by Melissa Hill
Lynne smiled beatifically. “I’ve always thought so. The separation agreement may or may not tell you anything, but there will have to be a cause stated in the divorce papers.”
Chloe’s mind raced. Dan wouldn’t appreciate her going behind his back like that, but what did he expect? He wouldn’t tell her anything!
No, she needed to find out what it all meant and, more importantly, if this Nicola was going to pose a threat to her wedding. And there was no way Chloe was going to let that happen. She had waited long enough for Dan to propose, long enough trying on all those wedding dresses (although that had been great fun), choosing the flowers, the wedding cake, the invitations – everything. She was determined not to let anything or anyone, disrupt this wedding.
“I wouldn’t stop there, either,” Lynne continued. “What about Dan’s friends? Surely that’s the most obvious place to start.”
Chloe made a face. “Dan doesn’t really have all that many friends, Lynne, not many that I know of anyway. I think he and Nicola were all part of the same circle, so when they split up . . .” She shrugged and trailed off. “You know we only socialise with you and Nick and the others now.”
It was true. When she thought about it, it was kind of odd that Dan didn’t have that many close friends. She hadn’t really noticed before and, in a way, was glad that she had him all to herself, but this fact didn’t help her when she needed someone who had known Dan and Nicola together.
Then it hit her. “I could always try John,” she said. John O’Leary, Dan’s creepy partner, would have been around at the time. She was sure that he would have no problem at all filling her in on the gory details of Dan’s first marriage. Dan had said before that John was always great for gossip. While he was a lecherous creep whom Chloe didn’t like, she would put up with it if it meant she might learn something to put her mind at ease.
Chloe sat back and smiled at Lynne, relieved that she had a plan of action.
She’d phone Dan’s partner first thing in the morning.
* * *
John answered his private line on the second ring. “O’Leary Hunt, Accountants – John speaking.”
“John? Hi, it’s Chloe – Dan’s Chloe,” she clarified.
“Chloe, babe! How are you?” John spoke as if they were old friends. They weren’t that close – in fact Chloe could count on one hand the number of times she had met the man. According to Dan, John O’Leary was not an ideal business partner, something he had discovered shortly after going into practice with him, and as a result they rarely socialised. “Listen, Dan’s in a meeting at the moment I’ll get him to phone you later, will I?”
Chloe cleared her throat. God, she was actually nervous. She had spent all night thinking about what she was going to say, and how she was going to phrase it but now she didn’t know if she could go through with it.
“Um, I’d like to talk to you, actually, if you have a minute.”
“Oh! Fire away.”
She could almost picture his bemused expression.
Chloe decided to get right to the point. “You knew Dan’s ex-wife, didn’t you?”
“Nicola? Of course. I hear she’s back in Ireland now. Why’re you asking me?”
Chloe’s stomach tightened. Dan must have told John that Nicola had come home. But why would he do that? Why would he say anything about it at all unless . . . All of sudden, Chloe began to feel very threatened.
“No real reason, I just wondered what she was like, that’s all.” She tried to sound offhand, but despite herself Chloe’s hands shook. “I mean, of course Dan told me a watered-down version of it, but I just wondered about the real reason they split up.”
“Chloe, if you ask me that was doomed from the very beginning,” John said in a tone that suggested he wasn’t all that enamoured of Nicola. “They were having problems since day one, as I’m sure Dan told you.”
“Um, yes.” Chloe couldn’t admit that she hadn’t a clue. Dan was right about John enjoying a bit of gossip. She said nothing, suspecting that it was better to let him warm to his subject.
“Yeah, that whole thing with his parents and everything, a nasty business.”
Chloe’s ears pricked up at this. Dan’s parents?
“They didn’t approve of her?” she volunteered, imagining the most likely scenario.
“That’s putting it mildly. The mother was hard work, as I’m sure you know yourself,” John added with a laugh. “And as for the father – don’t ask!”
