‘Now that doesn’t surprise me.’

‘He thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is.’

‘Don’t they always?’

‘That’s true.’

‘I’m right here.’

His mother waved his protest away and served me up a plate. ‘Have you ever been to Ireland before you were arranging Patrick’s wedding?’ she asked, pouring me a cup of tea as she did so.

‘No. I’d always meant to visit as the photos I’d seen made Ireland look so beautiful, but it’s actually getting round to these things, isn’t it?’

‘Now, there’s a true word. Especially when you’re running your own business. Lorcan here went through the same thing, didn’t you, love?’

Lorcan remained silent, clearly realising this was a rhetorical question.

‘It’s lovely that you’re here now though, especially with everything all revving up towards Christmas. Makes everywhere look extra cosy.’

‘And twee.’

She flicked a tea towel at her son and his smile spread.

‘Do you have more things to do for the wedding this afternoon, or have you got time to have a look around? Has our lad showed you the sights yet?’

‘Ma, we’re in the middle of nowhere. There are no sights. She’s seen the sea. We flew over it. Even if she missed most of it the first time.’ His blue eyes glinted mischievously as he said this and I raised my chin, ignoring the jibe and doing my best not to laugh. When he’d made a comment immediately after the incident weeks ago, I was still embarrassed at having thrown up at all, let alone in front of him. Now, though, I didn’t mind so much. I wasn’t the first person to ever get travel sick and I most definitely wouldn’t be the last.

‘Ah, you leave her alone, you big lump. No wonder she was sick, stuck next to you and the Beast of Bodmin for the entire flight.’ We exchanged a conspiratorial grin as she slid another potato scone onto my plate and I didn’t have the heart to refuse.

‘Don’t listen to them, Bod,’ Lorcan said, leaning over and lifting the dog from my lap to immediately be greeted by a wriggly, cuddle-hungry dog who acted as if he hadn’t had human contact for a week, despite having been resting contentedly with drowsy eyes since I’d sat down.

‘Beast of Bodmin?’ I repeated, laughing.

‘That’s how he got his name,’ Lorcan explained. ‘When I brought him home the first time, he was this tiny little ball of fluff. Ma took one look and said, “Not exactly the Beast of Bodmin, is he?” I hadn’t settled on a name for him and it seemed to suit him so it stuck.’

‘I love it. It’s great that the name’s got a story behind it too.’