Page 25 of An Irish Hope

And yes, he might’ve said that when Grady had first warned him about Greta. And yes, it had been humbling to be proved wrong and have his worldly friend proved right. But as Grady had said at the time, “Every good person needs a friend like me who knows something about those who walk on the dark side. I can smell the bad ones a mile away.”

“Because you are one?” Andy had said. Or rather, the beer had said.

Fortunately, Grady had been inebriated too so that comment hadn’t landed as harshly as it could have. But now, Grady was eyeing him. “Look, I’m just warning you to be careful. That’s all.”

He was sorely tempted to ask if Grady’s radar truly had detected something off in Aisling, but his earlier protestations about swearing off relationships for a time meant that was probably unwise. Besides, he didn’t want to be thinking about her. And the fact he still was, was troubling.

“Come on. It’s not that bad. Just because you’re swearing off relationships doesn’t mean you need to swear off having fun. There are still plenty of women out there with whom you can have a good time.”

“I’m not sure our versions of a good time are exactly the same.” That was a lie. He was one hundred percent certain they were not the same.

Grady laughed. “Look, just because you’re a saint and I’m a sinner doesn’t mean you can’t still have some fun.”

“Mm, I’m pretty sure it does.”

“You can still kiss a girl, can’t you? Or is that against your rules too?”

“My problem is that I can’t kiss a girl without it meaning something.” Which was why after he’d kissed Greta as much as he had, especially when he’d meant it so much, he’d been shattered to discover it hadn’t meant much to her. Utterly devastated, Beth had called him.

“Well, there’s one solution to that.”

“What’s that?” He had a bad feeling where Grady was going to go with this.

“Simple. It’s your job to kiss as many girls as you can until it no longer means a thing.”

“Yeah, I thought you’d say that. And no, that’s not simple. Not for me, anyway.”

“It will get easier with practice.”

“No.”

“Look, if it makes you feel better, you could start with someone who clearly has her own agenda.”

“Who’s that?”

“Your redheaded singing partner. She’s all kinds of trouble.”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“I’ve seen how she looks at you.”

His stomach tensed. “How is that?”

“Like she thinks you are hers for the asking.”

“You’re insane.” He shook his head. “She goes to church.”

“Oh, don’t get me started on how many church-goers aren’t what they seem.”

He pressed his lips together. But the truth wouldn’t be denied. “Not everyone is like your Granddad.”

Grady cut him a look. “We do not speak of him, remember?”

He nodded. Grady’s dad’s father had been the reason Grady’s family no longer attended church. Andy had never been made privy to all the details, but Grady had shared enough over the years for him to know it was not good.

“I might not have it altogether,” Andy continued softly, “but my experience tells me that most churchgoers are trying to follow in the ways of Jesus.”

Grady snapped his fingers and pointed at Andy. “Good.”