Ellie was happy and enjoying her new single status. Every day she thanked her lucky stars for her
‘
lucky escape
’.
She realised now that she had been so focused on the wedding that she hadn
’
t honestly thought much further than that. That was stupid and she
’
d never think like that again. She had thought she was mature enough to decide with whom she should spend the rest of her life but it was patently obvious to her now that she wasn
’
t. She knew now that
there was much more to marriage than a fabulous wedding.
However, that was all a long way off in her future and she was happy living in the moment, enjoying the now.
She loved her job and the new circle of friends she
’
d met through Sam.
Despite their age difference, she and Rachel had become very close. Yes, life was good!
77
Rachel was planning to head off to her parents
’
house in Marbella with the kids, despite Carl
’
s objections. He
’
d hoped that they might all spend Christmas together. She couldn
’
t risk that. Christmas was such an emotional time and she was afraid that she would succumb and be sucked back into Carl
’
s web. Her parents were on an extended tour of Australia so she had invited Ellie, Sam and Ronan to join her at their villa.
Ellie delightedly agreed to go as her mother and father were travelling to Bordeaux to stay with Josette
,
and she did not fancy Christmas alone with Sandrine.
Ronan would have liked to go but the shop would be much too busy over the Christmas and New Year period for him to take time off. Likewise Sam, who said he couldn
’
t possibly leave the business at this, the busiest time of the year.
Rachel was dreading this Christmas, her first one without Carl. How would she survive it?
The Monday before Christmas was the final night of the course and the night of the Higher Cert exam. They all agreed that the course was much more difficult than the first one and the exam had been more difficult too but they were all reasonably sure that they
’
d passed.
Sam held a party in his house afterwards to celebrate
.
Ellie acted as hostess and when Rachel suggested to Sam that they were maybe more than just friends, he
’
d laughed
.
“
Don
’
t be daft! Ellie
’
s the marrying kind and I most definitely am not, but she
’
s a bloody great PA. I don
’
t know how I ever survived without her.
”
“
What will you do for Christmas Day?
”
she asked Ronan
.
“
Probably sleep,
”
he replied, to much laughter. He wasn
’
t joking. Signs were that he would be run off his feet by Christmas Day.
Doris had invited him for Christmas dinner but
,
as she already had all her family there, he felt she had enough on her plate. He decided that he
’
d probably visit there on Christmas morning with the presents and then go on for dinner with his brother Conor and his family. That was if he didn
’
t decide to stay in bed all day!
The party was a blast and Ronan was sad to say goodbye to them all.
“
We
’
ll see you in the New Year,
”
Ellie said as she kiss
ed him.
“
Let
’
s hope it
’
s a better one than this year has been,
”
he replied.
“
It can
’
t be any worse!
”
Rachel and Ellie cried
in unison.
“
You
’
ve all survived, haven
’
t you?
And the future is looking very bright!
”
They had to agree with him.
“
As I always say . . . behind –
”
“
– every cloud there
’
s a silver lining!
”
the others chorused
together, laughing.
It was the best Christmas Ellie had ever had. Lying by the pool on Christmas Day sipping Pina Coladas was as close to heaven as she thought she
’
d ever get.
Rachel was amazed to see how good Ellie was with the children. They adored her and were constantly calling to her to come and play with them, which she did without complaint.
Having Ellie around helped ease some of the pain of being without Carl
.
Rachel tried not to think about him but it wasn
’
t easy. He rang twice a day, on the pretext of talking to the kids but she knew that he was hurting too, remembering past Christmases.
They spent their days in the sun, lying by the pool chatting and playing with the children. Sometimes they took Becky and Jacob to the beach which they loved. They ate simply and got a baby
-
sitter for the kids on the evenings they went out to eat.
On their last night Ellie invited Rachel for dinner in their favourite restaurant. They both agreed that it had been a wonderful holiday and they were sad to be leaving. She and Rachel had become very close – BFFs
,
Ellie said. Seeing Rachel
’
s puzzled look she then had to explain that it meant
‘
Best Friends Forever
’.
Ellie ordered a bottle of champagne and Rachel toasted her.
“
To my BFF!
”
she said, laughing.
Ellie raised her glass, smiling.
“
AAF!
”
“
Now what does that mean?
