The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 33

There was no sign of James or Alma when Daisy got home that evening. As she went upstairs to change, she wondered if James had been feeling well enough to go into the office for a while. She had her blouse unbuttoned as she opened their bedroom door but stopped short at the little scene that greeted her. James was in bed, and sitting beside him, on the art-deco chair Daisy had inherited from her aunt, was Alma.

“What the – ?” She scrambled to button up her blouse again.

“Oh, sorry!” Alma stood, looking a bit confused as she realised Daisy had been undressing.

“No bother.” Daisy looked directly at James. “What’s going on?”

“James has a high temperature,” Alma said before he could reply. She pointed to the thermometer on the bedside locker, and Daisy picked it up.

“It’s 39.2. Did you take Paracetamol?”

He nodded. “I feel like shit. Alma made me some real chicken soup.”

He smiled at Alma, and Daisy forced herself to smile at her too.

“Brilliant, thanks, Alma. Listen, you can get back to whatever you’re doing.”

“I’m going out with a friend who’s visiting from Sweden. James was recommending a good place to eat.”

She gave James a look that Daisy couldn’t read. It was like some secret language they had, Daisy thought, feeling a stab of pain behind her eyes.

Alma opened the door. “There’s more soup in the pot if you want it.”

She left and Daisy sat down on the bed.

“That was good of her to make the soup,” she said carefully.

“Yeah, she’s great.” He leaned back against the headrest. “How was last night? Must have been a bit weird having to stay with those people in Wicklow.”

“Ah no, it was grand.” Heat flashed to her face. “They had a spare room so I had an early night, and the road was cleared this morning.”

“Was there bad flooding?”

“Bad enough.” Better not to be too specific.

James grimaced. “The storm wasn’t even that severe. Imagine living there!”

Daisy gave a vague nod. It wouldn’t put her off moving back to the country, but James had grown up in Dublin and she knew he found it difficult to imagine anything other than city life. It was Matt who’d surprised her the most. When they’d been a couple, he’d probably come down to Oranmore a handful of times, because he’d claimed it had been miles from anywhere interesting. Daisy figured that living in a busy, noisy city had made him appreciate the upsides of rural life.

“So, what were you and Alma chatting about?” she said.

He shrugged. “Just what she was telling you, really.”

A coldness settled in her stomach. She’d never doubted James until this last year. Deep down, she knew he was hiding something from her. Unless he wasn’t bothering to hide anything! What if all the signs were there, right in front of her, and she’d been ignoring them? What if James was just waiting for the right moment to end things, or worse, hoping she’d make the first move?

He slid back down under the covers. “I’m wrecked, I’m just going to get some sleep.”

“Right.” Daisy was relieved to get away. “Let me know if I can get you anything.”

As she slipped out of the room, James had already closed his eyes.

Alma was in the hall when she came downstairs.

“Have a good night.” Daisy forced herself to smile again.

“Thank you.” Alma paused. “I was looking at videos of the flooding in Wicklow.”

“Yes – it was very bad.”

“I read that Kayley Lynch is going to be gigging in Wicklow. At an old house?”

Daisy did her best to sound disinterested. “Yeah, I’ve heard that too.” Before Alma could say anything else, she excused herself and walked into the kitchen, closing the door firmly behind her. Oh God! Did Alma guess that she was working there? Was it some sort of game that she was playing?

Leaning her hip against the wall, she stared out at their tiny patio. It wasn’t the only game Alma was playing. There was definitely something up with her and James.

But it was really just a feeling. She had no actual evidence that there was anything going on. For now, the best course of action was to do nothing.