‘No, he wasn’t,’ she broke in.
‘Er .?.?. maybe I should come back later?’ Finn was looking as uneasy as she’d ever seen him.
‘No, no no, not at all, sit down .?.?. take a load off,’ insisted Gav, exuding largesse.
‘Gav, shut up. Finn and I have been seeing each other since January.’
‘Well, you little dark horse, you .?.?.’
‘Actually, I’ve heard a lot about you,’ said Finn.
‘Well, word does get around.’ Gav was in his most ebullient form, but Finn was having none of it.
‘It actually seems that you’re a bit of an arsehole and I’d say the last thing Cassie needs is you landing in on top of her. So, the best thing you could do right now is not prevail on her good nature any longer and get the fuck out of here.’
Cassie felt a mixture of gratitude and unease.
‘Well, excuse me, the last thing I’d want to do is step on any toes .?.?.’
Finn’s face was implacable. ‘There’s a sailing from Dublin port at two o’clock, you’ll be in plenty of time for it.’
Cassie couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret. ‘Let’s have breakfast first, at least.’
Finn glared at her. Oh well, she’d put up with enough from his side.
After they made coffee and warmed the croissants brought by Finn, they sat around a small wrought-iron table on the balcony as Gav lit a roll-up to celebrate the mini-heatwave and leaned back, exhaling smoke as though he owned the place. Viewing Gav through someone else’s eyes was actually very enlightening. He was highly persuasive, and that was to someone who’d been on the receiving end of his misdemeanours. No wonder as a naive young woman she’d been bewitched. She felt a wave of sympathy for the kid she’d been, the little piglet in the house of straw – no match for the charming wolf who’d blagged his way in.
Gav was engaging Finn in a conversation about the well-known bands he’d worked with. She had to admit he was very impressive, very good at his job of organising difficult people, often with massive egos, inveigling them to do what was needed. Once you saw past that, it was just him doing his job. For the first time since she’d met him, she didn’t feel the lesser one.
Thankfully, by eleven Finn stood up and offered to drive Gav to the boat.
‘You’re a gentleman, sir. I won’t forget it.’
He would, of course – instantly – but that still didn’t stop you feeling good when he said it. Standing in the hallway with his miscellaneous baggage assembled about his person and a faint whiff of tragedy in his manner, he hugged Cassie warmly as though they were long-lost friends.
‘Maybe the two of you can come over and visit us, when the baby arrives?’ he said in all sincerity. Evidently, he’d reimagined his future once again.
An hour later Finn reappeared, looking exasperated.
‘Well?’
‘Oh, we’re best friends. He actually suggested that I buy a return ticket so I could come with him and have a “bit of a hooley” on the boat.’
Cassie burst out laughing. ‘That’s about the least “you” thing I could ever imagine.’
‘I don’t know, for a moment I was tempted. A part of me thinks I should do a bit more of it.’
‘Now you’re scaring me.’
She filled another cafetière, heated some milk, filled two oversized cups and sat down.
‘I’m sure you feel like a relaxing coffee after your mercy dash.’ She was picking up that he didn’t look relaxed at all. ‘Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you. Would you like to come to Mam and Eric’s wedding as my plus one?’
Finn winced.
‘Look, Cassie, I need to talk to you .?.?.’
There’d been a tension in his manner ever since he’d arrived this morning, she’d just been too distracted to notice.
