But there was something vulnerable about his face, too. A cautious expectancy that reminded me that he was waiting for my answer about food, a soft resignation that settled over his eyes when he seemed to read something into how long it was taking for my response.
“What exactly,” he said, “has my brother told you about me?”
Eight
It was almost difficult toconjure up memories of his brother, or that date. They already felt so distant from this moment between us here and now. “Niall?”
“I was surprised he told you about his family,” Eamonn said. “I always assumed he didn’t talk much about us over there. He seems to want as little to do with Ireland as possible.”
“He did call it arainy backwater shithole,” I admitted, and then immediately regretted it when I saw Eamonn’s smile, which looked a bit sad.
“Yeah,” he said. “That sounds like him.”
“What is it you…think he would’ve told me?”
Eamonn’s a waste. That was the only thing Niall had really said, with no context. But the way Eamonn had asked that question, it seemed clear that there was something specific he thought Niall might’ve mentioned, something that had some relevance to us now.
Eamonn was watching my face again, like he realized that whatever this was about,hewas the one who’d brought it up. He could easily just say,Nothing, don’t worry about it, and I’d never know.
“About my record,” Eamonn said finally, and then when I looked confused, “My criminal record? I figured Niall might’ve told you about that, if he was talking about me.”
I got up so fast I felt a little dizzy, and Eamonn stood up, too, looking for a minute like he might reach out to steady me until thinking better of it. He took his keys out of his pocket, and when I didn’t speak he shifted them in his hand.
“I’m only sayin’ if that’s what’s got you hesitating, no worries. I understand. At least let me give you some money, and I can direct you to wherever you need to go.”
“Anywhere that’s open,” I pointed out.
His eyes crinkled at the corners even though his mouth barely tilted up. I didn’t know how he achieved that. “No more government buildings.”
Eamonn’s a waste. This admission from him did give some context to that declaration from Niall. The fact that Eamonn figured it was the one thing his brother would’ve mentioned about him if he mentioned anything at all tweaked my heart a little. So far Eamonn had been so much kinder to me than his brother ever had.
“Niall didn’t mention your record,” I said honestly. And it wasn’t a hang-up for me, per se. Lots of people had criminal records, and I wouldn’t have even known about his if he hadn’t confessed it. It wasn’t like this was a job application and he was required to check a box.
At the same time…it didn’t hurt to get a little more information. “Is it for anything violent?”
“No,” he said. Then, after a beat, “Not as such.”
Well, that wasn’t as encouraging as I’d hoped. “Drugs? Tax evasion? Or something heist-y? Did you rob the British Museum?”
“No,” he said, looking genuinely stricken even though I’d been keeping my tone light. His gaze lifted to mine, then dropped away again. “Nothing like that. It was a long time ago. Ten years ago.”
“Kidnapping? But like, where it was just you taking your stepsister across state lines to get her away from her abusive father?”
He blinked at me. Clearly he wasn’t as up on his Britney Spears filmography as he should be. “No.”
I got the impression that he really,reallydidn’t want to be having this conversation. That it had been hard for him to even bring it up, that he might’ve never done it if he hadn’t thought his brother brought it up first. Even if it had been ten years ago, he didn’t seem in a place to joke about it, and I felt bad that I was letting my own nerves add to his discomfort.
“And I didn’t mug you,” he burst out. Those blue eyes were locked on mine now, like he needed me to hear this if nothing else. “I know that’s what the guy who mugged you would say, but I promise I didn’t.”
Thathad also never occurred to me, but of course I knew full well it couldn’t have been him unless he shared my apparent talent for teleportation.
“I believe you,” I said. I was still wearing his jacket, wrapped snugly around me. I thought of the apple he’d handed me back at the bus stop. It was on the tip of my tongue to just ask him outright,So whatdoyou have a criminal record for, then?but in the end I decided not to. He said it had been a long time ago. And it turned out, I did trust him—not because of any connection to a person I’d met back home, not even because he’d given me food and helped me out, but because I just did.
If anything, he had far less reason to trust me, because I couldn’t answer any of his questions.
“Where did it happen?” he asked. “Where have you been staying?”
“Not that far from your shop,” I said, hoping that could count as an answer to both his questions, and that he wouldn’t have any follow-up ones. From the way his brows drew together, he was definitely formulating a few, so I decided to change the subject. “Before it happened, I hadn’t had the chance to actually go into Dublin and see any of it.”