Chloe’s eyes widened. She knew that Dan didn’t get on with his parents, but now she could understand why. Dan was obviously afraid that the same thing might happen with them as it had with Nicola. She sniffed. Dan was a fool if he thought that Chloe would let his mother, or indeed any woman, get in the way of their relationship. Nicola must have been a right sap.
John continued. “Being honest, Chloe, I don’t know a great deal about how it went in the end. Of course, I felt sorry for Nicola and everything, but . . . well, she and I, we didn’t exactly gel.”
“Oh?” She was surprised by the admission. John O’Leary loved to give the impression that he was everyone’s best friend, that he was a ‘sound man’.
“Yeah. She and Carolyn got on well, but when me and Dan set up the partnership, she got this notion that Dan was the one doing all the work, and I wasn’t doing enough. But Dan’s like that. You know, he likes being the one in control. I was happy enough to let him.” Chloe sensed him shrug. “It wasn’t my fault that Dan stayed late at the office five nights a week in the early days. Maybe if he had someone a bit more relaxing to go home to, he wouldn’t need to,” he added bitterly.
“Nicola was uptight, then?” Chloe probed, pleased at this image of her predecessor. “Uptight? Compared to Nicola back then, the bloody taxman is relaxed, and believe me I should know!” John laughed at his own feeble joke.
Chloe clarified what she had just learned. “So Nicola and Dan were under pressure from the beginning, what with Dan working hard at the partnership, and the thing with his parents?”
“Yeah, with all the stuff that was going on, it was always going to be difficult. It’s a pity, I suppose, and they were a great couple, but you need a very strong marriage to survive these things.”
These things? What things?
“John –”
“Anyway, why the sudden interest in Nicola, Chlo? Want to see how you measure up, is it? Well, I can tell you that Nicola was nice-looking in her day, but now . . . well, I don’t think there’s any comparison.”
“Thanks, John.” Chloe was hugely gratified by this. She already knew how Nicola looked these days – obviously the break-up had taken its toll on the woman. Still, that was no excuse for letting herself go. Chloe idly wondered whether or not Dan would have any old photographs of himself and Nicola hidden away anywhere – a wedding photo, perhaps? “It’s just Dan doesn’t talk about her all that much, and I wondered what she was like.”
“Ah, you’ve nothing to worry about, babe,” John said condescendingly. “Dan’s well over her now.”
Over her? Chloe didn’t like that. It could only mean one thing, that Nicola must have been the one who ended the relationship. She had always hoped somehow, that Dan had dumped her, and she certainly didn’t like the image of her fiancé pining over his ex-wife.
Was Dan over her? Or had Nicola’s return sparked something in her fiancé other than guilt? She thought about how distracted and impatient he had been over the last few weeks, until he had finally told Chloe what was bothering him. How had he felt when he discovered Nicola was back in Ireland again? And worse, how would he feel when he made contact with her? God, was Chloe a fool to suggest that Dan contact her?
“Listen, Chlo, I really should go. I have a ten o’clock I need to prepare for and –”
“Sure.” Chloe was about to say goodbye, but instead found herself asking, “John, can you remember who initiated the divorce? Dan told me, but I just can’t recall at the moment. I think it was her,
wasn’t it?”
“Well, of course, it was her!” John said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She claimed domicile in England, and got the papers drawn up from there. You know they didn’t get married here in Ireland?”
“Yes, they did it abroad somewhere?” Dan had mentioned that.
“Yeah, so it was a quick divorce, no long separation period, or anything like that.” Chloe made a face. If it had been an English divorce, it would be almost impossible to get her hands on the divorce papers. She’d have to strike that one off of her plan of action!
“Listen, Chloe, again, I’d love to stay and chat, but I really have to go.”
“OK, thanks John – listen, you won’t say anything to Dan, will you?”
John laughed. “Are you mad? That fella is still so touchy about Nicola that I wouldn’t dare risk it!”
