The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 43

MyStarScope Taurus: As a current project draws to a close, you have an important decision to make. Decide wisely.

Daisy arrived at Matt’s house on Friday morning, her car packed with lamps, throws, cushions, candles and other small items for the house.

Adding the finishing touches was normally one of her favourite parts of a job – it was the client’s chance to see the final important details fall into place. But all Daisy felt was panic that she’d have no excuse to see Matt anymore. Even though they both knew the truth, she wondered if too much had happened, if their lives had changed too much to fix things now.

She also knew that things were building to a head with James. It was clear that he’d told Alma about the App before he’d even told her! It seemed nuts to even share something like that with the student who rented from them, but it was another sign of how close they were. She’d hoped to find time to talk to him properly, but she’d barely seen him since Saturday afternoon, because he was trying to “iron out some problems with the deal”, whatever that meant.

Daisy was lifting the first box out of the car when she heard Matt talking to someone. She glanced around, trying to locate him, before she realised he was around the side of the house. She was about to announce herself, when he mentioned her name.

She hesitated, hugging the box a bit tighter to her. She shouldn’t listen – it was none of her business. Maybe just for a minute ...

For a few moments she listened for another voice, but when she only heard Matt’s, she realised he must be on the phone.

“I made a big mistake ... totally screwed up, Charlie ... see her today ... I don’t know if she …”

Daisy held her breath. He was talking to his brother. About her!

“... not that easy ...”

Daisy’s mind raced to catch up with her heartbeat. He’d just said he’d made a mistake breaking up with her. Hadn’t he? What else could it be? He said he was going to see her today! Here she was – he was going to see her in a couple of minutes! She didn’t know if she was ready. Sounded like he was going to ask for a second chance.

Matt had stopped talking. Shit, she couldn’t be standing here if he walked around to the front of the house. Except if he wanted to ask her something, maybe he’d see it as a sign that she was here, on her own, standing in the driveway! Crap, maybe not, though. She heard the crunch of gravel, and sped to the open front door. Inside, she put down the box and tried to calm her breathing.

She tried to rationalise her feelings. Did she want a second chance with him? What would that even look like? The same as before? Maybe she’d move into Granary House with him. Interior architect finds second-chance happiness with her first love and lives happily-ever-after in her award-winning dream home. But she didn’t want to hurt James! Except would she be hurting him when all the signs …

She went back out to the car.

Matt had started to unpack it for her.

“Oh, hi.” She flicked her hair, hoping he’d put her flushed face down to the exertion of carrying boxes.

“Hi, yourself.” He grinned. “I assume we’re taking all this in?”

“Yes.” Work talk: safe. “These are the finishing touches. I always buy them in person. It’s one of my favourite parts of the job.” She sounded a bit breathless, she realised. Breathe, Daisy.

“Because it means you’re nearly finished?” He pulled a sad face but, when she laughed, said, “I should have asked you to completely redesign the guest wing.”

Was this the moment? If all the signs were there, shouldn’t she be sure? She lifted two more bags out of the back of the car and followed him into the house.

“I’ve something for you, hang on.”

Oh my God, what?

He went into the study, and re-emerged with what looked like a large painting covered in brown paper. “I thought you might like it.”

Daisy tore down a small corner of the paper, her heart thumping as she tore the rest away to reveal a life-size painting of her younger self, sitting curled up in an armchair. She glanced up at Matt, then back down at the painting with her mother’s signature in the bottom right-hand corner. Peering closer, she recognised a small, silver star-shaped earring in her left ear. She’d made them when she’d been in college, but had only worn them for a short time before managing to lose them on a night out in Dublin.

“Mum painted this from a photo of me one Christmas when I was home.”

“It’s good,” said Matt. “She’s very talented.”

Daisy nodded. “She is.”

“You look like you’re trying to solve the world’s problems there,” he teased.

Only a few, she remembered. That had been the last Christmas she and Matt had been together before he’d left. As always, she’d invited him down to Oranmore for a few days and, as always, he’d refused.

As she stared at the painting, she wished she could travel back to that moment and warn her younger self that her life was about to go spectacularly wrong unless she could prevent a simple misunderstanding.

She looked up at Matt. “How did you get this?”

“Remember the day I was looking at that website to buy some art for the house, and you mentioned that your mum painted? Well, she has her own website.” He paused. “I wanted to try to make it up to you for thinking the worst of you that summer, Daisy. When I saw this, it felt like the right thing to do.”

