Page 36 of The Secret Bookshop in Ireland

‘Not as far as we know,’ Maureen said. ‘We’re just curious, to be honest. He seemed like an interesting character. A rogue who had to flee the country after committing a crime.’

Ronan let out a laugh. ‘You made me curious too now. I’ll do a little search and see what I can come up with. And now I have to go. See you Sunday.’

Maureen stared at Ciara when Ronan had hung up. ‘What was that all about? This nice young man wants you to meet for lunch and you tried to invent a reason not to?’

‘It’s not as straightforward as you think,’ Ciara said. ‘Ronan’s situation is really complicated. His mother is disabled and he has this girlfriend…’

‘Tell me, then,’ Maureen ordered, putting her hands in her lap. ‘I’m ready to hear his story.’

Ciara nodded and launched into what Ronan had told her, not leaving anything out, even her own feelings.

‘I see,’ Maureen said. ‘The poor boy, having put up with this for so many years. Surely his debt to his mother must have been paid by now.’

‘That’s what I think,’ Ciara said. ‘I feel she has stolen his youth. I feel so angry with her. Especially as…’

‘As you’re very attracted to him,’ Maureen filled in.

Ciara felt her face go red. ‘Oh, Ma, don’t make things up. Okay, so I might have found him attractive. But I’m sure he just sees me as a friend or someone he can confide in. He was very lonely, I think.’

‘Which makes you sad,’ Maureen said. ‘Don’t try to deny it.’

Ciara sighed. ‘Oh, okay. Yes, I feel very drawn to him. But if he wants to get back with his girlfriend, there’s nothing much I can do about it.’

‘Hmmm,’ Maureen said. ‘Well, I would like to meet this woman, even if you don’t.’

‘Why?’ Ciara asked as a sense of hopelessness settled on her like a dark cloud. ‘What’s the point?’

‘You never know,’ Maureen said. ‘There might be some kind of solution.’ She turned her attention to the house. ‘But here weare, at this wreck of a house that was someone’s home once.’ She got up from the remains of the wall and backed away, studying the ruin. ‘It has the look of a place that was once quite grand, I think.’

Ciara looked up at the old house and only now noticed how lovely it must have been once. But her mind was too full of what her mother had said about Ronan. How could she feel happy about him being with someone else? Ciara shivered at the thought of the meeting and wished she could find a way to opt out.

She waded through the tall grass, trying to concentrate on the garden that would have been beautiful and well-tended once. But all she could think of was that she would be meeting Ronan’s girlfriend in only a few days. How could she hide all her negative feelings and be polite about his new-found happiness? How could she disguise how fond she was of Ronan, when all she wanted to do was to put her arms around him? It was the worst dilemma she had ever been in.

EIGHTEEN

Ciara’s dilemma was on her mind all through the rest of the day. But when they came back to the bookshop after a visit to Wicklow town to buy food and look in on a shop that sold household items, she found Oisín, dressed in shorts, T-shirt and trainers, sitting on the old bench in the back garden, talking to a delighted Brian Boru.

He looked up as Ciara came around the corner. ‘Hi there, I was wondering when you’d be back. I was out for my run and thought I’d call in. Brian here was getting very lonely, so I thought I’d stay with him until you came home.’

Ciara scratched the dog behind his ears as he leaned against her, licking her hand. ‘Thank you, Oisín, that was kind of you.’

‘I’m very fond of him,’ Oisín said, shooting Ciara one of his thousand-watt smiles. ‘As I am of you, actually. I really came to ask you if you’d come to dinner with me tomorrow night.’

‘Like on a date?’ Ciara asked, trying not to be drawn in by his green eyes and handsome face. She was surprised by his question as she hadn’t thought he was that interested in her.

‘Yes, a date,’ he replied, his gaze steady. ‘Just the two of us in a restaurant. I think that qualifies as a date.’

‘Of course,’ Ciara mumbled, her face hot. She looked away for a moment and then back at Oisín, who seemed to expect an immediate answer. ‘That would be very nice,’ she said. ‘Where are we going?’

‘A nice little fish restaurant in Wicklow town, overlooking the sea,’ Oisín replied. ‘It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other. I thought we’d talk about the bookshop and what you plan to do with it. And other things you should know.’

‘Like what?’ Ciara asked.

‘Things,’ he said, looking mysterious.

‘I don’t really know what to do about the bookshop,’ Ciara said. ‘But maybe you have a few ideas?’And maybe I can find out what he knows about Martha and Madge and who the father of the baby was, she thought to herself.Are those the ‘things’ he mentioned?Ma said she had a feeling he knows more than he let on…

‘I might, you know,’ he said, his eyes drifting to her wrist. ‘That’s a nice bracelet. Looks familiar, though. Where did you get it?’