The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 16

Daisy got home early the following evening to get ready for drinks with Laura and Brian in Pink Gin, the new cocktail bar at Grand Canal Dock that Laura had suggested. Although it would have made more sense to go straight from work, she was half-afraid that James would either forget, or just not bother to show, if she’d arranged to meet him there.

Slipping out of her shoes, she ignored the sounds of the TV from the sitting room, and headed to the kitchen to make tea and toast. With a mug of tea in her hands, she went into the sitting room, and stopped to stare at the little scene in front of her.

Alma was sitting cross legged on the sofa, singing in Swedish, while James was sitting beside her, picking out the guitar chords like they were practising for bloody Eurovision!

Daisy felt a bit sick. James used to play guitar all the time. They’d first met at a party, where he’d been making his way through his full repertoire of Ed Sheeran songs, including her favourite, ‘Lego House’, and she’d sung along, not caring that she was a terrible singer.

Now, she couldn’t remember the last time he’d even taken the guitar out of its case! But here he was, accompanying their bloody lodger. Who, admittedly, had a very sweet voice. Except that wasn’t the point.

“James?”

The two of them stopped and looked around.

“Oh, hey, love, I didn’t hear you come in.” James ran a hand through his hair. “Are you home long?”

“Just in.” Daisy’s gaze slid to Alma. Was it her imagination or did she actually seem annoyed at the interruption? She found her hard to read sometimes.

“What are you guys up to?” She tried to smile, but her face was hurting.

Alma gave her a puzzled look, and Daisy suddenly wished the toaster would explode, so she’d have an excuse to leave quickly.

James cleared his throat. “Alma asked if I still played.” He shot the other woman a sheepish smile. “I’m completely out of practice, but Alma’s got an unbelievable voice, right?”

Daisy reminded herself quickly that she’d caught them in a duet – not in a tangle of naked bodies. “Yeah, I agree, unbelievable. So, uh , do you want some tea and toast before we go out?”

“We’re going out?” James frowned.

Daisy took such a deep breath she felt momentarily lightheaded.

“For drinks with Laura and Brian? I thought that was why you were home early too.”

There was a brief silence. If James tried to wriggle out of this, she was going to stab him with a butter knife.

He sighed and stood his guitar against the wall. “Sorry, it slipped my mind.” He shrugged apologetically at Alma, who actually seemed to be sulking now. “I’ll go change.”

He was buttoning up a clean shirt when Daisy came into the bedroom shortly after.

“How come you agreed to go out with them?” He caught her eye in the mirror. “Brian does my head in.”

Daisy stepped up behind him, leaning into his back and wrapping her arms briefly around his waist. She felt him sigh, and then he closed his hands around hers.

“Me too,” she said. “But Laura asked us. It’ll be good for us to get out with friends. I mean, you don’t actually want to spend the whole evening hanging out with Alma, do you?”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. She sounded like a total bitch! A paranoid bitch! Except what if she was right? What if it was a sign?

James turned, his face flushed. “Hanging out with Alma?” He shook his head. “Will you listen to yourself? She lives here too. Would you prefer if I just ignored her?”

Shit, this wasn’t the right start to the evening!

“Of course I don’t want you to ignore her! Look, tonight should be a bit of craic.” Daisy smiled brightly. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

James gave a small shake of his head. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

After he left, Daisy plopped down on the bed. Things would get better, she thought. Maybe after Alma finally went back home. And when James figured out things at work. Meanwhile, tonight was exactly what they needed.

She should never have agreed to drinks this evening, Daisy decided a while later. The bar was too busy, and every single person in the place was too loud and happy. And, for the first time ever , she felt wrong in her favourite 1950s-style red-and- white polka-dot dress. She also decided that her feelings had nothing to do with her clothes and everything to do with Alma!

“So, how’s life with Jimmy and Daisy-flower?” Brian winked at Daisy.

She pinned on a smile and slowly counted to ten. She wished Laura had never told Brian about her parents’ pet names for her and Rosie. Her mother was right. The guy was a twat.

James muttered something and got up from the table.

Laura frowned as she watched him leave. “Is he okay?”

“Sure. Gone to the loos, I guess.”

Daisy kept her voice light, hoping he hadn’t just decided to leave. Not that she’d blame him – although she might have to kill him. “So, how did you two come across this place?”

“Came here with some of the work gang a few weeks’ ago.” Brian picked up his Jack and Coke. “Jesus, the craic we had that night!”

