Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Jonathan glowered at me, not impressed with my lie. He had gone to the trouble and expense of buying them for me after all.
“Really?” Maggie sounded surprised. “Wow, they look so new.”
“I had them professionally cleaned recently,” I responded quickly. “So, that’s probably why.”
“Right,” Maggie shot me a funny look before glancing at Jonathan. “I need to get back downstairs, but will you please make your mind up about the wedding? They need the final numbers before the end of the week, and you’ll also have to book a room at the hotel.”
“I will. See you later.”
Maggie turned to me. “Goodbye, Ada.”
“Bye,” I waved awkwardly then winced as soon as she was gone. The door shut behind her, giving us privacy, and Jonathan’s low chuckle rankled me as he came and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Stop laughing. It’s not funny.”
He pressed his forehead to my temple. “You’re lovely when you’re flustered.”
I worried my lip. “Do you think she bought it?”
“Not in the slightest, but don’t worry, Maggie won’t push for details. She’s more the type to let people reveal things in their own time.”
“But it wasn’t that wild of a story. I definitely could have lost an earring in the bathroom.”
“Yes,” Jonathan purred. “You very well could have. What’s less easy to explain is why your blouse is buttoned so …” he trailed off, a tender smile shaping his lips as he surveyed me then finished, “Unconventionally.”
His hands ran along the buttons, and I glanced down, closing my eyes in mortification when I saw how three buttons were in the wrong holes, causing my blouse to bunch up at an awkward angle.
“Oh God,” I groaned. “I had no idea.”
“It’s fine. Like I said, Maggie won’t spread gossip. She’s not the type.” Almost like it was second nature, he began undoing the buttons, his knuckles trailing tenderly along my skin, his eyes bright with amusement and something else, something intense I couldn’t quite describe. When he finished rebuttoning my blouse, he murmured a quiet, “There,” and my skin heated at his gentle affection.
“I’m sorry,” I peered up at him. “I probably should’ve stayed hidden.”
“Why?” he asked, his hand coming up to tuck my hair back, his thumb softly running along the shell of my ear. “I’m hardly ashamed of you, Ada. This doesn’t have to be some big secret. We can start telling people we’re together if you like?”
I worried my lip again, fretting. “Let’s wait until after my mam visits for Christmas. Then we can go public.” I knew that if Jonathan and I were going to be together, he’d have to interact with my mother at some point, but I’d rather put it off for as long as possible.
“All right,” he leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead before he withdrew.
He studied me intensely for a moment, and I could tell he was concocting something before he asked, “What are your plans for the day after Christmas?”
“Well, my mam is staying until New Years, so—”
“Will she be okay on her own for a day or two?”
“Possibly, why?”
Jonathan bestowed me with a handsome smile. “Want to be my date to a wedding?”
***
Over the next two weeks, Jonathan and I made the most of our evenings and weekends together. I found myself craving his company whenever he wasn’t around. Being with him was a dizzying high, but it was also troubling. I feared that the more I got to know him, the more I was falling for him, and though I knew he had feelings for me, I wasn’t sure if they matched the intensity of my own.
As Christmas drew near, my anxiety about my mother’s impending visit grew. I just knew she was going to have all these questions about Jonathan and why he was letting me rent his luxury apartment. I tried to put those worries aside as I focused on work and organising the residents’ day trip next month. Jonathan’s acquaintance had come through, and I’d managed to secure a large discount on the coach hire, so I was excited to reveal to everyone that we’d be going to Powerscourt Estate and Gardens for the day. I knew a lot of them had grown bored of the same old haunts.
A few days after my confrontation with Cathal, he’d come to see me—strangely enough to apologise. I had a feeling Hannah had pushed him to do it because every time I saw her, she’d send me these awkward, apologetic smiles as though embarrassed by Cathal’s behaviour. It turned out he’d remortgaged his house to fund their lifestyle over the past couple years, and now, he was in serious debt. He’d been planning to ask me for a loan to help dig him out, which was why he’d been trying to get into my good graces. His shame when he revealed this was clear on his face, and I did feel a little sorry for him in that moment even if he had been planning on using me.