by Melissa Hill
Mick patted her arm. ‘You are a vision, Cara. Do you know that? I want nothing but happiness for you and Shane. I’ve wanted happiness for you your entire life.’
‘Thanks Dad and I know that,’ she smiled as she looked into her father’s face. No, nothing had changed really, only for the better.
The truth might be out in the open, but her family as she knew it was much the same.
Besides, there would always be new surprises, new additions; weddings, babies, everything life encompassed.
She looked up ahead to where Shane stood in a pair of khaki linen trousers and a white cotton shirt. He was barefoot and his fair hair ruffled in the breeze. His eyes shone with love as his gaze took in Cara, dressed in white and walking towards him, their day exactly as they had pictured it so many months ago.
Shane’s parents sat with the others on chairs placed in the sand, holding hands, all pretences dropped, all worries about society a million miles away. There would be other opportunities to make the business work, and Shane had already confided that he was planning on taking a more active role in his parents’ company when they returned to Dublin, so as to help them on their way. With luck this would also help towards restoring his lost investments, which were indirectly tied up with Richardson business interests.
None of that mattered today though, not in lieu of their son’s happiness. Lauren smiled happily as she noticed the delicate sapphire necklace on Cara’s neck as she passed.
Yes, this was exactly as it should be.
As they neared the front, Mick shook Shane’s hand, wishing him luck.
He turned to his daughter and kissed her cheek, telling her that he loved her before returning to his seat inbetween his wife and Conor Dempsey.
Cara held tightly to Shane’s hand as the waves crashed on the sand before them. Regardless of the previous day, the beach sparkled anew, as if the rains from the storm had given new life and new hope to the island.
‘Cara, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,’ whispered Shane and she smiled, in that moment completely content and at peace. She knew that this was where she was supposed to be, and she didn’t have a doubt in her heart about how right this all was.
She thought about all that had happened, everything that had taken place.
All of it had led directly to this moment and Cara took heart in the idea that this day was part of fate’s plan too. She thought about all of the people around her. Some she had loved since she was a child; some had entered her life in recent years, and with others she had only just realised how important they would be to her future.
Regardless, they were all her family and she knew they loved her.
The minister in front of them began the ceremony. ‘Cara, do you take Shane to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and health, for richer for poorer, in good times and bad for all the days of your life, until death do you part?’
Cara held Shane’s hands in her own as her veil caught a breeze from the Caribbean sea. The setting sun illuminated her face as she said with confidence, ‘I do.’
‘And do you Shane, take Cara to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and health, for richer for poorer, in good times and bad for all the days of your life, until death do you part?’
‘You better believe it,’ he quipped, which elicited laughter from the little group behind them. ‘I mean, I do.’
‘Then it is my honour to pronounce you husband and wife. Shane, you may kiss your bride.’
Shane pulled Cara close to him and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was deep and full of promise, for the past, present and their future together.
When they broke away and turned to their family and friends they were met with cheers and applause. Cara took in the scene, her eyes shining as she considered the faces of each and every guest smiling back at her: her sisters, her parents, her in-laws, her friends and Conor. Each of them was a part of her, and now a part of Shane too. No matter what happened, no matter what the future presented, she knew her life was better because of each and every special person in it.
Actually, her in-laws had been right, she realised then; this wedding wasn’t just about the two of them; it was about all of them. And she was fine with that.
‘Happy, Mrs Richardson?’ Shane smiled, looking down at his bride’s happy face. ‘We finally made it.’
‘Couldn’t be happier,’ she smiled back. ‘Now what are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started.’
Epilogue
Cara smiled at her mother sitting in a nearby pew as, bouquet in hand, she slowly walked up the aisle of St Joseph’s church. By the beaming smile on Betty’s face she could tell that her mother was overjoyed her wish had finally come true.
A big church wedding at home in Greygates, although admittedly the guest list today was also small.
