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I laughed at her enthusiasm because, in all honesty, how could I not? It was infectious.
“So, have you figured out how you’re going to manage forty-eight hours in close quarters with Gerard?” I asked with a teasing lilt to my tone, thankful for the distraction from my life.
Claire groaned loudly. “He drives me crazy, Shan.”
“He likes you,” I told her. “And before you shut me down and tell me he likes everyone, I mean he really likes you, Claire. It’s obvious when you guys are together that he’s into you.”
It really was.
At school, they watched each other’s moves constantly. He was always coming over to her, cracking jokes and making pointless conversation. They behaved like an old married couple when they were together, with witty banter and quick retorts, and I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t a couple already.
It seemed so inevitable.
“Having him carry on like that toward me is not a compliment,” Claire grumbled when I called her out on it. Huffing, she added, “Any girl who walks past that boy turns his head.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t just turned his head, Claire,” I told her. “I think you’ve turned his heart.”
“You can’t turn something that isn’t there, Shan,” she replied, tone sad.
“I don’t believe that,” I countered.
“That’s because you don’t know him like I do,” was all she replied.
“Well, I think you and Gibsie together make sense,” I pressed. “A lot more than Lizzie and Pierce.”
“That wouldn’t be hard,” Claire chuckled. “Mr. Mulcahy and me make more sense than those two.”
“True,” I mused.
“So, here’s what we’ll do,” she said then. “You can keep me focused and away from Gerard when we’re in Donegal, and I’ll do the same for you with Johnny.”
I exhaled a shaky breath. “About that…”
“Go on,” she urged.
Clenching my eyes shut, I blurted, “He dropped me home again.”
“What?” Claire shrieked.
I blew out a breath. “I know.”
“Oh my god, Shan, what’s this about?”
“I really don’t know.” I groaned, scrubbing my face with my hand. “I’m so confused.”
“Confused?”
Deciding to give her full disclosure, I whispered, “He didn’t just drop me home, Claire. I went over to his house again.”
“Shut the front door,” she gasped.
Nodding, I groaned into my hand. “And I kissed him.”
“Shut the front door!” she repeated, louder now, and in a much more excited tone. “Where did this happen?”
“In his bedroom,” I confessed, and then reluctantly added, “On his bed.”
“Oh. My. God,” she squealed. “Oh my bloody god, Shan!”
