breath.

‘A private trust for preserving these famine cottages has bought it.’

Hannah couldn’t believe what she was hearing and had to remind herself to breathe.

‘The cottage and the land will stay as it is. A testament to the past. You, Kitty and Freya did it. I can’t speak for Judy. You need to talk to her yourself, but I suspect her interest in this site was an excuse to be here in Emerald Bay. She’d already decided to pull out before she knocked on your door.’

It took a moment for the meaning of Tom’s words to sink in, and Hannah’s hands steepled in front of her mouth. Finally, she found her voice, still husky from the scream. ‘No, Tom. You did it. How, though? I mean, this is incredible.’

‘The honest answer to how would be Google initially. Then I pulled every string I could to get things signed, sealed and’ – he opened his Burberry and retrieved an envelope from the coat’s inner pocket – ‘delivered.’

‘So cheesy.’ Hannah couldn’t stop her smile as the last words of that line in the song rang out in her head – ‘I’m yours’. She took the envelope, shaking her head, still unable to believe what Tom had done.

‘There’ll be a celebratory hoolie in the Shamrock tonight,’ Hannah murmured, opening the envelope and scanning the copied document hungrily. It confirmed everything Tom had just said. She folded it up once more and passed it back to him. ‘This is incredible. Thank you.’ She wanted to say so much more as she shifted awkwardly from foot to foot.

‘So am I forgiven?’

‘I think it’s me who should be asking you that.’ Hannah swallowed hard. She didn’t apologise often, but she’d already done so once before to Tom, and when she did, it came from the heart.

‘Tom, I’m sorry I didn’t have more faith in you, but when you went silent’ – she raised her shoulders and then let them drop – ‘I assumed you’d written us off, me off, because the project was going ahead. But it was Judy’s connection I couldn’t wrap my head around. I felt betrayed, I suppose.’

She didn’t flinch when he tilted her chin, leaving her no choice but to meet his gaze. His pupils pulled her in, seeming to stare deep into her soul. Then she saw the sparkle in those silvern irises, lightening the moment.

‘So, am I allowed to come for Christmas, after all?’ Tom let go of her chin, and Hannah’s laugh sounded giddy.

‘Nan and Mam wouldn’t have it any other way.’ She began to babble then, a nervous reaction to his proximity. He was so close she could feel the warmth of his minty breath, making the pulse at the base of her neck flutter madly. She gabbled on about how he could expect a full table at the Shamrock this Christmas.

Tom interrupted, his schoolboyish cheekiness replaced by an earnest expression. ‘And what about you, Hannah? Would you have it any other way?’

Hannah knew what he was getting at. Suddenly, that piece of elastic stretched taut between them snapped, and she flung herself at him, her lips landing clumsily on Tom’s cheek.

‘Oh wow!’ he mumbled, honing in on her lips only to bump her nose with his glasses. They stayed there, the tips of their noses touching, and laughed over the clumsy encounter.

‘Maybe we should start over and slow it down,’ Tom suggested, reaching out to cup her face.

Hannah nodded, her lips parting in anticipation as he pulled her gently toward him. This time, it was perfect.

‘Ouch!’ Tom pulled back. ‘The little madam bit me.’

Princess Leia, the picture of innocence, sat at their feet, and Hannah began to giggle.

‘It’s not funny. I was enjoying that kiss immensely.’

‘Me too. You’re a very naughty girl, Princess Leia.’ Hannah could have been saying, Would you like milk in your tea? for all the strictness her tone conveyed.

Tom raised one brow. ‘Well, that told her.’

‘I don’t think she meant it. I think she was just letting us know she was back.’

‘If you say so.’ Then, pushing his glasses back up to sit on the bridge of his nose, Tom said, ‘Do you think we could do it again? Kiss, I mean.’

‘I think I’d like that very much.’

The second kiss was bolder. This time, Tom gripped Hannah’s waist while her hands were wrapped around his neck. His lips were soft, his breath sweet and hot. It was a kiss Hannah wanted to go on forever, and they only came up for air when Princess Leia began to yip impatiently. She was standing in the doorway by their feet, looking out the entrance to the land beyond, and Hannah swivelled to see what had set her off.

‘Well, would you look at that.’ Tom moved alongside Hannah, putting his arm around her shoulder. She leaned in close.

It was snowing.

Through the swirling flakes, Hannah saw movement and, squinting into the soft light, glimpsed a tall, broad-shouldered young man wielding a sléan as he cut into the earth. He paused in his task, wiped his brow and looked at Hannah. He was smiling and raised his hand. She held hers up, mirroring the gesture. ‘Granddad,’ she whispered. ‘Tom, look over there!’

But of course, when Tom followed the direction of her pointing finger, there was nothing but swirling snowflakes to be seen.

‘It’s nothing. I must have imagined it.’ She touched her index finger to her lip. They’d shared two kisses that had been interrupted. ‘You know I firmly believe in the power of three.’

‘An amazing coincidence because so do I,’ Tom replied, grinning as he spun her round gently to face him. He hesitated, glancing down at Princess Leia, who was hypnotised by the falling flurries. ‘This time, you’re not to interrupt, got it?’