‘Don’t worry. I promise it wasn’t me. Do come in out of the rain.’ I already had more than enough unwanted water coming into this house without standing here waiting for this rude man to let yet more in. His comment had irked me. It wasn’t as if us villagers hadn’t joked about the same thing ourselves, but there was something in the way he said it, as though he were laughing up his expensive sleeve at us, or would have been, had they not been rolled up to his elbows exposing tanned, muscular forearms. He stepped in and I took the black, old-fashioned umbrella with its beautiful, carved wooden handle from him and opened it to dry in the small boot room to the side of the front door. He might not have manners, but he did have good taste.

‘Do you always invite strange men into your house without asking their name?’ One coal-black brow rose, accompanying the softly spoken query.

‘I’m afraid your accent gave you away and you are perfectly on time, Mr Kelly.’

‘I’m not Mr Kelly,’ the man replied, studying me, a hint of amusement showing at the corner of the just-full-enough lips.

A cool shiver trickled down my spine, despite the humidity of the day. The man’s smile widened.

‘Don’t look so panicked. You’re quite safe. I’m his best man, Lorcan O’Malley.’ He held one large hand out. ‘Pleased to meet you.’

I stuck out my own automatically, unsure what to make of this man other than the fact that he was probably one of the best-looking men I’d ever come across. Why did I only ever meet desirable men through work? I had a very strict policy about not mixing work with pleasure and right now work needed all the attention it could get. The pandemic had meant that my business, Hart’s & Flowers, along with many like mine, had taken a big hit, so now I needed to find a way to recoup the losses I’d suffered. A lavish wedding for an American heiress could be the answer to, if not all my prayers, then at least some of them.

‘Patrick should be here any minute. He’s always late.’

‘Oh dear. Hopefully he won’t be late to the wedding,’ I said, looking up at Lorcan.

‘I guess that’s my job to ensure he isn’t.’

‘Glad to hear you’re already serious about your duties.’ I smiled.

‘I might not be a fan of weddings, or marriage, but I won’t let Patrick down.’

‘I see,’ I replied, and made a mental note to keep an eye on him – not exactly the toughest of tasks when a man looked like he did.