Chloe hung up, her unease multiplying with each passing minute. John’s information hadn’t exactly assuaged her curiosity; if anything, it had made it worse. She had learnt a little about Dan and Nicola’s problems, but nothing to suggest a valid reason for their marriage break-up. Why would Dan be feeling guilty? If it was just that the relationship had disintegrated along with their feelings for one another, Chloe could accept that.
But something deep down inside was telling her that there was more to it than that. She couldn’t explain why, she just knew it.
And what had John meant when he said: ‘You need a very strong marriage to survive these things?’
She wasn’t sure. The wedding was only a few months away, and Chloe was damned if she was going to let Dan’s ex-wife get in the way of her Big Day.
She might not know the reason for Dan and Nicola’s break-up but Chloe was determined to find out
Chapter 14
LAURA COULD BARELY contain her excitement. As of today, Laura Connolly Design was open for business, and now she was officially proprietor of her own company! She looked around her small garage workshop with immense satisfaction. The presentation boxes had arrived a few days earlier, and Laura had been unprepared for the absolute joy she felt upon her first glimpse of them. For the Laura Connolly Design logo, she had decided upon a simple lilac, silver-tinged wording on a white background, and inside the box the jewellery would be presented upon white satin.
At Neil’s suggestion, she had put together small samples of her work – earrings and brooches etc – and had boxed and sent them out to selected gift and jewellery stores, hoping to ignite some interest.
Laura wasn’t fooling herself; she knew it would be some time before things began to move, but hopefully by Christmas she would have some idea as to whether or not the pricing structure had been correct, and her margins sufficient. If it hadn’t been for Neil, she would be selling her jewellery for half nothing, but he had insisted that she maintain a decent mark-up.
“I know you don’t want to price yourself out of the market, but remember that they’re handcrafted products, not the mass-market stuff already out there,” he had said. “If they cost too little, then people will think that they’re not worth much.”
If it weren’t for Neil, Laura would probably be giving them away.
Helen had suggested that she have an official Laura Connolly Design opening, invite all and sundry and perhaps gain a little publicity, but Laura wanted to leave such an outward proclamation until closer to Christmas, when buying jewellery would be foremost in people’s minds. For the moment, she was quite happy to start slowly, build up a decent catalogue, and hope that her profile might be raised by the Crafts Council and a few satisfied customers spreading the word.
Her family hadn’t been much help, though. As far as she knew, her mother hadn’t said a thing to anyone about the business.
So much for being proud of her.
Neil was becoming increasingly frustrated by Maureen’s attitude towards both the business and the wedding, and Laura was feeling the strain of trying to defuse the growing tension between the two of them.
Joe hadn’t said much, so she had no idea how he felt about the whole thing. For all Laura knew her dad could be secretly pleased for her but, because he always backed her mother, she had no way of knowing how he felt about it. Joe rarely let anyone know his personal feelings about anything – preferring instead to let his wife do the talking. It was a pity. Laura thought, because she could really do with someone in her corner. As for the wedding, Joe tended not to take any notice of Maureen’s rants about it having already experienced a similar scenario with Cathy’s wedding.
Still, her mother’s blatant lack of belief was difficult to handle. She had been so sure that Maureen would be thrilled, had been positive that her mother would be one of her greatest advocates, yet she was acting as though Laura’s plans were something to be ashamed of. It was hard to take. And she had heard nothing from her parents, not even a quick phone call to say good luck, when they knew well that – as of today – their eldest daughter was officially an entrepreneur.
Deep in thought, Laura sat down at her bench, and began working on the design for a necklace that she hoped would become a popular seller, particularly at Christmas. As she worked, she tried to come up with an interesting-sounding description for the website:
“Fine silver vermeil mesh with an overlay of filigree squiggles and curls, cloisonné enamel flowers and a centre row of coral and turquoise glass cabochons . . . this necklace will have everyone talking . . .”
