Page 60 of The Gin Sisters' Promise

‘Excuse me?’ Nola glanced from one expectant face to another. ‘Are you here for me? Because I have to go to work, so whatever hare-brained plan you have, I can tell you right now…’

‘And where else do you think I’d want to bring you at this hour of the day? Hollywood?’

‘You’ve come to give me a lift?’

‘I’ve come because you don’t have a car and I’m giving a talk to the agricultural science class about the importance of organic farming to the environment. I thought you might prefer it to getting soaked to the skin.’ Iris handed him a cup of tea from the pot on the table. ‘Ta,’ he said, smiling at her.

‘Well, you needn’t have bothered, because Iris is taking me.’ Nola knew she sounded like a pampered brat, but after the fete she wasn’t sure exactly where she stood with him and she wasn’t keen to have any long and deep conversations this morning, when she had enough to worry about already.

‘Not if I can help it,’ Iris said disloyally, smiling at Aiden. ‘You’re welcome to her. I’ve a thousand things to do here and we both know that I’ll only put them off if I have an excuse to get out the door.’

‘So, it’s like that, is it?’ Nola smiled because she didn’t want to stress Iris out any more than she already was. Honestly, she’d prefer to walk than sit in a car with Aiden, but then a huge crack of lightning lit up the room, dimming the lights for a long drawn-out moment.

‘I’d say that wasn’t more than a mile away.’ Aiden looked out the window, but his voice was almost drowned by the roar of thunder that bellowed out long and threatening. And they all knew that regardless of what she said, there was no way Nola could walk to school in that.

It was a mercifully wordless drive to school. Conversation, if they’d been up for it, would have to be at full pitch anyway, since the roar of the summer storm was so loud that it would muffle out any sound.

Aiden pulled the jeep up in front of a side entrance that was little used, but was situated on a corridor near the headmaster’s office. That was thoughtful, she admitted grudgingly to herself, rather than making her do a walk of shame all the way through the school to get to the principal’s office.

‘Listen,’ he said as he switched off the engine.

‘I haven’t the time and if it’s about the other day. Well, I’m not sure that there’s anything more to say,’ she snapped.

‘No, well, yes maybe there are things we should say, but what I wanted to say to you was good luck, that’s all.’

‘Thank you,’ Nola said softly.

‘You won’t need it, you know. You’re the best drama teacher they’ve ever had here. Everyone says so and Gary Cotter knows it too. Go in there with your head up as if you have a thousand other offers waiting for you, and it’ll be all right.’

Nola was temporarily stunned by his kind words.

‘And as for the other day, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… We’re good? Yeah?’ He leaned over and opened the door for her.

‘Sure,’ she said faintly, but when she heard the jeep door bang closed behind her as she ran up the steps in the pouring rain, she wasn’t entirely sure that his words hadn’t given her a feeling of disappointment, rather than relief. Had she actually wanted him to kiss her that day in the midst of all the other drama that her life had unfurled into? Had she really? Of course not. She shook herself off when she reached the safety of the corridor. That was madness. The last thing she needed now was to go falling for Aiden Barry. Soon she’d be heading back to London and a brand-new life a million miles away from the mortification of what happened in Ballycove a week earlier. That was what she had to think about now and forget about Aiden and any other nonsense like drama schools or staying in Ballycove when there was nothing here to stay for.

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