Page 66 of Beneath the Quiet

“Oh. Well, whatever it is, I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.”

“But you’re a smart woman. You’ll get to the bottom of it and come out the victor.”

I let out a chuckle. “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right. Just ask my son.”

Another huff of laughter escapes my mouth, dancing in the soft breeze, and it feels so good to laugh after the morning I’ve had.

She places her hand on my arm, and I stop walking. “That brought some spark back in your eyes. I’m glad.” She moves to take the bag from me and I hand it over.

“You know, you’re exactly the type of woman I’d love to see Aidan date.”

Her words hit me right in my solar plexus, and I cough. “Excuse me?” I wheeze.

She winks at me. “You heard me. He’s single, attractive, has a wonderful daughter, and he’s solid. What’s stopping you, pet?”

“I…I don’t know what to say to that,” I hedge. “I’m not sure I should talk with you about Aidan.”

She makes a pfft sound and shakes her head.

“I’m not saying anything he doesn’t already know, Maeve. Won’t you give him a chance? Ask him out?”

“You want me to ask him out on a date?”

“Yes. From what I hear, the two of you were mighty friendly last night at the pub.”

Oh, no. The wagging tongues have already started.

I don’t know how to turn Rose down apart from by telling her the truth.

“Rosie, I’ve recently had a really bad break-up with a man I thought I was going to marry.”

Her eyes turn sad. “Oh.”

“I’m not ready for another relationship. In fact, I’m not sure I ever will be.” My breath hitches and I have to pause for a few seconds before getting everything out in the open. “I may look like I have everything together, but I don’t. And I’m pretty sure Aidan doesn’t need my kind of mess in his life. And neither does Katie.”

She tilts her head at me, a small smile playing on her lips. “I hope you’ll change your mind. But thank you for trusting me enough to share.”

“Thank you for making it easy for me.” I reach out my hand and place it on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Have fun at your knitting club.”

She leans in and bumps my arm. “Actually, I lied. There’s no meeting today. I just wanted the chance to chat with you, and now I’ll head on home to Seamus.”

She turns around, leaving me gaping after her as she walks back from where we came. I shake my head, another bubble of laughter leaving my lips. I run a hand through my hair and turn right, making a beeline for the Garda station. Reality strikes like a freight train, but even though I’m not looking forward to what I’m about to do, chatting with Rose made me feel a lot stronger than I did before.

I pull out my phone and shoot off a text to Aidan.

ME: Ran into your mother just now. She came out of nowhere and asked me to ask you out on a date. But I think she took it well enough when I turned her down gently.

Almost immediately, the dots appear on my screen, and I watch them jump and dance, fighting to keep my smile in check.

AIDAN (FARMER): I was starting to think that she’d lost her touch.

ME: Nope. Ma Rose is relentless, but in a nice way. She just wants you to be happy.

AIDAN (FARMER): Yeah, I know she means well, but…