He'd done a lot of soul-searching before he came to the decision to tell his daughter about Paul. He'd been as shocked as everyone else at Paul's uncharacteristic behaviour.
John had welcomed Paul into the bosom of his family and had very much been looking forward to him becoming his son-in-law. He saw him as the son he'd never had and had been overjoyed when he and Nicole had become engaged.
He was devastated at what had been revealed at the church on that fateful September day and it had taken numerous efforts on Paul's part before John would even consider speaking to him.
Eventually, he'd relented, more because of his wife's persistent nagging than anything else but now he truly believed in his heart of hearts that Paul deeply regretted what he'd done to Nicole.
John Baxter was a very traditional man. He knew he'd been blessed in his marriage and had never wanted or loved any other woman except his beloved wife.
He'd listened to Paul's pleas for forgiveness and as much as he hadn't wanted to accept his apologies, part of him could understand what he'd done.
John didn't believe in easily throwing away relationships. He and Imelda had had their ups and downs throughout the many happy years of their lives together, but they'd worked out their problems together.
He believed with all his heart and soul that Nicole and Paul were perfect for each other.
He truly hoped and prayed that his daughter could find it in her heart to forgive Paul as he knew that their relationship could still be salvaged.
"Nicole, darling, do you still love Paul? Yes or no," he earnestly asked his daughter.
"Yes," Nicole whispered.
"Then I think you should try to work things out with him."
"Oh, dad, do you really think so?"
John was surprised to see a faint glimmer of hope in his daughter's eyes. Some part of her was relieved that her father had voiced aloud the thoughts that had been turning over in her head. She hadn't dared to admit her feelings, not even to herself.
Part of her had wondered if she and Paul could work things out, if there still might be a chance for them, but the other part of her felt that she would be letting herself down if she dared to try again with her fiance.
"Yes, darling, I really think so. I swear to you that Paul loves you and is deeply sorry for what he's done to you. I can arrange for you two to meet, if you'd like?" he suggested hopefully.
"I don't know, dad. What am I supposed to do; pretend that none of this ever happened? I feel scared. I'm nervous about opening my heart to him again. He hurt me so much. I don't know if I can ever forgive him. I want to forgive him, but I don't know if I can."
"Your mother and I will help you to get through this, darling, in whatever way we can. All you have to do is ask. I'm not denying that you two don't have a tough road ahead of you. You'll both have a lot of soul-searching to do and it won't be easy, but I know you have a strong spirit and you'll get through this."
Nicole clenched her jaw. She'd spent so long being angry that it was difficult to readjust her thinking and her feelings.
"I appreciate everything you're saying, dad, I really do. Part of me wants to try to work it out with Paul but there's still a huge part of me that is very hurt and raw. How could Paul truly love me if he was capable of hurting me like this? How do I know that he won't hurt me again?"
"You don't know darling, nobody knows. There are no guarantees in this life but isn't it worth trying anyway? Isn't it worth fighting for?"
"I'm afraid, dad, for the first time in a very long time, I'm truly afraid."
"Will you at least try, darling? If there's even a glimmer of hope for you two to salvage your relationship then I truly believe that you should try."
"Maybe," Nicole replied in a small voice.
Chapter 13
The bright late autumn sunshine woke Nicole from her deep sleep. She yawned and snuggled further under the covers for a few more minutes.
A quick glance at her bedside clock told her that it was half past eleven. She didn't care how late it was. This was the best night's sleep she'd had in months. She'd slept straight through the night for the first time in a very long time.
It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She replayed the conversation with her father in her mind and was grateful that he had allowed her to see that it was ok to want to try again with Paul. She hadn't realised how much she'd wanted to at least give their relationship one more try. She'd been so angry and hurt that she hadn't been able to think clearly.
She believed her father when he'd told her that Paul was truly sorry for what he'd done to her. She recalled how he'd looked that day in their apartment when she'd gone to collect her possessions. He'd seemed broken; like his usual bravado and self-confidence had been completely eroded.
Even then, there was a part of her that had wanted to run to him and tell him that everything would be fine, but the hurt and angry part of her hadn't allowed her.
She knew that if there was any hope of rescuing their relationship that there had to be changes. She couldn't just tell him that all was forgiven and let everything carry on as normal, like she usually did when they'd had an argument. Their relationship could never be what it had once been before. He had broken her trust but she wanted to try to find some way to forgive him.
She hoped that in time they would be able to rebuild their relationship and start again. She knew that she had to be more assertive, less passive and less eager to please him.
He had to make more of an effort now. It was up to him to prove himself to her, to show her how much he loved her and that he truly wanted them to be together forever.
She felt like she was slowly coming out of mourning the death of her old relationship with Paul. Many of her old ideals and beliefs were dead, along with the trust that she had so implicitly assumed they'd shared.
