The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 49

Fionn was quiet during the drive down to Granary House that evening, but Daisy put it down to nerves about his imminent meeting with Kayley.

“She’s actually pretty nice, Fionn.” Daisy was certain Kayley would be charming to her fans. She glanced over. “You’re not still worried about that storm? It’s over a day away!”

Fionn peered out the window. “The experts don’t always get it right, Daisy. Sometimes it’s about looking and reading the sky.”

Daisy turned off the main road into the side road that skirted the Hevren, and led to the Granary House drive. She could understand Fionn’s concerns: the sky was dark and the air was starting to feel heavy. Still, all the storms this year had been accurately predicted.

She swung carefully off the road, through the gates and down the drive, pulling the car to a stop at the house and changing quickly out of her runners into the shoes she’d brought.

“Stop stressing, Fionn, it’ll be fine.”

Fionn started to say something but at that moment Matt opened the front door.

“Welcome to my humble abode!” He raised the glass of wine he was holding as they got out of the car. “Fionn? I think we’ve spoken a couple of times on the phone.”

“Yeah. Thanks for inviting me.”

Matt stepped back to let Daisy and Fionn into the hall, where a delicious aroma of food drifted up from the kitchen.

“Come on down,” he said, slapping Fionn on the back. “Beer or wine?”

How long would they be here, Daisy wondered. Better not to chance drinking when she had to drive a bit later. “Water or juice for me, thanks, Matt,” she said.

“I’d love a glass of wine,” Fionn said. He turned to Daisy. “I adore the house.” He stepped down into the kitchen. “Oh my actual God!”

Daisy gave herself a moment to enjoy Fionn’s reaction, as he walked around the newly extended room, inspecting everything. She was incredibly proud of Granary House’s redesign, and a little sad that after tonight she’d have no reason to see it again. Unless she and Matt stayed in touch. But how likely was that? Did she even want that? Did Matt?

Still, it was obvious that Matt had been holding back. Rosie was wrong – it was becoming clear that he’d been waiting until the job was finished, to sort things out between them.

“So, is Kayley joining us for dinner, Matt?” Daisy asked. At this rate, she wouldn’t be surprised if Matt had invited the whole of her band to eat with them. Still, he definitely had the room!

“Nope. She’ll be along later. She’s been in Dublin with Tim doing interviews so as far as I know she’s on her way back now.”

Daisy had opened her mouth to ask what interviews she’d done when the patio door slid open. It took her a moment to recognise Niamh as she stepped inside, shrugging out of a short raincoat.

“Niamh?”

It wasn’t just the clothes that made her look completely different. Her make-up was different – less goth and more subtle. And she’d straightened her hair!

Niamh crossed her arms. “I didn’t know you’d be here, Daisy.”

“I’ve a last bit of business with Matt,” Daisy said pleasantly. “I assume you were helping the crew with the repairs.”

“Niamh agreed to help the crew repair all the electrics for the concert,” Matt said. “I insisted she stay for dinner. Kenny’s not long gone. He and Kayley’s crew worked all day fixing the stage.”

“Are you going to the concert tomorrow night, Niamh?” Daisy asked.

“I wasn’t able to get tickets,” Niamh deadpanned.

“Come, anyway!” Matt waved an airy hand. “I’ll let you in from this side.”

Niamh smiled at Matt and shot Fionn a pointed look.

“I’m Fionn, I work for Daisy.”

“Cool.” Niamh turned to Matt. “Can I help you serve up?”

“So, like I know all redesigns are pretty exciting and, hey, no job too big or too small,” Fionn said a while later, as they sat around the table, “but this place must stand out, right? I mean, look at it!”

Daisy started to say something, but Niamh cut across her. “Totally, yeah. It’s been a real labour of love for me.” She flicked back her hair and smiled warmly at Matt.

Daisy coughed as some rice caught in her throat and she reached for her glass of water. She’d have taken bets that Niamh would never want to see the house again. Maybe she was just good at separating her personal feelings from the job.

Matt returned Niamh’s smile. “It was a real pleasure to have you here. Could I take your number?”

Colour flashed to Niamh’s face, but before she could reply, there was a drumming sound above their heads and they looked up to see large, heavy raindrops falling on the old conservatory roof.

Matt turned to peer out the door. “When did it start to rain?”

“Just now, I think,” Daisy said. “It wasn’t raining when we arrived.” She glanced over at Fionn. “Probably just a shower.”

Niamh looked at Matt. “If those winds pick up again, all the electrics will be destroyed.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Daisy said, noticing Matt’s expression.

Matt turned to Fionn. “So, tell us about your internship? Have you been able to get out on site a lot?”

The conversation drifted to more general topics, and Daisy let her attention wander back to Niamh. How had she not noticed that she’d developed a crush on Matt? Judging by her reaction a few minutes ago, she’d misunderstood him – she hadn’t realised that he’d just wanted to have the number of an electrician.

She wondered if Matt knew. But, watching him as he chatted to Fionn, she was willing to bet he hadn’t a clue. For Niamh’s sake, she hoped she’d forget about him now the job was over.

As they lingered over tea and coffee, Daisy met Matt’s eyes across the table, and knew he was thinking the same thing as her: It was time they talked.

“ Um , Niamh, Matt and I have a few things to discuss, so I was hoping you could show Fionn around?”

Niamh frowned. “The house?”

“And the gardens, if it’s not too wet. I’m sure you’d love to see the stage design, Fionn?”

