The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 27

@Celebwatch88 idk but it seems @kayleylynch has piled on the weight since coming out of rehab – looks like she’s swapped vodka martinis for big macs

Granary House looked like a cross between a rehearsal studio and a film set by the time Daisy arrived on Monday. She slipped past a group of people taking cameras, microphones, sound booms and lighting equipment out of the back of a van, and carrying it into the long reception room, where Kayley seemed to be directing everyone.

James had been asleep when she’d got up, and she’d figured he’d work from home again, so she hadn’t woken him.

She stuck her head into the kitchen, glad to see the replastering of the old ceiling had started. As she came back up the three steps into the hall, she spotted Kayley’s manager standing outside the sitting-room door.

“They’re getting ready to record an interview,” Todd said quietly. “Matt’s in there too.”

“He’s watching it?” What happened to staying out of the way?

“He’s in it! Kayley thought it’d be cool to make him part of it: he’s got some patter about the history of the place. And Kayley’s talking about why she’s loving it here in Ireland. Listen, Daisy . . .”

Todd moved towards the front door, and Daisy followed him.

“Your guy with the man bun?” he said. “Talk to me!”

Daisy blinked. “That’s Alec, one of Kenny’s men.” Where was this going?

Todd gave a curt nod. “Kayley’s used to fans, you know? But she doesn’t have the same ones always hanging around, and we keep the crazies away. Man Bun’s comin’ on a bit strong so I need for you to talk with Kenny and tell his guy to back off.”

God, how had she suddenly got sucked into the world of a celebrity singer? Still, she had a job to do, and she’d do whatever she had to, to get it done.

“I’ll mention it to Kenny, I’m sure there won’t be a problem.”

She excused herself, and headed back through the kitchen and stepped out onto the patio, shivering slightly as she closed the door behind her. In the last half hour, the wind had picked up and huge clouds scudded darkly above – a clear sign that the latest storm of the year was on its way. She walked down through the walled garden, grateful that the half-acre of vegetable beds and walkways would be left undisturbed. At the end of the garden, she turned and looked back towards the house, assessing it critically. It looked well; it would look even better when they integrated the old conservatory into the new kitchen.

She spotted Niamh striding towards her, her dark curls pulled back from her face, a vape in her hand.

“Hey.” Daisy gave a friendly smile. “How are the electrics coming along? Any problems?”

Niamh shook her head. “I’ve got it. I just wish certain people would let me do my job!”

Daisy frowned. “How do you mean?”

Niamh took a puff of her vape. “Kayley Lynch! Absolute weapon! She’s here about three seconds and she thinks she owns the place. This morning when I was talking to Matt, she appears from nowhere and has the cheek to send me off on some lame job. And, like, Matt’s way too polite to say anything to her.”

Daisy nodded sympathetically. Matt was in a difficult position, but there was no point trying to explain to Niamh that he had to keep Kayley happy.

“Look, all I know is that they’re recording some interview this morning, and they wanted Matt to be part of it because he owns the house. And they’ve probably a schedule to keep.”

“Right, because the rest of us have nothing to do.” Niamh kicked at the ground.

Daisy thought for a moment. “Whatever Kayley wants you to do, just run it by me or Kenny.”

Niamh rolled her eyes. “It’s not like she’s even an A-lister. Anyway, whatever.” She tucked the vape into a pocket in her work trousers, and stalked back towards the house.

Daisy sighed, then turned slowly around. From here, she could just make out the nearest neighbouring house. It was at least a half a mile from Granary House, and on higher ground. By comparison, Granary House was in a valley. Hopefully that would mean any concertgoers would get a decent amount of shelter if the weather were to turn bad.

As the first heavy drops of rain started to fall, Daisy went back inside to start her work.

Matt and Niamh were laughing together in the kitchen when Daisy came in to grab some lunch, and Daisy was relieved that Niamh seemed to have forgotten about her earlier annoyance. A job was only as good as every member of the team and, given the deadline they had to meet, she couldn’t afford to have Kayley make things difficult.

She caught Matt’s eye as she put on the kettle, which was now on a tray on the stone floor in a corner of the room.

“That’s pretty heavy rain out there,” he said.

“Yup.” Daisy straightened, flashing Niamh a quick smile. “We’re due another storm.”

“Are you afraid of thunder and lightning, Niamh?” Matt flicked Daisy a sly glance, and she flushed hotly.

“Like, when I was five!” Niamh sounded indignant.

Matt arched an eyebrow. “I’ll bet you were a cute kid.”

Niamh burst into giggles, and Daisy suppressed a grin. She’d almost forgotten what a tease he could be.

