Chapter 6

What the hell am I doing? Although Lucy’s legs were carrying her towards the café Noah had mentioned in the city centre, in her mind she was running in the other direction. She’d decided on the ‘I just happened to be passing by’ approach to meeting the first of his proposed matches instead of a blind date. That way she could make a quick escape if he turned out to be a dud.

Noah said they’d be sitting at a table outside, much easier for a walk-by if it came to it. She shrugged out of her pink cardigan as the spring sun filtered through the fine cotton knit, and hung it over her arm. Thank goodness she’d chosen to wear the strappy floral dress underneath instead of going for the comfort of cute jumper and jeans. It wouldn’t do to arrive as Sweaty Betty to an alleged chance meet.

She checked her watch. He said he would be there until one o’clock so that left her half an hour to get there and work her charms. If it hadn’t been for some missing wedding invitations and a near hysterical bride-to-be, she would’ve got here with plenty of time to spare. At this rate she’d be lucky if she got to say hello, but she was at the mercy of the Belfast traffic as she waited to cross the road at the city hall.

Eventually the traffic lights turned to her advantage and she walked as briskly as her white open-toe sandals would allow without slipping off her feet. Lunchtime in the city was difficult to navigate through at the best of times but she seemed to be going against the flow of office workers returning to the daily grind.

“Excuse me. Sorry.” She wove her way through the throng until she reached the pavement on the other side. With a deep breath she composed herself again and started towards the café.

From this distance she could see two figures sitting at a table outside the Parisian style eaterie. She automatically honed in on the taller, darker occupant lounging back in his chair with his shirt sleeves rolled up. Unlike her, Noah looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. He was probably relieved to be palming her off onto someone else if his reaction to her after the wedding night had been anything to go by.

Some men might’ve taken advantage of an intimate moment in a boathouse with a semi-naked woman, but Noah had chosen to use the time to draw up a list of people she might actually have a chance with. Where she had seen the sharing of personal stories as an opportunity for them to get closer, on his part at least it had seemed to widen the gap between them. All that talk of having a spark meant nothing if the person who ignited it would not let it burn.

As she approached the table, she drew on the few drama classes she’d taken in high school and prepared to be surprised.

“Noah. How lovely to see you.” She hovered, waiting for an introduction to his companion.

“Hi, Lucy. Long-time no see.” Noah got up and swamped her in a friendly hug as though he hadn’t seen her only a few days ago. He was way too good at the lying thing.

Unaccustomed to this tactile display, Lucy stood stock still, her arms stuck rigidly to her sides. She wasn’t sure what the appropriate response was when his solid chest was pressed so close to her she was inhaling lungfuls of his musky cologne. He let her go again so she could breathe more easily.

“Why don’t you join us?” He pulled out a chair for her and gestured to her to sit. “Derek, this is Lucy Honeywell. The wedding planner I was telling you about.”

“Hello, Lucy. Lovely to meet you.” Well-mannered Derek rose to shake her hand.

“Lucy, this is Derek Cooke. He’s the architect who helped with the refurb at the house.” Noah was giving her the heads up that he was financially stable, as per her request. And bonus points for his interest in the castle.

“Hi, Derek. I hope Noah hasn’t been speaking out of turn.” She glanced at her friend who’d sworn he wouldn’t divulge the exact details of her current status quo.

“Not at all. I heard you were doing an excellent job of bringing new business to the castle.” Derek had a warm smile and a firm handshake. On first appearances he wasn’t too shabby. He was tall and slim, with brown hair and blue eyes. Nothing at all like Noah.

“Thank you, but my reasons for spending so much time at Ravenhill castle are purely selfish. I have a soft spot for stately homes.” Lucy felt comfortable enough to join them and took her seat with the men following suit.

