The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 39

Daisy and Matt had almost finished the upstairs snag list when Matt’s phone rang.

“I have to take this, it’s work.” He shot her a look of apology.

“It’s fine, I’ve to make a quick call anyway.” Daisy headed down to the kitchen, and made the phone call she’d been dreading.

“Howya, Daisy,” Kenny said when he answered.

“Hi, Kenny.” Daisy took a deep breath, and filled him in on Todd’s suspicions.

“Jesus Christ!” Kenny said, when she’d finished.

Daisy braced herself for more, but Kenny just sighed heavily.

“It’s not your fault, Daisy, but it’s total bullshit.”

Daisy glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was still on her own. “Yeah, I know, Kenny. But I promised Matt I’d ask who was around the morning after the house party.”

“We had the whole crew there,” Kenny said shortly. “Your decorators only came later.”

Daisy hesitated. “When you say the whole crew, does that include Alec?”

“It does.” Kenny sounded disappointed. “Now lookit, I don’t want to rush you but –”

“No, it’s fine,” Daisy said, hurriedly. “Sorry I had to ask, Kenny.”

He muttered something Daisy couldn’t hear, and hung up.

She slipped outside, grateful to get some air, and furious with Kayley and Todd for throwing around groundless accusations. Pushing her hands deep into her pockets, she took a deep breath, and wandered down the central path that divided the kitchen garden into two halves.

Looking around, it was easy to imagine a time when the neat rows of growing plots had been full of herbs and vegetables, and fruit bushes had scrambled over the back wall that separated the garden from the orchard beyond.

She walked down to examine the tangle of branches and vines that wound around each other, trying to figure out what was there. As she got near the gate, she recognised Kayley and Todd’s raised voices on the far side of the wall.

Determined to avoid Kayley, Daisy turned to leave, but stopped as something caught her attention.

“I don’t blame you, Kayley,” Todd was saying. “This is his fault!”

Daisy couldn’t hear Kayley’s reply, and she wondered if they were talking about Tim. Daisy didn’t envy him. For a guy who was meant to be working on her image, Tim didn’t seem to be having much luck. She glanced towards the gate again. If she left now, she’d be gone before they could walk around and find her.

As she turned, her heel caught on some broken pavement, and she tripped, falling awkwardly onto her knee and elbow.

“ Shit! ” Daisy froze, clamping one hand over her mouth as she struggled to her feet.

Her ankle felt a bit tender, so she hobbled over to the stone bench near the wall, and sat down. She was massaging her ankle when she heard Todd’s voice again.

“Move back to the hotel, Kayley – you’d have your people looking out for you there!”

“You can look out for me here, Todd,” Kayley snapped. “I need you to trust me.”

“Goddammit, Kayley, we work together! How can I do my job when I have to drive to this godforsaken museum every time I want to see you?”

“You know why I’m here!” Kayley’s voice rose.

“Are you trying to completely fuck everything up again? You know we need to get your career back on track.”

“What don’t you understand, Todd? This is bonus material – the streamers are gonna eat it up!”

“Trashing somebody’s house?” Todd sounded exasperated. “Having all that stuff appear in the media?”

“Screw that!” Kayley swore loudly, and Daisy wondered if Matt had been taking drugs the day he’d agreed to let the singer and her entourage use his house.

What was the bonus material? God, what did it matter? She couldn’t hang out here forever! Daisy rubbed her shoulder, wincing as pain shot through her arm. She stood, putting her sore foot to the ground, gingerly testing her ankle. It hurt.

She hobbled carefully back through the garden.

Matt was in the kitchen. “Finished my call, sorry about that.”

“No, it’s grand. I, um , was just getting some fresh air.”

He frowned. “What’s wrong with your ankle?”

“Oh, just twisted it slightly. It’s grand.” She debated whether to mention the conversation she’d overheard. Probably better not!

“So, where were we?” Matt said.

As the conversation turned back to work, Daisy wondered if Matt would raise the topic of them again. He’d thrown the ball neatly into her court. It had been the same when they’d been together: he’d let her know what he wanted but he’d leave the final decision to her. Only remember how he used to sulk when he didn’t like that decision?

The thought gnawed at the edges of her mind. It was the reason he hadn’t got to know her family better. Whenever she’d invited him down to Oranmore, Matt would suddenly produce tickets for the cinema or tell her he’d planned to see a band they liked in Whelans. If she went home without him, he’d sulk for days.

She had to admit, James had always been good about coming down to Oranmore – until this last year or two when work had become his default excuse!

Part of her wished that Matt had never come back, that she’d never let him get close again. But actions spoke louder than words, and she couldn’t ignore what had happened between them the night of the storm. It was pretty clear that Matt wanted a second chance. She just needed the courage to talk to James.