Page 109 of Since We're Here
“Hmm,” I murmur, mostly in agreement.
“And if they are, fuck ’em.”
“Fuck them.” I nod.
“That being said... you should probably tell Reese at some point.” Stella slides her wine glass onto the coffee table.
“You sound like Patrick. He kept pushing me to tell you guys.”
“He sounds smart.”
“He is. I’ll tell her. Soon.” I’m not ready for that conversation with my oldest sister. I lean my head back on the couch and close my eyes.
“Those freaking pictures.” Stella shakes her head at me. “They were a little off. When you sent the one with the beer can stuck in the sand at a pure-white beach, I kind of wondered if it was a stock photo. There was a spot in the bottom corner that looked like a watermark.”
“It was.” A hysterical giggle bubbles out of my mouth, and I turn to look at Stella. “I found a bunch of pictures of Saint Lucia online and borrowed them for our text chain. I realized I cropped that one badly as soon as I sent it.”
“Maddie. You’re a hot mess.”
“Right?” I cover my face with one hand. “I should’ve known the advertising executive would know a stock image.”
“And all this time you were a quick flight away. I could’ve come after your sheep incident.” Stella holds out her hand for mine, and I let her examine the faint scar.
“Yeah. It wasbaaaad.”
“You did not just say that.”
“I did.”
We burst into laughter, and I shake my head.
“It’s not really a quick journey. Sure, it’s a short flight from Dublin, but Dingle is kind of in the middle of nowhere.” Doing it the second time was much easier, actually. Bus to Tralee, another bus to Killarney, a train to Dublin Heuston station, then a shuttle to the Dublin airport.
Stella suppresses a smile. “It does look like it’s...”
“The edge of the earth?”
A vision appears in my head of standing with Patrick at that breathtaking viewpoint during our Slea Head Drive bike ride, where we could see across the ocean to the Blasket Islands.
Thatwas the edge of the earth.
My stomach twists at the memory, not because it was bad, but because it was amazing. That was when things were growing between us, when I wanted him so badly already. When he let me snuggle into him as the wind ripped around the rocky cliffs. When he pretended to be annoyed by my presence, but really wanted to make sure I was safe.
Turns out, he was right to be worried about me on a bike.
“Why are you smiling, girly?” Stella pokes me with her finger.
“He took such good care of me after my fall, Stella.” I sigh softly and take another drink of wine. My glass is almost empty. “He washed and braided my hair.” I can still feel his fingers massaging my head so gently.
We’re quiet for a minute. I’m lost in the sweet memories of those days.
“Do you love him?”
“What?” I practically gasp hearing it out loud.
“Are you in love with him?” She pins me with her gaze.
“No. No?” I force a laugh, but Stella’s staring at me with her eyebrows raised so high, they might fly off her forehead. I know that look. She does not believe me.