“Lucy’s being modest, of course. She won Young Businesswoman of the Year last year for her efforts in the community. I hear she’s built up quite a network incorporating local businesses into her wedding planning empire.” Noah had done his homework. She wondered if he’d known about her business achievements all along, or if he’d swatted up for extra effect. There had to be more in this for him than simply finding someone to unload her onto and perhaps this was it, he got to play the big man and show off like he did during castle functions. She hated to think he was gaining a superior edge over her by pimping her out like this.

“Enough about me. I’m more interested in what you do for a living, Derek. It must be so rewarding bringing life to old buildings.” She concentrated on the dashing architect and tried to block out Noah altogether. Otherwise she’d spend the whole time worrying about what he was thinking or trying to achieve.

“I do enjoy my job. There’s nothing like seeing a new project come to fruition before my eyes.” Derek flushed as the spotlight turned on him at the table. It was quite sweet in a way. He didn’t seem the type to boast or mock other people for the sport of it.

“I thought you did a grand job at the castle. I mean, I didn’t see it before the work started, but you can’t tell the original features of the house from new build.” She had Derek to thank for the fact the castle was open to the public in the first place.

“Thank you. That’s always good to hear. I did my best to capture the feel of the castle in the new design. It’s such a classic example of Victorian architecture I would never want to detract from its splendour.” Derek sparked to life as he talked about the castle much the way she did. At least they had something in common. Perhaps Noah had genuinely recognised Derek as Lucy’s kindred spirit after all, and not simply grabbed the first man off the street to thrust forward as a love interest.

Noah clattered his coffee cup loudly on its saucer. “I’m not sure adding a toilet block really qualifies as outstanding architecture, but I’m sure Derek has an exemplary cv nonetheless.”

Derek instantly stopped waxing lyrical and dropped his gaze to his fidgeting hands. He definitely didn’t have the same self-confidence as his lunch companion and Noah seemed to be taking full advantage with his snotty comment. There was no need to belittle Derek in such a fashion simply because of his enthusiasm. Noah could get away with teasing her, but here, it made him look like a child demanding attention.

“What are you working on at the minute?” Lucy pretended they were on a blind date anyway and continued with the small talk, ignoring a petulant Noah beside her.

Derek gave an anxious cough and took a sip of his coffee before he answered her. “Noah’s got some new plans for the castle.”

“Oh?” She was forced to bring the third wheel back into the conversation. If there were changes in the offing, she wanted to know so she could avoid having bridal parties picking their way through scaffolding.

“There’s nothing definite yet. We’re just playing with a few ideas at the minute.” Noah leaned forward. “There’s no need to mention it in front of my father.”

Lucy could understand why he didn’t want his father finding out he had planned more work at the castle, but she did not know why she was hearing this for the first time. That day when they were sharing such delicate information in the boathouse would’ve been the perfect opportunity to tell her.

“I know it’s none of my business since I’m clearly nothing more than a visitor to the castle, but what are these ideas you’re playing with?” She hoped it was nothing more than another round of general improvements. Anything more substantial would wreck the character of the house, and the Earl himself.

Derek glanced at Noah and when there were no answers forthcoming from his quarter, he spoke. “We thought the next stage in the castle’s evolution might be to have hotel facilities on site. It makes sense to have somewhere guests can stay overnight and make the most of their surroundings.”

Lucy’s mouth went dry and she wished one of them had been gentleman enough to order her a drink when she’d sat down. “You’re going to build some monstrosity on those gorgeous lawns just so you can line your pocket?”

Forget her first impression, Derek was as bad as Noah. Both were willing to sacrifice the very essence of the castle for purely financial reasons. She had no doubt her own side of the business would benefit from couples planning their honeymoon at Ravenhill, but she didn’t want it at the expense of defacing the landmark.

“No. I’m looking at upgrading the existing bedrooms and facilities for minimum disruption.” Noah wasn’t doing a great job of convincing her. She’d had the privilege of staying in one of those quaint rooms, full of character and history. It would be a shame to see them turned into some generic hotel clones with cheap carpet and budget furnishings.