Her phone rang and she wandered into Matt’s study to answer it, closing the door behind her. “Hi, Mum.”

“Hi, Daisy.” Miriam paused. “Tell me if it’s a bad time, loveen?”

“No, I’m grand, Mum.”

Miriam sighed. “That’s what I’m wondering, now.”

It was the party, Daisy thought. Her mother probably knew that she and Matt had spent time together at her birthday party – a long time.

“Your cousin Izzy has that tango up on her Instagram story, Daisy.”

Daisy felt a bit sick. “Can you see his face, Mum?”

“Ah, Daisy, will you listen to yourself? If you weren’t doing anything wrong, you wouldn’t be asking that. James doesn’t even know Matt was there, does he?”

“No, Mum, and he doesn’t have to!” Daisy lowered her voice. “James isn’t friends with anyone I’m friends with on social – apart from Rosie and Séan.”

“That’s not really the point.”

Miriam’s voice was gentle, but Daisy felt a flare of annoyance.

“We were catching up, having fun. It was my birthday – I was allowed to have fun!” Great, now she sounded like her teenage self. She took a deep breath. “Try not to worry, Mum. We weren’t doing anything wrong.” Not much.

“I know, loveen. I don’t mean to throw cold water on it for you.” There was a brief pause. “While I think of it, I was hoping you could do me a small favour.”

“Anything, Mum.”

“Could you get Kayley Lynch’s new album, and ask her to sign it? As an anniversary present for your dad from me. Rosie told me that she’s using Matt’s house for rehearsals, or something.”

“Consider it done.” Daisy heard a noise outside the door. “ Uh , I’d better go, Mum, I’ll stay in touch.”

“Be careful. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mum.” Daisy hung up, and slipped her phone back in her pocket. Her mother hadn’t warned her to be careful since she’d first come to Dublin for college!

The door opened and Matt came in.

“Sorry,” Daisy said. “I’ll get out of your way.”

Matt smiled. “No rush.”

Daisy folded her arms. “So, fair warning: a lot of the carpentry is going to have to be done indoors today.”

“I’ll use headphones.” Matt walked further into the room. “I think Kayley and her team were hoping to get some shooting done in Powerscourt today, but I reckon they just ended up going back to the hotel. That weather is shite.”

Daisy grinned. “There you are.”

“There I am what?” Matt looked amused.

“That just sounds a bit more like you, that’s all. Like you used to sound.”

“Like I never left?” Matt’s expression closed, and Daisy wished she hadn’t said anything.

Upstairs, Kenny and his team had started work on the three smaller bedrooms.

“ Be careful, boss! ” Alec’s voice stopped her at the door of one of the rooms, and he pointed to the floor.

“Circular saw, right! Thanks, Alec.”

He grinned, and shot her a cheeky wink.

Her mother’s warning wasn’t necessary, Daisy thought. She just had to go with her gut.

“ We’re off, Daisy.” Kenny eyed her carefully. “You’d be as well heading home yourself. That rain is bucketing down, you don’t want to get stuck on any of these roads.”

Matt laughed. “It always looks a bit worse out here in the country. It’ll be fine. Anyway, thanks for everything today, lads, I really appreciate it.”

Kenny gave Matt a brief, hard look, before nodding curtly at Daisy. “Will I see you tomorrow, then?”

“ Um .” Daisy thought for a moment. “No, probably not. Phone if you need me.”

Kenny nodded. “Mind yourself, now.”

Matt smiled widely as he held the door open, shutting it as soon as Kenny and the others left. He turned to Daisy, who was leaning against the wall. “Why do I get the feeling that Kenny doesn’t like me?”

“Are you buying him the good biscuits?”

“Chocolate Mikados.”

“I wouldn’t worry, then. Kenny can be a bit grumpy until you get to know him, but he’s actually great.” She wondered if Kenny was still annoyed by what Todd had said about Alec.

“Alec hasn’t done anything inappropriate,” he’d told Daisy. “He’s probably just a bit starstruck, that’s all.”

Daisy couldn’t imagine Alec being starstruck, but she’d simply said that she’d leave things with him.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Matt said now, as he walked down the hall to her. Daisy caught a hint of his aftershave: woodsy and subtle. “Hey.” He gave her a long look.

“Hey, yourself.” She tried to wet her lips.

“We could stand here, I guess.”

“ Um .” A slow flush crept along her neck. “Kenny’s right, I should probably head off.”

“Stay for a coffee? I always have one around this time.”

Daisy shook her head. “How do you ever sleep?” The moment the words slipped out, she remembered he’d always been a restless sleeper, waking frequently during the night, sometimes getting up to smoke a joint. She wondered if he was still the same. And if he’d guessed what she was thinking.

