12. Declan
12
DECLAN
T homas worked fast. Four days after Olivia suggested we recruit other people into our fight to take Mark O’Rourke down a peg, I found myself sitting in Ballybeith’s only decent restaurant across from councilman John Kelly. He was eighty years old if he was a day, and he didn’t believe in talking about business until he’d had a chance to inquire about the health and well-being of my family, Thomas’s family, and anyone else he could think of.
Thomas, bless him, handled most of the small talk.
Finally, John leaned back in his chair. “So. Thomas mentioned you had some concerns about our plans to repeal the modern building rule.”
“We do.” I leaned forward, eager. Thomas had dug up an old law the town council had put on the books back in the seventies. In the wake of the success of The Deer and the Warrior —and the tourist money it brought—the council had passed a law making it harder to sell “modern buildings,” which in this case meant anything built after 1976. The goal had been to preserve the character of the town by making it harder for anyone to make a quick profit building and flipping tourist hotels, movie souvenir shops, et cetera.
The law was, frankly, unnecessary. The movie wasn’t that popular outside of this region. But most of the buildings the O’Rourkes owned had been built after 1976. That meant as long as that law was still on the books, Thomas could use it to tie the sales up in red tape…until O’Rourke had no choice but to put his mansion up for sale—a building that definitely predated the movie seeing as it was in the movie.
“You have to admit,” John said, “It’s a silly law. O’Rourke says it’s standing in the way of all sorts of progress.”
“The only thing it’s standing in the way of is O’Rourke taking advantage of this town,” I said. “He already hurts his tenants by constantly raising their rents. If you repeal this law, he can sell their homes out from under them, with no warning. This way at least, there’s time for people to prepare. And time for interested parties to consider the sale and make sure it’s in the best interest of the town.”
“Interested parties, hmm?” John said, eyes sharp. He was old, but he was no fool. “And how might this law benefit yourself? Your dislike of the O’Rourkes is…warranted. But we can’t make policy to punish a single man.”
Why not? I thought.
Luckily, Thomas jumped in then, listing a host of practical, fair reasons to keep the law on the books. I was watching John’s expression closely, trying to figure out how our arguments were landing, when a flash of red hair distracted me.
Olivia .
I knew it was her day off. Mum was watching Catie, and Olivia had mentioned that she’d be meeting up with Molly. I just hadn’t realized they were getting lunch here too.
I tried to ignore Olivia and focus on the conversation in front of me, but my eyes kept going back to her. She looked different. She’d swapped out her usual practical jeans and T-shirts for a light green sundress that nipped in at the waist and fluttered around her legs as she walked to her table. Dresses like that made you think of summer picnics and lazy days in the sun. Of playing with the skirt if you could get away with it, easing it up bit by bit to see what the woman wearing it had on underneath.
Her hair was different too, falling loose and lovely around her face instead of her normal practical ponytail or messy bun.
I thought that skimpy tank top she’d worn to movie night was distracting. But seeing her like this… She didn’t look like my nanny. She looked like a beautiful young woman on her day off. When she laughed at something the waiter said, I found myself clutching my fork tighter.
“And do you agree with Thomas’s assessment?” John asked.
What?
Thomas kicked me under the table.
“I do,” I said. “Absolutely.”
Thomas leaned forward. “We’re not saying keep the law on the books forever. We’re just saying, it’s worked well for us for all these years. Let’s not be hasty getting rid of it. Study it a bit. Hold a town listening session. Take your time on something that could impact our town in unpredictable ways for years to come.”
“O’Rourke wants it repealed at the next meeting,” John said. “He may have implied that having this law on the books makes it harder for him to commit to hosting the festival at his mansion every year.”
Bastard , I thought. The film’s most famous scenes had been filmed in and around the mansion, which made it the ideal location for the festival. Plus, it was one of the only spaces in town big enough for the event.
“If you let him pressure you like this, he’ll know it works,” I said bluntly. “And he’ll do it again.”
John sighed, clearly conceding that I was right. “He will at that.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Well, boys, you’ve convinced me. But I can’t speak for the other two council members. We’ll see how the vote lands.”
“Of course,” Thomas said, exchanging a victorious look with me. We both knew the other council members always voted with John. We’d done it.
As we wrapped up the meeting with more mandatory small talk, I noticed an unwelcome figure by Olivia and Molly’s table.
I tensed. Seamus O’Rourke. He was chatting with them as he picked up his takeaway order.
There he stood, smiling and laughing guilelessly, as if his family wasn’t responsible for decades of problems in this town. Olivia casually adjusted the strap of her sundress as she smiled up at him, and I wanted to punch something.
Thomas nudged me, and I realized John was saying his goodbyes. After the old man had shuffled out of the restaurant, Thomas turned to me. “What’s with you?”
“Sorry,” I said. “Got distracted.”
Thomas followed my gaze. When he looked back, his smile was mischievous. “Ah.”
“Shut up.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything. On another topic, Clara was thinking we could have Catie over for a playdate with our Jane. They’re about the same age.”
“Sure,” I said, distracted.
Olivia glanced over, as if sensing my eyes on her, and our gazes met.
“Oops,” Thomas said. “She caught you pining. Now you have to go say hello.”
“I wasn’t pining—” I tried to argue, but Thomas was already heading out the door.
Unfortunately, he was right about one thing. It would be odd if I didn’t say hello now.
