Something from Tiffany’s

by Melissa Hill

  Anyway Greene had backed down in the end and, as far as Gary knew, hadn’t been heard from since he called the guy’s bluff about chasing Rachel.

  But now that the situation had been made a little clearer, Gary figured the best thing to do was keep his mouth shut until he was forced to do otherwise.

  He just wished that that so-called witness had done the same. The guy’s account of events running up to the accident had been clear, concise and, according to his solicitor unfortunately, very damaging for their case.

  Gary was livid. So much for his brand-new bike! Still, at least he’d got something out of it, he thought now, when Rachel opened her front door. Although he wasn’t terribly enamoured of the fuss surrounding the wedding, he knew that his reluctance to admit to the truth that the engagement wasn’t planned stemmed from the fact that he didn’t want Rachel to realise the truth about him.

  She’d be disappointed in him, that’s for sure.

  Another one to add to the list, he thought forlornly.

  In fairness, though, it seemed that at least Terri had understood how important it was not to rock the boat, as it had been a good three weeks since he’d blabbed and yet nothing had come of it. Obviously Terri had also figured that what Rachel didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

  But when his fiancée answered the door with a peculiar look on her face, Gary immediately had second thoughts. Rachel looked as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  Shit, had Terri finally spilled the beans? Or had Rachel somehow found out about the CCTV footage of the accident, seen Greene and his bags and put two and two together? Or even worse, had she spoken to his mam?

  His worries were allayed somewhat when Rachel put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. ‘Thanks for coming over.’

  ‘Hey, it’s no problem. What’s up?’

  She was nervous, Gary noted, and this was so unlike her that it was making him feel nervous.

  Her voice was soft. ‘There’s no easy way to say this . . .’ She shook her head and tears filled her eyes. Gary’s heart dropped into his stomach. Shit. Was she breaking up with him, calling off the wedding? He was taken aback by how resistant he was to this now, especially given the way the idea had been landed on him.

  Yes, she could be a bit over the top with the soppy stuff sometimes, but weren’t all women? She was one of the few people who made him feel good about himself; he liked having her in his life, and he realised that it was unlikely he’d ever find a woman like her again.

  Rachel had faith in him, she looked up to him, thought he was genuinely wonderful, when all around him things were crumbling. Although she didn’t know it, she was the one thing that kept him positive in the face of all the problems surrounding him. And right then, when it seemed as though he might lose her, Gary didn’t want to imagine life without her.

  ‘No easy way to say . . . what?’ he repeated, stammering a little.

  She looked down at her left hand, and with a start Gary copped that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring. Yikes.

  ‘I lost it.’

  ‘Rachel, I can explain—’Gary began, but the two of them had spoken at exactly the same time, and Gary honestly thought he’d misheard what she said. ‘What?’

  She looked up at him through lowered eyelashes. ‘I’ve lost the ring somehow. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to tell you it was missing until I was sure, but I’ve searched high and low for the last three weeks and—’

  ‘Hold on,’ Gary interjected, flabbergasted, but also slightly relieved that it was she who was apologising. Still, alarm bells were going off in his head. ‘It’s been missing for three weeks?’

  This was around the same time that Ethan Greene was in Dublin trying to get it back. Something was up here, he realised, in a rare moment of clarity.

  Rachel nodded. ‘I’m so sorry. I know I should have said something but I honestly thought it would turn up, that maybe I’d taken it off and left it somewhere at the bistro, but there’s been no sign. Believe me, I’ve left no stone unturned. All I can say is that it just seems to have vanished into thin air.’

  ‘No sign. Vanished.’ Gary’s mind was racing so fast he couldn’t do anything other than repeat random words.

  Rachel reached for him, misinterpreting his reaction for annoyance or anger. And the truth was that he was annoyed, but not for the reason she suspected. No, he was downright fit to be tied, because he was full sure that there was something else at play here. And he was equally sure that Ethan Greene, and most likely Terri too, were at the centre of it. No wonder he hadn’t heard anything since!

