‘Do you think they would take a collect call?’ Niall grinned and Hilary laughed.
‘Not sure about that.’
‘So will you both be coming to O’Donohue’s tomorrow night?’ he queried.
‘Not sure about that either. We’re doing a big stock take in the shop, and I have to be there. And it’s much easier to get it done after closing time.’
‘Sure, if I see you I see you,’ he said easily. ‘Enjoy the rest of the evening.’
‘You too and sorry about your shirt and thanks for the drink,’ she murmured, heart sinking when she saw him glance over to where Colette was now chatting animatedly to a tall bearded guy, looking like a dainty little doll beside him.
‘Another brandy and ginger coming up soon, I’d say,’ Niall said wryly, amusement causing his eyes to crinkle in a most attractive way.
‘What?’ She was caught off guard.
‘Your little friend has expensive tastes.’
‘Er . . . she doesn’t like beer, or Guinness,’ Hilary said loyally, taken aback by his directness.
‘She’s lucky to have you for a friend; you have a very steadfast quality, Hilary. Would you come out for a drink with me sometime, when your stock taking is over?’
‘Me! . . . Oh! . . . I thought it would be Colette you would ask out if you were asking either of us,’ Hilary blurted.
‘Did you now? Well, ladies who pour their Black Velvets all over me to get my attention are much more interesting than flirty brandy and ginger drinkers.’
‘I didn’t pour my drink over you to get your attention. It was an accident. I tripped!’ Hilary protested indignantly.
‘Well, it worked, didn’t it? I’m asking you out for a drink,’ he pointed out.
‘Is that right?’ Hilary said hotly. ‘How very arrogant that you would think I’d want to go for a drink with you. I’m not that desperate to get a man that I’d waste a Black Velvet on him.’
Niall guffawed. ‘Sorry, Hilary, I couldn’t resist it. Just wanted to see if you’d rise to the bait. I was only teasing, honest. I know you tripped. Come on, give me your number and let me make amends,’ he smiled.
‘You’ll get me at Kinsella Illuminations, Kirwan’s Industrial Estate; it’s in the phone book. Don’t call collect,’ Hilary retorted, but she was smiling as she made her way back to the table.
Colette and Beardy were at the bar, Colette making sure she was posed just where Niall could see her as he rapped out a toe-tapping tattoo on his bodhrán. She could pose all she liked, Hilary smiled to herself. For once in her life, her friend had come in second. Niall Hammond had asked Hilary out for a drink, and out for a drink she would go.
‘He asked you out?’ Colette couldn’t believe her ears later that night as they tucked into a kebab on the way home. Colette was staying the night at Hilary’s, before heading back to her parents’ detached, palatial pad in Sutton the following morning.
‘Yeah, I told him we were stock taking tomorrow and I wouldn’t be in O’Donohue’s, so he’s asked me out. He’s going to ring me.’ Hilary licked the creamy sauce off her fingers and took a slug of Coke to wash it down.
‘Ah ha! It will be interesting to see if he rings. You know what they’re like,’ Colette said dismissively. ‘How many times have you sat waiting for a phone call from some bloke? Don’t hold your breath, now,’ she advised, nibbling neatly on a portion of their shared kebab. She never dribbled sauce or got it on her fingers. Hilary would have had no problem polishing off a whole kebab and she was always irritated that Colette would refuse to have one, and then tuck into hers.
‘You make it sound as though I’m permanently sitting by the phone waiting for a fella to ring,’ Hilary said crossly, coming down from her high. Perhaps Colette was right: Niall might not bother to ring her. She had waited on a few occasions for a guy to ring after he had taken her number, and had waited in vain. Colette rarely had such problems. Men were drawn to her like bees to honey. And just this once, Hilary had thought she might be the one to get the boy! Now she was beginning to have serious doubts.
‘I’m just not wanting you to get hurt, that’s all,’ Colette said kindly. ‘Men can be the pits. Remember what I went through with Rod Killeen?’ Her pretty face darkened into a thunderous scowl at the memory of the rat Killeen who had dumped her for a tubby little tart with a raucous laugh and a penchant for sci-fi that Rod was into as well. ‘That guy broke my heart in smithereens,’ Colette reminded Hilary. ‘Used and abused me! And behind my back was having it off with lardy Lynda. Little fat slut!’
Hilary sighed as Colette went into her usual rant about her ex-boyfriend. Colette had fallen hard for the good-looking, laid-back rugby player who was in his fourth year of medical school. Hilary had been dragged to rugby matches, in howling gales and on rain-spattered afternoons, for the duration of the short-lived romance. Rod had initially been very taken with his ‘little blonde bombshell’ as he’d nicknamed a delighted Colette and they had enjoyed a lusty couple of months in the early stages of their romance. But Colette’s demanding ways had proved too much for the muscular medic and he had wilted under her need for constant emotional reassurance, and the tantrums and traumas that ensued when he had had to knuckle down to study for his exams. Rod had taken comfort in the arms of a cuddly, good-humoured student
