Page 30 of The Widow’s Irish Secret (Magnolia Manor #4)

The bedroom wasn’t quite finished and only had a bed and the chest of drawers on top of which Tricia had put a small lamp.

Ted had rigged up a blind over the window, promising to put up a curtain rod later on.

Still, even in this unfinished state, the room was fine to sleep in and she had fallen into bed every evening exhausted after all the work and slept all night until the dawn chorus woke her up.

This morning, however, she had slept late and decided to drift into the day slowly.

But Cillian’s arrival had interrupted her plan of a lazy morning.

Seeing him standing there outside the front door had shaken her and she tried to calm her racing heart and think about how to handle the situation.

She was afraid to be pulled into something that could be so sweet and romantic with someone who was connected to Fred and those happy days long ago.

They were comfortable with each other the way old friends were, sharing memories that nobody else knew about.

But they had both lived a long time after that, with other people in other places.

The quote ‘you can’t go home again’ kept playing in her mind as she got ready and she knew in her bones that it was true.

She wasn’t the same person he had known all those years ago – and neither was he.

We have to wipe the slate clean , she thought, and find out who we are now, in the present.

The past is behind us and we can only be together if we look forward. I need to tell him everything.

With that thought firmly in her mind, Tricia went into the living room and found Cillian holding the piece of driftwood over the fireplace.

‘It’ll look great once it’s in place,’ he said. ‘But I have no idea how to fix it.’

‘Ted will know,’ Tricia said as she walked in and stood in the middle of the floor. ‘I’ll show it to him and he’ll have it up in no time. It is actually perfect and will look amazing. It has a flat surface on the top so I can put a few things on it. I’ll oil it with teak oil once it’s up.’

‘Good idea.’ Cillian put the piece of driftwood on the floor. ‘Who’s Ted?’

‘The builder who’s doing all the renovations,’ Tricia replied. ‘I told you about him.’

‘So you did,’ Cillian said.

‘Amazing guy,’ Tricia continued. ‘He’s been a true hero, doing everything in super-quick time. Also so nice and kind.’ She drew breath and laughed when she noticed Cillian’s worried expression. ‘He’s a good friend, but that’s all.’

‘I’m glad to hear that. The Mr Fixit kind of man is usually very attractive to women.’

‘I’m pretty good at fixing things myself,’ Tricia said, attempting to reassure him. ‘I’m not the helpless female who shouts for help you know.’ She gestured at the sofa. ‘But sit down. I’ll get you a coffee or whatever you’d like.’

‘That would be great. I didn’t have breakfast, so…’ He stopped and eyed Tricia’s abandoned breakfast on the coffee table. ‘Did I interrupt your Sunday morning feast?’

‘Yes, in a delightful way,’ Tricia said. ‘So… Coffee? Tea? Toast? I have no idea what you usually have for breakfast.’

‘Industrial strength coffee and toast with a slice of cheese and an apple,’ Cillian replied. ‘But whatever you have will be fine.’

‘I think I can manage all that.’ Tricia went to the kitchen and made coffee and toast with a thick slice of cheddar and an apple and then carried it all into the living room on a tray.

Cillian got up to take the tray, then they sat down on the sofa, Tricia sitting with her hands in her lap watching Cillian consume his breakfast. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but she didn’t know where to start.

He swallowed the last bite of the slice of toast and looked at her. ‘What?’

‘Oh,’ she said, startled out of her thoughts. ‘I was just thinking…’

‘About what?’ he asked. ‘You look like you’re bursting with questions.’

‘I am,’ she confessed. She reached out and picked up her cinnamon bun. ‘About you, about the past.’

‘I have a feeling that the past is more like an obstacle than a help, to tell you the truth.’ He drew breath and looked at her, his eyes troubled. ‘That’s my feeling, anyway. How about you?’

‘I agree about that,’ Tricia replied after a moment’s silence.

She wanted to tell him about the trouble she was in but something stopped her.

Maybe he would judge her and think she was somehow guilty of what Sean’s nephew accused her of.

She wondered fleetingly if he was trying to tell her that he didn’t want to know.

The moment passed and the urge to reveal everything was suddenly gone.

Maybe this wasn’t the moment in any case.

Better to leave things alone for the moment and just enjoy the feeling of peace between them.

‘I can see that you have done a lot to this house since I was away,’ he said, looking around.

Tricia nodded and nibbled at her bun, happy to change the subject. ‘Yes, I’ve done a lot of the painting and polishing of all the floors.’

He seemed impressed. ‘It looks so professional. I didn’t know you were so good at stuff like that.’

‘Well, I am and I love it. There you go, now you know more about me,’ Tricia remarked. ‘The present me, I mean.’ She paused and put the bun back on the plate. ‘So what do you do on a Sunday normally?’

‘I usually go for a walk and then go to a pub for lunch. But today is different. I kind of invited myself to Sunday lunch at Sylvia’s later today. There is something I want to talk to her about.’

‘Really? What?’ Tricia asked, intrigued.

He looked away. ‘Oh, just something trivial,’ he said airily. ‘Your girls are coming too. Did she ask you as well?’