She'd had time to process her emotions, to grieve, even to recover a little. Her rage and anger had dissipated. She felt raw and exposed which were alien concepts to her. She'd always been so controlled, so black and white, and it had been a serious shock to her system to have her entire world annihilated.
"Good afternoon, sleepy head," Evette teased her sister.
It was lunch time before Nicole had finally decided to force herself out of her cosy cocoon. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched luxuriously.
"That was the best sleep I've had in a long time."
"Good. I'm glad. Would you like some lunch, or should I say brunch, before I love you and leave you?" "Brunch would be lovely, thanks sis and thank you so much for the wonderful surprise party last night."
"Did you really enjoy yourself? You looked like you were about to collapse when everyone pounced on you!"
"Of course I did. I got a shock, initially, that's all. It was very thoughtful of you."
"I thought you and dad were going to have a shouting match at one point," Evette said.
"You know what he's like," Nicole replied vaguely. "He doesn't exactly hold back with his opinions."
"Yeah, mom and I retreated to the kitchen, but you two seemed to be getting on very well for the rest of the evening. You spent ages talking to each other. What you were discussing?"
"Oh, I was telling him about our new business and the plans we had for it. I told him about our clients and our first meeting. He said he'd be happy to help us with the accounting side of the business if we need him."
Nicole quickly diverted the subject away from what they'd mostly been talking about. She didn't want to tell her sister that she wanted to give Paul another chance. She knew Evette would be absolutely against the idea and would think her weak for even considering trying again.
She needed to work things out in her own time, without anyone else's thoughts or opinions. After all, this was about Nicole and Paul, nobody else. She didn't want anyone else to influence her decisions and she knew that she would tell her sister as soon she got her head straight, but not yet.
&n
bsp; "I forgot about that we'll need an accountant and we have to register with revenue as being self-employed."
"Don't worry, I already took care of that side of things, but it'll be handy to have dad on board if we need him."
"Absolutely," Evette agreed.
She set a full Irish breakfast in front of her sister along with a steaming mug of coffee.
"Yum," Nicole appreciately inhaled the delicious aroma of bacon, egg, sausage, pudding and warm, buttery toast.
"Just what the doctor ordered."
She immediately tucked into her breakfast. Evette watched in amazement as her sister quickly demolished her food.
"Wow, that's the most I've seen you eat since you got here," she grinned.
"There's nothing like a good night's sleep to work up a hunger," Nicole smiled in between mouthfuls. "Where are you off to this afternoon, anyway?"
"It's my last day at the clinic today. I handed in my notice last week. Then I can dedicate myself full time to Elite Weddings."
"Excellent," Nicole smiled.
"What time is it anyway?" Evette looked distractedly at the clock.
"I better run. I don't want to be late on my last day. 'Bye, sis, see you later."
"Catch you later, sis."
Moments later Evette was gone and Nicole was alone at last.
She finished her coffee and picked up her mobile phone. She took a deep breath and typed in Paul's number. She hadn't installed his contact details on her new mobile, but there wasn't any need as she still knew his number off by heart.
Her heart raced and she had butterflies in her stomach as she heard the dial tone. It seemed to ring on forever before Paul finally picked up. She held her breath.
"Hello," he answered quietly.
He sounded tired and drained.
Nicole was suddenly at a loss for words. Her carefully prepared speech evaporated at the sound of his voice.
"Hello?" he repeated.
Nicole cleared her throat.
"Hi Paul." Her voice came out in a croak.
"Nicole?" he asked uncertainly.
She couldn't help the feeling of annoyance that immediately swept over her.
Who else would it be? She wanted to yell at him, but she managed to restrain herself.
"Yes, it's me, Nicole."
"Nicole! Hi. It's so good to hear from you!" he exclaimed.
He sounded thrilled.
"Thanks."
"How are you?" he asked. "Sorry, stupid question."
"No. I'm fine, Paul. How are you?"
"I'm ok, not too bad."
He sounded uncertain, unsure of himself. It was peculiar for her to hear him like this. He was usually never at a loss for words.
There was a long pause between them as they both desperately tried to think of something, anything to say to each other.
"Paul, can we talk sometime?"
"You want to talk? Of course we can talk. I'd love to talk anytime," was his enthusiastic response.
She couldn't help smiling at his eagerness.
"Is everything ok with you? You're not in any kind of trouble or anything?" he asked uncertainly.
He seemed genuinely worried.
"I'm fine, Paul, honestly. I'd like to talk about us."
"Ok. Name the time and the place and I'll be there."
"Can I text you?" she asked.
"Sure, you can text me anytime. I can't wait to see you."
She hesitated for a moment, not knowing quite how to respond.
"Bye, Paul."
She hung up the phone.
She was nervous, more nervous than she had ever been about anything else in her entire life, even more nervous than she had been about the wedding, but that was more excitement than nerves.
It was official. She was going to give Paul another chance.
She was relieved that she'd made the call to him and she knew deep in her heart that she wanted it to work between them, but she didn't know where to begin or how to behave.
