Now You See Her Page 0,35
off. You know what I mean?”
Marcy shook her head. In truth, she had no idea what Liam was talking about. Vic Sorvino hadn’t struck her as “off” in any way. But then she’d never been a very good judge of character when it came to men.
“Marcy?” Liam asked. “Are you still there?”
“Oh, yes. Sorry.”
“I haven’t insulted you, have I?”
“How could you insult me?”
“Well, if this Vic fellow is a friend of yours …”
“He isn’t.” He’s just a man I met on a bus, she thought, trying not to feel Vic’s warm body pressing against hers or hear his comforting snores echoing in her ear.
She didn’t deserve to feel comforted.
“You hungry?” Liam was asking.
Marcy immediately felt her stomach cramp. “I am a bit, yes.”
“Pick you up in half an hour,” he said.
TEN
WELL, LET’S SEE. HUSBAND number one was a musician,” Marcy was saying, a little voice in the back of her head telling her she probably shouldn’t be discussing her sister in this way.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Liam said, as if sensing her reservations. “It’s none of my business really. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s no big deal. Judith wouldn’t care.” How many times had she heard her sister boast of being “wildly indiscreet”? Besides, could any woman who’d been married five times really expect not to be talked about?
“I was just trying to take your mind off things.”
“I know.”
By “things,” he meant the fact that despite taking her to one of the most popular gathering spots for young people in all of Cork, they’d yet to spot Devon. Despite showing her daughter’s picture to virtually everyone in the noisy room, they’d yet to find a single person who recognized her.
“Oh, well. It’s early,” he’d said as they settled into the corner booth of the crowded downscale restaurant on Grattan Street. “Maybe she’ll turn up in a bit,” he’d said as they’d placed their dinner orders with the pink-haired waiter. “This place stays busy all night,” he’d remarked as they finished the first of their Irish coffees. “If not tonight,” he’d said reassuringly as they placed their orders for a second, “then tomorrow. She’ll turn up. You’ll see. We’ll find her.”
Marcy had smiled. It felt good to be a “we.”
A unit, she’d thought, feeling Peter’s instant disapproval.
“You grimaced,” Liam had said immediately. “Are you sorry you let me ambush you into coming out tonight?”
He notices everything, Marcy thought, looking around the brightly lit room. “No, I’m glad I came. Why did you ask me out?” she asked in the next breath. “I’m sure there are dozens of young women out there you could have called.”
“Maybe I did. Maybe they all turned me down.” Liam smiled. “Or maybe I don’t find young women all that interesting.”
“And you think I am?”
“I think you just might be.” His smile spread to his eyes.
Marcy had blushed and turned away.
Which was when he’d asked about her family.
“I have an older sister,” she’d told him, relieved to shift the focus off herself. “Judith. She’s been married five times.”
He laughed. “Obviously an optimist.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
Long, slender fingers played with the collar of his black shirt before fanning out around his face, his chin resting in the palm of his hand. “And how would you put it?”
Marcy gave the question a moment’s thought. “I think she’s just afraid of being alone.”
“My mother used to say there was nothing lonelier than an unhappy marriage.”
Marcy nodded. “Your mother’s a very wise woman.”
“Not so sure about that,” Liam said, sipping on his Irish coffee. “So … about those five husbands …”
Marcy began. “Well, let’s see. Husband number one was a musician.”
“You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business really. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s no big deal. Judith wouldn’t care.”
“I was just trying to take your mind off things.”
“I know.”
“In that case, what kind of musician?” he asked.
“Drummer.”
“Oh, no. The worst.”
Liam laughed and Marcy laughed with him, deciding to go with the flow. “He really was awful. But she was all of nineteen and I think the fact he made a lot of noise was very appealing to her. It kind of blocked out everything else that was going on.”
“Which was?”
“Way too complicated to get into now,” Marcy said. “Anyway, to absolutely no one’s surprise, the marriage lasted less than a year.”
“What happened?”
“The band broke up.”
“Ah-ha, I see. No more noise.”
Marcy agreed. “No more noise.”
“And husband number two?”
“A photographer she met when she was trying to break into modeling.”
“Your sister was a model?”
“For about ten