‘I’ll drive you. It won’t take that long.’ Dominic’s voice intruded on her thoughts.
Lainey stared at him. ‘That’s very kind of you. Are you sure?’ she asked doubtfully. It was a big favour for a complete stranger.
‘No problem,’ he said briskly. ‘Tell Prima Donna to hop in!’ Lainey grinned at him and he grinned back. They made the flight comfortably and as Lainey watched the back of her author as she passed through the boarding gate she sighed with relief. That was one problem solved. Now she’d have to see about getting her car fixed as it was imperative that she get back to Dublin the next day. She was flying to Paris to represent Verdon at a trade fair and her flight was leaving at four the next afternoon. Turning to the man beside her she smiled. ‘Thanks very much, Dominic; that was a life-saver. I think I’ll give the AA a ring and see what they can do with the car. I’ll get a taxi back to the hotel from here.’
‘I’ll run you back,’ he offered.
‘Not at all!’ Lainey exclaimed. ‘I’ve taken up more than enough of your time.’
‘It’s no trouble at all,’ he said affably. ‘I’m heading back in that direction anyway and I’m in no rush to get home. My wife’s having a Tupperware party.’ He made a face and she laughed. ‘Come on and let’s see what’s the story about your car.’
The story about her car was not good! It was a garage job, she was told, and it definitely wouldn’t be on the road the following day. Lainey watched in dismay as the car was towed out of the hotel car-park to a garage in the city. She’d have to get the train in the morning and that was all there was about it.
‘Come on. Let’s go and have a drink in the lounge,’ Dominic suggested, seeing her crestfallen expression. ‘Cork’s a nice city. Surely one day more here won’t be too much of a penance,’ he teased as he ordered drinks for them.
‘Oh it’s not that,’ Lainey assured him. ‘It’s just I’m flying to Paris tomorrow so I’ve got to get back. I’ll just have to go on the early train. It’s a bit of a nuisance and it won’t leave me much time to organize myself before getting to the airport.’
‘You’re a busy woman, aren’t you?’ he observed taking a draught of light ale.
‘That’s me!’ she agreed, starting to relax. There was nothing she could do about the car so there was no point in worrying about it. She was tired after her hectic day and she might as well relax, have her drink and have an early night. Dominic and she talked about this and that and she found him easy to talk to. It was a shock to her to look at her watch some time later and find that they had spent almost three hours in conversation.
‘Lord, is that the time!’ Dominic looked equally surprised. ‘Well the Tupperware party should be just about winding down.’ He smiled and held out his hand. Lainey took it.
‘Thanks very much for the lift to the airport. I really appreciate it.’
‘You’re welcome, Lainey, and thanks for your company.’ Dominic shook her hand. She watched him leave and thought, there’s a nice man.
Preparing to check out early the following morning she heard her bedroom telephone ring and assumed that it was reception confirming her taxi. It was reception all right, with a message. ‘Miss Conroy, a Mr Dominic Kent is waiting for you in the foyer.’
‘Oh!’ Lainey said in surprise. ‘Tell him I’ll be right down.’
‘Morning!’ Dominic smiled as he watched her walk down the blue-green carpeted stairs.
‘Morning yourself. You’re up early.’
‘The early bird catches the worm, or so they say. Could I interest you in a trip to the capital?’
‘You’re going to Dublin?’ Lainey managed to suppress a yawn. It was an unearthly hour and there wasn’t another soul to be seen in the hotel.
‘A little earlier than I had planned,’ Dominic admitted. ‘I had planned to leave early Monday morning until I went home and my wife told me she was having her best friend and her five kids over for a Sunday barbecue. So I decided to bring forward my departure by a day and get an extra day’s work done. I thought you might prefer a lift rather than getting the train. You’ll get to Dublin more quickly.’
