‘Oh, that’s very kind but I really should be getting on.’

‘Mornin’ there, sleepyhead.’

I looked away from the yard to see Lorcan walking through from behind the bar, Bod toddling behind him. When the little dog noticed me, he sped over, resting his paws up against the chair. Automatically I reached down and plopped him on my lap. ‘Slept well, I take it,’ his owner continued. There was a teasing note to his voice and a glint to his eye. ‘Good to have a lie-in, isn’t it?’

Ugh.

‘And we’ve nothing to do until two o’clock this afternoon so there’s plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then go out and meet the girls.’

‘Perfect.’ Brighid squeezed my shoulder and bustled off back towards where Lorcan had come from, followed by Gerry. Lorcan came to stand by my table.

‘May I?’ he asked, hooking his gaze onto mine.

Gerry was still hovering by the bar, checking on the optics, and I didn’t want to appear rude in front of him so, despite irritation fizzing through me at his smart-alec comment about having a lie-in, I gave a brief movement of my head that was neither yes or no. Lorcan took it as a yes. Shocker.

‘You look rested.’

‘Hardly surprising,’ I said, still a little annoyed at wasting several hours of the day but keeping my eyes fixed outside.

‘You obviously needed it. You have to listen to your body sometimes.’

I thought about what my body had been saying last night as Lorcan’s had moved closer to mine and decided that I would most definitely not be following that advice.

‘I have a lot to do.’

‘There’s nothing to do until the cake-tasting at two.’

‘You may have nothing to do, but I have plenty.’

‘Such as?’ he asked, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his broad chest.

‘There’s more that goes into a wedding than just cake.’

‘Believe me, I’m entirely aware of that.’ There was something in the way he said it that caught my attention, a flicker behind his eyes, before his face became impassive once again.

‘I need to find local suppliers for the flowers and the catering for a start, and the area’s not exactly swimming with choices from what I can see.’

‘There’s enough.’

‘And how would you know?’

‘Because, as much as I’m not a fan of weddings, I’ve heard about very little else from my best friend since this all began and even more after the first wedding planner upped and left, leaving me with a hysterical bride and panicking groom when they found out she hadn’t arranged anything at all. None of the catering, band, venue – nothing.’

‘She hadn’t done anything? That seems unusual.’

‘Unusual isn’t the word I’d use for her, but whatever.’

‘How did they find out?’