We looked at each other for a few seconds. Did Molloy not want to be with me? If there was one thing I had realized while I was in the States, it was that I wanted to be with him. What if he didn’t feel the same way?

“So, what are we going to do now?” I asked, an uncomfortable pinch in my stomach.

Molloy took a deep breath. “Okay, here goes. Cards on the table. I don’t want to get married, but I do want us to be together, properly and publicly.”

“You mean go on dates, have dinner – that kind of thing?” I suddenly had this irresistible urge to laugh. It seemed we were more similar than I thought. Maybe Maeve was right.

He smiled. “That kind of thing. If that’s not too normal for you?”

I breathed out. “No, I think I’d like a bit of normal for a while.”

Relief flooded his face. “I’m glad.”

“Me too.” I felt an odd lump in my throat.

He put his hand on mine. “Unfortunately, we have some way to go before we find calm water again, if you’ll pardon the pun. I have to leave again now. There’s an army crew coming to put up a temporary bridge at Glentogher so we can reopen the road to Derry, and the pathologist needs to be picked up from Ballyliffin. Although I’ll get McFadden to do that.”

“Ballyliffin?”

“The hotel has a helicopter pad.”

“How long is that going to take? Before the roads reopen, I mean.”

He stood up and took his mug and plate to the sink where he rinsed them, his morning routine apparently. “It’ll take most of the day, I suspect, to get a temporary bridge constructed. It’s very impressive how quickly they can do it, though. Hopefully you should be able to get back home by tonight. We should have one of the roads to Malin open too.”

“That would be good.”

He turned, grabbed his hat, and kissed me on the cheek. It seemed an oddly formal thing to do until he whispered into my ear, “You’re wearing my boxers, aren’t you?”

A smile spread across my face.

When the door had slammed behind him, I poured myself another coffee. For the first time in a long time, I felt content. I’d got whatever it was out of my system during my stint in the States and we could now settle down to having a normal existence. It would be good to get to know Molloy properly. I hadn’t realized I’d wanted it so much. I wondered what people would think, then realized that we’d probably discover that we were the town’s worst kept secret – and there were a few of those.