‘Carmen.’
‘Short for Carmencita, I suppose,’ he said, feeling very clever.
‘No – Maria del Carmen.’
God, her accent was delicious. She had a deep, gruff voice, which, mixed with her guttural Spanish accent, sent shivers down his spine.
‘I’m Lorcan.’
She repeated his name, making it sound new and exotic.
‘I’m going to a wedding later today. Would you like to come?’
‘I always like to come.’
Lorcan laughed. ‘Where did you learn to speak English like that?’
‘From Irish men.’
God, she’s amazing, Lorcan thought, longing to pull her out ofthe water, peel off her swimsuit and make love to her wet, slippery body. It was a long time since he had felt such stomach-churning excitement about a woman. Between the cold of the water and the heat of desire, he was fighting for breath.
‘Whose wedding is it?’ Carmen asked. ‘Not yours, I hope.’
‘God, no! My friend, Tom – the one you were talking to earlier. He’s marrying my sister.’
She glanced over to where Tom and Will stood, drying themselves. ‘I thought you were a group of Buddhist monks.’ She nodded at Lorcan’s shaved head.
‘Oh no, we’re not monks – definitely not.’
‘You don’t have anyone else to take?’ she asked.
‘No, I was going alone, as a matter of fact. I split up with my girlfriend last week.’
‘You don’t seem very upset about it.’
‘I’m not.’ Lorcan grinned, ‘She was a pain in the arse.’
Carmen laughed.
‘So, will you come – to the wedding, I mean? There’ll be champagne,’ he said, ‘and cake.’
‘Well, I do love champagne,’ Carmen said. ‘Okay, I’ll go with you.’
Out of the corner of his eye Lorcan saw Will and Tom starting to get dressed.
‘Look, I have to go with my friends. Why don’t you come back with us and have some breakfast?’
‘Sure.’
‘Good. I can run you home after, if you want to change before the wedding.’
‘I live just over there.’ She tossed her head towards the row of houses facing the sea. ‘If you can wait here a few minutes, I’ll pick up my stuff and come with you. Okay?’
‘Okay.’
I must be in a dream, Lorcan thought.Women aren’t this easy. Most of the ones he knew prided themselves on being bloody hard work – his sister Rachel, Will’s girlfriend Tina – and Sarah, the girlfriend he had just split up with.
They pulled themselves out of the water, and Lorcan followed Carmen to where she’d left her clothes. He couldn’t help staring as she put them on over her swimsuit without drying herself. She pulled her thick dark hair up behind her head and let it fall again, shaking it vigorously and showering Lorcan with water. Then she shuffled into her shoes. ‘I’ll see you in a few minutes,’ she said, picking up her bag and turning towards the road.