Tricia stared at him. ‘Sunday lunch? Today? With the girls? No, she didn’t. And they didn’t tell me about it either. My phone is in the bedroom charging, so maybe they texted me or something…’

‘Go and check it now,’ he urged. ‘I only talked to Sylvia this morning. She might have asked the girls on the spur of the moment.’

‘Sylvia never does anything on the spur of the moment.’ Tricia got up from the sofa. ‘Why do you want to talk to Sylvia?’ she asked again before she left.

When Cillian didn’t answer, Tricia ran into the bedroom and found her phone on the windowsill.

As she turned it on, she discovered several messages and two missed calls along with a voicemail.

The text message included one from Lily, one from Rose and two from Vi, all telling her about the lunch.

The voicemail was from Sylvia, as were the missed calls.

‘I have tried to reach you several times,’ Sylvia said in the voicemail, sounding annoyed.

‘Just to invite you to Sunday lunch. There will be a surprise guest whom you will be delighted to meet and the girls, their husbands and children have all accepted. Let me know as soon as possible.’ Then there was a click as she hung up.

Tricia rolled her eyes, laughed and dialled Sylvia’s number.

‘Finally,’ Sylvia said as she replied. ‘Are you coming or not?’

‘Coming, of course,’ Tricia said on the brink of laughter. ‘How can I refuse an invitation like that?’

‘I should hope not,’ Sylvia said, slightly mollified. ‘It’ll just be family and Arnaud is cooking.’

‘Then I’ll definitely come,’ Tricia said. ‘He’s a five-star chef. Only family, you said, so who’s the surprise guest?’ she asked even though she knew.

‘You’ll find out when you get here,’ Sylvia replied. ‘One o’clock and don’t be late,’ she said and hung up.

‘You were right,’ Tricia said when she came back into the living room.

‘Sylvia had invited me and now she’s annoyed she couldn’t get me straight away.

So I will have to turn up and apologise for not being available when she wanted.

’ Tricia sat down beside Cillian. She wanted to ask why he had contacted Sylvia and what he wanted to talk to her about but she knew it was no use.

It was obvious he wasn’t going to tell her and she didn’t want to start another argument.

Tricia wondered if Sylvia knew they had been seeing one another.

Had Cillian told her? Sylvia couldn’t have known about their relationship in the past, but if she knew, would she bring it up?

How would she feel about Tricia’s relationship with Fred’s best friend?

She felt so worried all of a sudden as all these questions whirled around in her mind.

She wanted to share her fears with Cillian, but then she started thinking about Sylvia’s plans for Violet and felt angry.

‘I’m annoyed with her, too, to be honest. Nothing I want to bore you with, though, except…

’ She stopped, not quite knowing how to continue.

‘Except what?’ Cillian asked.

‘Well, it has to do with your colleague, or whatever she is. Ilse, I mean,’ Tricia continued, hoping Cillian might at least finally reveal why he and Isle were in town.

‘It appears she’s got very pally with Sylvia and now she seems to know everything about Vi’s wedding plans, which were actually private.

But Sylvia seems to have taken to Ilse big time and told her things that made me very angry. ’

‘Sylvia?’ Cillian looked confused. ‘And Ilse? I had no idea that they knew each other.’

‘They met at the hairdresser’s,’ Tricia said. ‘And started to talk. One thing seems to have led to another and now they’re bosom pals.’

‘What did Ilse tell you that made you so angry?’ Cillian asked.

‘Well, she said Vi is going to wear Sylvia’s wedding dress, which is not true.

Vi wants to wear my dress, actually. I’m afraid I’m going to have it out with Sylvia about this.

She told a total stranger things we haven’t had a chance to discuss yet.

A private family matter too. I really don’t like what this Ilse woman said to me. It is none of her business.’

‘Ilse is like that,’ Cillian said. ‘I mean, she makes friends easily and gets people to talk. She’s very charming when she wants to be.’

‘When she wants to get close to important people, you mean?’ Tricia asked, lifting an eyebrow. ‘Sylvia being a very important person around here.’

‘Yeah, well…’

Tricia sat up. ‘Yeah well – what? You know I think it’s time you told me about your work and how Ilse is connected to it. I can’t stand you keeping secrets from me like this. You have to trust me or we will never be able to go forward.’

Cillian looked taken aback by her tone. He looked at her for a moment. ‘I’m sorry. I really can’t tell you until “they” give me the go-ahead. It’s a very important project.’

‘I thought you trusted me,’ Tricia said, her heart beating faster.

Cillian frowned. ‘Please, Trish, try to be patient. It won’t be long till we tell the whole story.’

But Tricia had had enough. ‘I need some space. And I need to think.’ She got up to look out the window in an attempt to make him leave. It was all getting too much to cope with. All the stress and controversy was getting to her.

‘Okay.’ Cillian took his cue, and she could soon hear his chair move, and his soft footsteps as he left.

The peace between them hadn’t lasted long and she felt so confused about how to handle her feelings for him.

He was constantly blowing hot and cold and Tricia was beginning to feel it might ruin everything between them.