What's Irish for Encore? by Amy Blythe

Author:Amy Blythe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: forbidden love, second chance, secret romance, priest, actress, actor, faith
Publisher: Amy Blythe
Published: 2021-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

CIARAN HUFFED ON HIS hands and then picked up the next shiny bauble. The church was an icebox when there wasn't a service running.

He hooked the bauble in place. In the middle of the dark, deserted church, the enormous tree looked incongruous. Once the place was warm and full and bright, it would be brilliant, but right now it seemed bare and ominous. Nearly four weeks into advent, and still Ciaran really wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit. His body ached from physiotherapy, though two days had passed since the session. He was due to go again tomorrow, and then there'd be a gap over Christmas. He had exercises to do, and reaching up to arrange angel ornaments on the top branches of the tree didn't qualify.

"Careful. You'll hurt yourself." Peter's voice arrived with a chill breeze from outside.

Ciaran glanced at him then turned back to the tree. "I'm fine."

Peter closed the heavy door behind him. "Of course you're bloody not. Look at you." He pulled over a chair and climbed up on it. "Give them to me."

"You don't need to do this."

"Yeah, I do."

Ciaran passed up a small box of angels and sat down on the nearest pew. Something was coming, and it wasn't good, but sitting down helped a little with the pain.

"I bumped into Anne," Peter said.

"What?"

"By accident. Don't worry." Peter climbed down to get more decorations. "She put me in my place."

This was not at all reassuring.

Peter clambered back up and hooked a bell onto a branch. "I was wrong."

"Were you?"

"It doesn't matter if I was wrong or not—that's the point. What matters is," he sighed and stopped with the decorations, turning to Ciaran, "you've got enough going on. I'm not piling on, is what I'm saying. I'm piling... off. I'm here for you. God knows you've been there for me enough times."

Ciaran got himself up to standing, wincing against his will. "You don't see it as a betrayal?"

"I see it as..." he started to say but his words fell away. "So, it's true then."

"I thought you..." Fuck. "I thought you knew."

"Not exactly. But it doesn't make any difference. I'm your friend—first. Hell, I feel sorry for you. You fell in love. It doesn't get worse than that. God knows. Shit, Ciaran. Really?"

Ciaran felt like he might as well be standing naked in the middle of the church. Anne had told Peter that he was in love with her?

Peter started decorating the tree again. "If I'm completely honest, she rejected me didn't she? It was my bruised ego, not any noble, moral line-in-the-sand. So, hello, hypocrite right here." He waved a bell ornament and it rang.

Ciaran found himself laughing. The tree was no longer the most incongruous thing in the room.

Peter climbed down. "You alright?"

Ciaran really wanted to stop laughing now. But he couldn't.

"You're not. You're fucked. Literally or otherwise."

Ciaran had to sit down or he'd fall down.

"Sorry," Peter said.

"No, it's fine. It's just... having this conversation here is a little..."

"Sacrilege is my middle name."

"Aye."

"We'll make t-shirts."

Ciaran sighed and looked up at the tree "That'll do.

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