course I got it. That’s why I’m here, but imagine my surprise at seeing you with your former girlfriend in a snug,” she said.
“Oh.” He frowned. “But I’m married.”
“Which you clearly neglected to mention,” Aoife said.
Colin turned to me with an embarrassed face. “Oy, you didn’t think this was a date, did you?”
“Of course not,” I lied. I waved my hand in an awkward don’t be silly flap, hoping to combat the heat I could feel filling my face, but judging by the pitying expression on his, he did not believe me for one second. Damn it.
I wondered exactly how many Guinnesses would be required for me to drown my mortification. Maybe getting sucked into a bog on the walk home wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But then why wait? I could happily go full human combustion with the heat of my embarrassment, turn to ash, and blow away on the wind. Yeah, that would do.
“Now you’ve embarrassed her, you eejit,” Aoife hissed. “Honestly, you’re makin’ a right bags out of it.”
“Right,” Colin agreed. “But this is actually great, because now I can introduce you all, which is grand. This here’s our oldest, Amelia.” He gestured to the girl on Aoife’s right side, who had enormous blue eyes and the deep red hair of her father. She stared at me with curiosity as she hugged a stuffed sea turtle to her chest. “And there’s Connor.” He pointed to the dark-haired boy on Aoife’s other side. “And this sleepy fella is Jack.”
I pushed aside my mortification and smiled at each of the children, amused to see that Jack was already out cold on his father’s shoulder. “You have a beautiful family,” I said. “You should be very proud.”
“I am,” Colin said. “The greatest day of my life was when Aoife, the loveliest girl in all of Ireland, agreed to be my wife,” he said. The grin he cast Aoife was full of roguish charm, and she shook her head and sighed.
“You’re incorrigible,” she said. “And you’re still an eejit.”
“I am at that,” he agreed. His grin deepened. “But you love me.”
“With all that I am.” She sighed. She leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn’t a chaste kiss.
I wasn’t sure where to look, but my gaze was caught by Amelia’s. The young girl whispered, in a voice that wasn’t a whisper at all, “They do that all the time.”
The couple broke apart, and Aoife ruffled her husband’s hair and said, “All right, my dearest husband, you’ve had your fun. Now it’s my turn for some craic. Off you pop.”
“What?” Colin protested.
“The children are yours,” she said. “While I stay and get reacquainted with Chelsea. It’s been, what, seven years? We’re due for a catch-up.”
Oh boy. I wondered if it was going to be a catch-up or an ass chewing, although Aoife had said it was her turn for “craic,” which in Ireland meant fun. Then again, ripping me a new one might be a great good time for her.
I glanced at Colin, looking for help, but he shrugged in resignation and slid out of the booth. Amelia and Connor happily released their mom and latched onto their dad. Aoife kissed baby Jack and each of the children and then slid into the booth across from me. She raised her arm to flag down Michael while Colin leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
“It was grand to see you again, Chelsea,” he said. “Come back out to the farm if you’ve got time, or better yet, come to the house for dinner.”
“We’ll see,” I said. More accurately, that would happen on the twelfth of never. I lowered my voice and asked, “Aoife doesn’t hold grudges, does she?”
“Hide the knives,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”
My eyes went wide, and then I caught the twinkle in his eye and laughed. I took a lingering glance at his square-jawed, handsome face, knowing it was likely the last time I’d ever see him. “It really was great to see you.”
Colin glanced at his wife and gave her a wicked wink. “I’ll be waiting for you, missus, at home.”
“Just make sure it’s worth my trouble to come home,” she said. Her look was sly.
“Oh, it’ll be worth it.” He kissed her quick and then hugged the baby close as he strolled out of the pub with his children gathered around him as if he were the pied piper.
The musicians were playing softly in the corner, clearly still warming up, but Colin took the thread of