Laila’s startled expression turned to relief. “Oh, my God, you could be exactly right, Moira!” she said excitedly. “I have the perfect chance to completely reinvent myself, don’t I?”
“Seems that way to me,” Moira said. “And what would you choose to be?”
The question seemed to dim Laila’s excitement. “Now that,” she said, “is the million-dollar question.”
Moira couldn’t help chuckling at her suddenly woebegone expression. “You’ve just officially joined the club I’ve been in all my life,” she said. “If it’s any consolation, I’m beginning to believe that there may be hope just around the corner for both of us.”
“Really?” Laila said doubtfully.
“Weren’t you the one who said just moments ago that it’s up to us to seize what we want and not to look to anyone else to hand it to us?”
“I did.”
“Well, then, that seems like a fine bit of information to have. It’s certainly given me a new perspective.”
“Do you have a next step in mind already?” Laila asked curiously.
“I’m going to see Connor about getting a work visa,” Moira said decisively.
Maybe staying on was a risk. Maybe it would give her and Luke the time they needed. There was no way to tell how things would turn out. The only thing she knew for sure was that if she went back to Ireland as scheduled, she might never know what could have been. As for those jobs she’d already accepted, she could fly home long enough to honor the commitments and then race right back here to follow her heart.
Luke had been dismayed, but not surprised, when Moira didn’t turn up at the pub the morning after their argument. After his conversation with Laila and Matthew, he knew he had some serious apologizing to do. Today just wasn’t going to be the day for it.
Not only were the dishes, silverware and glassware to be delivered, but so were the tables and chairs. That meant he had to get the construction crew and its debris out of here by midmorning. After that he had to be on the scene for all the deliveries. He couldn’t leave that to anyone else.
In the meantime, though, he did call Bree at Flowers on Main. “It has been reported to me on more than one occasion by the other men in this family that you’re great at creating the apology special,” he told her.
She laughed. “You need to be apologizing to Moira? I never saw that coming. She seems like the one more likely to say or do something requiring penance.”
“That’s family bias speaking,” he scolded her. “I’m no saint, and on occasion I can be a real dunderhead.”
“Really? What did you do?” she asked eagerly.
“Nothing I care to discuss with you,” he told his obviously fascinated cousin. “Can you come up with flowers for Moira or not?”
“Of course I can,” she said at once. “But she won’t be impressed.”
“Why not?”
“Too little effort on your part to call on me to help you make amends,” she told him. “Now if you want to do this right, you’ll go to Gram’s, risk life and limb by sneaking into the garden, and cut a proper bouquet.”
“You just want Gram to catch me and chase me with a broom, don’t you?” he accused.
“I was hoping maybe she still had one of Granddad’s old shotguns,” Bree admitted. “She used to threaten me with it enough when I yanked out flowers rather than weeds.”
“I think that was just meant to terrorize you,” Luke said, but he wasn’t entirely certain of that. “So, you really think fresh flowers I’ve picked myself are my only option?”
“It would be a sweet gesture,” she told him. “Few women could resist it.”
“The only problem is I’m stuck at the pub all day waiting for deliveries. This probably shouldn’t wait.”
“Boy, you really are in some kind of trouble, aren’t you?” Bree teased.
“You have no idea.” He paused, then said, “I suppose I could call Gram, throw myself on her mercy.”
“Not the same,” Bree said emphatically. “Your apology, your bouquet. Trust me. I’m a woman. I understand these things.”
“I believe you’re also the one who tried to convince me if I tied a blanket over my shoulders I could fly off the porch roof,” he said.
He heard a guffaw she obviously tried to hide.
“That was a bit of a miscalculation on my part,” she admitted. “You were annoying me.”
“And, of course, no one in the family believed you’d been behind it and the resulting broken wrist, because you were the quiet, solitary one who hid out in her room with her books,” he recalled.
“It was one of the rare times when that worked in my favor,” she said proudly.
“Does Jake have any idea what a devious woman you’re capable of being?”
“Absolutely not,” she said. “That also works in my favor.”
Luke laughed. “Yes, I imagine it does. Okay, Bree, thanks for the advice. I’ll figure something out.”
“One more suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“There’s a patch of shamrocks in the far back corner of the garden,” she revealed. “A few of those tucked into your bouquet might be a nice touch.”
“Now I really do owe you,” he said. “See you.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks,” he said, hanging up. At least he had a plan, even if his timetable for executing it was a little shaky. Hopefully, if he showed up by nightfall, Moira would be in a receptive mood. Trying to find the perfect spot on the pendulum of her mood swings—somewhere between furious and listening to reason—was probably one of those life skills he was going to need a lot.
Moira’s meeting with Connor had been productive. He’d helped her complete all the necessary paperwork for getting a short-term work visa and promised to do his best to hurry it through the process.