“You know I’ll do my utmost to facilitate the new plans in keeping with the natural design of the house.” It was clear Derek meant what he said but that didn’t stop Lucy from wanting to stomp off in a huff. They were ruining it!

“I understand your role in this, Derek, and I appreciate your sensitivity. I simply don’t know why the work is necessary in the first place.” She directed her ire at the man responsible for the upset in the first place. Noah deflected the daggers she was staring at him with a frown of his own.

“I’m really sorry I have to leave it at this, but I have an appointment I must get to.” Caught in the crossfire of invisible weapons, Derek stood to leave. He shook her hand again. “It’s been lovely to meet you, Lucy. I hope we’ll run into each other again sometime.”

“Likewise.” The cute meet hadn’t exactly gone to plan.

Unlike the movies, there were no love hearts floating around as instant attraction flared between them. Their totem was more of a thunder cloud looming over the table, gearing up for a lot of crashing and banging about. Poor Derek had had to compete with Noah’s immaturity and the crushing news about the castle, for Lucy’s attention. Hopefully next time, they could meet in private and conduct a less intensive conversation. If there was a next time and Noah didn’t find some way to sabotage it.

She watched Derek walk away without her phone number. In a rom com she would have chased him down and asked if they could start over. But the heroines didn’t usually have the devil incarnate poised to ridicule her at the slightest sign of weakness. Noah’s mood changed more often than a chameleon in a Skittles factory, and today he’d swapped Cupid’s bow to take a hatchet to the budding romance before it started.

“I think he likes you.” Noah balanced his chair on its back legs. It would serve him right if she took him out with a well-aimed kick so he ended up in a heap on the pavement.

“What the hell-?” she didn’t know where to start berating him for his behaviour.

“I’ve never seen him blush before. He might have a crush on you already. We’ll have to plan our next move.” Noah flipped back into matchmaker without acknowledging what had actually happened.

“He blushed because you tried to humiliate him. If designing toilets was all he was good for I doubt you’d be consulting him on your plans for the castle.” She was building up to a boil. This was intended as an introduction to Derek, not an excuse for Noah to drop his bombshell so she wouldn’t go nuclear in public.

“It was a joke. Derek’s a big boy, he can take it. You’re just miffed I’m making some much needed changes to the house without your consent.” He set his chair back onto solid ground and stole her opportunity to see him land on his backside.

“I don’t see why bulldozing through the castle with a one-size-fits-all policy to the rooms is a much needed change.” In her eyes he only had his best interests at heart, nothing to do with the castle itself. Chances were when he inherited the place from his father, he would sell it as a business and move on. It was his right to do whatever he pleased, but Lucy wasn’t the sort of girl to sit back and let it happen without a fight.

Noah rested his forearms on the table, leaning in so she had no choice but to look into his dark eyes. “I hate to burst your bubble, but the castle is in trouble. I’m not creating extra work for myself for the fun of it. Unfortunately, your dream house does not run on fairy dust and good wishes, it takes cold hard cash. If I don’t bring in enough revenue to pay off the debts my father has accumulated, we’ll either have to let it fall down around us or sell the whole estate to property developers. I’m sure neither of those options appeals to your rose tinted view of the castle’s future, so this is the only other option available. Regardless of what you think of me, I assure you I’m doing my bloody best to save the place.”

“I didn’t realise.” Lucy was too caught up trying to process the news that her vision of paradise was on the critical list to offer words of comfort.

Noah threw some notes on top of the lunch bill and pulled on his jacket. “Now you do. Perhaps you’ll understand why I approach these matters with a different perspective. Unlike some people I can’t afford the luxury of sticking my fingers in my ears and pretending life’s all fluffy kittens and rainbows. Look, I’ll try and set something up for you and Derek and I’ll probably see you around.”

He walked away with his shoulders slumped and his hands in his pockets. Noah was a man with more on his mind than fixing her up with a date.