A Brigid’s Day Promise (Love in Ballymara, #2)

A secret crush, one practice date, and a love the whole village can see!

They agree to pretend. Ballymara decides it is real.

In Ballymara, February means candlelight in the windows, fresh bread in the ovens, and St Brigid’s Day hopes whispered like prayers. Niamh, the baker everyone relies on, spent years hiding a soft spot for Eoin, the kind primary-school teacher who coaches the youth GAA team and never forgets a single birthday. When The Seaglass Inn committee announces a Valentine’s fundraiser auction, Niamh blurts out a solution: practice dates! One harmless plan to boost bids, calm nerves, and keep her heart safely tucked away.

Eoin says yes because it is for The Seaglass Inn. Because the town needs this fundraiser. Because Niamh looks relieved when he agrees, and he would do almost anything to keep that relief on her face. Besides, it is only practice...

Except practice means walking her home through salt air and fairy lights. It means laughing in her warm kitchen after closing time. It means discovering that Niamh is not just capable, but lonely in the quiet moments when the ovens cool. It means realising Eoin’s steady kindness has edges too, shaped by old disappointments he never talks about.

The town, of course, notices everything. Suddenly the bids soar, the gossip turns hopeful, and Ballymara starts rooting for them with the same faith it pours into saving The Seaglass Inn. Niamh wants the inn to survive, but she doesn’t want to become the village’s story. Eoin wants to be brave for once, but he cannot bear the thought of embarrassing her or losing their friendship.

Because if this goes wrong, Niamh does not just risk her heart. She risks the one person who has always felt like home.

Some promises are made for the town. The dangerous ones are the promises you finally make to yourself!