‘Scarlet Smith…are you defending me?’ He studied her for several seconds before adding, without the mockery that had laced his previous comment, ‘I’m touched.’
Their eyes collided and Scarlet blushed to the roots of her hair. ‘Everyone knows that you should take the celebrity stories with a pinch of salt,’ she retorted crossly.
Her face got even hotter and her scowl even fiercer as he continued to look at her, one dark brow raised.
‘My father believes there’s no smoke without fire,’ he commented after a painfully long pause—painful for Scarlet anyway.
‘People do and I suppose his generation—’
‘Sure, there is the generation gap, but it’s more than that,’ Roman interrupted. ‘Before he met my mother, Dad had planned to enter a seminary.’
Scarlet’s eyes widened. ‘Seminary? Isn’t that where you train to be a priest?’
‘It is,’ Roman confirmed.
‘Gracious!’ she exclaimed unthinkingly. ‘No wonder he doesn’t approve of you!’
‘You and he will get on famously,’ Roman predicted drily. ‘There’s also…’ Betraying an uncharacteristic indecisiveness, he stopped and raked a hand through his dark hair. ‘Well, you might as well hear the story from me as you’ll undoubtedly hear a version of it from my father when you meet him.’
Scarlet was so curious she let the assumption that she would one day meet O’Hagan senior pass without comment.
‘I was engaged to a girl—Sally.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You were engaged?’
‘Yes, about five years ago. Why so surprised, Scarlet? Most men of my age have had at least one serious long-term relationship.’
‘But I thought you were…’
‘A shallow, womanising pig?’ he suggested. He observed the surge of guilty colour in her cheeks with a cynical smile. ‘Relax, there’s no need to totally retrench, the two are not necessarily mutually incompatible.’
‘Did your father not approve of her?’
‘Far from it, he adored her. He still does. I’d known Sally since we were children—her parents are tenant farmers on the estate. We were always in and out of each other’s houses.’
‘The girl next door?’
He nodded. ‘There was nothing then, but we met up at college and were involved briefly, but it was nothing heavy. Then a few years later we met up at a party. A month later we were engaged. My family, especially my father, was over the moon,’ he recalled.
‘But you couldn’t go through with it.’
Roman’s dark, saturnine features clenched. His lip curled into a self-derisive smile as their eyes met.
‘No, actually she couldn’t go through with it. She ran off on the eve of the wedding with my best man.’
‘Gracious! That’s…that’s…’ She gave a helpless shrug. Very little he could have told her could have shocked her more. Any response seemed hopelessly inadequate. ‘I’m sorry. That must have been awful for you.’
‘I’ve had better days, but it happened a very long time ago.’
Despite his apparent indifference Scarlet couldn’t help but wonder if behind that casual attitude he was hiding his true feelings. Did he still love this woman who had dumped him so ignominiously? Had he gained his playboy reputation as a result of trying to forget his lost love?#p#????#e#
‘I don’t understand. If she dumped you how come your father blames you?’
‘There was a note. She asked me not to tell her parents until she had a chance to talk to them. I’m assuming she never did. Nobody but Mother and I know she ran off with Jake.’
‘But—’
‘It didn’t last…she left for France and came back three weeks later alone. As far as my father is concerned I had the perfect woman and I drove her away. Maybe,’ he mused, ‘he was right. There’s a possibility that you’ll meet her in Ireland—she’s a teacher at the local primary school these days.’
‘When you meet up…’ she began, then the implication of his words hit home. ‘I won’t be going to Ireland.’
‘I’m sure Sam will be a lot more comfortable if you do.’
‘That’s moral blackmail!’ she accused angrily.
‘It’s also common sense,’ he pointed out. ‘Don’t worry, my parents will love Sam,’ he promised in a warmer voice. ‘There’s no sinister reason I haven’t spoken to my dad yet, I simply wanted to sort out things with you before I spoke to him.’