As she continued her parade, she saw Kim waving from the other side of the church, a smiling, pudgy baby in her arms. Olivia and Lindsay were fussing over him, while Ben sat proudly alongside his family. Number three had made his appearance six months ago – some three weeks before due date – which meant that her sister-in-law’s hopes for a stress-free delivery hadn’t quite come to pass.
But as Kim herself would say, babies often had their own plans.
And speaking of plans . . . Cara’s gaze shifted to where Heidi and Paul sat contentedly with their gorgeous baby girl, Amelia. Another unexpected occurrence given that her sister’s ultrasound scans had indicated a boy, but again leave it to a Clancy to throw a spanner in the works.
Cara was amazed at the change in her sister recently; it was as if motherhood and its inherent responsibilities was exactly what Heidi had needed to calm her down and cast aside her self-absorption. In the end Amelia was indeed born at a private hospital, though the scented candles and Debussy soundtrack had been abandoned within ten minutes of the first contractions, and Heidi freely admitted to all and sundry – even Kim – that she’d screamed for every last painkiller known to man.
Cara winced a little, realising that she would have to face a similar scenario in just under seven months’ time. She and Shane hadn’t yet shared their good news with the rest of the family, although she was sure that Conor – who witnessed her frantic races to the bathroom every morning at work – already suspected. But if he did have any suspicions he hadn’t yet shared them, evidently waiting for Cara to confide in him whenever she was ready to.
It was strange how little their relationship had changed given what they’d learned. She still considered him her boss and great friend, and felt that the extra biological connection had enhanced their relationship rather than strained it. Although she did feel somewhat more proprietorial towards him in turn, especially since he’d started dating someone a couple of months back. Cara had been anxious to meet the woman, and having given her the once-over, eventually proclaimed her suitable enough to tame ‘Clooney’.
When she reached the top of the altar, and went to join her beloved Shane, she turned and smiled at the bride’s final approach.
Radiant was not the word to describe Danielle today. She looked utterly stunning, the beaded figure-hugging fishtail dress defining her gorgeous curves, and the white colour setting off her deep Floridian tan, but in demure contrast a white veil covered her smiling face as she saw Zack waiting for her at the altar.
And as Cara took the bridal bouquet from her sister, she again looked back towards the guests and sought out the tearful faces of her parents Mick and Betty, realising just how symbolic this moment was for the entire family.
At last, Danielle Clancy had come home.
Melissa Hill
The Charm Bracelet
Holly O’Neill knows that every charm bracelet tells a story.
Many years ago she was sent one with just a single charm attached. The charms have been appearing ever since, often at challenging times, as if her mysterious benefactor knows exactly when she needs a little magic in her life.
As a result,
Holly’s bracelet is her most prized possession. So when she finds someone else’s charm bracelet, she feels she has to try to reunite it with its owner. Even if the only clues she has to follow are the charms themselves.
On a search that will take her all over New York City at Christmas, Holly becomes ever more determined to piece together the details of this other charmed life. But what she doesn’t know is that her quest may also lead her somewhere she never, ever expected . . .
Have you read Melissa Hill’s magical novel
Treat yourself . . .
Every girl deserves a little . . .
It’s Christmas Eve. And on fifth Avenue in New York City, two very different men are shopping for gifts for the women they love.
Gary is buying his girlfriend, Rachel, a charm bracelet. Partly to thank her for paying for their holiday of a lifetime to New York. But mainly because he’s left his shopping far too late. Whereas Ethan’s looking for something a little more special – an engagement ring for the first woman to have made him happy since he lost the love of his life.
But when the two men’s shopping bags get confused, and Rachel somehow ends up with Ethan’s ring, the couples’ lives become intertwined. And as Ethan tries to reunite the ring with the woman it was actually intended for, he finds it trickier than he expected.
Does fate have other ideas for the couples? Or is there simply a bit of Tiffany’s magic in the air . . . ?