CHAPTER 14
Jess had been a bit taken aback by Robert’s reaction when she’d turned down his offer to take her to a movie in Kilshanley that Friday, explaining that she and Emily had planned their own movie night at her place.
“I’ve been really looking forward to seeing you again,” he’d said. “And I thought you’d enjoy getting out of Linford for an evening. You sure you can’t just tell Emily that you’ll get together some other time after work?”
“Um, no.” Jess had laughed. “She asked me first, Robert.”
“My fault for not getting in there sooner.” He’d given a wry smile. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll do it some other time.”
Privately, Jess was delighted that Emily had asked her over – she was looking forward to a girls’ night in.
She missed Kate, despite the fact that Kate’s focus now seemed equally split between her upcoming wedding and Adam’s return to the Dublin office.
She also missed her tribe of cousins, most of whom had grown up with her and Zoe.
As she walked to the new apartments on the outskirts of the village, she let her mind wander over the week since her arrival.
Ivy Cottage now looked and felt a lot better.
After airing it thoroughly, she had filled the tiny fridge with cold drinks, yoghurts, some stir-fry vegetables, and ready-to-eat meals.
But like the rest of the staff at Linford, Jess preferred to eat in the hotel’s big basement kitchen, where Chef Marco prepared a daily buffet-style breakfast and lunch.
She’d also eaten with Robert in The Tin Whistle during the week and, although she’d done her best to keep things light, she’d got the impression that he was subtly pressing for more.
She had no idea how she felt about that.
Reasonably, she knew she couldn’t expect a single guy who’d been asking her out at every opportunity to be happy being friends.
And she didn’t want that either, did she?
So what did she want? Friends with flirting rights?
Friends with benefits? A six week, no-regrets fling?
She sighed. For the moment, maybe it was better not to define them at all.
She crossed Linford’s main street – which opened out into a pretty village green at one end – and found herself on the outskirts of Linford Wood.
The village was quiet and, beyond the trees, she could hear the quiet rush of the River Rathon which flowed through the castle grounds, and on through the villages of Linford, Kilshanley and all the way to Ballygobbin, where she and Simon had been due to marry.
A sharp memory of Adam and her walking along Ballygobbin’s stretch of the river the previous year came to mind.
Shit, why couldn’t she stop thinking about Adam?
Because you miss him. It didn’t matter. Adam had been a mistake, a blip in her life, a sort of speedbump on the road.
Except that if it hadn’t been for him, she might be married to Simon now.
Which would have been an even bigger mistake.
Annoyed with herself, Jess picked up her pace, determined not to think about Adam this evening. She wouldn’t think about Robert either. She was only here for a few weeks, so the chances of them becoming serious were low. Minus figures, in fact.
As she emerged onto a busy road, she stopped and gazed around, trying to find her bearings.
Where was she? Was that … Jess blinked. On the far side of the road was a LIDL.
And beside it, three modern, six-storey apartment blocks, built in a mixture of stone and redbrick and arranged around a pretty, well-planted communal area.
Jess smiled to herself as she crossed the road. She doubted Emily ever had to do her grocery shopping at Ted’s.
“Jess!” Emily squealed as she flung open the door of her apartment and pulled Jess inside. “You brought wine – two bottles! Omigod, that’s so sweet! I’m so glad you’re here before the pizzas – it’s so stressy trying to keep them hot.”
Jess handed her the wine and she took it across the open-plan area to the little kitchen, where she plonked it on the counter.
“So, what do you think?” She made an expansive gesture.
Jess looked around the bright, colourful space. The kitchen and living area were open plan and had a decent-sized balcony, and there was a single door off the living area which she guessed was the bedroom.
“I’ve got a gorgeous ensuite bathroom,” Emily was saying, “and there’s also a guest loo just as you come in the door.”
Jess figured it was about the same size as Ivy Cottage – the cottage was probably even a bit bigger – but its modern design made it feel large and airy.
“It’s perfect, Emily.” She pointed to the throws and cushions, in a variety of patterns and shades of pink scattered around the living area. “Did you add those yourself?”
Emily beamed. “I did! Like, it came just furnished with the basics – the candles and dried flowers are my own too. Okay, we’re gonna get comfy and have pizza and wine. Oh, and I got snacks.”
The doorbell rang again.
“Ooh, good timing, hang on!”
As Emily took delivery of two huge pizzas, Jess took a closer look at the living area, which consisted of a long, L-shaped sofa, a wall-mounted flat-screen TV and a low coffee table, every inch of which was covered with bowls of crisps, dips and sugary snacks.
She took a deep breath. She’d probably walk some of it off on her way home. If she took the scenic route.
Emily opened the wine and they sat and began to eat.
“So, what did you think about the first week of filming?” Emily asked a while later.
She had just helped herself to her fourth slice of pizza as Jess was still chewing on her second. The girl clearly had the same metabolism as Zoe, Jess thought – she could eat anything without putting on a single kilo.
Jess considered the question. “I’m not sure.
I mean, I’m mainly working from Ian’s office behind reception, so I’m a bit removed from a lot that’s happening.
” She shrugged. “I see snippets of filming, and I’ve bumped into some of the cast and crew.
They seem pretty cool. What else? Hair, makeup and costume is all set up in one of the cottages. ”
Emily looked so unimpressed that Jess giggled. “To be honest, I’m not sure I’m going to be needed at all,” she said.
