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“Definitely. Thank you.” I climbed in next to Shay, who, unlike me, was perfectly dry. “Hey,” I said, my eyes meeting his, and his attention ran over me. “Sorry I’m so wet,” I went on, and Shay shot me an amused glance. Embarrassed, I shook my head at him.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Shay Riordan,” I whispered.
He caught my hand as Rhys pulled away from the bus stop, eyeing me through his middle mirror. “Where to, Maggie?”
I replied with my address, slightly distracted by how Shay had now taken both my hands and was warming them between his.
“Gosh, this weather is diabolical,” Stephanie commented. “I don’t know how you manage relying on the bus, especially on days like this.”
“It’s certainly not my first choice,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too sarcastic as I tried not to find offence in what she said. Not everyone had fiancés to drive them around.
“How was your day?” Rhys asked, his eyes meeting mine through the mirror again as Shay continued to silently warm my hands. I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach, but it was no use.
“Oh, really good actually. I was offered a new job,” I glanced at Shay and found him studying me with interest.
“That’s great,” Rhys replied. “What kind of job?”
“A man I clean for, Jonathan Oaks, owns an investment firm, and he needs to hire a new building manager. It seems he had some trouble with his old one, so he wants someone he can trust.”
“Jonathan Oaks?” Rhys said, seeming to recognise the name as he frowned.
“Do you know him?” I asked, curious.
Rhys’ expression was a little tense. “I’ve met him a time or two. He’s an acquaintance of the Balfes. I don’t mean to be the barer of bad news, but I’ve heard he’s an absolute bollocks to work for, Maggie. A real mercurial fucker. His new hires regularly quit in the first month because he’s so tough on them.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised by this. “Are you sure? I’ve never had any issues with him. Then again, today was only the third time I met him in person. He’s usually never home when I clean for him.”
“Well, that’s probably why you haven’t had problems,” Rhys said. “Listen, it’s far from my place to tell you to refuse the job, but just give it some thought before accepting, yeah?”
“Sure, of course,” I said, my stomach twisting as I considered Rhys’ advice. A gloom had been cast over prospect of a new position and better pay. If I became his building manager, I’d have to be around Mr Oaks a lot more often, which meant he was more likely to be an “absolute bollocks” to me, as Rhys put it. The question was, would he be worse than Mrs Reynolds?
I brought my attention to Shay, who was still warming my hands in his. He studied me questioningly, a flicker of concern in his gaze like he was worried about me taking the new job, too. If I did it meant I might not be taking the same bus as him to work each day. I wouldn’t get to see him as often, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to give that up.
Shay finally released my hands, and I willed myself to relax. Being so close to him in the back of the car had my skin tingling in awareness, or maybe that was just my rain-soaked clothes. He pushed some wet strands of hair away from my face, and I was so lost in his keen attention I barely noticed the journey going by. Rhys and Stephanie chatted, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying.
When we finally pulled up outside my flat, I was full to the brim with tension from all the small ways Shay had touched me. On the surface, they were casual and harmless, but the way they made me feel inside was far from casual.
I opened the door, thanking Rhys for the lift when I looked back to Shay. “Do you want to come in for a while?” I wasn’t sure what compelled me to invite him in, but I just knew I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. Shay nodded, then signed something at Rhys before climbing out of the car.
Nervously, I pulled out my keys and slotted them in the door. There was no sign of Siobhan or Bob today because the weather was so bad. I imagined they were sitting in Bob’s kitchen right now, drinking tea and setting the world to rights. I was just glad they weren’t around to witness me brazenly inviting Shay into my flat.
There was no denying why I’d asked him in. I wanted him to kiss me again.
We hurried inside to get out of the rain, and I quickly went to turn the heating on. Shay’s clothes were mostly dry thanks to Rhys giving him a lift, but I was in dire need of something warm and toasty to wear. It was at that exact moment I realised the problem with the layout of my studio flat. There was nowhere private to change except for the bathroom.