  Rachel was crying openly now. ‘I’m so sorry. I’ve been going out of my mind these last few weeks and I haven’t been able to sleep or eat just thinking about it and how much it cost.’

  Gary could only imagine how bad she felt, and he really wanted to try to make her feel better. But this posed a bit of a dilemma. He couldn’t very well throw his arms around her and tell her it was OK, not if he was supposed to have spent a couple of grand on a diamond, could he?

  Yet at the same time he didn’t have the heart to pretend to be angry, not when she was so upset and had obviously been stressing about this for a while.

  Instead he stared at the floor in the manner of someone who was trying to get a handle on such news. ‘I have to say this was the last thing I expected,’ he said truthfully and Rachel nodded.

  ‘I know, and I hate myself for not taking better care of it. I should have guarded it with my life, especially knowing how much you paid for it, and how hard you must have worked to pay it off bit by bit and everything.’

  Christ, now Gary felt like a right heel, what with her going on and on about the cost.

  ‘Look, don’t worry about that; it’s only money,’ he said, in the hope of making her feel better.

  ‘Only money?’ she laughed through her tears. ‘Oh you really are the most wonderful man. Thank you for trying to make me feel better when we both know that ring cost enough to bankrupt most people.’

  ‘Erm . . . yeah.’

  She bit her lip. ‘I know this might be a long shot but was it insured, by any chance? Justin thought that maybe your credit-card insurance would cover it but I wasn’t sure.’

  ‘Hold on. Justin knows about this?’ Gary asked. Which meant Terri did too, he was certain of it.

  Rachel seemed to realise her slip of the tongue. ‘I had to tell them because I had to ask if they’d come across it at work. I would have told you first, only I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I’d gone and done something so stupid.’ She burst into tears again and Gary wasn’t sure what to do.

  ‘Ah, look, it’s OK. I’m sure it’ll turn up,’ he said, encircling her in his arms and patting her gently on the back.

  ‘Little chance of that at this stage,’ she sniffed. ‘Gary, I’m just so sorry,’ she said again. ‘I know I should have been more careful. Really, I shouldn’t have been wearing it to work at all, especially when I had to take it off because it kept getting caught in my baking and—’

  ‘When was the last time you saw it?’

  ‘I’m really not sure. When I noticed I didn’t have it, I could have sworn I took it off at work earlier that same day. But like I said, neither Terri nor Justin has seen it.’

  ‘It does sound like you lost it at work,’ Gary agreed, as things began to click into place. This was way too coincidental for his liking.

  ‘I don’t know. I just can’t say for sure. Gary, I promise I’ll make it up to you. I can only imagine the sacrifices you made to buy me that ring, and the last thing I wanted was for this to happen. I’ll make it up to you, honestly. I went about trying to get a replacement but –’ her face fell ‘– I just couldn’t afford it.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. It isn’t your fault,’ he replied, feeling like a right fraud now. He wished she wouldn’t keep going on and on about how much the thing had cost; that only made him feel worse. ‘I know it wasn’t your fault.’

&nbs
p; For once Gary was telling the truth. Given the timing and the circumstances, he was pretty sure that, however that ring had ‘suddenly’ gone astray, it certainly wasn’t Rachel’s fault.

  Chapter 38

  Ethan could have counted on one hand the number of times he’d been to Dublin in his lifetime, yet here he was in the place for the second time in the space of two months.

  He was still reeling a little from all that had happened in the past four weeks. Much to his surprise, Vanessa was powering ahead with the wedding plans and had even gone so far as choosing a date.

  This year.

  He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason this made him feel uncomfortable. ‘What’s the rush?’ he’d asked, although he didn’t know why he’d expected anything less of his driven and supremely organised fiancée. In life as in work, Vanessa wasn’t the type of woman who waited around.

  ‘I’ve never believed in long engagements, Ethan. What’s the point? Either we’re getting married or we aren’t. Don’t worry,’ she added with a playful laugh, ‘I’ll take care of everything. You just need to turn up on the day.’