She wanted to talk to him properly, to give him a chance to explain as she desperately needed to understand why he'd cheated on her.
I wonder if he's willing to be completely and brutally honest with me, she pondered.
Chapter 14
"You're not going to believe this!" Evette clutched her hair and stared at her computer screen.
"What now?" Nicole asked in exasperation.
Evette had been complaining for most of the afternoon. Nothing seemed to be going her way and she was really starting to get on Nicole's nerves.
The two sisters had been working long hours for most of the week. There had been numerous meetings with suppliers and they'd spent the weekend at two wedding fairs looking for ideas and inspiration as well as networking with potential clients.
They'd achieved a lot in the few short weeks that they'd been in business but they were on a steep learning curve.
"I didn't realise that wedding planning was such hard work! I feel like I need a wedding planner to help me plan these weddings and take some of the pressure off me. I don't think I've ever been so stressed in my entire life! No wonder our clients hired us to organise everything. All they have to do is show up to a few meetings here and there and agree to the decisions that we've already made for them. My head is wrecked!" She buried her head in hands, finally running out of steam.
"What's brought on this outburst?" Nicole asked, trying her best to maintain an even tone.
She was up to her eyeballs herself with work and she wasn't particularly in the mood to have to babysit her sister. She desperately needed Evette to pull her weight and hold it together.
"Amanda is so demanding. Every suggestion I've emailed her hasn't been good enough. She always wants something else. She's just emailed me now to say that she's not happy with the stationery I've chosen for her and could I try again! Try again?! This is the fourth discussion we've had about the bloody stationery! I feel like screaming at her sometimes and telling her to plan her own damn wedding!"
"Ok, ok," Nicole soothed. "Let's try to stay calm. Why don't you take a break and make us a cup of tea? You've been staring at your computer for hours without a rest."
Evette pushed her chair back and marched into the kitchen. Nicole sighed and rubbed her aching eyes. She could feel the beginnings of a headache and prayed that it wouldn't develop into a full-blown migraine.
She glanced out the window and watched the torrential rain pouring down outside.
Her mind wandered to Paul and the meeting that they'd arranged for the following day.
I suppose it's a date, really, she thought. It’s our first date in a long time.
She had butterflies in her stomach when she imagined seeing him again. She'd almost cancelled several times, but luckily she'd been so busy with work that she'd managed to stay distracted.
She still hadn't told her sister about wanting to try to rebuild her relationship with Paul. She dreaded telling her. She knew Evette would be livid and would probably lecture her, in no uncertain terms, that she wasn't doing the right thing.
She didn't want to let her sister down, but she knew it was inevitable. She hoped Evette would understand in time.
She was meeting Paul for lunch the following day at Star Anise. It was a new French restaurant in town and she'd been wanting to eat there for quite some time. Evette hated French food so she hadn't really had the opportunity to try it out.
She and Paul had loved discovering new places to eat and they both enjoyed French food so she knew it would be a treat for him as much as it would be for her.
Evette had meetings organised for the whole afternoon so she knew that there was little chance of bumping into her sister.
I'll tell her soon, she thought as she gazed unseeing out of the window.
"There you go, girl," Evette set a cup of sweet tea in front of her sister.
"Thanks," Nicole smiled gratefully as she took a long sip of the comforting drink.
"Are you feeling any calmer
?"
"I’m a little calmer. Sorry about my outburst. I know you're under a lot of pressure too."
"Don't worry about it. If you can't vent at me then who can you vent at and you've listened to my moaning for long enough."
"I'm dreading meeting Amanda tomorrow," Evette sighed.
"Maybe you should try being more assertive with her," Nicole suggested gently.
"There's a fine line between assertive and aggressive and I'm afraid I'll flip into aggressive. You don't want me to offend our first official client, now do you?" Evette teased.
"No, I most certainly do not. So what's on the agenda for Amanda tomorrow?"
"There’s not much on the agenda, apart from pulling her hair out."
Nicole raised her eyebrows.
"Thankfully, she doesn't need my help with the wedding dress. She's already found a wonderful vintage number apparently and she's wearing her grandmother's veil."
"It sounds wonderful," Nicole said dreamily.
"Hmm, I wouldn't fancy wearing somebody else's wedding dress, vintage or not. I wouldn't want somebody else's history entwined with my wedding."
"Have you made a list of what you need to discuss with her?"
"Yes. The list seems to be getting longer by the hour. We have appointments to sample the cake with several bakers in the early afternoon. Thankfully Amanda and Kian have settled on a traditional wedding cake, so that shouldn't be too trying. Kian's sister is a dressmaker and she's providing the bridesmaids dresses as a gift. Kian is in charge of organising the suits for himself and the men in the party. They've already obtained their marriage licence. They still haven't sent out the invitations because Amanda can't make up her mind on the stationery."
"You seem to be making good progress," Nicole tried to encourage her sister.
The Wedding Day Page 10