“I can make decaf, or tea, if you prefer.” Matt’s voice was light.

She should definitely go. But things had felt a bit off earlier, and she told herself it was important for the job to make sure they maintained a good relationship. “Yeah, okay. A coffee.”

He smiled. “Come on, we’ll go next door.”

Daisy took her time to look around the small, open-plan guest wing, as Matt made coffee. Had it been a good idea to stay? Now that she was off the clock, being alone with Matt threatened to stir up too many old feelings. One coffee, she told herself, then she’d leave.

“How did your movie debut go earlier?”

He laughed, and handed her a mug. “It was interesting.”

“Interesting good?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting to be involved in her documentary.”

Daisy nodded. “By the way, I think Niamh felt Kayley was ordering her around today.”

Matt looked thoughtful. “Niamh’s a sweet kid, but she’s probably a bit insecure. And I get the impression this is her first really big job, because she asks my opinion about Every – Single – Thing .”

He opened his eyes wide, and Daisy grinned.

“Probably. Still, I told her that if Kayley asks her to do anything, she should run it by me or Kenny first.”

“That’s hardly necessary, Daisy.”

Daisy wondered how Matt had just managed to undermine her, and dismiss Niamh so easily. Before she could say anything, lightning streaked through the sky, and moments later thunder rumbled loudly.

Daisy shivered as she peered out the window. “It’s a good thing Kayley and her crew got away at lunch.”

“Yeah, the road’s probably flooded.” Matt was matter of fact. “You might have to stay.”

Daisy took a shaky breath. “I thought you’d be desperate for some peace and quiet.”

Matt smiled. “This is peace and quiet.”

Don’t read anything into that, Daisy. She cradled the mug in her hands, and distracted herself by watching as rivulets of water ran along the deep stone sills outside.

“That’s pretty bad rain.” She frowned. “I presume you were able to get insurance for this place?”

“It cost a bit more than I’d have liked, but yes.”

Why were they talking about weather and house insurance? Maybe they’d never talk about what happened. Maybe that’s what Matt wanted. It was easier to ignore, she supposed.

“I’d better go.” She was dreading the journey home in a thunderstorm, but she had no choice.

She shrugged quickly into her jacket and grabbed her bag.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” she said. “Kenny and the decorators will be back in the morning.”

In the hall, she opened the door, pointed her key fob at the car and dashed out, trying to avoid the puddles.

As she closed the driver’s door, the windows steamed up, and she switched on the engine, yanking up the heater and setting the highest wiper speed. She glanced up to see if Matt was still there, but he’d closed the door.

As the windows cleared, she turned the car and started down the driveway, trying to remember where the potholes were. The second she drove through the gate and turned left onto the small road that led to the main road, she realised the river had burst its banks.

“ Shit. ’ Daisy slowed to a stop and assessed the road. Maybe she could drive really slowly.

“ Daisy! ”

She jumped. Matt was standing at the passenger side of her car, knocking at the window. He’d dragged on a raincoat, but his hair was soaking wet, and rain streamed down his face.

She whizzed down the window a couple of inches.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to stop you getting completely stuck. I’ve just seen this road from upstairs, and you won’t get through tonight. I’m really sorry.”

“Matt, I have to!”

He slicked his hair off his face. “Come back to the house and see for yourself. If you try to go on, you’ll need a boat to rescue you.”

“Okay.” Daisy exhaled. “Get in.”

Matt slid in beside her. Daisy reversed carefully back through the gate, and then drove back to the house.

Back in the guest wing, she peeled off her coat as Matt turned up the thermostat.

“Maybe I could call a taxi to come to the main road, and I could walk up to meet it there,” she said, shivering.

“Daisy, we’re a mile from the motorway! You’d basically be wading through a mile of river – it’s too dangerous.”

“ Shit! I should have left with Kenny. He obviously got out in time.”

Matt sighed. “I’ll report it now, although I’m not sure what good it’ll do. The river should subside naturally – enough to drive through. Let me get you some dry clothes.”

As Matt went upstairs, Daisy messaged James. Working at client’s house in Wicklow, road badly flooded so staying over. Back tomorrow xx

She was putting her phone away just as Matt reappeared.

“I’ve left some towels and dry clothes in the bedroom for you, and I’ll throw some frozen dinners in the oven.”

He flashed her an apologetic look, and Daisy managed a nervous smile.

It wasn’t his fault that the river had burst its banks, or that she was stuck here for the night. And at least she didn’t have to go out into that storm. The universe seemed to be throwing them together: she just had to follow the signs.