  And it seemed that the day in question would be this coming summer. August, apparently. It all felt like a bit of a whirlwind to Ethan, but of course, what with all the fuss surrounding the ring, he’d barely had time to pause for breath since Christmas.

  He, Daisy and Vanessa were on their way to Vanessa’s parents’ house, and now, as he sat in the passenger seat of the rental car Vanessa had arranged for them, he wondered how everything had panned out for Rachel, and if her errant boyfriend had since told her the truth. He’d been tempted a number of times to phone the bistro and find out, but then he figured he’d better let well enough alone. It was none of his business after all.

  He turned to look at Daisy in the back. ‘How are you doing back there, buttercup? What do you think of your first visit to Dublin?’

  She’d been quiet on the flight over, and in fact had been largely quiet about everything over the last few weeks.

  The ring was back safe and sound, and she’d already given him and Vanessa her blessing in New York. So why did he feel once again that Daisy was somehow reluctant about it all?

  ‘It looks really pretty, although not as pretty as New York,’ Daisy replied, then blushed slightly as she remembered this was actually Vanessa’s hometown.

  ‘You’re right about that!’ Vanessa laughed. ‘And I should warn you, Daisy, that my parents’ place is small; don’t expect any big mansions or anything like that.’ She smiled at Ethan. ‘I know your dad was amazed at how tiny it was last time we visited.’

  ‘Don’t be silly! Of course I wasn’t,’ Ethan argued, but he recalled how uncomfortable and slightly apologetic his girlfriend had been the first and only time he’d visited Vanessa’s childhood home during a brief trip while Daisy had stayed with his own parents.

  He realised that Vanessa was a little embarrassed by her working-class roots and couldn’t figure out why; based on the one occasion he’d met Pat and Greta Fox, he knew that they were warm, lovely and completely down to earth.

  But Vanessa could be funny like that sometimes, and perhaps the circles she moved in at work and some of the very wealthy upper-class people she met inspired some deep-seated insecurities about her own upbringing. He didn’t quite understand it himself, but as his own background was decidedly middle-class it was impossible to see such things from her point of view.

  They arrived at the Fox house shortly after eight on Friday evening, and Greta was waiting for them at the doorway of a small mid-terraced house on a quiet suburban street.

  A short woman, who shared Vanessa’s fair hair colour (although her shade was decidedly brassy compared to her daughter’s platinum), she greeted them all with a round smiling face and arms wide open.

  ‘Come in, come in, all of you!’ After making a huge fuss of Daisy, whom she hadn’t met before, she then pounced on her daughter.

  ‘Show me that rock,’ she exclaimed, and her eyes widened when Vanessa proudly extended her left hand. ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you must have paid through the nose for that!’ she laughed, looking at Ethan.

  If only you knew, he thought wryly.

  ‘Well, if it isn’t the happy couple,’ Vanessa’s dad Pat boomed, throwing his newspaper aside as they entered the living room. ‘Congratulations, and fair play to you, boss,’ he added, addressing Ethan. ‘I must admit I never thought we’d get someone to take her off our hands.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ Vanessa said petulantly and Ethan looked at her, having never heard her use that tone of voice before. It was pretty obvious, to him at least, that the man meant no harm and she was overreacting.

  ‘Ah, sure, you know what I mean. I just never thought we’d find a man to tame you,’ he said, winking at Ethan, but it seemed the damage was done and Vanessa’s bubble of excitement was well and truly burst.

  Despite Greta and Pat’s best efforts over dinner to chat about wedding plans and potential venues, Vanessa seemed somewhat distracted.

  ‘So ye’re staying for the full weekend, then?’ her mother asked hopefully.

  ‘Yes, and we’re going to try to organise as much as we can for the wedding while we’re here.’

  Really? Ethan realised this was the first he’d heard of it. He’d thought this visit was to celebrate the engagement and an excuse to spend some quality time with her parents. But, true to form, Vanessa was never one to waste an opportunity.

