Love Like This (The Romance Chronicles-Book #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

The festival that night was just as loud as the night before. More, in fact, since tonight was the beginning of the organized activities and competitions. The town never seemed to sleep when the Festival of Love was in session.

Keira chose a pub and went inside. It was still early but the place was already packed. She found a table in the corner and settled herself in, taking her notebook and pen out of her purse, then scoured the crowds looking for someone to approach. She wanted all different kinds of people, not just young women like Tessa who were just there for no-strings-attached encounters. What she really wanted was someone who was genuinely there to find love, someone who actually believed that they could be matched at this festival.

Just then, a man at the bar caught her eye. He was older than the average person she'd seen at the festival, with gray hair. She placed him closer to fifty. He was alone, sat on a stool watching the festivities as though he himself weren't really a part of them.

She stood and wended her way through the crowds until she'd reached the man. He looked a bit surprised to be approached by a young woman.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a thick Irish accent that Keira struggled to decipher over the noise.

She explained about who she was, why she was there, and asked whether he'd be willing to speak to her about his experiences of the festival.

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do," he replied. "I'm Patrick."

"Nice to meet you," Keira said. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I couldn't help noticing that you're significantly older than the average person here. I was wondering what made you come here today."

Patrick laughed. "You mean I'm an old fart surrounded by beautiful women?"

Keira smiled and gave a shrug. "Your words, not mine."

"You can put that in your piece," Patrick added, tapping where she'd written the word fart in her notebook. He took a swig of his beer. "Okay, so you want my story. Here it goes. I'm older, yes, but it's not because I'm some horrible old pervert looking for a younger wife. There's plenty of men like me who find themselves without a partner at this stage of their life." He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then leafed through before pulling out a photograph. "This here is Susan. My wife of thirty years. Until she divorced me."

Keira wrote quickly, trying to decipher Patrick's accent.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing, to be honest. The kids grew up and moved out. We both got older. I got comfortable, you know, let myself go, took her for granted. Then our business stalled and that meant the life I'd promised her never materialized. So she went off to find someone else who could provide it." He put the picture away.

"So you're here looking for some fun?" Keira asked. "Or some revenge?"

Patrick laughed. "I'm here looking for a wife!"

"You are?" Keira asked, wide-eyed. "You're not, like, over the whole marriage thing? Bitter? Jaded?"

"Of course not!" Patrick said. "I'm not bitter and I'm not over the hill yet. What I had might not have been enough for Susan but there'll be a lass out there who it will be enough for. Probably another divorcee." He laughed. "You get a lot of them coming here. That and widows. They're my best bet."

Keira was surprised. Her parents' own marriage had dissolved when she'd been very young, and her mother had lamented it for years. Watching her mom had meant that certain ideas were drilled into her head, and divorce was pretty much the worst thing she could imagine going through. It was a shock to meet someone who had not only gone through it but survived and come out the other end with their belief in love still intact.