Emily sighed. “Can I just say and, like, totally no disrespect here but you’d make a useless spy.”
“Probably. But it feels good to have something big happening at Linford that I don’t have to constantly stress about.” Except for the leaks, she thought. If they kept happening, Linford and its staff could get a horrible reputation, even if they had nothing to do with them.
“Maybe you’re not stressed about it because you’re actually here?” Emily poured them both some more wine. “Like, last year you were in Dublin but now if anything goes wrong, you’ll be right here to fix it.”
“Nothing will go wrong.” Coming down from Dublin the previous year hadn’t been the stressful bit. Not when she’d been with Adam.
But that Saturday in July had been the most stressful day of her life.
Just not the saddest. She blinked rapidly, willing herself not to cry. She’d already cried enough. For her miscarriage, for the end of her rebound relationship with Adam. For all the stupid mistakes she’d made in the past year. Shit, she really had to pull herself together.
“I want to know everything about your new life,” she said brightly.
“Okay.” Emily quickly drained her glass before looking solemnly at Jess. “Promise me this won’t go outside of us?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
“Like, I wasn’t sure if you’d agreed to come tonight because ...” Emily stopped, flushing red.
“Because what?” Jess frowned.
“I don’t want you feeling sorry for me.”
“I definitely won’t feel sorry for you.”
“It’s just, you’re the first person I’ve had here – at my place.” Emily pushed her finger through the designer tear in her pink denim jeans and rubbed hard at her knee.
Jess took a moment to absorb this. “But I thought you’d settled in? I thought you liked working in the hotel?”
“I do!” Emily chewed her lip. “Everyone there is lovely, and the days are really busy. And yeah, like, sometimes the younger staff all go for drinks and stuff. But I haven’t made any real friends yet.
Like, nearly everyone lives nearby and they’ve all known each other forever.
Or they’re older and they’ve partners, so –” Her voice wobbled.
“Anyway, they see me as a bit of a blow-in. Maybe they don’t think I’ll stick it out for long. ”
“Yeah, they probably do see you as a blow-in, but that’s okay, isn’t it? You won’t always be.”
Emily nodded. “I know. If it’s a work night out, I’m automatically invited, but they don’t invite me over for pizza or to the cinema or anything.”
Jess tried to think. “Robert mentioned that The Tin Whistle always has stuff going on. Karaoke nights and trad sessions – there’s even an annual talent show. Have you gone along to anything?”
“The trad sessions are okay.” Emily shrugged. “Some of the other stuff is organised by the residents’ association.” Her face went even redder. “I’ve gone to one or two things.”
Jess nodded encouragingly. “How did they go?”
“I’m guessing you heard about the last one?” Emily picked up another slice of pizza but didn’t take a bite. “I get that it was funny. I mean, not at the time, obviously but …”
“You’ve lost me, Emily.”
She gave her a quick look. “You didn’t hear? Honestly?” When Jess shook her head, she sighed. “There was a matchmaking thing organised for Valentine’s Day. I thought it’d be good craic and I might even meet someone, so I entered it.”
“Okay.”
“I ended up on a blind date with a really nice girl called Susie.”
Jess stared at her. “But you’re –”
“Straight. Yep.”
Jess felt her mouth twitch. “So what happened? Did you just explain there’d been a mix-up?”
“I couldn’t.” Emily’s eyes widened. “It was bad enough me being disappointed – I didn’t want to disappoint her too.”
A laugh escaped Jess that she quickly turned into a cough. “So, ah, how did it go, then?”
“Like, we got on great.” Emily grinned. “But we just stayed in the pub and by the end of the evening I think she guessed that I’m into guys.”
You couldn’t make it up, Jess thought.
Emily reached for the TV remote.
“I’ve got Netflix – there’s a few good movies on.”
“Amazing.” Jess made herself more comfortable on the sofa. “Just once it doesn’t have a wedding in it. Mam made me watch so many of those last year, I don’t want to see another romantic movie again in my life.”
“I wouldn’t mention that to Afric and Spencer,” Emily said.
“Yeah, I know. Where did you get your rings, by the way? They’re really pretty.”
“Oh.” Emily shrugged a bit shyly. “I made them myself. It’s sort of a hobby.”
“Seriously?” Jess leaned closer to examine the slender, twisted-silver rings on her hand. “You’re really talented.” She helped herself to another slice of pizza. “You know, I love that you invited me over tonight. I don’t know anyone down here.”
“You know Robert.”
“He’s nice, but I don’t want him getting the wrong idea.” Jess chewed slowly. “But I definitely want you and me to hang out more.”
“You don’t have to –” Emily began.
“I mean it, I’m really grateful. So stop thinking I’m doing you a favour here.”
Emily seemed to relax a bit more. “I’ve got so many friends back in Dublin, I thought it wouldn’t matter where I was living, because I’d just make lots of new ones.” She pulled a face. “So not the case.”
Jess thought of Zoe and Finn who’d managed to buy a rundown cottage in Limerick.
It needed loads of work but they’d managed to make a start on it with the money Finn was earning from his contract in Vegas.
And once they moved in, Jess knew Zoe was planning on having endless house guests so they wouldn’t be lonely.
That was it!
“You have to stop waiting for other people to invite you places.” Jess sat up straighter. “You need to throw a party.”