So it was Brian’s recommendation, not Laura’s. Brilliant! Daisy let her attention wander around, hoping to spot James, but stopped as another familiar face hove into view. Was that Matt? It looked like him. He seemed to be with a group, some of whom she vaguely recognised from their college days. What were the chances that he was here in the same place, on the same night, as her and James?

Her eyes slid sharply back to Brian. Had he somehow engineered this? Matt might have mentioned he was meeting up with friends – maybe he’d even asked Brian to join them. It couldn’t be a coincidence! She jumped a bit guiltily as James came back and sat down.

“What?” He frowned at Daisy.

“ Hmm? What?” Daisy smiled and did her best not to let her gaze slide back over to Matt.

“So.” Brian pointed his finger at James. “I hear you’re still sharing your place with that student, Allie or Millie, or something. Didn’t I see you guys hanging out the other day in town?”

“I doubt it,” James said tightly.

“Yeah, it was definitely you.” Brian flicked Daisy a look. “Short, blonde hair, right? The two of you were in Bewleys.”

Daisy found herself digging her nails into the fleshy part of her hand, her smile frozen in place as James seemed to think.

“Oh, right, yeah, I bumped into her in town. She was coming from college, and we had a coffee together.”

He threw back some of his drink, and Daisy got the feeling that he was deliberately avoiding looking at her.

“Why didn’t you come over and say hello?” he said to Brian.

Brian shrugged. “I had a meeting, so I didn’t really have time. Anyway, didn’t want to interrupt.”

“God, Brian!” Laura gave an embarrassed laugh.

James’ jaw tightened. “Why would you be interrupting?”

“No reason.” Brian grinned. “Can’t imagine what it’s like having someone live with you like that. I mean, your place is so small. Does she bring back friends? Boyfriends?”

“She prefers to go out to socialise.” James’ tone was even. “Daisy and I both respect her private life.”

In the silence that followed, Daisy pointed to her empty glass. “I’m going to get another one of these. Laura, what are you having?”

“I’ll come with you.” Laura slipped off her chair. “Same for you, lads?”

Daisy caught James’ expression as they turned to head to the bar, but for once she didn’t care. She was furious with him for not telling her that he’d had coffee with Alma in town, especially as she’d been caught off-guard in front of Laura and Brian. And she completely dismissed the little voice in her head reminding her that she was being a total hypocrite.

Instead, she turned her feelings of anger towards Brian. It was bad enough that he’d brought up Alma, but it was unbelievable that he’d made that stupid remark about the size of their house, given the fact that he and Laura were renting!

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” A woman with an armful of drinks glared at her.

Daisy muttered her apologies, before slightly changing her route to the bar. She wished she hadn’t told Laura that James had refused his parents’ offer to help them buy a bigger place. It was clear that Laura had mentioned it to Brian – who seemed to love making James doubt himself. Which was strange, she thought, remembering what a risk-taker James had been when she’d first met him, how confident he’d been about everything.

At the bar, Laura turned to her. “Let me get these.”

“Okay, thanks.” Daisy glanced surreptitiously around the room again, but there was no sign of Matt. Somebody elbowed her in the ribs as they jostled for a space at the bar, and she tapped Laura’s shoulder. “Back in a few.”

Without waiting for a reply, she weaved her way back through the bar and took sanctuary for a few minutes in the ladies’, washing her hands and touching up her make-up. As she came back out, her head smacked into the chest of a man going into the adjacent loos.

“Sorry!” She got her balance, and found herself looking up into very familiar, dark-blue eyes. “Matt!”

“If this was a film, that’d be our cute meet,” he said, smiling, and Daisy found herself laughing.

“Who are you here with?” she asked.

“Ah, you know, some of the old college gang. You?”

“ Um , James and Laura and Brian.”

He nodded and looked around. “Bit different to the sort of places we used to go to, isn’t it?”

“You mean those scruffy, student pubs?”

He looked at her. “I kind of miss them.”

There was that little spark again. Suddenly, she wished that everything could be like it used to be, and they could just leave and catch a late film somewhere.

“Excuse us.” Two women passed them on their way to the bathrooms.

Both of them eyed up Matt, Daisy noticed.

“I’d better get back,” she said. As she went to step away, she spotted James heading in their direction. “ Oh, shit! ”

“What?”

“James is coming over.”

Matt lifted an eyebrow. “What’s the problem?”

Daisy tried not to panic. She wasn’t sure if James would even recognise Matt – they hadn’t been in the same year in college – but she couldn’t chance it.

