Now it was her turn to laugh.
“
Touché! Next Friday night?
”
“
I can
’
t wait!
”
He was an incorrigible flirt.
“
I
’
ll text you the address. Seven
thirty okay?
”
“
Perfect. I
’
ll bring the champagne.
”
She smiled to herself as she closed her phone. Mmmm . . .
now what should she give him to eat? Oysters to start, that
’
s for sure – not that he
’
d need an aphrodisiac!
Zita knocked on Marcus
’
s door, brandishing a bottle of champagne.
“
Ooh, champers,
”
he grinned.
“
What
’
s the celebration this time?
”
“
You, sir, are looking at the newest producer at TV2!
”
‘
You
’
re joking,
”
he shrieked, swinging her off her feet.
“
Would I joke about anything so important
?”
she demanded, disentangling herself
.
“
Tell, tell
!”
he cried, taking down the John Rocha champag
ne glasses.
“
Well, Carl Dunne was the catalyst seemingly. He persuaded the Director that I was the right person for the job
.”
“
Wow, he
’
s a fast worker. He sure has clout.
”
Marcus raised his eyebrows as he poured the champagne.
“
He sure has.
”
“
You owe him now, big time, you know that?
”
Marcus said, grinning wickedly
.
“
I know, but I don
’
t think that will be too much of a hardship.
”
She grinned back, her eyes half-closed in that sexy way she had perfected.
“
You are wicked,
”
he laughed, shaking his finger at her.
“
You have no idea just how wicked I can be
!”
she purred.
They both pealed with laughter.
36
Ellie and her mother picked up Chloe and Keisha on Saturday morning to go to Swords to choose their bridesmaids
’
dresses. Sandrine was to meet them there.
The three friends were in high spirits as they made their way up the Malahide Road. Marie-Noelle laughed at their enthusiasm. It was so exciting planning her daughter
’
s wedding. She guessed this might be the only time she
’
d get to do it as the chances of Sandrine doing anything as foolish as getting married seemed remote!
They arrived at the bridal shop at three minutes past ten to find Sandrine standing outside, looking at her watch pointedly.
“
I thought you said ten o
’
clock,
”
she remarked archly.
Ellie threw her eyes to heaven but said nothing. She was still annoyed with her sister but was determined not to let her spoil the occasion.
“
Good morning, ladies,
”
the charming Liz said as she opened the shop door for them.
“
And how are you, Ellie? Looking forward to showing your friends your wedding dress?
”
“
Oh yes,
”
Ellie said breathlessly, almost dancing with excitement.
Liz invited them to take a seat, pointing to the plush sofas in the centre of the room.
“
Coffee everyone, or would you prefer tea?
”
she asked, smiling at them.
“
Coffee is fine,
”
Marie-Noelle replied and Chloe and Keisha nodded their agreement.
“
I
’
d prefer tea, if that
’
s okay, otherwise coffee is fine
,”
Ellie said.
“
No problem.
”
Liz smiled sweetly at the pretty young bride-to-be.
“
Do you have any herbal tea?
”
Sandrine asked
,
much to Ellie
’
s annoyance.
“
Certainly. We have ginseng and rosehip and . . .
”
“
Any chamomile?
”
Ellie threw her a filthy look. Even Marie-Noelle though
t her oldest daughter was being overly
difficult.
“
I do believe we have. Annette,
”
she called to a pretty young girl who was hovering nearby,
“
could you bring three coffees and a tea and a chamomile tea for the ladies, please?
”
“
Certainly
.”
Annette smiled before disappearing into the next room.
“
Now come, Ellie,
”
Liz smiled, taking her by the hand
. “
Let
’
s get you into your dress so your friends can see it.
”
She led Ellie to the fitting-room where her dress was hanging on a rail. Liz helped her into it and laced up the bodice. Ellie had done her hair in the style that she thought she would like on her wedding day. Much like Kate Middleton
’
s, she had pulled back the side sections into a high ponytail and then curled the long sections with a tongs. She wanted the veil to sit high on the back of her head and cascade down in layers. Liz knew exactly what she was aiming for and arrived back with a tiny tiara and the perfect veil. She also had a pair of the most beautiful s
atin shoes studded with seed pearls. Ellie gasped as she saw her reflection in the mirror. It was perfect, just perfect.
