Chapter 19
Mary said goodnight and went to bed as soon as the movie was over, leaving Evan still sitting on the sofa watching TV. But though she was tired, she felt restless and wired, and couldn’t sleep.
What was wrong with her? She was supposed to be heartbroken.
She’d just been dumped in the most spectacular, humiliating way possible by the man she’d been with for two years.
She should be mourning that relationship, but instead all she could think about was the incredibly hot man downstairs and his award-winning kissing.
Images of Evan kept flitting across her mind – half-naked on the beach this morning, at dinner in the O’Sullivans’ in the lovely Aran jumper she’d bought him, laughing with her friends in the pub, playing with Charlie, sitting next to her on the sofa downstairs, almost kissing her…
She was glad of the distraction when her phone pinged with a message. But when she picked it up, she was annoyed to see it was from Greg.
Happy Christmas, Mary! I hear it’s a white one in NY.
She typed back furiously:
I wouldn’t know, I’m in Dingle.
He responded:
Oh great! So you got home to your folks after all. I’m so glad.
Oh, fuck off, Greg, you patronising shithead.
Nope. They didn’t know I was coming, and they went to NY to be with me. So I’m here on my own.
No need to tell him she had company and that he hadn’t managed to completely ruin Christmas for her. She wasn’t having a terrible time, but that was no thanks to him and she wasn’t about to let him off the hook.
The message ‘Greg is typing’ flashed up briefly, then disappeared.
Then it started up again – Greg is typing, Greg is typing, Greg is typing.
It started and stopped, started and stopped, but no text appeared.
Ha! That had shut him up. Eventually, it seemed he’d finally given up on trying to find a way to reply and she put her phone back on the nightstand, plugging it in to charge.
She fluffed up the pillows, flicked off the bedside light and tried to put all thoughts of Greg and Evan out of her head.
Downstairs, Evan stared unseeingly at the TV.
He was ostensibly watching an old horror movie, but his mind was elsewhere and he couldn’t for the life of him have said what was going on.
There was some sort of monster on the loose and a lot of people running around screaming, but he couldn’t focus on the story.
All he could think about was the fact that he’d almost kissed Mary.
That would have been a really bad move, and luckily he’d stopped himself in time.
He liked her a lot and she was fun to be around – not to mention extremely cute – but they were both on the rebound, and she was clearly still hung up on this Greg dude, even though he sounded like a total dick.
He was having a nice time with her, and he wasn’t going to screw it up by making a move on her.
He tried to ignore the fact that she’d looked like she’d have been into it.
Even if she had been, she’d probably have regretted it in the morning and then things would be weird and awkward between them for the rest of his time here.
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing – Max finally calling him back.
‘Hi, Evan! Happy Christmas!’ Max’s tone was bright and chirpy, but there was an undercurrent of wariness to it, like he knew he was in trouble and was trying to pre-empt a telling-off.
‘Happy Christmas. Why haven’t you been answering my calls?’
‘Sorry. We were at Ben’s parents’ and they’re very strict about not having phones at the table. It’s a whole thing with them. They’re sort of hippies.’
‘Right. But I’ve been calling you for days. You’re not trying to tell me you’ve been at the table the entire time?’
Max laughed nervously. ‘Well anyway, you’ve got me now. Was there anything in particular you wanted me for?’
‘Yeah. In particular, I wanted to tear you a new one.’ Evan was glad he hadn’t been able to reach Max when he was still mad at him, because this was turning out to be the best Christmas he’d had in a very long time and he was grateful to Max for making it happen.
But he still wanted to have a little fun with him before he let him know that.
‘Okaaay. Not loving where this is going so far, but carry on.’
‘You know I arrived to find this house occupied?’
‘Mmm. Yeah, I’ve been talking to Sheena.
I know her daughter is there with you. But I was at her drinks thing at your apartment this morning and she said you were going to dinner with friends of hers today, so that must have been nice?
’ When Evan didn’t respond, he said, ‘Look, I’m sorry.
I know this isn’t what you wanted, but—’
‘It’s fine.’
‘Really?’ Max’s voice squeaked with surprise.
‘Yeah. I’m actually having a really nice time.’
‘Oh, honey, I’m so glad.’ Evan smiled at the warmth and affection in Max’s voice. ‘So I did good?’ he asked chirpily, eager to take the credit now.
‘You did good. Accidentally, but—’
‘Same result, so it still counts,’ Max interrupted quickly.
‘Yeah, it still counts.’
‘So, tell me all! What was dinner like? Have you been to a céilí yet?’
‘I don’t think céilís happen here as much as you think. I’ve been to the pub, though, and drank Guinness,’ he said, not wanting to shatter all Max’s illusions. ‘And I went for a swim in the ocean this morning.’
‘In the ocean? Oh my God, are you okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ Evan laughed at the dismay in Max’s voice. ‘It’s a thing they do here. It was fun.’
‘And you had dinner with Sheena’s friends? What were they like?’
‘Really nice.’ He’d felt surprisingly comfortable at the O’Sullivans’ and not awkward or out of place at all. ‘Dinner was great. Mostly all the same stuff we’d have, but there were a lot of potatoes – three different kinds.’
‘Well, I suppose that’s to be expected in Ireland. But you have a bit of time before you have to get back into the Spidey suit. I’ll book you in for some overtime with your personal trainer when you get back.’
‘Thanks. And they have a grandkid – Charlie – really cute. He got a Spider-Man suit for Christmas, so he had to show me.’
‘Wow, he must have been thrilled when you showed up.’
‘He was pretty excited, yeah.’
‘And how’s Mary?’
‘Mary’s… she’s great.’
‘Oh, I’m so jealous. I’m always telling you that you should do one of those Christmas romcoms, and now you’re living one for real.
’ Max gave a contented sigh. ‘I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back.
But I’m so glad you’re going out and meeting people and having fun, not hiding yourself away. Enjoy the rest of your stay.’
‘Thanks. Happy Christmas, Max.’
‘Happy Christmas, Evan.’