‘Great!’ Lainey said enthusiastically. Things weren’t turning out too bad after all. She’d get to Dublin with a couple of hours to spare before leaving for Paris and she wouldn’t be wrecked from having to drive the long journey herself. Dominic must be a real workaholic, she decided, as she ran back up to her room to get her luggage. He had told her last night that he had his own customs clearance business, with an office in Cork and one in Dublin. He spent up to three days a week in the capital. How lucky for her that he decided to leave a day early. Mind, a barbecue with a load of kids wouldn’t exactly be her favourite way to spend a Sunday either. They made good time to Dublin. There was no traffic on the roads and she couldn’t believe that they were driving into the city less than three hours later. Dominic drove fast but carefully, obviously well used to the journey. Pulling up outside her apartment in Monkstown, he gratefully accepted her offer of coffee. Before he left, he told her he would be in the city until Wednesday and that if she was home from Paris and wished to drive back down to Cork with him in order to collect her car, she was more than welcome. Lainey cheerfully accepted his offer. He gave her his number, told her to contact him on her return and left Lainey feeling very relieved to have solved the problem of collecting her car.
In the following months, she met him several times in Cork, always in the Country Club, where he conducted much of his business, treating clients to dinner and drinks. It was, he told her, almost his second home. She found him so easy to talk to, he was genuinely interested in her career. And she was fascinated by how he had given up his secure job with the customs, despite the fact that he had a wife and four children, to start his own business. In that respect they were kindred spirits, risk-takers, hard workers and haters of red tape and bureaucracy. They used to try and out-do each other in horror tales of officialdom that they had encountered in their previous careers.
When they found out that they would both be in London on business around the same time, they made arrangements to meet for dinner. He had taken her to the Savoy Grill and she had spent a most enjoyable evening with him. Much better than spending an evening alone in her hotel bedroom. It seemed the polite and reasonable thing to do to invite him out to the apartment in Monkstown for dinner the next time he was due to be in Dublin.
From then on, he rang her when he was in the city and if she was free they would meet for dinner and a drink. Lainey never analysed their relationship. She just enjoyed him and his company, subconsciously reasoning that because he was married, she was not interested in having a serious relationship with him and therefore she could not be hurt as she had been in her relationship with Steve. Dominic was safe, a friend to spend an occasional evening with, nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, despite the excellent logic of her analysis, things did not work out quite the way she had planned.
Dominic rang her one Monday evening to find her uncharacteristically subdued and definitely not her confident self. ‘Do you feel like coming out for a drink?’ he asked, surprised by her lack of jizz. Usually Lainey was game for anything.
‘Not tonight, Dominic. I’m a bit tired. But thanks for asking.’
‘Is anything wrong?’ he asked, concerned.
Lainey felt a lump come to her throat. ‘Not a thing,’ she managed to say. ‘Goodnight, Dominic. Thanks for ringing. I’ll be in touch.’ Hanging up the receiver, Lainey promptly burst into tears. It was something she had wanted to do, but she had restrained herself thus far since she came back from Moncas Bay early that morning.
She had gone down to attend her parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary celebrations, something she had enjoyed very much. It was nice to have the family together. If only Cecily could have disappeared into thin air for the duration of the meal, it would have been perfect. Cecily’s voice was music to her own ears but unfortunately to no-one else’s. She had been in one of her a
nimated humours as distinct from her moody Greta Garbo act and when she started rabbiting on about the new leather jacket that Simon had spent a fortune on for her wedding anniversary, Lainey switched off. The girl was so boring. Obviously leather was the ‘in’ thing to be seen in in Moncas Bay this season, Lainey surmised in amusement. She had seen Helena McGrath swanning around the foyer of Fourwinds in a brown leather skirt with a chocolate-coloured jumper with leather and beaded appliqué that had obviously cost a fortune but that looked positively woeful. Helena was certainly relishing her role as lady of the manor. She positively gushed as she ushered them to seats by the roaring log fire in the lounge and said that their aperitifs were on the house. As they waited for their table, Lainey surveyed the hotel. Steve really had the place beautifully decorated. It was rumoured that he had hired an interior designer from London who had charged an astronomical amount. Still, it was money well spent, Lainey thought approvingly. The hotel, though plush, had an understated air of elegant affluence. But then Steve had always had good taste . . . until he married Helena. She couldn’t help the bitchy thought and sighed, annoyed with herself. What did she care! She was doing extremely well without him, thank you very much.