She nodded, struggling to understand her feelings. It was a thoughtful gesture. But did he really think it could go any way towards “making it up” to her for believing the worst of her? And what had that conversation with Charlie been about? She shifted her weight, starting to feel a bit awkward as the silence stretched.

“Thanks.” She managed a small smile. “I’ll go put it in the car.”

Matt’s phone rang. “I have to take this, excuse me.”

He walked away, and Daisy had the uneasy feeling that she’d let an opportunity pass. If Matt wasn’t going to say anything, shouldn’t she have said something herself?

Only what would she say? It was pathetic, but her thoughts about Matt and James were as woolly as the cute hand-knit jumpers in her wardrobe. With a sigh, she carried the painting out to her car, sliding it in behind the two front seats, before lifting the next box out of the boot. Now she just had to figure out how to explain it to James.

The painting was still in Daisy’s car when she collected Rosie from Heuston Station later that evening. There was something different about her, Daisy thought, as Rosie slid into the passenger seat, leaning over to give Daisy a brief hug.

“Thanks for picking me up,” Rosie said, as Daisy drove back up the quays.

Daisy glanced over. “No bother. Will you get some shopping done while you’re here?”

“Ah, maybe,” Rosie said. “It’s just good to get away.”

Daisy frowned, trying to figure out exactly what Rosie was saying. “Is everything okay at home? You and Séan all right?”

“Of course!” Rosie tutted. “And the kids are grand. I told you, I just needed a break.” She looked like she was about to say something else, then shrugged. “I got my hair cut, what do you think?”

“The shoulder-length suits you,” Daisy said, honestly. “It frames your face like that.” When Rosie smiled, she added, “Freya really appreciates this, by the way.”

Rosie’s smile widened. “Would I have met her at your birthday party?”

“No – she’s not a friend, just a client. But she’s stuck, so ...”

“Once she understands that I can’t give her an official diagnosis while I’m still on a career break.”

“I told her.” Daisy remembered how relieved Freya had looked when she’d told her that Rosie had agreed to assess Holly.

“This isn’t about labelling her,” Freya had said, firmly. “It’s about helping us understand if there’s any issues. Just to make things easier for us and for her.”

Rosie opened her window a couple of inches. “How’s James?”

Daisy opened her mouth to say he was fine, but found she couldn’t get the words out. She had no idea how James was anymore, or what he was thinking most of the time. She wondered if Rosie would notice anything this weekend. Maybe she’d push her to do something; something would be better than nothing. She tried to imagine what her life would be like without James. She’d be free to give Matt that second chance. Which was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She gripped the wheel a bit tighter.

“Daisy?” Rosie interrupted her thoughts. “Is everything all right?”

“Absolutely.” Daisy concentrated hard on the road. “I was just thinking.”

“You definitely have enough space for me to stay, don’t you?”

Daisy glanced over. “There’s a sofa bed,” she said patiently.

“A sofa bed,” Rosie repeated.

Daisy stopped at red lights at O’Connell Bridge, and searched for a change of topic. “Did you know that Mum has a website?”

“ What? ” Rosie whipped around to look at her.

The light turned green and Daisy pulled off again.

“ For her art? ” Rosie asked.

“Yep.” Idly, Daisy wondered if their mother’s self-portrait was on it. Probably. Why wouldn’t it be? It was one of the best things her mum had ever painted. She’d worn no clothes and no make-up – and she’d painted herself honestly. She realised suddenly that she didn’t care who saw it – her mother should be incredibly proud.

“Did Mum tell you?” Rosie demanded.

“ Er , no, actually.” Daisy gestured vaguely in the direction of the back seat. “Matt discovered it.”

Rosie peered around her seat. “Christ, that’s not it, is it?”

Daisy spluttered with laughter. “Ah come on, that’d be too weird. No, it’s one of me that Mum painted from a photo she took some years ago.”

“And he just happened to discover Mum’s website and decided he’d buy this for you?” Rosie sounded incredulous.

“Well, yeah.” Daisy shrugged. “It’s kind of a long story, to be honest.”

“Good thing we have the weekend, isn’t it?” Rosie paused. “Have you seen the website? Is the self-portrait there?”

“No idea,” Daisy said.

“Because if it is,” Rosie sounded grim, “I know exactly what we’re going to do.”