‘Are we having one with Orla too?’ he asks, and before I can protest he takes my arm, drawing me closer, and suddenly I’m pressed against his side with his arm around my shoulder.
It’s so strange to be this close to him again. Even after five years apart, he feels familiar. The scent of his cologne makes my head spin, which is strange considering he never wore it back then. He smells completely different in fact, but there’s something underneath the spicy aromatic scent of his fancy cologne that my senses seem to recognise. Some pheromone, perhaps, or something else uniquely Aiden that gives me a pang, deep down inside.
‘Aw, that’s a lovely one!’ Emma says, peering closely at her phone. ‘Thank you so much, Mr Byrne.’
‘Call me Aiden, please,’ he says pleasantly.
He’s still got his hand on my shoulder, and I wish he’d let me go because I don’t want him to know how much I’m shaking. From the corner of my eye, I spot a man hovering, obviously waiting to speak to Aiden. As soon as he sees Emma put her phone back in her bag, he darts forward and draws Aiden away from us.
‘I’ll come and speak to you later, Orla,’ he calls, before crossing the room to join another group of people.
‘He’s lovely!’ Emma says. ‘I’ve forwarded you the recording of the interview, by the way. And the selfies.’
‘Why?’ I pull a face. The last thing I need is to torture myself by listening to his voice. I didn’t watch his documentaries because I knew it would awaken the painful longing I’ve tried to repress all these years. Just like seeing him here tonight is doing now.
‘Because of your face. And the fact you’ve barely taken your eyes off him since he went to stand with those other people.’
‘I have not! And what’s wrong with my face?’
‘Nothing,’ she says innocently, ducking her head. ‘Anyway, I’ve just had a text from my boyfriend asking me to meet him for a drink, so I might go soon if it’s okay with you?’
‘Oh!’ I’m dismayed she’s leaving so early, but maybe it’s for the best. It’s the perfect excuse for me to slip away too. ‘Okay. That’s fine.’
‘Thank you so much for asking me tonight. My friends are going to be so impressed. Especially with the selfie!’
I laugh, still incredulous that Aiden’s become something of a celebrity. He’s probably completely unaware.
‘I’ll look around the rest of the exhibition then I’ll get going,’ she says, checking her chunky silver watch. ‘You’re going to stay, aren’t you?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Are you sure? He keeps looking over at you, you know. And he said he’d come and speak to you again.’
‘He doesn’t keep …’ I look over at Aiden just as he looks up at me. Our eyes lock for a fraction of a second before I look quickly away.
‘See, I told you. He definitely wants to speak to you. How friendly were you guys, anyway? Was there a bit of romance?’
‘Maybe.’ I feel myself flush slightly and turn away to hide my embarrassment.
‘Really? Wow, wait until I tell my friends. Do you think you’d get back together?’
‘No!’
‘Why not?’ Emma jiggles my arm excitedly. ‘Look at the way he’s looking at you. He’s surrounded by people, but it’s like you’re the only person he sees.’
‘Stop it!’ I turn my back on Aiden, determined not to look. ‘Come on, let’s look at the rest of the exhibition.’ We move on to the next section of photographs. ‘I suppose you’re one of those romantic girly girls, who believes in true love that lasts forever and ever?’
‘Of course I am. Why, aren’t you?’ She cocks her head, incredulous that I might not be.
‘No,’ I say, equally incredulous that she’d think that I would be.
‘That’s so depressing! Why not?’
I hesitate. That’s a good question. Especially considering my relationship with Aiden. ‘It’s not that I don’t believe in love, I just don’t believe it can last forever.’
‘But that’s so sad. My grandparents have been married forever and they still hold hands. My mum and dad are still happy too. The old couple who lived next door to us when I was growing up died within a week of each other because they couldn’t live without each other.’
‘I doubt it was like that really. They must have both been ill. Did they check the carbon monoxide levels in their house?’
‘Don’t be mean. She died from cancer and he had a heart attack a week later because he couldn’t cope with the grief.’
‘Oh.’ I wince. ‘I feel bad now. That’s really sad.’
‘Exactly. There are examples of everlasting true love everywhere you look. You just have to work at it. My mum says that’s what people these days don’t understand. They expect everything to be perfect all the time, and at the first sign of trouble people bow out. But life’s just a lot of ups and downs, and you get through it together.’
‘Well, I’m sure she’s right,’ I say, ‘but finding someone you want to spend your life with is a challenge in the first place. I’ve certainly had no luck so far.’
‘What about Aiden? What was wrong with him?’
Unable to stop myself, I look back over my shoulder to where Aiden’s laughing with someone. I can hear the rich, warm tones of his laughter from here. ‘Nothing was wrong with Aiden. He was pretty perfect really. But we only had a short time together. Just one summer, when I was about your age, and neither of us was ready for a relationship. Our lives aren’t compatible.’
Emma pulls a sad face. ‘That’s a shame. Maybe you should start over again. See where it goes now you’re both older and wiser.’
‘I have a boyfriend, remember. Besides, Aiden travels the world pretty much constantly. You know he lives in a tent, right? No thank you. There’s no going back now. Besides, Aiden might have a girlfriend now. He could be married for all I know.’
‘If he is, he shouldn’t be looking at you like that.’
‘Like what?’ Glancing back at Aiden, I find him looking at me again. Our eyes meet and he doesn’t look away, nor smile, and neither do I. Instead, we just stare at each other and even though there are people all around us, it’s like we’re the only two people in the room. I’m rooted to the spot, my blood fizzing in my veins, heart thudding so hard I can feel it in my scalp, my fingers, my toes.
‘Ha! Told you.’ Emma laughs and nudges me with her shoulder so that I break our gaze and look at her, blinking like I’m just waking up from some kind of hypnosis. ‘And you’re looking at him in exactly the same way he’s looking at you. Right, I’d better go or else I’ll be late for the love of my life.’
‘Wait, I’ll come with you.’ I look around for somewhere to leave my empty champagne flute.
‘Don’t you dare!’ She touches my arm. ‘Aiden invited you. He obviously wants you here. He’ll be offended if you leave so early. Besides, think how much money you spent on that dress and having your hair done. You can’t waste that.’ She winks, seeming suddenly older than her twenty-two years. And my twenty-seven, come to think of it. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’