“He doesn’t know I’m working for you,” she said quickly. Did she have time to dive back into the loos? No, there was a bit of a queue now, and she couldn’t skip it. Any moment now, James would look up and see them.

Before she realised what he was doing, Matt pulled her around the corner out of James’ line of sight and stepped in close, effectively blocking her from the others at the far end of the bar.

He bent towards her ear. “Just don’t move for a few seconds.”

Daisy could feel her heart thumping against Matt’s chest as he was pressed closer to her. A door banged shut, and then Matt was stepping back and saying something.

“What?” She blinked up at him.

“I said he didn’t see you. Or me.”

“Right.” She wet her lips, aware that her heart was racing. “You could have just walked away, Matt! That was pretty risky!”

“Was it?” He looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It was just the first thing that came to mind.”

Daisy released a slow breath. Maybe she was overreacting. She’d panicked when she’d spotted James, and Matt had simply tried to help. For the sake of their professional relationship now, she’d let it go.

“I’d better get back.”

“Yeah, me too.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “See you soon?”

For a second she wasn’t sure what he meant. “At the house!” She managed a nod. “Yes, right.” Flashing him a tight smile, she stepped past him, and headed back across to their table.

Laura had already returned with the drinks – she must have done two trips, Daisy thought guiltily – and was sitting chatting quietly with Brian, their heads tipped intimately close. Daisy studied them for a few moments. From here, they seemed happy, in sync. Maybe she and James appeared that way too.

Laura spotted her, and sat up straighter.

“You okay, babes?” She frowned. “You look kind of flushed.”

“Just a bit warm.” Daisy sat back down, and took a sip of her drink, silently willing Laura not to draw any more attention to her. Why had she agreed to tonight? She loved Laura, but she had to know how much Brian seemed to dislike her and James. Maybe she and James could just leave after this round? She imagined them walking home, breathing in the night air while they held hands and chatted.

Except what would they talk about? She couldn’t bring up the subject of Alma again, or James would completely shut her down. The truth was, she was afraid if she pushed him too hard, she’d hear something she didn’t want to. Saying nothing was just ... easier for now.

She noticed Brian looking at something behind her and she froze, wondering if he’d spotted Matt. But then James sat down beside her.

“Thanks for the drink.” He picked up his beer and Daisy raised her glass.

“Cheers!”

“All right, James?” Brian said.

Daisy noticed that he gave Laura a tiny nudge and felt herself flash hot and cold. Had Brian and Laura spotted her and Matt together? Is that what they’d been talking about?

James smiled blandly at Brian, before turning to Laura. “So, are you entering that industry award this year?” he asked.

Laura pulled a face. “Probably not, I’ve nothing suitable.”

“Laura’s just starting a new project for a friend of hers who’s about to have triplets,” Daisy said, relieved that the conversation had moved on to something safe.

“Stephanie who used to live one floor down?” Brian said. “Aren’t they pretty much broke?”

“That was how we met,” Laura said quickly, “and we started doing the park run together. Anyway, their new place won’t have the wow factor, not on their budget. But Daisy’s job might.”

Automatically, Daisy glanced over to where Matt had been, but he and his friends seemed to have moved on. She widened her eyes slightly at Laura, before realising that Brian probably already knew that she was working on Matt’s house. Which meant he could out her at any moment.

Brian flicked her a sly look. “So what’s this job with the wow factor?”

Daisy felt herself grow hot and cold, as she wondered how far he’d push it. “I’ve nearly finished a house in Ranelagh but I’m still trying to persuade the owners to let me use it.”

He seemed to lose interest, and Daisy met Laura’s eyes in a question across the table.

In answer, Laura gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

Daisy glanced away. Laura mustn’t have told Brian. If he knew, she was certain he’d have brought it up. For the millionth time, she wondered what Laura saw in him. He hadn’t always been like this, had he? He’d seemed all right when she’d been with Matt. Although maybe he’d made the effort with her for Matt’s sake. Then again, who knew anything about someone else’s relationship? She’d thought she’d had the perfect relationship with Matt. And until recently she’d thought she and James were pretty secure. The reality was that she didn’t know anything anymore.

As she tried to tune in to something Laura had started chatting about, something else struck her. Matt was clearly in touch with Brian, which meant Matt hadn’t mentioned her either. But it wasn’t like they were doing anything wrong.

She sneaked a glance at James. If she wasn’t doing anything wrong, why was she keeping it from him? She’d convinced herself of the reasons why, but explaining it might be a lot more difficult.