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“Well, I don’t think you’re right on that score, Jamie, but if that’s the case its all he’ll be getting out of me.”
“Music to my ears, baby,” I replied, clearing up a little niggle of doubt that they’d had history in the past. Still, I knew what I’d read in Terry’s eyes was the look of a man who had carried a torch for Daisy at one time or another.
Chapter 6
By 3:00 p.m, I’d felt exhausted. The flight, the excited quickie and the lunchtime rush in the bar, had accumulatively, worn me thin. After some persuasion from Daisy, I went upstairs and hit the hay, waking with a start at 5:45pm with my sister calling my cell.
“Do we have plans for dinner or are we eating here?” she asked. Guilt flooded through me that I’d dumped them at the hotel and hadn’t caught up with her again to let her and the boys know what was happening.
“Sorry, Cat, when I got here it was all hands to the pumps. Daisy had a lunch party for forty and the bar was packed to the rafters. I had to muck in, and by the time there was a lull, I crashed out. You woke me up. I’m not sure what the deal is but the bar is closing at 8:00 p.m. I figure by the time she cashes out and closes up it’ll be nearer 9:00 p.m. by the time we get over to you.”
“Okay, I’ll take the boys down to the restaurant,” she replied.
“They know you’re coming, just not when. Perhaps give them a ten-minute warning that you’re headed their way. They have a private area set aside for us.”
“I’ll be glad when you get here, I can barely contain the boys, they’re half canned already. They’ve drained the liquor from the wet bar in their room.”
I chuckled but made a mental note of this. It being legal to drink in Ireland, I figured the novelty of buying booze in bars and grocery stores could likely get out of hand.
“All right, I’ll see you in a couple of hours,” I said, concluding the call and climbing off the bed. After grabbing the quickest shower in history, I made it downstairs to the bar and was delighted to see that most of the rush had gone. At just after 6:00 p.m. only the regular drinkers remained and were having quiet, pre-Christmas Day drinks.
Daisy grabbed me and led me over to the entrance to the cellar.
“Listen, I need to go upstairs for an hour or two, to sort out things for tomorrow. I need to tidy the apartment and prep some more of the food for our Christmas Day dinner.”
“Whoa. Relax, you're working hard enough. You’re not cooking dinner for all of us. Lunch has been arranged at the Hotel where Catrina and the boys are staying.”
“What?” she asked, her voice almost shrieking in alarm. “Jamie, my parents and sisters are expecting to come here to meet you tomorrow.”
I smiled. “That’s no problem. Let me ring the Hotel and ask for four extra seats at the table, issue solved.”
“That's incredibly generous of you, but I'm not sure how comfortable they’d be in a top end Hotel. My parents are very laid-back people.”
“Daisy, we’ll be in a private dining room. It’ll be just us and Catrina’s the same, she doesn’t like fuss. It’ll be fine, and you’ll be able to relax better if you’re not trying to keep everyone happy.”
The look of adoration she gave me made my heart squeeze tight in my chest.
“Okay, if you’re sure,” she replied, hesitantly. “I’ll go and talk to my mam and she can tell my da that he’s coming, like it or not. I have to say it does take the pressure off me a bit. I feel so bad we’ve been so busy, I haven’t even had time to get you a proper gift.”
“You’re gift enough to make any man happy. I don’t need material things.”
Daisy’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Don't go all mushy on me, I’m a mess with you being here as it is,” she warned.
I shrugged, it was how I felt, and I had only spoken the truth. “Right, I get it, I felt emotional when I was dropped off earlier outside the pub. Gifts don’t mean a lot to me these days, baby. Being with you is the best gift I could have received this Christmas.”
Daisy pulled away from me, turned her back and walked back toward the bar and I knew she was fighting her emotions and hadn’t wanted me to see that in her. I gave her a moment to collect her thoughts and straighten her feelings out before I headed back to the bar to be with her.
* * *
By 8:15 p.m. we were in Connor’s car and on our way to the hotel, and twenty minutes later we had joined Cat and the boys at the reserved, round booth in the plush looking cocktail bar.
“There she is,” Ryan cooed, and I smacked him upside the head for leering.
“What have I told you? It takes a man to catch a girl like Daisy, she’s so far beyond your league I kind of feel sorry for you—not.”
Nick chuckled. “Where’s your sisters, Daisy?”
Daisy’s eyes flared both with fright and worry in them, but didn’t reply.