It was Simon and Cecily who had insisted on having the meal in Fourwinds. Lainey’s parents would have been quite happy to go to the Arklow Bay Hotel had it been left to them, but Simon had pooh-poohed the idea. If they were having a celebration it had to be done in style. Lainey had made no objection, knowing that this was exactly what Cecily wanted her to do. She was never quite sure whether Steve had broken Lainey’s heart or vice versa and was determined to find out. Lainey was equally determined that she could go to her deathbed wondering! The prying little madame. ‘Any news?’ she’d always ask coyly, whenever Lainey arrived home on a visit. Neither could Cecily fathom Lainey’s relationship with Tony. And Tony, who was an extremely handsome guy in the Tom Selleck mould, would always lavish attention on Lainey when he was in Cecily’s company. This always infuriated Cecily as she liked to be the centre of attention.
‘She’d turn any man gay!’ Tony had groaned one evening after two hours of Cecily blowing her trumpet about the great career in law she had given up to marry Simon and live in Moncas Bay. Tony had immediately launched into a glowing description of Lainey’s high-powered career and how she was the talk of the publishing trade. Cecily, slit-eyed with jealousy, had been raging while Lainey, knowing perfectly well that Tony was only winding her sister-in-law up, struggled to hide her amusement. It was a pity Tony couldn’t have made it tonight – he would have enjoyed himself immensely. Especially now that her sister-in-law had started on about darling Andrew, the baby son who had nearly killed her trying to come into the world.
Fortunately Lainey had been nowhere near her sister-in-law during her confinement. From what Joan had told her it was high drama and trauma all the way. ‘She started screaming with the first twinge of labour; I unfortunately happened to be there,’ Joan informed her sister. ‘“Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!” It was hilarious. Mummy was down from Dublin, and had been for the previous two months. No wonder Cecily is the way she is. Mummy thinks the sun, moon and stars shine out of Cecily’s arse and she wouldn’t allow her to lift a finger. Not, mind, that she had been doing much beforehand. Anyway Mummy started getting hysterical herself and then Simon started panicking so I just piled them all into the car and drove to the hospital because Cecily was holding Simon’s hand on one side and her mother’s on the other and wouldn’t let go, so he couldn’t drive even if he had been capable of it. But he was totally rattled at this stage. He’s not going to live to fifty, I’m telling you. It’s a wonder he hasn’t had a heart attack yet.’ Lainey felt a twinge of sympathy for her elder brother. What on earth had possessed him to marry Cecily. She was such a demanding person that he rarely got a look-in. As long as he did what Cecily wanted, everything was fine. Otherwise forget it. Simon didn’t smile much any more. Life always seemed one big hassle and he was only thirty-five!
‘She’s something else!’ Lainey agreed. ‘I’m glad I missed it all.’
‘She could be heard screeching all over the hospital. It was mortifying,’ Joan said in disgust. ‘Then Mummy fainted!’ The two of them burst out laughing. ‘They got caterers in for the christening, you know!’
‘You’re not serious!’ Lainey had missed the event because she had to go to a sales conference. ‘That’s one up on Helena and Steve.’
‘Exactly,’ smirked Joan, doing a good impression of her sister-in-law.
‘I was so worried that we wouldn’t bond after the trauma I had been through . . . ’ Cecily was explaining to one of the aunts and Lainey, catching her mother’s eye, hid a smile. Her parents were in great form, enjoying having the family around them and Lainey was enjoying herself until she saw Steve appear in her line of vision. He strode over to their table.
‘Good evening, Mr and Mrs Conroy. Are you enjoying your meal? Is everything all right for you?’ he enquired suavely. Lainey, aware that Cecily was watching her closely, tried to keep her face expressionless. He looked so handsome! He got better-looking as he got older. Then he was looking at her with those dark-lashed heavy-lidded eyes, smiling at her the way he used to.
‘Lainey, it’s good to see you.’
‘Hello Steve,’ she said calmly. He had no business smiling at her intimately like that, damn him! With perfect poise, she extracted an Yves Saint Laurent menthol cigarette from its distinctive black box and lit up. Sitting back in her chair she exhaled the smoke in a long thin stream as her former lover looked at her admiringly.
