Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
The Aer Lingus flight touched down in Knock Airport at lunch time. John said I was the only woman in the world could describe a plane landing in a manner that was explicit. He must have had sex on the brain.
I did too.
I wondered, increasingly so, what it would be like. I hadn’t been with many men and was slightly concerned about my lack of experience and, let’s be honest, complete lack of interest in that department until recently.
And what woman was one hundred percent confident in her own body, regardless of what size she was or how much weight she’d lost?
It had been a fast week getting organised; waxing, nails, hair.
I bought eight sets of new underwear (none of which were green, coincidently), three jumper dresses that could be dressed up or dressed down as necessary, a little black dress, two new pairs of jeans, a short-sleeved crisp-white shirt and four new vest tops.
It was partly for John’s benefit but more so for myself. I needed to feel good. Out with the old and in with the new.
Knock was the tiniest airport I’d seen in my entire life.
John waited, hands folded across his chest in anticipation as I breezed through passport control. It was so surreal. I’d spent every minute of the day wishing for this, and here we were. Me separated, only weeks away from an official divorce and him still interested, despite the complications.
He was still as strikingly understated as ever, dressed in light blue jeans and a grey hoody.
‘I see you dressed appropriately for the occasion.’ John kissed me full on the mouth this time. My stomach flipped as he took a step backwards, taking in my white jeans and gold stilettos. He shook his head, laughing.
‘You realise I live on a farm?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but you don’t sleep in the barn, do you?’ I answered sharply, stirring a hearty laugh from him.
‘Put your claws away, girl, I’m only saying you look fantastic, if a little impractical.’
‘I thought I was coming to visit, not to do the farming for you,’ I said with a helpless shrug.
‘You are in for a lovely weekend, make no mistake about it, but it’s important you see the reality of life here as well. You’ll be getting the full tour of the farm. You’ll love it, trust me.’
I glanced at him doubtfully. It was a good job I did trust him. My safety was completely in his hands now. I was in his territory, and he was very comfortable with that.
He oozed confidence as we strode to where he had double parked the Audi outside the front door like he owned the place.
I had longed for a man that could take control. Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.
He opened the passenger door for me and I slid into the black leather seat, fastening my seatbelt tightly. John said he lived about twenty minutes from the airport. I tried to relax and take in the scenery.
‘I’ll bring you the main road home.’ He shot me a cheeky wink.
I glanced at the scenery doubtfully. If this was the main road, I’d hate to see the back road.
A narrow winding country lane stretched before us.
At the steepest bends, I glimpsed a magnificent lake, so still, so peaceful looking.
The tranquillity could be attributed to the fact that there was not another soul in sight.
The entire landscape appeared like a picturesque postcard.
Conversation was minimal as I soaked up my surroundings and John drove, deep in thought, or perhaps he was just concentrating on the road.
I rested my hand lightly on his thigh and his full lips lifted into a smile.
‘Are you excited to see your new home?’ he joked as though it was a forgone conclusion.
‘Hmm,’ I muttered.
I couldn’t see myself as much of a countrywoman, but I would not negotiate terms anytime soon. I planned on enjoying the weekend, happy to be with him instead of admiring him over FaceTime.
‘Wait until you see the town, you’re going to love it.’ A twinkle of mischief lit up his eyes.
We’d already been driving for over half an hour, which was longer than he said, and I still hadn’t seen anything that looked remotely like a town.
Up ahead I saw signs for a place called Ballina. I was trying to work out the difference between miles per hour and kilometres, whichever way you looked at it, he was still speeding and the airport wasn’t as near as he’d led me to believe.
‘Someone’s been telling porkie pies.’ I looked at my watch pointedly.
‘Sure, it was the traffic that held us up. It’s normally a lot quicker than this.’ That man had an answer for everything.
I couldn’t help but laugh. John was like no one I’d ever met before; his sense of humour was warped.
Ahead I noticed a few detached houses lining each side of the road and things started to look a bit more promising. A petrol station, a corner shop, a butcher, a pharmacist and a betting shop.
‘Welcome to Ballina,’ he said warmly.
‘This is it?’ I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. He had to be having me on?
‘This is it. There are more shops down there.’ He pointed towards the river.
