Chapter 5 #2
He found himself doing things he’d never would have expected, like duetting with a woman he barely knew, and now attending a post-church meal with her like he was part of a couple.
But something in the way Ash smiled seemed to call to him, and whether this was more of that ‘strong woman’ internal warning he needed to pay heed to he didn’t know.
But it was too late, he’d crossed the road, was shaking hands with the couple from last night.
“Hey, good to see you again.”
“I’m Aidan.” The Australian man stretched out his hand. “And this is my Aurora.”
“Rory,” she clarified.
Andy shook her hand too, his mind ticking as he grasped his school teaching tools to remember their names. Aidan-the-Australian he might remember with the rhyme. Rory looked more like a sweet-natured red setter than a lion. “I’m Andy.”
“And I’m Aisling. People call me Ash.”
“Seriously? You hadn’t even introduced yourself?” Rory murmured to her sister.
“Look, there hasn’t been much time.” She drew them inside the crowded café to where two older ladies sat at a longer table. “Here they are. Mam, Aunty Aine, this is Andy. Andy, I think you met Maeve, my mother when she checked you in. And this is my aunt, Aine Flannery.”
“Andy, welcome,” Maeve said. “I trust you’ve been enjoying your time in Derryloughlin?”
“It’s been very interesting.”
“You were at the service?”
“Yes. It was very similar to what I hear at home.”
The other woman nodded. “You’re a friend of Ash’s then?”
He glanced at Aisling, and she nodded. So that made it a “Yes.”
Rory glanced at Ash who suddenly thrust plastic-encased menus at them. “We should order before the kitchen gets too busy.”
The next few minutes were spent ordering food and doing chit-chat as they shared about the karaoke last night.
He perched nervously and ate his salmon and cod fishcakes, wondering again exactly what he was doing here.
This was a cosy family gathering. And he wasn’t family.
And while Ash may have claimed him as a friend he barely knew her.
Although, sitting here, listening as they spoke, he was starting to get more of an idea about what made this woman (and her family) tick.
They weren’t unlike his, in that they obviously cared deeply for one another. But unlike his, the Fairalls apparently owned the Castle Griffin Hotel, something he only realised by a dropped comment that made him murmur to Aidan, “They own the hotel?”
He nodded. “And a few others.”
“I see.” He sat back in his chair. Well, it was a good thing he’d sworn off relationships because this woman, intriguing as she was, was obviously way out of his league.
And even though her family were nice and had welcomed him, he knew he couldn’t stay.
He shouldn’t stay. So as soon as he politely could he’d leave.
He pushed back his plate, decorated with a few crumbs and sauce remains. “That was delicious. Thank you for letting me join you.”
“But you’re not leaving now, are you?” Ash said.
“I should probably see where Grady is up to. He might be wondering where I am.”
“He’s a grown man, isn’t he?”
Aine’s head angled. “You know, you remind me of someone. Where did you say you were from?”
“Out Cork way.”
“Hmm.”
“I attended university in Cork,” Ash said.
“What did you study?”
“Social sciences, particularly to do with Irish culture.”
“What is it you do for work?” Rory asked.
“I’m a high school teacher. I teach PE.”
Rory chuckled. “Well, you would’ve had your work cut out for you if you’d ever had Ash as one of your students. She used to skive off PE classes as much as she could.”
He glanced at her. “Not a fan of exercise?”
“I don’t mind it.”
“Since when?” Rory asked.
“Well, let’s just say I would like to not mind it.”
A round of chuckles met Ash’s comment.
“I suspect that if our PE teachers had looked like him then she probably would’ve been there more,” Rory said in an undertone to Aidan, but in a voice Ash was clearly meant to hear. As was he.
Heat travelled up his neck, holding his tongue hostage. He never knew what to say in moments like these. He knew he wasn’t as handsome as the likes of Aidan or Grady, having what some called an honest face, but it hadn’t stopped some young students from trying to flirt over the years.
“Have you ever had difficulties with getting students to do their exercises?” Aidan asked.
“I think all teachers can, at times. But our school has measures in place to ensure participation rates are pretty high.”
“What kinds of sports do you enjoy?” Aidan continued. “Are you a rugby man?”
“I don’t mind watching the game. You?”
“I’d like it more if we Aussies were better, but we’re going through a lean patch at the moment. Well, we’ve been there for a few decades it seems.”
Andy joined Aidan’s laugh, and their conversation turned to sports while the women continued chatting about the wedding.
He admitted he was a runner, and it was nice to simply say that without someone’s eyes lighting up and comments being made about Olympic trials.
That man seemed like someone who had lived another life ago.
“I’d like to run but I’m more of a gym bro,” Aidan admitted.
“Gym bro?”
“That’s what my sister calls me back home. That, and I like cricket. But you don’t really play that here, do you?”
“We play rounders more. Which has some similarities.”
He soon grew aware that it was way past the time he’d told Grady he’d get back, and he really should return soon.
“I’m sorry, but I need to go,” he said.
“Us too. We did allow the morning off for our guests, but said we’d be back this afternoon before people headed off.
” Maeve smiled at Andy. “I know it’s been a little hectic this weekend, but you’ll find that it’ll be much quieter now with many of the guests gone. You’re staying a few days longer, yes?”
“That was the plan.” And he liked his plans. But now, seeing the way Ash studied him, he probably should go sooner than later. It wouldn’t do to allow himself to get caught up with a woman again.
He rose. “Um, I should go pay.”
“Oh, that’s all fixed up.”
“Really?”
Maeve nodded. “It’s our way of saying thank you for being so accommodating with the challenges of accommodation.”
“Thank you, but you really didn’t need to do that,” he protested.
She smiled. “You noticed it was only a meal, not the cost of your stay.”
He chuckled. So this was where her daughters got their sense of humour. “Well, thank you again. I appreciate it.” He nodded to everyone. “Uh, thanks again for including me.”
“We’re glad you could stay.” Aisling’s quick smile soon slipped into something that looked almost wistful.
Which, as he headed back to the hotel, made him wonder again just what she was thinking, and what the reason was for this strange vibe between them.
His fingers clenched on the steering wheel. It didn’t matter what her reasons were for asking him, he had no business wondering about her. He was a man with a plan, after all. He’d just need to remember that.