Shane looked at her and winked as his mother took a plate of food she had been keeping warm under the grill, and set it on the table in front of her.
This is bloody ridiculous, Karen thought, trying to defuse her annoyance. Ordered around like a teenager in her own home and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She looked in dismay across the table at Shane, praying that he would notice that something was off, but no, mammy’s boy was happily munching on his third piece of buttered toast.
This was definitely not the happy ever after she’d envisioned.
37
Jenny examined her reflection in her bedroom mirror, satisfied that today, she looked good. She’d been to the hairdresser the day before for a trim and to touch up her highlights, and now her hair gleamed healthily.
She wore a black T-shirt with a metallic oriental print over a pair of bootcut denims that she’d picked up on sale in Brown Thomas. A pair of black chunky heeled boots completed the outfit. Those were new too.
In fact, Jenny thought, sprayingperfumeon her wrists; she had rediscovered her passion for a lot more than fashion. Although she hadn’t relished the thought initially, she now found that she truly valued her independence. She had her own apartment, a good job and great friends. She hadn’t felt this good in ages and was looking forward to heading out with Mike today.
As if on cue, the intercom buzzed and she went toanswer it. “You’re early. I’m not ready yet – you’ll have to come up and wait.”
When she let him in, Mike stood back and wolf-whistled. “Look at you, all rock-chick raunchy – do you have a date or something?”
Jenny made a face, secretly delighted with the compliment. He didn’t look too bad himself. Today was her first time seeing him out of work attire, and the tan combats and navy rugby top he wore made him look a lot more laidback and she had to admit, sexy.
“These look deceptively small from the outside.” He looked around the living room with interest, and she realised that this was the first time he had been inside her apartment.
“Yep, but at a cost,” she replied, wondering if she should offer to give him a tour, then instantly decided against it. Once he spied the pile of clothes scattered on the bed, he would think she’d been making a concerted effort to impress. Which wasn’t the case, Jenny assured herself, applying a slick of Vaseline to her lips.
She followed Mike downstairs and out into the bright morning sunshine. It was still chilly, but spring was on the way. Daffodils and tulips burst out of the flowerbeds at the building entrance, reminding Jenny of her dad’s flowerbeds at home and of the fact that she hadn’t visited since Christmas.
“What a fabulous day,” she commented, following Mike’s gaze out to the pier. The water beneath the yachts and boats moored in the harbour sparkled with reflected sunlight.
“It is, isn’t it?” he nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Actually, way too nice to spend it traipsing around dreary houses.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, disappointed at the prospect of their outing being cancelled. “Do you want to call off the house hunt?”
“Most definitely,” he said. “I can do that any time – let’s do something interesting instead, like take the Dart out to Howth or a ramble along Killiney Hill – what do you think?”
“Well, great – but haven’t you already made arrangements with the agent?”
Jenny was in two minds; the first eager at the thought of doing something ‘interesting’ with Mike, and the second unsure as to whether she should show it.
He was already on his phone before she had time to think any more about it.
“Sorry, something’s come up. I’ll need to reschedule … yes …OK great, talk to you soon.” He put the phone back in his pocket and grinned. “Right – that’s that sorted. And I just had a brainwave while I was on the line… have you ever been to Brittas Bay?”
Jenny hadn’t so they got into his little yellow SmartCar and headed towards the Wicklow coast, all thought of house-hunting forgotten. On the way, they stopped off for brunch at a cosy café in Ashford, whereupon Mike admitted that he rarely cooked for himself at home.
“It takes too much time and effort for one,” he said, “even if I tend to eat enough for two or three.”
“I’d noticed,” she remarked dryly, watching him stuff two sausages and a piece of white pudding into his mouth all at once.
“Rebecca used to go mad,” he said, gulping tea to wash it down.
Watching him smile at the memory, she felt a tinge of jealousy. He was always talking about Rebecca, commenting on things his ex might do or what she might like. Still, Jenny supposed, you couldn’t so easily forget someone you were married to.
In contrast, she rarely spoke about Roan, other than that time at Tessa’s wedding. Mike knew that she’d been let down, and it seemed that was all he needed to know. He had never pressed her for more information and she appreciated that.
Mike paid the bill and they continued the drive, reaching their destination within twenty minutes or so.
Jenny gasped on arrival when she spied a series of spectacular dunes framing a wild and remarkly empty beach of powder-white sand.
“This is fantastic,” she gasped, the cool breeze whipping through her blonde curls. “Like something out of a holiday brochure.” Being more familiar with the dark and stony beaches of the south, she couldn’t believe that the east coast could be so different.
