Page 47 of Beneath the Quiet

“So, they’re more like nudgers.”

“Never heard that word before, but, oddly enough, it makes sense.”

Mave tilts her head at me.

“Just out of curiosity, why aren’t you interested in me?”

I rest my head on the backrest. “You’re gorgeous, but I don’t date. Ever.” I smile wickedly at her. “I fuck women, but not in my own village. Too many complications.” I tighten my lips, contemplating how much to tell her at this early stage of our friendship, but then give her just enough to settle her curiosity. “Had the love of a good woman once. I lost it. I won’t go down that road again.”

Her jaw hits the floor.

I tap her chin. “You’ll catch flies if you don’t close that smart mouth.”

She grabs my finger and pushes my hand away. “Fine.”

I wink at her and angle my head in her direction, my own curiosity piqued. “Why aren’t you interested in me?”

“Not interested in dating you,” she corrects me.

“You have to tell me why. We’re friends, and friends tell each other everything.”

“Our friendship stage is still so new that it hardly qualifies for sharing our deepest and darkest secrets, but I suppose my reluctance to date you can’t be qualified as one.”

I raise my eyes, keeping them fixed on the lane in front of me.

“I was involved with someone before I moved here.” I hear her sharp intake of her breath, but I keep my face averted.

“Sounds serious.”

“It was. We were together for three years and were engaged for one of them.”

I grip the steering wheel even harder and clench my jaw.

“But then I found out he was shagging his secretary, and I broke things off with him.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry.” I move my head from the road, needing her to see the sincerity in my eyes. “I really am.”

“I was, too. Heartbroken, really, and then afterwards, I was relieved I didn’t marry him. Still, it was the most horrible way I found out.”

Her voice trails off, and I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut.

“You walked in on them, didn’t you?”

“Mm-hmm.” She closes her eyes and shudders. “Enough said about the subject, but just know that I absolutely don’t want romance in my life again. Not for many, many years, at least.”

I release my foot from the brake and put the car in gear. We sit in silence for the rest of the drive, each lost in our own thoughts. Full darkness has set in, leaving us safely hidden away in our own little world. My instincts tell me there must be more to Mave’s story, and that a cheating bastard can’t be the only pivotal thing that drove her to leave Dublin, but I won’t keep chipping away at her armour.

Not tonight, anyway.

“Thank you for trusting me. For telling me what happened.”

“You’re welcome.”

Her voice is thick with emotion.

“Want me to go to Dublin and beat him to a pulp for you?”

Shocked silence vibrates in the air, only then, she snort-laughs, turning all the sadness into dust.