‘I heard that, but I thought it was a vicious rumour.’
‘Busted. That’s just something we tell outsiders to put them off because we want to keep the place to ourselves.’
Lou opened her eyes and turned to him. ‘Should you be telling me that?’
‘Maybe I’m not trying to put you off.’
Lou felt a jolt as their eyes met and Aidan smiled at her.
‘I mean, I don’t think Bo would ever forgive me if I made Jack move away,’ he said, quickly turning to gaze straight ahead to where Bo and Jack were running around at the water’s edge, collecting shells and pebbles.
‘They’ve really hit it off, haven’t they?’ Lou tried to hide her confusion at his abrupt change of tone. But it had felt like he was flirting with her just now and she was thrown by how disappointed she felt. She should be relieved. The last thing she wanted was to get hung up on Aidan, especially when she was going to be working for him.
‘Besides,’ Aidan said, turning back to her, ‘I quite fancy not being the only single parent in the village any more.’
Lou laughed. ‘Yeah, we should stick together.’ Not for the first time, she wondered what Aidan’s story was, how he’d ended up as a single father. But she didn’t want to be nosy. No doubt she’d find out eventually.
Itwouldbe nice to have another single parent as an ally, she thought, as they walked back to where they’d left their stuff, Bo and Jack charging ahead. She liked Aidan and it would be good to have him as a friend. She definitely wasn’t in the market for anything more, at least until Jack was older. Her judgement was seriously lacking when it came to men and he’d already paid a high enough price for her bad choices.
‘Well, let me give you a tip for the Dingle Anti-Tourist Board,’ she said, sinking onto one of the blankets. ‘You’ll have to dobetter than a bit of rain to discourage people. We get rain in Dublin too, you know.’
‘Ah, but not like here.’ Aidan sat down beside her. ‘We have epic rain. Torrential. Biblical. Noah’s-ark type stuff.’
‘Now you’re just boasting,’ Lou said with a laugh. ‘Anyway, nice try, but judging by the number of tourists in town, I’d say your secret is already out.’
‘Owen! Owen!’ Bo squealed excitedly as a tall, broadly built blond man strode along the beach towards them. ‘Dad, Owen’s here!’
‘Hi, there!’
Lou shielded her eyes and smiled up at Owen as he reached them. He was ruggedly handsome, with a craggy, weather-beaten face and a slightly crooked nose that had obviously been broken at some point. His deeply tanned skin and bleached blond hair gave him the appearance of someone who spent a lot of time outdoors.
Aidan introduced them and they shook hands. Owen’s grip was strong, his hand large and calloused.
‘Owen, flip me over!’ Bo was hopping from foot to foot in front of him. ‘Flip me over! Owen can flip you over his legs and it’s so fun,’ she told Jack breathlessly. ‘Show Jack!’
‘Okay.’ He rolled his eyes, grinning at Lou and Aidan before turning to the children. ‘Who’s first?’
‘Me! Me first!’ Bo squealed.
Lou watched as he lay down in the sand, his legs in the air, knees bent. Then he picked her up and flipped her over on his legs in a somersault before setting her back on her feet behind his head, Bo giggling and squealing the entire time.
‘Now do it to Jack!’
Jack enjoyed it just as much, shrieking ‘Again!’ as soon as Owen put him down.
The two children ran around in circles, taking turns, the air filled with their breathless giggles.
‘Again! Again!’ Bo demanded for the umpteenth time.
‘Give Owen a break,’ Aidan said to her. ‘We want to talk to him. Why don’t you make a sandcastle?’
‘Okay,’ Bo said with an amiable shrug.
Owen sank onto the blanket beside Aidan.
‘Well, I can see why you’re so popular,’ Lou said to him.
‘No classes today?’ Aidan asked him.
