Behind Every Cloud (31 page)

He laughed and she joined in.

He couldn
’
t keep his hands off her and she didn
’
t want him to. He was forever stroking her skin and hair and planting little kisses on her arms and neck. He made her feel indescribably sexy. She could barely wait for the evening to be over and to be back making love again. She sighed a deep sigh of contentment. Life didn
’
t get any better than this.

28

Ellie and her mother headed for Swords on Saturday morning where she had made an appointment with Bridal Heaven, the well-known bridal shop. Sandrine, luckily
,
had had to work so couldn
’
t be there, much to Ellie
’
s relief. She absolutely had to get going on her wedding plans and the first and most important item was her dress. She couldn
’
t plan on flowers or anything else until that was decided. She
’
d made an appointment and they were welcomed warmly by the proprietor, Liz, who would give them an hour exclusively, to look through the wonderful range of dresses.

Ellie was spoilt for choice as Liz brought out one beautiful dress after another. Liz very quickly got an idea of what Ellie wanted and soon presented them with the most exquisite dress Ellie had ever seen. She gasped at its beauty. Shaking with excitement
,
she went into the dressing room and tried it on. Liz tied up the laces and
,
fixing the neckline so that it sat perfectly, she led Ellie out of the dressing-room.

Marie-Noelle gasped
.
She couldn
’
t help herself but suddenly seeing Ellie as a bride brought tears to her eyes.
Her daughter looked radiant. The dress was breathtakingl
y beautiful and suited her perfectly.

“
Oh, darling, it
’
s exquisite!
”
she exclaimed emotionally
, as the tears slipped down her cheeks.

Liz directed Ellie to the wall of mirrors and she too was awestruck as she stared at her reflection.

“
It
’
s beautiful,
”
she whispered, turning this way and that to get a better view. She felt like a princess. It was the most fabulous dress she
’
d ever seen. It was made of gossamer white
-
silk taffeta and the strapless top was beautifully cut in a V and studded with seed pearls
.
It was pleated into the waist and the skirt flared out over a net petticoat. It was simple but exquisite. This was the dress for her. No other one would do.

Liz then added a tiara and a long veil that completed the look. It was just perfect!

Somehow, seeing herself in this beautiful bridal gown brought it home to her that she was in fact going to be a bride very soon.

Ellie was in a great mood when she met David for lunch in The Yacht.

“
I
’
ve found the perfect wedding dress,
”
she exclaimed as they kissed hello.

“
That
’
s nice
,”
he said as they found a table and she could tell from his tone that he wasn
’
t particularly interested.

“
Well
,
you could show a little bit more enthusiasm,
”
she rebuked him, expecting him to be happy for her.

“
Sorry, I have a dreadful hangover. We didn
’
t finish up till after two last night. I am glad you
’
ve found a nice dress.
”

They ordered lunch and David gradually started to feel better.

This was obviously going to be a weekly occurrence, this going out with the lads on a Friday night. Not that she begrudged him having fun but he seemed to have dropped all his old friends and his whole life was being d
efined now by his work and his
colleagues there
.
His mother had even rung Ellie
,
complaining that David hadn
’
t called to see her in almost three weeks which was most un
like him.

“
We need to have a serious talk, David
,”
she started, her voice full of concern
. “
We
’
ve got to sit down and discuss our wedding and not just that but our whole future. The weeks are flying by and we
’
ve done nothing really
.”

“
I
’
m leaving all that up to you, Ellie. You know how very involved I am with this new job. I just don
’
t have the time to organise a wedding.
”

“
You have time to stay out drinking till 2 a.m. with your work buddies
!”

She hadn
’
t meant to sound so bitter, but she felt he was being very unfair.
“
It
’
s your wedding too
,
you know.
”
Her voice wobbled and she was afraid she was going to cry.

“
Ah, honey, I
’
m sorry. You
’
re right. I
’
m not being much
help.
”
He took her hands in his.
“
I promise I
’
ll try and be more co-operative, okay?
”

Somewhat mollified, she told him that the girls were getting together on Tuesday night to get things moving.

“
That
’
s great. Well, at least you
’
ve got your way about having the reception in Clontarf Castle. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy.
”

She smiled at him then, things back on an even keel.