  ‘We’re going to check out some possibilities for the reception tomorrow,’ his fiancée went on. ‘I know Ethan has his heart set on an Irish country estate, don’t you, darling?’ She smiled, while Ethan tried to remember when he had uttered such a thing. ‘I was thinking maybe Powerscourt might be ideal?’

  ‘Oh that would be just gorgeous,’ her mother agreed eagerly and Ethan could tell she was desperate to be involved in all the plans.

  ‘And then after that I’ve booked us lunch at a place in town. It’s a restaurant but they have a catering arm too, and I wanted to taste the food.’ She winked at Ethan. ‘I think you might be familiar with it.’

  While he tried to figure out what she meant by this, she laughed and went on to repeat to her mother the story of his unusual proposal. ‘So I thought it might be fitting for them to be involved on the day too. Of course I’ll have to make sure the food’s up to scratch first, but if that sourdough is anything to go by—’

  ‘Hold on,’ Ethan said, his stomach filling with dread. ‘What restaurant are you talking about?’

  ‘Stromboli. I thought they’d be perfect, all things considered, don’t you?’ his fiancée said, smiling. ‘And I, for one, can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about.’

  Chapter 39

  ‘I’m really glad Gary was OK about it,’ Terri said into the mouthpiece. ‘See, I told you he’d understand . . . Yes, he really is one in a million.’ She rolled her eyes at Justin across the kitchen. ‘But no need to come in today anyway. I insist. Now that it’s all out in the open you should at least relax and take a breather.’

  Having convinced Rachel that a busy Saturday at the bistro was the last thing she needed after the stress she’d been under in preparation for telling Gary about the missing ring, Terri hung up the phone. ‘Apparently he was fine about it,’ she told Justin sardonically. ‘There’s a surprise.’

  He shook his head. ‘Wasn’t she even the tiniest bit suspicious about that? She loses a ring that supposedly cost tens of thousands, and tightwad Gary doesn’t even raise an eyebrow?’

  ‘I guess not. Anyway, cool or not, she agreed that the last thing she needed after such a stressful time was a busy Saturday lunch here. So she’s still taking the day off. I told her to use it as a good opportunity to spend some time making it up to him.’ The words had tasted bitter in her mouth but Terri knew she had to try to keep Rachel away from the bistro, today of all days.

  Because today the newly engaged Ethan Greene and his fiancée were due to make an appearance for
lunch.

  When Justin had initially told her about the fiancée’s catering enquiry, she’d thought about getting in touch with Ethan to ask him what the hell he was playing at, coming back here and flaunting the ring she’d taken such risks to help return.

  But then she realised that it was unlikely that Ethan would have been party to such a thing, and in any case she didn’t have a contact number for him. Rachel would have one, of course, but what reasonable excuse would Terri have for asking for it without arousing suspicion?

  As far as Rachel was concerned, Terri had only met Ethan briefly, and while she considered concocting some random story about how he’d left something behind, she knew it wouldn’t ring true.

  So when she returned Vanessa Fox’s call and subsequently arranged a booking for her and Ethan to try a sample menu over lunch, her next priority was to make sure that Rachel was nowhere in the vicinity.

  Notwithstanding the fact that it would be hugely coincidental for Ethan to choose Stromboli as his wedding caterers, his fiancée wearing an identical ring to the one Rachel had lost around the time of his last visit would be a coincidence too far.

  And given that it was her actions that had inadvertently engineered the scenario, Terri figured the best she could do now was to let it all play out in her friend’s absence. She really wasn’t looking forward to it, though, and could only imagine how Ethan must feel about returning; she knew how worried he’d been about Rachel’s reaction to the ring’s disappearance.

  And not for the first time, she wondered if the ring, currently in the possession of Ethan’s fiancée, really did have a mind of its own.

  Ethan was just about ready to climb the walls of the country estate he, Daisy and Vanessa were considering as a venue for their wedding.