‘He has no need to know who I am…just say I’m a friend.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t realise you had company.’ Fergal scanned the empty kitchen behind her in some surprise. His attention returned with strong curiosity to the table set for two, with a crisp white cloth, a bottle of wine and crystal glasses.
‘I have a friend from London staying.’ Harriet was uncomfortable, for skirting round the truth did not come naturally to her.
‘Shy sort of bloke, is he?’
Harriet went pink. ‘I suppose he is.’
‘Right…I’ll not interrupt you, then.’
‘No, really, there’s no need for you to rush off.’
Fergal gave her bemused look. ‘But when you’re all dressed up and you’ve got the wine out even I can see that it’s a special occasion. Can I mention this to my mother?’
‘Your mother?’ It was Harriet’s turn to be bewildered.
He gave her a cheeky grin. ‘She’s decided you’ll make me a good wife.’
Harriet winced. ‘Oh, dear…’
‘But hearing that you’re entertaining another man will change her mind.’
‘Sing like a canary,’ she advised him.
Boyce reappeared as soon as Fergal had departed. ‘Did you tell him?’
‘No—with the result that he now thinks you’re a boyfriend!’
‘If he’s interested, it’ll fire him up. If he’s not, it won’t matter,’ her brother countered with his happy-go-lucky grin. ‘But as long as you’re the only person who knows who I really am I’m safe from the paparazzi.’
‘A lot of celebrities live on the west coast of Ireland. I honestly don’t think you need to hide.’
‘I’m just being discreet. I definitely didn’t come here to hide. First on my agenda is a visit to the old place where Mum was born…have you been there yet?’
‘No. When you said you were coming to visit I decided that that was one trip we should make together. How is Mum?’ she asked.
Her sibling grimaced. ‘Not too pleased that I’m here instead of in Paris…and awash with wedding fever.’
Harriet gave him a wry smile. ‘It’s all right. That’s pretty much what I expected. How are the happy couple?’
‘How honest can I be?’
‘I want you to be brutally honest.’
‘Alice doesn’t fit your shoes very well.’
‘I had no idea she was trying to.’
‘She’s tripped up a few times, but I guess I shouldn’t go into details.’
‘You said you wouldn’t take sides.’ Harriet topped up his wine glass with a shamelessly encouraging hand. ‘I’m over Luke, but I’m still very human and curious.’
‘Alice cracked jokes at some legal dinner and offended some of his uptight colleagues, his friends all bore her to death, and after spending one weekend up North with his parents she flatly refuses to go back there. Luke went for the party girl and the forbidden thrills. She went for the clever-Dick lawyer. But I don’t think either of them were prepared for the daily trials of living together.’
Boyce had always been extremely astute. That skill had helped him avoid the most obvious pitfalls when he’d found fame at such a young age. Harriet was startled by his take on Alice and Luke’s relationship, but impressed. She was also relieved to appreciate that her kid sister’s betrayal now hurt her more than the recollection of her former fiancé’s treachery. She had soon seen that Luke was not worth her grief, but she still missed the bond she had shared with Alice before Luke came between them and made her a rival to be scorned and deceived in her envious half-sibling’s eyes.
‘So, what about your love life?’ Feeling that the past should now be left in its proper place, Harriet changed the subject.