Fionn’s eyes lit up. “Do you think we could knock at the guest wing? Kayley should be back now, right?”

Niamh looked at Fionn as if he was an annoying little brother, before sighing and pushing her chair back from the table. “We won’t be long.”

Matt shot her a bemused look. “Take your time.”

Daisy waited until they’d left.

“So.” She looked at Matt.

He poured some more wine. “You sure you won’t have one glass?”

“No, thanks. Um , I have the form here.” She took it out of her bag and slid it across the table with a pen.

As Matt scrawled his signature across the bottom of the page, she waited for the rush of euphoria she normally felt. But there was nothing.

“I’m glad this has worked out for you,” he said.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I think we’ve got a fighting chance at the award.”

Matt paused. “I’ll be honest … I had a pretty good idea you’d pitch for this job.”

“You did?” Daisy buttoned up the short cardigan she’d worn with her dress.

“When I told Brian I was buying this place, he mentioned the annual award. I knew this kind of project would be perfect for it.”

“Right.” A thought struck her. Something she somehow hadn’t considered before. “Matt … if I hadn’t pitched for the job, would you have got in touch at all?” She found herself holding her breath.

“Yes,” he said, after a moment. “I would have contacted you – asked you to do it. I knew you’d do a good job. And I did want to see you, Daisy.”

So what had priority? Getting his house expertly fixed up or seeing her? She suddenly had a slightly sick feeling in her stomach.

There was a distant rumble which Daisy hoped wasn’t thunder, and she forced herself to focus on Matt. She needed closure on all this.

“I know you thought I’d cheated on you that summer.” She kept her voice even. “If you hadn’t been so stupid, Matt, you’d never have believed that.” Hadn’t she believed the same of James and Alma?

“I’ve already apologised, Daisy.” There was an edge to Matt’s voice now.

“Yeah, I know.” It didn’t matter – she didn’t want him back. All this time it seemed she’d been misreading the signs, but none of it mattered now. She had to figure things out, and Matt wasn’t the answer. She took a deep breath. “What did you want to talk about tonight?”

“Firstly, I wanted to thank you for all this.” Matt gestured around the room. “You should be very proud.”

Daisy smiled politely. She couldn’t pinpoint why, but the compliment sounded intensely patronising. “It was a group effort: it always is.”

Granary House had been the Holy Grail, and she’d had carte blanche for its redesign. But she hadn’t got the expected dopamine hit. And something else was scratching at the edges of her mind.

“Do you remember the other day when I told you James had been fired over a deal he’d lost?” Daisy looked closely for a reaction, but Matt’s face was blank. “You asked me was I okay. You didn’t ask me anything about James, though.” For a moment, she thought Matt would pretend not to remember.

Then he smirked. “Why would I be interested in James?”

She allowed herself a brief, painful moment to think about James. He probably hated her. He’d definitely never trust her again. She wouldn’t blame him.

“What exactly have you got against him? I know you bought that new travel app. Did you know that James was trying to buy it?”

Matt shot her a hard look, but Daisy dug her fingernails into the soft flesh around her thumb, and forced herself to wait.

“Brian told me that James wanted it.”

He could have been talking about the weather, Daisy thought, as she stared at him in horror. But the worst part was that she’d told Laura, who must have mentioned it to Brian. This was all her fault.

“I just offered them a better deal.” Matt shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult, given your boyfriend’s moral compass when it comes to business.”

Daisy folded her arms tightly across her chest, trying to steady herself. “What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Daisy, don’t pretend.”

Her mind raced. This was crazy! Matt knew nothing about James – they’d never even met!

He sighed heavily. “Do you remember what Charlie and I were working on before I did my internship?”

“Sort of.”

“Of course you do.” His voice hardened. “It was an idea: a well-developed one for new airline software. The problem was we didn’t have the investors, but we’d have got them. We’d planned to start pitching it when I got home.”

Daisy had a sudden, awful feeling she knew where this was going.

“Only when I was away, James approached Charlie and persuaded him to sell it for a fucking pittance.” Matt’s expression matched his voice. “I assumed you’d told him about our idea, and about us having no money.”

Her mouth dried. “I didn’t tell James a thing. I didn’t even know him then, remember? By the time you were doing post-grad, he was working and looking for opportunities to start up by himself. So he had his ear to the ground, just as he does now.”

Vaguely, she was aware that the rain seemed to be getting heavier. It didn’t seem important anymore.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter how he found out,” Matt was saying. “He robbed us: he and his investors got to develop our idea, and made millions from it, while we got nothing.’

Daisy knew for a fact that James hadn’t made millions, but now didn’t seem the right time to argue on that point. She glanced at the signed form in front of her.

She should just put it in her bag and go find Fionn. She needed to leave. She wouldn’t have to see Matt again unless Granary House was placed in the competition. It might even win.

The irony was, she couldn’t do it anymore. Not after what Matt had done. He hadn’t just hurt her – he’d hurt James. She had no idea if her relationship with James was over, but she knew he’d never betray her the way Matt had. He’d never deliberately hurt the people closest to her. Before she was tempted to change her mind, she ripped up the form.

“What are you doing?” Matt stared at her.

“Coming to my senses,” Daisy said, grimly. “You should sell this place, you know. It’s really beautiful, but it’s way too big for one person.”

Matt rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “There’s no need to do this, Daisy.” His phone rang and he checked the caller ID. “It’s Kayley. Let me take this and then we can talk, okay?”

She wouldn’t change her mind. Not now. “Go ahead. Answer it.”