He patted her hand.
“
Now what is it about our future that you want to discuss,
”
he asked her.

“
Well, I
’
ve been thinking about what you said in Kitty
’
s last week about having one, or maybe two children
,
eventually
.
You didn
’
t really mean that
,
did you?
”
she asked him, her eyes searching his earnestly.

David guessed that this was probably what had been bugging her all week. She
’
d been cool with him whenever he
’
d spoken to her on the phone. Now he understood.
“
What I really meant to say is that we have plenty of time. I want us to enjoy being a married couple first before we start a family. But of course we
’
ll have kids
,
eventually.
”

She noticed that he
’
d said
‘
kids
’
. Maybe she
’
d misjudged him
,
thinking that he didn
’
t want kids at all. She let out a huge sigh of relief and reached for his hand.
“
I understand, darling,
”
she said, feeling happier
.

When Fiona came down to the wine shop on Saturday afternoon, she saw instantly that Ronan was in very bad form.

“
Did you tell your wife about losing your job?
”
she asked, thinking this was the reason he was so downcast.

“
No. When I got home last night I found a message to say she
’
d gone away for the weekend. My marriage is in deep trouble.
”

Fiona thought he was joking. Surely his wife would have checked it out with him first? She shook her head. Louise sounded like a prize bitch and it was obvious that they had a pretty awful marriage. She had no doubt that it was
more his wife
’
s fault than Ronan
’
s. He really was the kindest, gentlest soul she
’
d ever met and she
’
d grown very fond of him. Some women have all the luck, she thought. Why did I have to fall for a prick like Danny when there are nice guys out there? She sighed deeply. She
’
d made her bed and now she had to lie on it.

“
Oh, I
’
m sorry to hear that. Have you tried marriage counselling?
”
she asked hesitantly.

“
I think maybe it
’
s too late for that.
”

He looked so forlorn that her heart went out to him.
“
They can be a great help, I
’
m told. Maybe you should consider it.
”

“
Yeah. Maybe I
’
ll suggest that to Louise when she gets back. Yeah, that
’
s a good idea. Thanks, Fiona.
”

She was glad she
’
d been able to help.

29

Ellie was feeling much more positive the following day and agreed to go to Kitty O
’
Shea
’
s again for brunch. She had to admit that David
’
s colleagues were friendly and welcoming and she could see how relaxed and animated he was in their company. She
’
d heard so many jokes about boring accountants but obviously when they got together as a group they were as much fun as any bunch of people out together.

After two glasses of wine she was in particularly good humour and when David suggested that they go and look at a townhouse he
’
d found, she agreed to go, thinking that it couldn
’
t do any harm to have a look.
It was in Sandymount, literally ten paces off the Strand Road and Ellie wasn
’
t prepared for how much she would like it. It was the cutest townhouse she
’
d ever seen.

“
Oh, it
’
s gorgeous
!”
she cried, as he let her go in ahead of him.

She went from room to room
,
exclaiming over the lovely features and the lovely wooden floors. The whole house was bright and airy and she loved it, particularly the master bedroom with its fabulous en-suite. The colour scheme was all neutral colours
–
but that could be changed.

“
The colour scheme is a bit boring but we can repaint it in bright colours,
”
she suggested.

David quite liked the neutral colours, he thought they were chic, but if it meant she
’
d agree to the house then he
’
d paint them purple, if that
’
s what she wanted.

She squealed with joy when she realised that she could even see Clontarf across the bay from the window in the guest bedroom. There was a third smaller bedroom which David mentioned could be used as a study.

“
Or a nursery,
”
she suggested, smiling.

“
Or a nursery,
”
he agreed, pulling her to him.
“
Honestly
, Ellie it
’
s going for a song. One of the guys in the office is moving to Canada and he
’
s selling it complete, furniture and all. I wouldn
’
t even need to take out any more of a mortgage than I have already.
”
His eyes were glowing as he placed his arms around her back.
“
Please think about it. We
’
ll need to move fast as it will fly once he puts it on the market.
”
He was pleading with her now.

“
I don
’
t know . . .
”
She could think of no reason not to buy this lovely little house except that it was not in Malahide or Portmarnock
,
which is where they
’
d agreed they would live
.
This was a world away from her family and friends.