Chapter Three
Roisin had an itchy feeling at the back of her neck. Something strange was going on, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. The bright lights on the stage made it difficult, though not impossible, to see the crowd in front of her. Trying not to be too obvious, she took a hard look at the audience, trying to figure out what might be causing the uncomfortable feeling.
She was already midway through her second set of three when she thought she spotted a familiar face far across the room. Could it be? No. It would be too much of a coincidence to see him here tonight, though…stranger things had happened.
Roisin had always heard that everything happened for a reason, and there was a time and season for all things. She didn’t know if she believed that completely, but last year definitely hadn’t been a good time to start anything with Jim. Long-distance relationships never really worked out, and she’d been in a very vulnerable position. Breaking up with her beau of two years had left her feeling raw and uncomfortable in her own life.
There had been major shakeups in her world, by her own choosing, when she’d returned home from Baltimore the last time. Things were a lot better now, and Roisin credited her time spent with Jim—short as it was—for spurring her on to make the much-needed changes in her personal and professional life.
As a result, Roisin had recorded an album of love songs that had just been released. Part of her mission in playing gigs farther afield than her home turf was to help publicize the release. She doubted it would take the world by storm, since she specialized in new takes on old Irish tunes that were popular with only a small segment of music lovers, but it was a milestone to her. It was a step forward on her road to independence, and it gave her credibility, and invitations, to perform solo shows for greater income.
She was learning how to forge her music into something that she could make a good living at. Not just a hobby. Roisin was making a name for herself, in her own right, and gaining a new independence in not only the music, but in many other parts of her life.
Her father was thrilled. He’d told her, when she embarked on her recording journey, that he was proud of her and had been waiting, in fact, for her to take her career into her own hands. She’d been so relieved. She’d feared what he might say, and had been afraid that he would take her actions as some sort of insult to him and what he had done for her career to this point.
In a way, she had Jim to thank for her turnaround. Until her night with him, she’d just been spinning her wheels in her music and in her love life. She’d settled for what, in retrospect, were basically dull men who hadn’t caused any real spark in her soul. All of her relationships up to Jim had been predictable. Safe. Boring.
But Jim had shown her there could be so much more. Glorious sex, interesting conversation—what little there’d been of that. Her hours with Jim had opened her eyes to the possibilities, and she had taken the lesson to heart and, on her return home, had made immediate steps to change her life and her circumstances.
She hadn’t been involved with anyone since Jim. Had he ruined her for anyone else? She didn’t think so. But by the same token, he was a hard act to follow.
She’d been working on herself and her own life for the past year. Jumping right into another relationship with the kinds of guys she had dated before didn’t really make sense.
But now, here she was, in the same pub, looking at a man who could be Jim, though she couldn’t tell for sure with the stage lights in her eyes. Still… It would make an eerie sort of sense. Fate, if you will.
Roisin finished up her second set with both excitement and trepidation in her heart. She just had to know. Was that Jim over there at the table with a few other clean cut men and women? Were they Navy people, like him? They certainly had that look about them.
She’d watched them as carefully as she could from the distance of the stage and realized that none of them were pairs. There wasn’t the boyfriend-girlfriend vibe coming off of any of the men and women seated next to each other. Based on the body language, it looked more like a gathering of co-workers, or people who didn’t know each other that well on a personal level.
Now, the problem was how to find out if the man she thought might be Jim, really was. She looked away from the table to settle her instruments in preparation for the short break between sets. When she looked up again, the table was empty.
Shit.
Had they all left while her back was momentarily turned? It certainly looked like it. Quickly, she scanned the room as she stepped down from the small bandstand. Yes. There they were. Clustered around the door. She counted off the people she’d seen at the table. The two women, three of the men. But not the one she was looking for. Where was he?
“Ro?”
She spun on her heels, hand clutched to her heart. A man had snuck up on her, and when she looked up to meet his eyes, there was no doubt. It was Jim. And he was smiling at her.
“Jim!” Her voice was breathless. Would he notice how nervous she was? Should she come clean about spotting him? Yeah, probably. He might’ve noticed her staring at his table. “I thought I saw you sitting in the back.”
He nodded. “Just out for drinks with a few colleagues. I didn’t know you were in town, but I’m happy to see you again.”
Her spirits fell a bit at his admission that he hadn’t come to see her specifically, but she rallied. He was here now. Was the chemistry between them as she remembered, or had she built up their encounter in her mind over the past year into something that wouldn’t survive a second meeting?
“When did you get back?” she asked.
She thought that was a safe enough question. She didn’t want to sound like she’d been too caught up in wondering where he was, but she had known he was on his way to the airport when he left her that morning. He’d been shipping out for at least a year of overseas duty, and he hadn’t known when he’d return.
“Just a couple of weeks ago, actually,” he replied easily enough.
“So, you’re home on leave again?”
“No, I’m stationed nearby for now. Tonight was a team-building exercise to get to know my new colleagues.” He glanced toward the door, but the other Navy people had gone by now. “Look, can I buy you a drink?”
He seemed so earnest. Had he been thinking about her over the past year too? Or was this just some kind of target of opportunity?
Either way, she’d be foolish not to at least talk to the guy. He’d occupied her thoughts more than he should have since their stolen night together. Maybe talking to him now would help her put an end to thoughts of what might’ve been, once and for all. It was entirely possible he wasn’t anything like she remembered. He might be a jerk…or dull…or not too bright. There must be something she could point to and say she’d got away lucky in the years to come. Possibly.
Or, he might be as dishy as she thought, and she’d keep on thinking about him long into her dotage. She’d be the old lady in the nursing home talking about the young sailor she once knew, telling wild tales about her misspent youth and the crazy fling she’d had.
She held up the empty water bottle in her hand. “I’m on water until after my last set.”
“Well, how about then? Do you have to leave right away? Or can you stick around for a few minutes so we can catch up?”
Did he sound eager? Or was she just imagining things?