Page 11 of Irish Getaway

Claire shrugged. “It was a distraction really. I was devastated when my girlfriend from college left, and I met Olivia just when I was starting to think about putting myself out there again.”

“Was she older than you?”

Claire nodded. “She was fourteen years older than me.” She took another drink.

Evelyn shook her head as a slow smile came to her lips. “Now, who’s full of surprises.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Like I said, I’m not proud of what happened.”

“But if you didn’t know?”

“I didn’t ask about her life in New York. I was afraid to. If she had a girlfriend, I didn’t want to know about it. Turns out it was worse than that.”

Evelyn reached across the space between them, covering Claire’s hand with her own and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Claire forgot to breathe. For five minutes, she forgot who she was sitting across from, but now that Evelyn Coleman’s warm hand was resting on top of hers, Claire couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Everyone has done something that they regret,” Evelyn said before she slid her hand away and took another drink. “If you’re lucky, it’s just one thing.”

Claire wanted to ask Evelyn what she’d regretted doing, but she knew she had no right to ask. Yes, they were getting closer with these Tuesday evening chats, but she wasn’t going to push it. If Evelyn wanted to tell her anything personal, it wouldn’t be because Claire had asked.

“You’re young,” Evelyn said, taking her away from her thoughts. “By the time I was twenty-five, I’d already racked up plenty of regrets. You think that it couldn’t possibly be worse, but then you get older. And if those decisions don’t haunt you, there’ll be new ones that you wish you could undo.”

She was speaking so cryptically that Claire didn’t think it was general life advice, and yet, she couldn’t ask Evelyn what she was talking about. If she overstepped, this would be the last evening they spent together sharing a bottle of wine.

“But I guess,” Evelyn continued, “You just have to hope that there’s a greater meaning to it all.”

“Fate?”

“I don’t know.” Evelyn inhaled a deep breath. “Something.” She finished what was left in her wine glass. “Otherwise, what’s the point of it all?”

Claire took her last sip of wine. She wasn’t worried about Evelyn so much as she wanted to stay and let her keep talking if that’s what she wanted, but Claire was too afraid to do anything other than stand up, and say that it was getting late. That she should go.

“Have a good night,” Claire said as she acted on impulse and gave Evelyn’s shoulder the lightest caress, just a gentle, reassuring squeeze on her way out.

“Goodnight,” Evelyn said, looking up at her, and Claire couldn’t read those mesmerizing eyes.

But that was probably because Evelyn was always in control of what her face was portraying. Claire doubted that Evelyn ever let anyone see what was really going on beneath the surface.

9

On Thursday morning, Evelyn had woken up to sunlight streaming through her window and a clear blue sky. She’d had a quick breakfast and then gone down to the stables in search of Claire. She’d been thinking about what Claire had suggested, about going for a drive, and the more Evelyn thought about it, the more she wanted to venture out. Maybe, she was getting complacent after five weeks without an intrusion of her privacy, but with Arianna’s reminder that she’d have to get back to her normal life eventually, Evelyn knew she’d look back on these months with regret if she didn’t take the time to explore.

Claire had been thrilled, her face lighting up when Evelyn had told her that she’d had a change of heart, and given the day that was in it, Claire offered to go then and there.

Now, the sun was high in the sky, casting a warm glow over the rugged terrain of Connemara as Claire’s car wound its way along the narrow roads. It felt strange to be sitting on the left and not having a steering wheel in front of her, but then again, it’d been years since she’d regularly drove anywhere. She’d gotten more used to riding in the back.

They had the windows down, and Claire put on a playlist that surprised Evelyn, because she knew just about every song. “You have good taste,” Evelyn said as they slowed down to wait for two sheep to get off the road. “You weren’t even born when most of those songs were out.”

Claire shrugged. “Good music is good music, no matter when it was released.”

As they continued driving, the conversation flowed effortlessly between them, ranging from their favorite artists to childhood memories and everything in between. Evelyn found herself opening up to Claire in a way she rarely did with anyone, sharing stories she’d never told before.

The scenery was stunning, and just when Evelyn thought it couldn’t get any more breathtaking, they turned a corner and the way the sun shone on the rugged mountains, contrasting with the greens, a lake at the foot of the slope a sheet of glass, she couldn’t look away.

“What do you think?” Claire asked, and Evelyn could hear the smile in her voice.

“I think it’s incredible,” Evelyn said without looking away, her eyes roaming over the dramatic mountains. “And not at all what I was expecting.”

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