Christmas Magic at Inishbeg Cove by Bayliss Izzy

Author:Bayliss, Izzy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

6

Faye put her key in the door and Conor followed her inside. They both knelt in front of the stove and he helped her to pile the logs into it, while she stacked up the firelighters and then lit the match. The whole room glowed orange as the flames licked the timber when the fire eventually took hold.

‘Will you stay for a drink?’ she asked. ‘I mean unless you have to get back… It’d be my way to say thank you for a lovely day.’

‘Alright then. I need to fortify myself before heading back to the madness,’ he laughed.

She took one of the bottles she had bought in O’Herlihy’s out of the cupboard and uncorked it. She found two wine glasses in another press and poured two generous glasses. They both sat down on the sofa with the crackling of the logs as the only sound. They left their coats on and only when the room eventually began to heat up, did they dare remove them.

‘Right then, I’ll leave you to it,’ Conor said when he had finished his glass.

‘Don’t go–’ the words slipped out before she even realised it. ‘

He cocked his head and looked at her sceptically.

‘I mean… only if you want to stay…’ she added.

He sat back down on the sofa and refilled his glass with heady wine. ‘Can I ask you a question, Faye?’ he asked after a beat.

‘Sure,’ she replied. The wine had loosened her normally closed off stance.

‘Well why do you hate Christmas so much?’

‘I don’t hate Christmas. I’m just not into it.’

‘Really? You normally spend it alone. You prefer to work. It looks that way to me.’

‘I really enjoyed myself today,’ she admitted.

‘You did?’ His face lit up in surprise. ‘I know my family can be a bit much but they’re good people.’

‘They are. It wasn’t an act, you know…’ she added. ‘I had fun today. They made me feel so welcome. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed Christmas day. Thank you for inviting me.’

‘Well, I’m glad you had a good day,’ he said. They both fell quiet until finally Conor spoke again. ‘What happened to you, Faye?’

She sat up straight. ‘How do you mean?’

‘Well usually when someone has such a dislike for Christmas there’s a reason.’

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. ‘Did Margo tell you something?’

He shook his head vehemently. ‘I swear on Gran’s life, Margo said nothing only that you two work together and she was giving you her cottage for Christmas. That’s it, that’s all I know about you, I promise.’

How was it that they had only met a few days ago and yet he already knew her better than some people who had known her for years? It was as if he could see through her hardened exterior, past all the pain and the façade she normally displayed for the world. Conor could see deep down into her soul.

‘My mum left, when I was six. On Christmas day.’

‘Faye, I’m sorry–’ Conor rushed in shaking his head. ‘I should never have asked.

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