I saw a Tesco’s, a florist, and Penny’s. If I’d have blinked, I would have missed it. Oh dear, it was quainter than I thought. A few people roamed the streets, but it seemed pretty quiet generally.
‘Busy today,’ he said, as if he could read my mind. ‘Saturday you see, the market is on as well.’
I didn’t see a market. It certainly wasn’t going to give Camden a run for its money.
We passed through the ‘town’ and out into quieter streets and the scenery became more rural again.
‘Is it far?’ I asked.
‘Ten minutes.’
‘Is that a real ten minutes, or an Irish ten minutes?’ I arched a wry eyebrow.
He chuckled but failed to answer the question.
Eventually, I saw a sign that said Killala. He indicated right. We turned into a by-road and followed it along for about half a mile.
I glimpsed the crashing waves of the wild Atlantic Ocean at certain bends in the road. Three big detached stone fronted houses loomed ahead, each with their own separate stone wall, one house set back further than the next. He indicated, and he pulled into the third one. It was impressive.
The gravel crunched under the tyres as he reversed into a parking space next to a gleaming green tractor.
‘My other wheels.’ I don’t know why I was surprised; I knew he was a farmer.
‘Welcome home.’ He leaned across the car, planting a tender, lingering kiss on my mouth.
The nerves gnawed at the lining of my stomach. Excitement hummed through my blood. We’d waited so long to be alone together, I was desperate for it to be as good as we’d both anticipated with the chemistry heightening for months.
One way or another, it was heading for a conclusion very soon.
He opened the car door for me. ‘Mind you don’t go over on your ankle in those stilts you’re wearing.’
I held onto his arm as he led me up the length of a cobbled pathway to a heavy, black front door. The windows were set symmetrically, two on either side of the door and a big corner window on each end of the house. The door was unlocked.
A spacious, light-cream hallway with a double height ceiling and a cream wooden centre staircase welcomed us.
John led me by the hand through to the next room – an enormous kitchen.
Again, the walls were cream with ivory, wooden cupboard doors and a slightly darker beige granite work top covering a huge island in the middle of the room.
The island had three cream leather stools at one end, the other housed a wine-rack stocked with twenty-five bottles of various red and white wines.
This house was like something from Grand Designs.
‘Your house is beautiful.’ It wasn’t what I’d expected at all.
‘No, you are beautiful. This is just a house.’ He pushed me gently back against the island, sliding his hands inside my jacket and around my waist. Millimetres away from my face, he leaned in to kiss me deeply, slowly but fiercely, pushing his mouth on to mine.
I rested my hands around his broad shoulders and pressed my body against his, exhaling as I handed myself over to him, revelling in the feeling of his hands on my seriously neglected body.
The front door banged loudly, and he rolled his eyes up to the sky and tutted.
‘Hello?’ A woman’s voice echoed through the spacious hallway.
Startled, we jumped apart.
In walked an absolutely stunning woman in tight navy jeans, knee-high boots and a slim-fitting cream jumper. She had dark short bobbed hair and her face was made-up with a hint of blush and mascara. She could pass as a model from an autumn clothing catalogue.
‘Sorry to just barge in on ye and ye just home.’ Her accent was as equally beautiful as the rest of her, although she clearly wasn’t a bit sorry for the intrusion. Excitement danced across her face as she took us both in arms around each other.
‘When I saw the car home, I just couldn’t help it. We’re all so desperate to meet this new woman of John’s that we keep hearing about!’ She examined me curiously as she crossed the room and shoved John out of the way, enveloping me in an unexpected bear hug.
‘Welcome home.’
She was the second person to welcome me home to a place that wasn’t actually home.
I stood rigid, slightly confused with no idea who this woman was, holding me tightly by the shoulders while she scrutinised my face.
John sniggered, enjoying my obvious discomfort.
‘Oh my God. I am so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Trisha. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. I live next door.’ She let go of me then.
‘Trisha, it’s great to meet you.’ I genuinely meant it. She seemed absolutely lovely, if a tad over familiar.
‘We have heard so much about you, lady! I just couldn’t resist sticking my head in for a quick nose to see what all the fuss was about. We’ve never seen him like this about a woman before, he’s the talk of the town.’ John lowered his face slowly into his hands in embarrassment.