‘Lucy, you do realise why it’s called the Emerald Isle?’
‘Mum, I’d go to Saudi Arabia to visit this man. It could be a lot worse.’
‘It could be a lot better. Could you not just find a nice Englishman?’ She rolled her eyes dramatically, but I could tell she was secretly happy for me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
SATURDAY 13TH OCTOBER
‘So, what’s this big news you have for me?’ John asked as he manoeuvred the Audi round the narrow winding roads I had become so accustomed to, from the airport to his house.
I had known for forty-eight hours and it had been killing me not being able to tell him. I so badly wanted to do it in person. The excitement shone from my grinning face.
‘Patience, my dear,’ I said.
‘What are we waiting for? The local newspaper to arrive before you can give the exclusive?’
‘You’ll find out soon enough.’ I’d held it this long; I could wait another few minutes.
Eventually, he pulled into his stone cobbled drive, kissed my cheek, and offered his usual greeting. ‘Welcome home.’
Collecting my small, red suitcase, he pulled me into the house and through to the kitchen. As though I was weightless, he lifted me onto the island, wiggled his hips between my legs and kissed me again firmly on the mouth, his tongue teasing mine unfairly.
It still made me weak inside, and he knew it, wielding it over me like a weapon.
He broke away suddenly. ‘Now, for the love of God, woman, will you please put me out of my misery?’
I hadn’t realised how much it had been annoying him, but it appeared my wonderfully straight talking, joker boyfriend actually hated surprises.
‘Can you hand me my luggage up?’ I patted the island next to me and he flung the case up quickly. ‘Easy, you might break something.’
He rolled his eyes as I took my time slowly unzipping the case, eventually locating a white standard looking office envelope. It gave away nothing on the outside, but the contents were enormously valuable. I handed it to him gleefully and removed the bottle of Moet I’d purchased in the duty free this morning.
Ripping it open, he scanned the typed lines. I watched his face as he processed the words, and then fist punched the air with a triumphant whoop. It was the most enthusiasm I’d ever witnessed from him for anything outside the bedroom.
An embarrassing trickle of tears escaped my eyes as he kissed my forehead then popped the Moet.
‘Congratulations sweetheart.’ He handed me a glass of bubbling liquid, which could have done with a stint in the fridge. We clinked our crystal flutes together, and he wiped my tears away with a gentle stroke of his thumb.
‘I thought it would never arrive. I’d been holding my breath the last few weeks. It had taken longer than expected, and I’d worried Rob wouldn’t go through with it. But there it landed, on the doorstep at seven fifty-five on Thursday morning. The relief swept through my veins like a wave.’
‘You are the most amazing divorcee I have ever met in my life,’ John said, handing back my Decree Absolute.
‘Thank you.’ I looked to the ground, feeling almost shy.
‘Keep it somewhere safe, girl. You never know when you might need it.’ He winked at me with a glint in his sparkling eyes.
I was a long way from thinking about marriage again, but at least now I was a free woman. I had the paperwork to prove it.
There had been no word from Rob throughout. It was a relief. I didn’t want to have to keep going over things again and again. At last, it appeared I’d crossed the finishing line of a difficult few months. Sometimes I wondered how he was, but I tried not to dwell on it. Our eyes are on the front of our heads for a reason.
We brought the bottle and our two glasses through to the sunroom, and sat together squashed on one end of the enormous sofa. The faint autumn sunlight weakly penetrated the church window. Content with his arm wrapped around my shoulders, I inhaled John’s familiar masculine aroma, and enjoyed the feel of my face pressed snugly into his chest. His arms were like home.
I allowed myself a few quiet moments of reflection on how far we had actually come, before slowly pulling open his crisp baby blue shirt and kissing his neck in a manner that was only going to end one way.
Chapter Twenty-Three
FRIDAY 19TH OCTOBER