‘You look terrific. Is the job going well?’ he asked.
‘Marvellous, thank you. I travel a lot,’ Lainey said coolly. What the hell was he annoying her for in front of her entire family. Couldn’t he just go and let them have their meal in peace?
‘We’re lucky she could manage to squeeze us in this weekend,’ Cecily remarked acidly. ‘She couldn’t manage to get to Andrew’s christening last year,’ she added. She had been furious at Lainey’s not showing up at the event of events. Lainey drew on her long elegant cigarette and smiled serenely at her sister-in-law.
‘That was unfortunate,’ she conceded. ‘But you have to admit I do make an effort to come home for the really important occasions.’ Ha-ha, she thought as she watched Cecily fume. If the other girl was going to be a bitch, Lainey could be just as bitchy. No better woman. She wasn’t going to sit there and take madame’s impudence.
‘Well, any time you get home it’s always nice to see you. Enjoy your meal,’ Steve said smoothly, as he smiled down at Lainey in amusement.
‘Thank you. We will.’ She did not smile back. Let him go and be charming to someone else. She was damned if she was going to give him any encouragement. If he thought she was going to be all palsy-walsy after all this time he could think again. He had made his choice and she was not it. Forgive and forget was just not Lainey. No Christian martyr she to turn the other cheek. Steve had done the dirty on her and that was that as far as she was concerned. He’d never get the chance to do it again. It might not be the best attitude to have in life, but it was the best she could do.
The following day, she decided to go for a walk along the beach. It was just what she needed to blow away the cobwebs. Meeting Steve had unsettled her and she was annoyed with herself. You’d think after all this time she would be well and truly over him. How irritating to be reminded that he still held an attraction for her. ‘Come on, Max,’ she yelled at the mongrel who came yapping down the stairs in an ecstasy of delight as he saw his mistress wrapping herself up in a pale pink anorak and a grey cashmere scarf to match her grey cords. It was a wild blustery day and the waves pounded along the shore. Lainey inhaled deeply with pleasure. The tang of salty seaweed hung strong on the breeze. It was the smell of home and she loved it. The beach was almost deserted apart from a few hardy souls like herself. Well she’d make the most of this Sunday afternoon walk because she probably wouldn’t get back to
Moncas Bay for a while. Life was going to be busy in the next few months. Verdon had a lot of new books coming out and she had a lot of marketing to do. Loosening her blonde hair from its chignon she let it fall, enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through it. It had been nice to get home for the few days’ break and her mother had been fussing over her, cooking her favourite steak and kidney pie and treating her like a queen. Her dad, extremely proud of how well she was doing in her job, had told her with pride that two of Verdon’s books were currently riding high in the bestseller lists. He always kept an eye on them, he assured her. Apart from darling Cecily and Steve, it had been a lovely few days. She hadn’t gone out socializing as she would have if Tony had been there. She had just stayed at home and enjoyed her family.
‘Max, you idiot!’ she laughed at the dog who was dragging a piece of driftwood nearly as big as himself towards her.
They walked a couple of miles before she decided to turn back. The sun was beginning to set and she was starving and she knew that her mother had made a cheese and bacon pie for tea. Lainey always ate like a horse when she came home. As the pier got nearer and nearer she saw a car drive up and a man and a dog get out. Lainey smiled to herself. She had taken her walk, Max had been well exercised and now she was going home to tuck into her tea. She kept on walking and as the man got nearer to her in the twilight, her heart sank as she recognized Steve. Why him, of all people?
‘Hi Lainey!’ He stopped to acknowledge her as their two dogs sniffed around each other. His was a purebred cocker spaniel.
‘Hello Steve,’ she said politely.
‘Great minds think alike!’ he observed as the two dogs ran up into the dunes and back down again.
‘Fools seldom differ,’ Lainey retorted. If she got her hands on Max she’d kill him for consorting with the enemy like that.
Steve frowned at her tone. ‘Don’t be so brittle, Lainey. It doesn’t suit you,’ he reproved her with a hint of anger. ‘Can’t we at least be friends?’
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