Page 55 of The Bossy One

“Brendan’s all right,” Declan allowed, grudgingly. But he didn’t seem happy about it.

The doorbell rang, blasting ABBA’s “Take A Chance on Me” throughout the house.

“That’s probably him,” I said, suddenly nervous. “You know, if you ever want to go out with somebody, I can watch Catie at night too.”

He looked at me inscrutably, then went back to poking at his stir-fry.

“Don’t wait up,” I joked.

His shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly.

Why was he being so weird?

The doorbell rang again, and I hustled to the door. I didn’t have time to figure out Declan’s moods tonight.

* * *

The food was amazing. Molly looked like a total babe, in a fluttering blouse that showed off her tattoos. Her boyfriend Oisin was sweet, if a bit weird. And Brendan Carr was an absolute gentleman who gave me his full attention, offered to pay for my dinner, and didn’t check his phone even once.

The only problem was I was deathly bored.

“There’s plenty of folks looking for more affordable rentals right now,” Brendan explained. “Ever since Mark O’Rourke took over from his son Seamus, he’s kept raising the rent on all his properties.”

Brendan worked in real estate, and, apparently, kept tabs on the local market.

“That’s Mark for you,” Molly said. “If he didn’t host the summer festival every year, he’d have no goodwill in this town at all.”

“He hosts the whole festival?” I asked, confused.

“Just the final day of it.The Deer and the Warriorwas filmed at the O’Rourke mansion, so on the last day of the festival there’s a giant bonfire party in his garden,” Molly explained. “Everyone gets trashed. It’s amazing.”

“He does contribute to the local economy,” Brendan allowed. “Or at least his mansion does. Without the mansion, there’d be no festival. And without the festival, half the businesses in Ballybeith would go under.”

The conversation moved on, but I found myself tuning out.

My phone buzzed, and I snuck a look at it under the table.

It was a message from @DBCoder.I love your book. It’s fucking brilliant. When can I find it in stores?

I felt myself blushing and fought back a smile.

Then his next message came through.I was actually thinking of you today. I think we should meet up, before you leave Ireland. I know you’re on the fence about it. But the truth is, you might be one of my favorite people. Promise me you’ll think about it.

My stomach swirled with a whirl of panicking butterflies. I loved that he wanted to meet me. But it terrified me too.

What if @DBCoder wasn’t as great in person as he was behind a screen?

What if he was?

“Olivia? What do you think?” Brendan asked.

I looked up, startled, into the perfectly pleasant face of the man I was supposed to be on a date with.

Molly came to my rescue. “We’re deciding whether or not to get to dessert. Oisin has to leave since he has an early start tomorrow. But there’s no need for you and Brendan to cut the night short.”

I decided that was my cue. “Actually, I just got a text about work. We should probably call it a night.”

We paid the bill and said goodnight. When Brendan offered me a ride home, I politely demurred. I’d rather pay for a cab than spend another half hour in polite, boring conversation that he’d probably expect to end with a kiss I didn’t actually want to give.

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