Page 25

“Can I help you?” a quiet voice asked from my right.

I knew immediately that it was her and visibly started. Her voice was soft and feminine but husky, the cadence low in pitch, and exactly what I’d imagined. I turned, swallowing hard at my first close up view of her.

She wore a white waist apron now, and I realized that she worked at the café. But my eyes were glued to her face. Her skin was perfect alabaster, her lips a soft pink that I suspected was untouched by makeup, a rare occurrence among the women I’d known. Her features were even and perfect, dominated by pale aquamarine eyes, framed by thick dark lashes. They were the color of the ocean. She stared back at me without blinking. I’d been staring at her for a very long time before she finally spoke, smiling slightly, “Why don’t you have a seat? Do you prefer the main dining room or the kids’ room?”

I blinked. “Kids’ room?” I felt hot color spread on my cheeks. She was obviously in her twenties, and I was only fourteen, but I often got mistaken for older, and I’d hoped she wouldn’t see me as a kid.

“Yeah, I’m sure you can hear it. It’s a large room to the left we’ve reserved as an after school hangout. We don’t have any of the kids from your school as regulars, but there’s plenty of room in there.”

I shook my head, trying to pretend I wasn’t blushing like a little kid. “The main dining room would be fine.”

She nodded. “Have a seat anywhere you want. What can I get you?”

I bit my lip, sitting in the nearest chair. “A cola, and whatever your special is for lunch.” I wasn’t even a little bit hungry, which was unusual for me, but I knew the more I ordered, the longer I could sit and watch her.

“Burger and chips sound okay?”

I nodded, still staring at her, drinking her in.

She smiled, but it was sad. I wondered if she always smiled like that. “I’ll whip that up myself. The cook’s on lunch. Just give me a minute.”

She came back several minutes later, carrying a tray with my food and drink.

“How did you know what school I attend?” I asked her as she set it in front of me. I’d been stewing about it almost since she’d left.

She surprised me by taking a seat directly across from me. “Your uniform gives you away. Only a few of the schools around here require suits and ties.”

“Oh, that.”

She smiled that sad smile again. “Also, I recognized you. I’ve seen you hanging around that private school with your friends.”

I almost coughed up the soda I’d been sipping. “Oh?’ I asked in a strangled voice. I couldn’t imagine how she’d noticed me but not I her.

“Yes, you, those two dark-haired boys, and that redhead. I’m guessing your brothers and your girlfriend?”

I looked at her, mortified that she thought Siobhan was my girlfriend. She was two years younger than me, and mostly a nuisance.

I shook my head vehemently. “My cousins, and their friend. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

She smiled deeper, almost making that sadness disappear. “My mistake. You aren’t eating.” I started eating the chips mechanically, trying desperately to think of something to talk about to keep her sitting there.

“You followed me from the lake,” she said quietly, and I started choking on a chip.

“Why?” she asked after I’d stopped.

I shrugged, blushing. “I was bored,” I mumbled. “School’s a drag.”

“What’s your name?” she asked, studying me intently.

I couldn’t look away from her eyes.

“Domhnall. Everyone calls me Dom.”

She held out her hand as though to shake, something I’d never seen a woman do before.

I wiped my hand carefully on my napkin before clasping hers. I gripped it tight, prolonging the touch. “Well, I’m Jillian. Can we be friends, Dom?”

I nodded immediately, still gripping her hand. She let me, but looked at our clasped hands with a furrowed brow. “Yes, of course.” I tried to sound polite, but nowhere near as eager as I felt.