Page 26 of An Irish Kiss
Yeah…
“Look, could you please not talk to me right now?”
“Sure,” he muttered.
And the rest of the return journey was silent, save for the hum of the motor, the crunch of gravel, theslam, slamof two car doors, and his murmured, “Thanks again” which earned him a shrug.
Yeah, clearly this was either a massive headache or she was mightily ticked at him.Which meant the next few days would be fun.
CHAPTERSEVEN
“Mam, this is important.Why would Mary, of all people, say something like that if there wasn’t some reason for it?”
Rory pushed her knuckles into her forehead, and prayed for the headache to ease.The headache that had set in last night, as soon as Seamus had seen her, then ramped up when Aidan had revealed his true colours.Yes, she might not have been her best self last night, and had a feeling she might owe Aidan an apology for acting like a grump on the drive back to the hotel.But so much of what had been said was shocking.
She’d been all set to demand answers from her mother, but she’d been asleep, so Rory had needed to wait until now to ask those questions that had pecked at her all night.And now, with Aisling here as well, there was the chance to throw a grenade into the relatively calm pool of their existence and see a small tsunami of uncomfortable truth rush out and overwhelm them.
“I can’t believe we encouraged him to stay here for more nights on that deal,” Aisling moaned.
“That was all you, remember?”Rory pointed out.
“Don’t remind me.But I only did it because you seemed so sweet on him.”
“Please.”Rory rolled her eyes.“He’s the last man I would ever trust again.”Even if it had been a little bit nice to see his protectiveness last night.Not that she needed it.She was well and truly able to take care of herself, even if that uneasy relationship with Seamus had always made things a little awkward with Mary.
She had previously told Mary that Seamus had tried to speak to her, and that it made her feel uncomfortable.Mary had only laughed it off saying he was a little slow, and not to take it too much to heart.Which had been disconcerting, but Seamus hadn’t tried much since.Last night had been the first time he’d tried to touch her in over a year.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Mam said now.“Rory, what happened last night that has got you so riled up?”
Rory pushed past the headache and repeated things as best she could, which earned twin frowns from her mother and sister.“But of course that’s not right,” Mam protested.“This land has been part of the Griffin family’s estate for hundreds of years.”
“And there would be title deeds or land maps that show that, right?”Aisling huffed.“I can’t believe the nerve of that man, staying here then stabbing us in the back like that.And when he acted so nice too!”
Exactly.“I think we need to focus on the main issue here which is finding the deeds.Who is our solicitor, Mam?Do you remember?”
Her mother’s forehead wrinkled.“I’m afraid I’ve let Colin handle most of that kind of thing.”
“Okay, then we’ll need to talk with him.”
“Oh, but he’s so busy with the acquisition of the Cornwall hotel.”The latest in the Killorglin Group’s ventures.Their father had started the business, and on his death several years ago the mantle had fallen to Colin, much to the disgust of Fiona, their eldest sibling, who believed she should be the rightful heir to head up the Killorglin Group.
“But if we don’t stamp this out quickly then who knows what people will say,” Rory argued.“There were others there who seemed equally shocked, and we all know that Niamh and James can’t be trusted to keep their mouths shut.Not when juicy gossip is there for the telling.”
“Oh, I really don’t want the family name dragged through any more mud,” Mam complained.
Aisling was busy tapping on her phone, then she set it on the table and pressed speaker.“I’m calling him.”
“Oh, but are you really sure?”Mam worried aloud.“I’d hate for him to be disturbed.”
“Well, considering all of us are disturbed, I think it’s only fair to share the concern,” Aisling said, straightening as a deeper voice said, “Hello?”
“Good morning to you, best brother of mine,” Aisling chirped.
“Ash, I have an important meeting starting in twenty—”
“Who is our solicitor?”Rory interrupted.
“Rory?What are you doing there?”
