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“Nice to meet you…” I make a show of tilting my head so I can see her left hand. “MissMcClelland.”
Both Tara and Irene laugh smugly at my smooth flirting.
“Nice to meet you too, Mr Byrne.”
“Oh,docall me Aidan.”
As I continue flirting with Tara, I become acutely aware of Caitlin next to me. Our romp in the church earlier was all about building her up –andgetting my revenge over Finbar – but by flirting with another woman in front of her, I’m breaking all that down, am I not? I told myself this summer was a breakfrom my relentless search for a life partner, but when someone like Tara presents themselves, can I afford to pass up on it? I’m not getting any younger.
“How come someone like you isn’t taken, put a ring on it and all that?” I ask and sip my drink, though it doesn’t help the dryness in my throat.
“Oh, I did have a ring on it.” Tara laughs. “But turned out the man who put it there was all wrong.”
“Is that so?”
“Very much so.” She huffs and tosses her thick waves over her shoulder. “He was all broken promises and no business sense.”
“Oh, I do need more details than that – men have to learn from other men’s mistakes,” I insist and wink at her.
“If you must know.” She leans in as if telling a secret. She’s very tall, I wouldn’t have to bend down to kissher. “He promised me a sea view house in Killiney, had the deposit down and all. I had everything planned, down to the wall art in the pantry. Then he put all his investments in one basket and poof!” She does a dramatic explosion imitation with her hands. “All gone. And so was I,” she adds with a pearly laugh.
“I thought troubled times brought lovers closer together not broke them apart,” says the young woman in white next to me.
“You’re such a sweet romantic, Caitlin,” Tara huffs with an eye roll. “But that’s just not real life.”
Isn’t it? I don’t like the picture Tara is painting. Is life really that cold and callused? If Sean lost his job, couldn’t work for whatever health reason, then Siobhan would take on another job and they would fight together. Would I want to be with someone who’d leave me if Finbar ran the company into the ground? Caitlin may be a gullible romantic fairy next tothe Amazonian goddess Tara, but I’d rather take my chances on Caitlin’s romantic world; I’d ratherbe with someoneas romantic as Caitlin, instead of the cold-hearted, calculating Tara.
So if someone like Siobhan is too feisty for me and someone like Tara is too cold-hearted… Where can I find someone like Caitlin? Naïve, but in a cute way that makes you want to protect them. Someone who stands by you and cherishes your protection.
A loud squeal interrupts my musing. A young girl in a pink princess dress, no more than five or six, runs between us, followed by a boy the same age.
Caitlin laughs. “Don’t let him catch you, Niamh!”
“N-no running!” Irene squeaks, clutching her glass. “And don’t encourage them, Caitlin,” she snaps at her daughter.
“Oisin.Oisin!” Tara barks. But the boy doesn’t listen, still chasing the girl. Tara sighs theatrically. “I’ll go and tell my sister to keep her son under control.”
“Would you, please?” Irene asks, desperation in her voice followed by a loud gasp. “Oh my God! The Norwegian Ambassador has arrived! I’ve got to go greet her!”
And so, it’s only Caitlin and me.
“Are you… going on a date with her?” Caitlin whispers, wringing her fingers.
“What?”
“I mean, I don’t want your… mentoring of me, you know, to stand in the way of you… I mean, if you want to stop?”
I interrupt her rambling. “I’m not going to date her. Not while I’m helping you.”
Relief is thick on her sweet facial features. Her green eyes are beautiful in this light, almost translucent. I wonder whatcolours I need to mix to recreate them on a canvas. I’m jostled as the two kids run past us again. Caitlin laughs quietly but doesn’t encourage them this time.
“Do you like kids?” she asks.
“Love them. Have four nephews that I adore.”
“Aww, you’re so lucky.”
“They’re complete menaces. Your mother would have a fit if they were here today.” I shake my head at the thought. “Do you want kids?”
