Something From Tiffany’s (40 page)

‘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.

Not because Vanessa had somehow got it into her head that he wanted to get married in such a place, but because he couldn’t believe that out of all the companies in Dublin involved in catering, she had turned her attentions to Stromboli.

He supposed it was partly his own fault, given that he’d been the one to make her aware of it in the first place.

Damn that stupid bread, and damn Terri too for putting the ring in it and turning the whole palaver into a three-ring circus. Although that was unfair; he knew that Terri had only had the best intentions in doing so, and he was genuinely grateful to her for trying to help him out.

Still, gratitude was the last thing Ethan was feeling just then, and he wondered what on earth he was supposed to say when he, Vanessa and Daisy waltzed into the bistro today, Vanessa proudly wearing Rachel’s lost engagement ring.

He could only assume that either Rachel or Terri was aware of the reservation, and saw no problem with it; so perhaps he was worrying for nothing.

Possibly the truth about the ring’s origins had all come out in the meantime, and Rachel, far from being upset, might actually be anxious to apologise? Which left him with another problem he hadn’t previously thought of. Obviously Vanessa knew nothing about the mix-up or the resultant hullabaloo, and Ethan didn’t relish the thought of telling her that his ‘surprise’ proposal was as much of a surprise to him as it was to her.

Then again there was always the horrifying chance that neither Terri nor Rachel had any idea that the wedding in question was actually his. The enquiry had been made by Vanessa, presumably in her name, and as Stromboli catered events on a regular basis, why would anyone there bat an eyelid at today’s lunch reservation?

After Vanessa had dropped the bombshell at her parents’ house the night before, Ethan had tried his best to talk her out of it, dismissing Stromboli as a small enterprise, unlikely to meet her exacting standards. ‘It seemed more like an individual or two-man outfit to me, fine for smaller events like parties, I’m sure, but hardly experienced enough for a full-blown wedding.’

‘I disagree actually. The woman I spoke to on the phone sounded polished and confident, and from what I’ve seen on their website they look very professional,’ Vanessa retorted, while Ethan tried to work out whether she’d been talking to Rachel or Terri. ‘Not to mention that it would be fitting for them to take part on the day, given their important contribution to our engagement, wouldn’t it?’

So Ethan had little option but to go along with today’s lunch, and just pray that it didn’t all explode in his face.

‘What’s wrong, Dad?’ Daisy asked, taking his hand as they walked through the landscaped grounds, and he quickly rearranged his expression into what he hoped was a less anxious one. Sometimes his daughter was just too perceptive for her own good.

‘Nothing, darling. Just lots to think about for the wedding. What do you think of this place?’ he asked, indicating the estate’s perfectly manicured gardens.

She shrugged. ‘It’s OK, I suppose.’

‘Just OK?’

Daisy seemed to hesitate. ‘It’s sort of . . . posh, isn’t it?’ she whispered, and Ethan couldn’t help but smile. Once again Daisy had hit the nail on the head.

‘Are you looking forward to the big day in August?’ he asked then. He still hadn’t been able to tease out her feelings about the wedding taking place in such a relatively short time. ‘I know it might seem fast but . . .’

‘That’s OK, Dad. I think I know why,’ she replied ominously, but Ethan didn’t have the opportunity to query this any further because Vanessa, who’d been chatting to the estate’s events manager, came rushing over.

‘Isn’t it perfect?’ she gushed. ‘I just adore these grounds, and if the weather is kind we can arrange for a garden party on the terrace upon arrival, sort of like a grander version of afternoon tea. I’m thinking perhaps macaroons and champagne? Remind me to suggest this to the caterers this afternoon, won’t you?’ She smiled at Daisy. ‘Does that sound good to you?’

The little girl looked dubious. ‘I think most people would still be hungry. Maybe dinner might be best,’ she suggested, her tone perfectly serious, and Ethan had to smile. Out of the mouths of babes . . .

‘Well, of course we’re going to have that too, silly!’ Vanessa joked, and Ethan noticed that Daisy seemed hurt by what she’d obviously construed as a dismissal. He smiled at his daughter and reached for her hand.

Vanessa looked at her watch. ‘In fact, that’s what we need to investigate next, and seeing as it’s almost midday we really should be heading back to Dublin soon. I hope everyone’s hungry, as I’ve asked the caterers to let us try a little bit of everything. Although, we’d probably better not eat too much or we’ll all explode!’

And as they followed Vanessa back to the main house Ethan mentally prepared himself for what lay ahead. He wondered if Stromboli’s explosive name would today turn out to be prophetic.

Chapter 40

When he, Vanessa and Daisy arrived at the bistro, Ethan looked around nervously for Rachel, but he didn’t have much of an opportunity to see anything at all before Terri sashayed over, a big smile on her face.

‘Hello there! You must be Ms Fox. Welcome,’ she greeted warmly. Ethan noticed that she seemed to be going out of her way not to make any eye contact with him and he relaxed a little, realising that, given her reaction, Terri had indeed been expecting their visit. ‘And you must be Daisy? Hi!’ She reached down to the little girl’s level and smiled, before finally looking at Ethan. ‘Mr Greene, nice to see you again. I’m so pleased our little surprise worked out well.’ With that she gave a surreptitious wink, and Ethan breathed a huge inward sigh of relief.

It was OK. He’d worried for nothing; Terri had it all under control.

‘It’s nice to be back. And yes, thank you, it worked well.’

‘Good. I have a lovely table set up for you all back here,’ she said, leading them towards the rear of the restaurant.

As Terri continued to chat good-humouredly with Vanessa and Daisy about the menu and the samples, Ethan kept a cautious eye out for Rachel.

‘I must apologise because we’re pretty short-staffed today,’ he heard Terri say then, as if she were reading his mind. ‘My colleague and co-owner, Rachel, is off today, so forgive me in advance if things are a little busy.’

‘I see.’ Vanessa looked slightly miffed by this, but Ethan immediately deduced that the information was for his benefit, to put his mind at ease about any potential drama over the ring. He made a mental note to try to get Terri alone at some stage so he could thank her yet again for saving his bacon.

‘But in any case,’ Terri smiled winningly as she continued her charm offensive towards Vanessa, ‘I’m sure you’d all much rather eat in peace, and perhaps when you’ve finished sampling the menu we can discuss everything in more detail?’

‘That would be wonderful, thank you,’ he replied, when Vanessa failed to answer.

‘Great. First, let me get you some drinks and then I’ll have Justin, our chef, bring out the first platter.’

‘Do you need any help?’ he asked, and Vanessa shot him a look.

Terri squarely met his gaze and just then he felt profoundly grateful for all that she – a complete stranger – had done for him. If it weren’t for her he might never have got the ring back, and without her intervention today could very well be like stepping onto a minefield. He realised suddenly how awkward and difficult this must be for her too, and indeed how much she’d risked in her efforts to help him. Rachel was her best friend and her business partner, yet she’d gambled all that to come to his assistance. Why?