Everyone talking? Laura made a face. Should she say things like that? She didn’t want people to think that she was blowing her own trumpet. But maybe that was what she was supposed to be doing. She was trying to sell not just the jewellery but the image.
She picked up her own personal favourite, one of the very first pieces she had designed since going out on her own. Going out on her own! Laura still couldn’t believe it. This bracelet was pretty spectacular though, and it had taken her ages to make – the fine silver metal chain being almost impossible to thread. She had strung shimmering crystal aurora beads on the chain and covered the metal clasp with blindingly bright aurora rhinestones.
Laura ordered from a UK distributor who had sourced the stones in Italy, and while she was pleased with the results, she needed more materials to really achieve the designs she wanted. While she was concentrating on four, maybe five strong lines, using metals, beads and stone, she wanted to try a rather unusual ethnic range, using leather, and perhaps shell, or wood. She didn’t know how well this might go commercially and this, Laura thought, was her biggest problem. The designs might look fantastic, but would people wear them? No, for the moment she should concentrate on the more conventional styles, and give them her own contemporary twist.
She was definitely going to experiment with her wedding jewellery, though. Laura had a clear idea of what she wanted in that regard. She was going to come up with something fabulous for Nicola and Cathy, something that her bridesmaids would hopefully treasure for years to come.
Laura was so engrossed in the work that she almost didn’t hear the doorbell ring.
A deliveryman stood at the door, holding the most amazing and unusual arrangement of flowers Laura had ever seen. That morning Helen had a gift basket of handmade chocolates delivered, Nicola had sent her a Good Luck helium balloon, and Neil’s mother, despite the fact that she was in hospital, had sent a magnum of champagne.
But these were from Neil.
‘Congratulations, LC, Guess who has designs on your heart?’
As she read the card attached, Laura tried to hold back the tears. He was being so wonderful – people were being so wonderful. Blast her family! What did it matter what they thought? As long as she had Neil behind her, surely everything would be all right?
* * *
Helen checked her watch. She was sitting in the bar of the Stillorgan Park Hotel and Miriam Casey was late. Forty minutes late. If there was one thing Helen hated, it was professional discourtesy. If the woman was going to be late, why the hell didn’t she ring ahe
ad and say so?
As if on cue Helen’s mobile rang.
“Helen?” The woman sounded rushed and harassed. “Miriam Casey here – listen I know this is awful, but could we possibly postpone this meeting until some other time?”
Helen bristled. She had been up all night working on a presentation for Mizz Casey and now the cow was cancelling! Blast her!
“Miriam, I have to admit I’m disappointed. I have a table booked and –”
“I know, I know and I’m very sorry, it’s just that one of the kids has taken ill, and I really can’t leave him. Tell you what, why don’t you stay for lunch and bill it to the company? Please,” she insisted, when Helen hesitated, “ifs the very least I can do.”
It certainly is, Helen thought, after dragging me all the way out here for nothing.
So it looked as though Helen wasn’t the only woman struggling to hold a career and motherhood together. Although she certainly wouldn’t let something like a sick child get in the way of business. Couldn’t the childminder deal with it?
She shook her head. “Call me when you want to reschedule,” she said shortly, putting her phone back on the countertop.
Great! So much for rushing around like a madwoman earlier, trying to get a full day’s work into one morning. Despite Miriam’s offer she didn’t fancy having dinner on her own. She debated going back to the office but it was such a gorgeous day . . .
Helen paused. It was just after two. She could just collect Kerry from pre-school and go home early, but there was hardly much point in doing that, when Jo was probably already on the way. And, Helen thought, Kerry didn’t need collecting from Jo’s until after five, so for the first time in as long as she could remember, she had an afternoon to herself! She mentally hugged herself. This was brilliant!
Maybe she should head out to Laura’s and see how she was getting on in her first day in business or – even better – visit Nicola at the leisure centre, maybe stay for a massage or a long soak in the spa. She sighed. That would be absolute bliss.