2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
‘It’s all right, sir.’ The chauffeur glanced in the rear-view mirror as Cillian turned in his seat for the hundredth time. ‘There’s no one behind us. I was very discreet and took roads where I knew it would be impossible for another vehicle to follow us unseen.’
‘Thank you.’ Cillian pressed firmly on his knee to stop it bouncing up and down. ‘I really appreciate it. And you don’t need to call me sir.’
‘Of course, sir,’ said the chauffeur.
Cillian let out a sigh and scrubbed his fingers through his hair.
Wasn’t it possible, just for once, to be treated as a normal human being?
At least in the awful pub he’d visited the previous night, no one had recognised him.
It had been a treat to nurse a quiet pint.
But then the fiasco of leaving the hotel this morning had wrecked the momentary peace he’d found.
And what about the girl? He wanted to write her off as another groupie, but there was something different about her…
something that made him wish he’d asked for her number.
An image of Brian and his master plan filled Cillian’s mind.
Asking for a pretty girl’s number did not form part of that plan, however much he’d like it to.
Cillian shook his head, trying to forget all about Brian and everything he brought with him. All he could hope was that no one, especially not Brian, would think to look for him in Saffron Bay. After all, Catherine McDonaugh now went by the name Kitty Brown. It was unlikely they’d be linked.
The Mercedes, with its blacked-out windows, couldn’t have been more out of place on the narrow Cornish lanes.
The driver, clearly worried about scratches on the perfect paintwork, kept to a crawling pace, and Cillian’s impatience bubbled like an unexploded volcano.
He wanted to get to the village, get inside Kitty’s cottage, and hide away from the world.
He closed his eyes and must have dropped off, because the next thing he knew, the chauffeur was gently shaking his shoulder, muttering, ‘Wakey, wakey, sir.’
Cillian looked around. They were parked outside a row of tiny stone cottages. Through the opposite window, he glimpsed the sea, peaceful and glittering under a June sun.
No wonder his sister loved it here. Cillian climbed out of the car and stretched his long limbs. He clicked his back, then refused the chauffeur’s offer to carry his suitcase. At this rate, he was going to turn soft.
He gave the chauffeur a handsome tip before sending him on his way, and walked up the front path to knock on the door.
Kitty must have been waiting for him. The door was flung open, and the next thing he knew, he was enveloped in his sister’s arms.
‘Oh my goodness, let me look at you.’ Kitty stepped back and held him at arm’s length. She brushed a curl from his forehead and shook her head. ‘My God, you’re so tall. I’m sure you’ve grown since I last saw you.’
Cillian could have said something similar about his sister. Not that she’d grown taller. But she looked different, happier, content. Saffron Bay and a certain Nick Andrews had clearly been good for her. He smiled. ‘I’m pretty sure by the age of twenty-five you stop growing. Maybe you’ve shrunk?’
Kitty punched him on the arm, grabbed his suitcase, and turned back into the cottage.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘What are you waiting for?’
A floral scent hung in the air, which had to come from the enormous bunch of wildflowers sitting in a vase in the hallway.
‘Those from your boyfriend?’ he called.
‘Fiancé,’ corrected Kitty.
‘Yeah, sorry,’ he said. ‘I still can’t get used to the fact my sister’s about to get married.’
‘It’s not like it’s the first time,’ said Kitty with a wince.
Cillian could’ve kicked himself. ‘Sorry.’
She brushed aside his concern. ‘Come through here,’ she said. ‘This is the best room.’
He followed his sister into a modern extension drenched in sunlight.
‘This is cool,’ he said, running his hand over the high-end kitchen units.
‘Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?’ Kitty grinned. ‘I really landed on my feet with this place.’
‘Is this where you’re going to live when you’re married?’ asked Cillian.
‘Yeah. Nick lives with his parents, and Solly, who owns this cottage, is happy for him to move in with me.’
‘Oh, I’m looking forward to meeting this Nick fellow,’ said Cillian, going heavy on the irony. ‘Living with his parents is a bit of a red flag. He’d better be good enough for my sister.’
‘Don’t you start,’ said Kitty. ‘Even if you don’t approve, it’s too late to do anything about it. The wedding’s only six weeks away.’
‘I’m joking,’ said Cillian. ‘And I trust you not to make the same mistake twice. You should’ve listened to me about that toad James. I always knew he was a wrong ’un.’
‘Yeah, the less said about him the better.’ Kitty grimaced. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear Nick is the polar opposite of James, so you’ve nothing to worry about. Now let me make you a tea, and then we can go through wedding plans.’
‘I can’t wait,’ said Cillian, with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice.
Kitty turned to face him, placing her hands on her hips. ‘I thought you were here to help.’
‘I am,’ said Cillian. ‘Come on, let’s not start bickering yet.’
As Kitty made the tea, Cillian ignored the guilty voice in his head telling him he didn’t give a damn about wedding preparations.
He was in Saffron Bay to hide and to pull himself together.
There was only so long he could keep up the pretence of being OK.
He was walking a tightrope that, with one wrong move, could see him falling into the abyss.
Kitty had rebuilt her life in this out-of-the-way village, and if she could do it, he hoped he could too.
Otherwise, he might not have a career to go back to.