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Cordelia’s head was still spinning as she followed Róisín up to the house on the hill.
Niall had gone back to his house to shower and change. The paints had finally come and Róisín was eager to get Cordelia back to work. She was mixing colors to find the perfect yellow for the St. John’s wort when her phone began to ring.
“Who’s that?” Róisín asked from the other side of the table where she was shelling peas.
“It’s Liz,” Cordelia said, answering the FaceTime call.
“Hi hi hi!!” Liz’s face appeared on the screen. “Look at you, going all balls to the wall with Instagram now. I love it. The Róisín pic is gorgeous. And that story is hil – ”
“Niall and I are together,” Cordelia blurted out. Róisín grinned to herself and pretended to be very busy with the peas.
Liz’s eyebrows shot up. Her red-painted mouth formed an O. She blinked, inhaled deeply, then shouted, “WHAT?! When? How? Cordie!! I need details. Have you kissed him? Have you slept with him? Was it good? When did this happen??”
“Judging by the fact that he was shirtless in her house not an hour ago, I’d say it’s going fairly well,” Róisín said.
“Is that Róisín?” Liz said eagerly. “Hi, Róisín!”
“Hello yourself,” Róisín said, coming around the table so Liz could see her.
“He wasn’t shirtless,” Cordelia insisted.
“His buttons were done up all wrong,” Róisín said dismissively. “Now let me tell you, Liz, those two have been dancing round each other since her first day on the island – ”
“I know, right?” Liz added.
Róisín launched into the tale of the currach races and the kiss on the pier.
“Cordelia Marie James,” Liz said, enunciating each syllable. “This is even better than the Instagram thing!”
“It’s pretty crazy,” Cordelia admitted.
“Not crazy. Blissfully, amazingly, wondrously perfect. Oh, Cordie. No one deserves this more than you. I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Thanks,” Cordelia said, grinning. “I’m happy too.”
“Of course you are, look at you, you’re glowing! Have you told your mom yet?”
Cordelia’s face fell and her stomach dropped. “No,” she said. She looked down.
“Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. Don’t let her rain on this day! You don’t have to tell her anything you don’t want to.”
“She’ll just be insufferable if I do,” Cordelia said. “Like this somehow proves her point.”
“You let that mother of yours get in your head far too much,” Róisín said, going back to the peas.
“I agree,” Liz said. “So what if she thinks that? It doesn’t make her right and it doesn’t make all her pushing okay. And she has nothing to do with you and Niall. Niall and Cordelia! Even your names sound perfect together.”
“You’re right,” Cordelia said, straightening.
She wasn’t going to let her mom ruin this for her, either by crowing about how right she’d been all along or by instantly pushing Cordelia to get married and have babies. No, Cordelia was finally fully and truly happy and she wasn’t about to let Louise James interfere with that.
Chapter Twenty
The month of July was the happiest month in the history of Cordelia’s life.
She spent every minute she could with Niall. He took her around the island and let her take more photographs of him for her Instagram. Her following was growing by the day, each new photograph and story garnering more and more attention and acclaim. Ever since Róisín began boasting about Cordelia’s posts, it seemed like the entire island had signed up for Instagram. And those who hadn’t were always badgering Niall to show them the pictures on his phone, usually during one of his shifts. He didn’t seem to mind, though. Whenever someone asked, Cordelia noted the shine of pride in his eyes. She’d never been with a man who lifted her up so completely, who believed in her through and through.
The islanders had clamored to be featured on her feed and Cordelia found her work cut out for her – every local had a lot of stories in them. But she discovered her patience again, and her good humor, chatting to everyone with ease and drawing out their tales with care and skill, whether it was talking to Aoife O’Shea about the death of her husband or watching Liam Sullivan practice his currach rowing. Colin was a popular subject, much to his delight, as was Pocket – any picture that featured the border collie immediately shot up with likes and comments.
