Page 85

“All right, so I’ve been a little in my head lately.”

“About what?”

“Just work and the reopening. There’s a lot to deal with. What about you though? How’s that new physiotherapist you’ve been seeing?”

“I like him. He’s helping me with the stiffness in my knees, but quit changing the subject. I’ve known you your entire life, Erin, and that means I know when you’re dodging a topic.”

I lifted the coffee and took a sip, then set it down and added a spoonful of sugar. “It’s Tristan,” I sighed. “He finally remembered me.”

Sloane’s eyebrows shot up. “He did?”

I nodded. “And he wants to … explore a relationship.”

My sister lifted a hand. “Hold up. How do you go from him remembering you to wanting a relationship?”

“We’ve grown close while working together.”

“Do you have feelings for him?”

“Yes, but it’s complicated. You know I made the decision to remain single after Zach, and it’s served me well. But Tristan … I can’t stop thinking about him. I want to be with him, but I’m also terrified of falling into old patterns.”

“Well, you know my opinion on that. I understood why you were gun shy after Zach, but being alone forever is no way to live. Not every man is going to want to collar you before pulling out the whips and chains.”

“Sloane!” I said, aghast, regretting telling her the sordid details of my past sex life.

“You know it’s true. But anyway, that’s neither here nor there. First and foremost, there’s your job to consider.”

“He’s reassured me my job will always be safe, and I believe him. He’s not callous like that.”

“He fired Diarmuid,” Sloane pointed out. “I’m not arguing about how good he might be as a person, but what I am saying is he’s a shrewd businessman who makes cold, calculated decisions. There’s no way to know what he’d do if you two got together and it ended badly.”

“Look, I hate that Cooke got fired just as much as you do, but that’s different. Like you said, it was a calculated business decision, not one based on emotion. If Tristan were to fire me because of a failed romance, then that would be a purely emotional choice, and I just don’t see him being capable of that.”

“I really don’t understand why you’d risk everything to start seeing your boss. There are lots of good-looking, decent men around if you want a relationship, Erin. Hell, Fred and Nessa have been trying to set you up with every son, neighbour or friend of a friend for who knows how long. What’s different about Tristan?”

I was quiet for a long moment, taking a bite from a biscuit and swallowing it down before I replied, “I never told you what really happened between us back when we were teenagers.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was never my boyfriend for a start. He just let me pretend he was to keep Graham away.” When I spoke her ex’s name, Sloane’s face clouded with a wince. I knew she didn’t like to think of him, but there was no avoiding bringing him up where this topic was concerned. “Tristan also let me sleep in the attic of the hotel because I had nowhere else to go. Not only that, he really looked out for me, bringing me food, keeping me company. We basically spent every evening together. We were friends, but looking back, I’m pretty sure we were falling in love.”

A glossy shine filled Sloane’s eyes. “You said you were staying with a friend.”

“Technically, that was true.”

“I imagined you on an air mattress in some girl from school’s bedroom, not sleeping alone in an attic with a boy.”

“It wasn’t like that. He always left before I went to sleep. Well, until that last night when we had our first kiss. But then you and I left town the next day, so we never got a chance to explore things further.”

Sloane was shaking her head. “I can’t believe …” She trailed off before her eyes lifted to mine. “Why did you never tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to feel bad that I was basically squatting in the attic of your workplace.”

“Well, I do feel bad. You should’ve told me. I would’ve—”

I reached across the table and put my hand over hers. “You weren’t ready to believe me about Graham. But you got there eventually. You chose to leave him and bring us to Fred and Nessa, and it was the best thing anyone’s ever done for me. We made a good life here, so please don’t feel bad about what happened back then. It’s in the past. There’s nothing to be gained from going over it again. You’re my sister, and I love you. That’s all that matters.”

We fell into a silence for a few moments. Then Sloane said, “It is rather romantic when you think about it. The two of you losing touch then somehow finding each other again. It’s like a movie or something.”