Coming out of the fitting-room she saw from the reaction on her friends’ faces that they thought so too.
“
Oh my God, Ellie, it
’
s just beautiful!
”
Keisha exclaimed,
her mouth opening in a wide O.
“
It
’
s perfect, simply perfect,
”
Chloe gasped.
“
You
’
re li
ke a fairytale princess, Ellie. Oh my God, I think I
’
m going to cry.
”
She rushed forward to hug her best friend, tears in
her eyes.
“
Careful!
”
Ellie cried, half laughing, half crying. This was exactly the reaction she
’
d hoped for.
“
You absolutely have to have this dress,
”
Keisha said.
“
Nothing else will do.
”
“
I do love that veil, Ellie,
”
her mother observed, feeling emotional all over again.
“
Me too,
”
Ellie replied, turning to look at it from every angle in the mirror.
“
And Sandrine,
”
Marie-Noelle turned to her
,
giving her a sharp look
, “
what do you think of your sister
’
s choice?
”
“
It
’
s
. . . lovely . . . quite lovely.
”
She sounded flustered. In fact, she was completely spellbound by how beautiful Ellie looked and all the old insecurities and jealousies assailed her once again. Ellie had always been the beautiful, charmed child – their parents’ pet and adored by everyone, even the nuns at school
.
Sandrine had always been second-best
with them all
,
even though she was far more clever. It wasn
’
t fair! All Ellie had to do was flash her violet eyes, smile and show her dimples and she had everyone eating out of her hand. Now here she was, looking like a beautiful princess and about to marry her handsome prince. It just wasn
’
t fair! Sandrine felt tears of rage start to fill her eyes. Embarrassed and afraid she
’
d lose control, she went to hug her sister, who thought the tears were of happiness for her
.
“
Thank you, Sandrine,
”
she whispered, all former annoyance forgotten.
“
Now then
,
girls! Time to think about the bridesmaid
s
’
dresses,
”
Liz pronounced.
“
Any ideas anyone
?”
“
I think black would be fabulous – very dramatic,
”
Sandrine suggested, ignoring the dirty looks Ellie and the others were throwing in her direction.
“
What do you think, Liz?
”
“
God
,
no! Ellie is all about sweetness and light. Black would not match her personality at all. Something summery and pastel, I would suggest.
”
Liz wasn
’
t fooled. She dealt with brides all the time and she
’
d seen this type of sibling jealousy before. She
’
d noticed Sandrine
’
s reaction to Ellie
’
s appearance in her dress. And of course Sandrine would like black. It would suit her dark colouring
,
unlike that of the other two bridesmaids who were blonde and fair-skinned
.
“
I don
’
t know. Vera Wang has even started doing black wedding dresses
,”
Sandrine persisted.
“
I think it
’
s very sophisticated.
”
“
Yeuch
!”
Ellie grimaced.
Liz stared Sandrine down.
“
That might be all well and good for the Hollywood set who crave being different but I don
’
t think that
’
s what Ellie wants, is it,
Ellie? And at the end of the day it
’
s her wedding.
”
She fixed Sandrine with a steely glare.
“
Definitely not!
”
Ellie agreed.
“
I was thinking pale gold
or something like that.
”
“
I have just the thing. It
’
s a pale buttery yellow – almost gold.
”
Liz went to the rail and took down a beautiful sleek dress in that colour.
“
Oh
,
that
’
s gorgeous
!”
Ellie cried as the others crowde
d around her.
“
You can have this material and colour made up in three slightly different styles if you wish – one-shouldered, strapless, whatever. What do you think?
”
“
It
’
s perfect, isn
’
t it
,
girls?
”
Ellie turned to the others excitedly.
“
I love it
,”
said Chloe.
“
Me too
!”
said Keisha.
“
It
’
s perfect,
”
Marie-Noelle concurred.
“
And you could
have the freesia and pale yellow roses you like so much for the flowers
.”
“
Yes, definitely. This is the colour,
”
Ellie decided.
Sandrine, sitting with a glum face, said nothing but nobody noticed or
,
if they did, they didn
’
t care. It was decided.