That was the only reason I walked over to Olivia and Molly’s table. It wasn’t because of the way the sunlight glinted on Olivia’s curls, or because I felt a near primal need to drive Seamus away from her.
It did improve my mood somewhat that Seamus paled as soon as he saw me. “I’ve just remembered…I’ve got to…” He nodded goodbye to the ladies and beat a hasty retreat with his sack of takeaway.
Molly brightened when she saw me. “Declan. Hey! I feel like I only ever see you at the store.” She turned to Olivia. “He’s been one of our most loyal customers since Catie was born.”
Olivia smiled at me over her pint. “I believe it.”
I felt the back of my neck heat. I reached for a topic change. “Thomas suggested having Catie over for a playdate with his daughter. Could you arrange that?”
“Sure,” Olivia said. “That’s a great idea. She needs more friends her own age.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” I said, and Olivia smiled at me. When had her approval started to feel like sunlight?
“Sit down and have a pint,” Molly invited. “I’m trying to persuade Olivia to do a project with me, and I need reinforcements.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s too busy,” Olivia said.
I was. But I heard myself saying, “I think I can spare a few minutes,” as I took a seat and signaled the waiter. “What’s this project, then?”
“Well, I’ve always wanted to illustrate a book, but it turns out I’m shite at writing them,” Molly explained. “But Olivia here majored in creative writing. She even has an idea for a children’s book . But she won’t tell me because she says it’s silly. Which is dumb, because clearly we were destined to meet and write the bestselling picture book of all time.”
I looked at Olivia, impressed. “You’re a writer?”
“Was,” Olivia corrected. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “A lifetime ago. Then I discovered my true calling.”
“Nannying for rich tossers?” Molly asked skeptically.
“Molly!” Olivia said.
“What? Oh.” She rolled her eyes. “Present company excluded.”
I laughed.
Olivia looked so flustered, I decided to come to her rescue. “I think she means helping children and giving them the support they need.”
“Yes,” Olivia said gratefully. “That.”
“Even the ones with tossers for uncles.”
This time Molly was the one who laughed, while Olivia covered her face with her hands. The conversation moved on, and I was surprised to realize how much fun it was. I’d never paid much attention to Molly since she was several years behind me in school, but she had a wicked sense of humor, and it was fun to watch her make Olivia laugh.
It was also fun to get to know Olivia outside of her role as my employee. There was something about hanging out away from the house, without Catie, that made it feel okay to ask her more personal questions. I learned she grew up in a southern California beach town, but moved to Minnesota for uni when she got a full ride. She’d traveled extensively with the families she worked for, but this was her first time in Ireland.
And, if Molly’s teasing was to be believed, she didn’t have a boyfriend.
I’d kind of assumed that was the case. Olivia had never mentioned one, and she wasn’t exactly the type to keep her thoughts to herself. And even if she was capable of exercising un-Olivia-like discretion, what guy would be okay with sending his woman across an ocean to spend months living in a strange man’s house?
But it was nice to have it confirmed. I didn’t let myself think too hard about why that was.
Before I knew it, two hours had passed, and Molly had to head out to her shift at the bookstore. That left Olivia and I to walk home together.
It felt nice to stroll along together, enjoying a rare, balmy day. “So what’s this idea you have for a book?”
“Oh no,” Olivia said, and then laughed. “I am not telling you, of all people.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘of all people’?”
“Because you’re…you.” She gestured to me helplessly. “You’re freakishly successful. You built a billion-dollar company. Your dream re-shaped the tech world. Meanwhile, my dream is a few lines jotted down in a Word doc I haven’t opened in five years.”
I homed in on the important part of what she just said. “So it’s still a dream of yours?”
She chewed on her lip. “I don’t know. It’s been so long since I wrote fiction. What if I’m no good?”
“You probably won’t be,” I said. “Not at first. But then you learn from the failures, and you try again, as many times as you need to until you succeed.”
Olivia threw me an amused glance. “I have a hard time imagining you failing over and over again. Wasn’t Snug basically an overnight success?”
“Snug wasn’t the first start-up I worked at,” I said. “I even dropped out of uni to work at the first place because I believed it was going to change the world.”
“What happened to it?” Olivia asked.
“It went belly-up seven months in. They still owe me a month’s worth of pay. But I learned a lot. I also met Anil, who’d been smart enough not to drop out of uni.” I shrugged. “I’m not saying everyone has to have some big dream, or that it’s not gutting when you gamble and lose. But isn’t it better to take a chance? Especially if you’ve been thinking of it for five years?”
Olivia didn’t say anything, but her expression turned thoughtful.
“Plus, if you do publish your book, I know the best children’s book reviewer in the business,” I joked.
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Of course you have a publishing connection. Is there any industry you don’t have a foot in?”
I thought of all the companies that used Snug to promote their businesses. Plus the friends I’d made through Glenhaven Club and other connections. “Not really.”
She sighed, exasperated, but there was fondness in her eyes. Her hand accidentally brushed mine as she walked, and I had the weirdest instinct to catch hold of it and lace my fingers through hers.
No , I told myself. She works for you. And even if she didn’t, you’re not the hand-holding type. And she very much is.
So I shoved my hands in my pockets and changed the subject to something less personal, trying very hard not to feel like a schoolboy walking his crush home.
It almost worked.