‘Thanks.’ He smiled.
‘I like his pink shirt,’ Bo said to Sheena.
‘Me too. It suits you,’ she said to Aidan. ‘Who is it you’re going out with tonight?’
‘Someone Cara knows from yoga – Emma Hennessy.’
Sheena frowned. ‘I don’t think I know her.’ Aidan could see why she was perplexed. She made it her business to know practically everyone in the county. ‘I wonder, is she one of the Hennessys from over in Castlegregory.’
‘I think she’s from Dublin. She’s a ceramic artist, lives in Dunquin now.’
‘But he’s not going to marry her if he doesn’t like her,’ Bo told Sheena.
‘That’s good.’ Sheena said solemnly. ‘Besides,’ she said to Aidan, ‘there are plenty of other candidates. You don’t want to cast your vote too soon.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Cara’s not the only one with a horse in the race. We’ve all got someone lined up for you. So don’t put all your money on the first one you see.’
Aidan rolled his eyes. ‘Are you serious?’ Like he was some kind of fairy-tale prince, with the whole county hoping to be picked as his bride.
‘Of course,’ Sheena said, as if this was the most reasonable thing in the world.
Aidan groaned. ‘I can’t believe my family are busy picking women for me to go out with.’
‘Who better for the job? No one knows you better than we do.’
He should have known that once his mother knew he was open to dating, she’d lose no time in setting him up. ‘Well, have fun, you two,’ he said, picking his keys up from the coffee table and pocketing them.
‘Oh, we will,’ Sheena said, settling on the sofa with Bo. ‘And have fun on your date.’
‘Yes, have fun, Dad.’
‘Thanks.’ Aidan wasn’t looking forward to it. He’d much rather stay in and spend the evening playing with Bo and listening to her childish chatter. He had a feeling it’d be a lot more entertaining than what he had in store. Still, they were going to a new restaurant that he hadn’t had a chance to try yet, which was getting great reviews. So at least the food should be good.
An hour later, in the warm ambience of the restaurant and deep into their main courses, Aidan was starting to think it wasn’t such a bad idea letting his family interfere in his love life. To his surprise, he was having a good time, and it wasn’t just down to the food. Emma was attractive and good company, and he thought there could well be a second date. She was interesting and forthcoming when she talked about her ceramics, and she’d given him a brief, jokey rundown of her dating history, but she’d also asked him questions about himself and seemed genuinely interested in hearing about the restaurant and Bo. The fact that he was a single parent didn’t appear to put her off.
‘So you know Cara from yoga, right?’ he asked when the waiter had whisked away their plates.
‘Yes, yoga and meditation. Do you practise?’
‘Not really. I’ve done a bit of yoga. Cara’s always trying to get me into it, but I don’t have much time, what with the restaurant and everything.’
‘It’s worth making time. Owning a restaurant must be very pressured – and being a single parent on top of that. It’d be really good for you – help to reduce your stress levels.’
‘Yeah, Cara’s always telling me that. I don’t suppose being a potter is stressful? It looks like a nice peaceful thing to do.’
‘It is, though it’s not all fun and games, especially if you’re trying to make a living. It looks relaxing from the outside, but running a studio is hard work and it can be exhausting. I could do without the social media and a lot of the business side of things. Unfortunately, it’s not all about making – or just making what I want. I teach some classes as a side gig and some days it’s so busy I forget to eat. But it’s what I love doing, so it’s weirdly relaxing at the same time.’
‘I get that. You could be me talking about the restaurant,’ Aidan said, feeling there could be a real connection here. Maybe his family would have to tell the rest of the ‘candidates’ they’d lined up to stand down.
Emma nodded. ‘At least we don’t have to deal with the angst of being miserable in our work and feeling we’re not in the right place. Did you always want to be a chef?’
‘Pretty much. Once I grew out of my superhero phase.’
‘It was mermaid for me,’ she said, jerking a thumb at herself.
‘Ah, you fancied a career luring hapless sailors to their doom.’
