‘Is the third-best revenge giving him a thump? Because I could be tempted with that as well,’ Noah suggested.
Jo laughed.
‘I have to say, sis, you’re handling this a lot better than I would. I would be so angry and hurt.’
‘Oh, Noah, I am angry and I am hurt, but I’m also really lucky. I’m aware of that. And I’m on the cusp of realising my biggest ever dream. It’s hard to stay angry when that’s the case. I’m going to try to listen to some of Auntie Mags’ advice and start counting my blessings more. I have a great job, with a great partner in crime. I have the best family and friends. I’ll always have a roof to sleep under, even if I have to move out of the flat. And I have timeshare of an amazing dog. Not everyone is as lucky,’ she smiled.
‘Well, when you put it like that,’ Noah said.
‘Exactly,’ Jo replied.
Noah beamed and gave her hand a squeeze and when she looked up, she noticed that Lorcan was staring directly at her. With that same expression on his face that he had given her the night before. The expression that her mother had described as ‘not the way someone on the rebound looks at people’.
She held his gaze for just a second or two before she had to look away, afraid her face would give away everything that was going on in her mind. Because she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was looking at him the way someone who was most definitely not on the rebound, and may in fact be interested in something romantic, might look at him.
Oh goodness, she thought, was she falling for him? Or was it just that he’d been so kind and open with her? Not that it mattered either way, she realised. Regardless of her feelings, or his, he would be going home to a different country, as he had so clearly explained to Clara the day before.
As Libby appeared from the stockroom, Paddy let out of a yelp of excitement before plodding to her, his tail wagging so strongly it risked knocking over a pair of toddlers who had locked heads over the last copy of Each Peach, Pear, Plum.
Jo watched as Libby smiled broadly, delighted not only to see Paddy but also her fiancé. The look on her brother’s face was equally happy.
‘They’re nice people, you know,’ Lorcan said, as he watched them hug. ‘People round here are pretty cool.’
‘I like to think that Derry people are among the best in the world,’ Jo grinned. ‘But yes, they are nice people. This is a lovely community. Noah always says there’s a little bit of magic in Ivy Lane. I used to tell him the only magic that existed here was lower business rates – but that was before we got the pub up and running properly. Noah grew up very close to here, you know, with his birth family. Just on the next street over. So he slipped into the Lane quite easily, which made it a little easier for me to fit in too. Then we got to know our neighbours, you know, the regulars and the other shopkeepers like your grandad. You know yourself, it’s impossible not to be won over by him very quickly. Then, when Libby started to renovate this place, and she and Noah fell in love as well… this is a great place to come and work.’ She realised she was babbling and was in danger of sounding like she was from the official Ivy Lane Fan Club.
‘If only there was a job for Chandler Bing computer nerdy types,’ he said. ‘I could be tempted to stay here and not go back.’
‘Really? But what about your family and friends?’ Jo asked, and Lorcan shrugged.
‘Flights are cheap enough for visits these days. Most of my mates are settling down, so it’s not like we’re out on the tear all the time. And, you know, the buns are much nicer here. Derry turnovers and baps are hard to beat,’ he smiled.
‘But you wouldn’t see Scraps,’ Jo said, trying to quell the excitement that was bubbling up at the thought of Lorcan moving here.
‘I think that’s just something I have to come to terms with. Sophie has moved on with her life. I am ready to move on with mine. That’s not going to work if we have joint custody of a dog and have to keep seeing each other. It was getting awkward as it was, which is why I needed time away.’
‘But aren’t you just running from your problems?’ Jo asked, at the same time that she realised she quite liked it that he had run from his problems and she had been able to get to know him. She enjoyed his company, even as just friends, sitting here in the bookshop, chatting. They slipped almost effortlessly between discussing Ewan’s betrayal, to what biscuits were the nicest, to break-ups and back to biscuits again. It was easy with him.
‘God, Jo. Do you really want rid of me that much?’ Lorcan asked and while his tone was light, Jo was sure she could see something sad in his eyes.
‘Not at all. But being somewhere on holiday is very different to living somewhere. You have your life in England. I just want you to think through what it would really be like to walk away from that. From the good things there, because there have to be good things too.’
‘There are plenty of good things there,’ Lorcan gave a lopsided smile. ‘But I’m starting to think there might be even better things here.’
She blushed, before realising that he probably wasn’t actually talking about her.
‘The way of life is slower,’ he explained. ‘The air seems fresher, somehow. And the people are good. Plus, Grandad isn’t getting any younger and while I know you have all been so amazing keeping an eye on him and making sure he has what he needs, I can see that he gets lonely. I can see him becoming a little frail and I want to make sure he’s okay.’
The way he spoke about Harry warmed Jo’s heart. She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought of him as an entitled brat, or that she’d accused him of being selfish to the core.
‘That’s very admirable,’ she told him.
‘It’s not really. It’s just the right thing to do. Or it would be, if I could bring my work with me.’
‘You do know there’s a pretty big computer sector here?’ she asked him. ‘There are quite a few tech jobs, but surely you’ve also just proved that you can do some of your work remotely. Have laptop, will travel?’
‘You have a point,’ he said. ‘I think I have some thinking to do.’
Jo found she really, really liked the thought that Lorcan could make a permanent move to Derry. She could see how he could slip into her friendship group, how it already felt as if he was part of the Ivy Lane community. She knew, in him, she had found a kindred spirit. Someone who thought like her, who brought out her silly side. Someone who knew what pain she had been through and could truly understand how much damage that had done to her.
But she realised that was also scary. What if it all went wrong? What if she got to rely on him and he’d decide Derry wasn’t for him after all? What if he left her? This was the real test, she realised. Not being brave about her book, but being brave enough to let someone in – someone who she knew she could be more than friends with.
Afraid to delve into this conversation any further, Jo took a sip from her now cold coffee and grimaced. ‘You’d better get back to the shop,’ she told Lorcan. ‘That heavy lifting still needs doing.’
‘He’ll probably have already done it himself,’ Lorcan said. ‘The man doesn’t know when to slow down. You’re right though, I’d best get back. But I’ll see you for dinner tonight?’