”
Rachel asked frowning
,
thinking that she was definitely getting old.
“
Always And Forever,
”
Ellie explained laughing.
They both enjoyed the superb food
.
Then, as the waiter placed their desserts in front
of them
,
Ellie had a feeling that someone was staring at her. Looking around she saw that it was a young man who had just arrived at another table with a big group of friends. His eyes were a very vibrant blue and
,
as she met his glance, he held her in his intense gaze. Throughout the rest of the meal she was aware of him and
,
every time she looked over, he was staring at her. His friends were laughing and talking loudly in Spanish but he didn
’
t seem to be taking part in the conversation. She felt her stomach flutter as she caught his gaze once more.
He was very good
-
looking with dark curly hair and a square jaw
-
line but it was his eyes that were mesmerising. She felt as if they were the only two people in the room. Va-va-voom!
Rachel noticed her discomfiture and looked around to see what was causing it.
“
Oh, goodness, he
’
s very handsome and he seems interested in you,
”
she said, grinning at Ellie who was blushing madly.
“
Yeah, well, what
’
s the point? I
’
m leaving tomorrow.
”
Soon afterwards, Rachel got up to ask for a taxi
.
Ellie stood up and slipped on her jacket. She looked over at the young man and saw a distraught look on his face. Next moment he was standing beside her. As she
gazed at him, her heart almost stopping, he said something t
o her in
Spanish.
She shook her head.
“
Sorry, I don
’
t speak Spanish
,”
she said breathlessly.
“
Oh my God, you
’
re Irish!
”
he exclaimed, his blue eyes lighting up
.
From his accent she guessed that he was English
.
“
I
’
m Robin
,”
he said.
“
Can
’
t you stay a little longer
?”
“
Ellie, our taxi
’
s here!
”
Rachel called, beckoning to her.
“
Sorry, I have to go,
”
Ellie said.
“
So you
’
re Ellie. I have to meet you again
.
Please?
”
She felt like she was drowning in those blue eyes as she sadly shook her head.
“
Sorry, I have to go,
”
she told him, leaving quickly.
She couldn
’
t get him out of her mind all that night and hardly slept at all. Looking out of the plane as it took off from Malaga the next day, she wondered where he was now and what he was doing. She closed her eyes and thought about those intense blue eyes that seemed to see into her soul. She sighed. If only she
’
d had one more day in Spain. Who knows what would have happened? Life was cruel!
78
David had given women a wide berth for a few months after his encounter with Sandrine
.
No matter what he said or did, Ellie was adamant that she would not return to him. Then
,
just when he finally accepted that he would not be able to win her back, he discovered online-dating. It was wonderful. You could have a long online courtship with a girl and then when you met her, if you didn
’
t like her, you could dump her. Definitely the way to go!
Carl
,
meanwhile
,
was brooding on his situation. He had been slowly making up lost ground in his career but his life was empty. The only joy in his life was seeing his kids every Sunday
.
He
’
d lain very low where women were concerned after getting his fingers burned with Zita.
You couldn
’
t be too careful! He wondered if he was getting paranoid.
What bothered him most was that Rachel seemed to be blooming without him. She was looking more beautiful than ever and seemed to have found an inner contentment that eluded him. Her party-plan business was doing very well, he
’
d heard. She was a remarkable woman and he knew he
’
d been a stupid idiot to lose her. He realised that he still loved her but much good that would do him.
Of course she was joined at the hip to that bloody wine crowd.
Damn them! That was what had started all his problems in the first place.
They had all seemingly passed their Higher Cert exam
and Rachel was talking of going on to study for her Diploma of Wine. Whatever next? She was full of surprises.
He read in the Australian
that Zita
’
s case was going to trial the following week. He hoped that there would be no fallout for him from it. The media were like vultures. They picked up on every titbit of gossip they could find. He
’
d keep his fingers crossed.
Now he should go for a run but he hadn
’
t got the energy. He had gained over a stone since Rachel had kicked him out. Comfort eating and drinking! He really would have to do something about it. All of his clothes were tight. It depressed him. Going to the fridge he took out the two doughnuts and tucked in.
Rachel had worked hard to stay positive since that awful time when her whole world had been blown apart. It had been very difficult for her but
,
thanks to the support she
’
d received from her wine group, she was doing fine, all things considered.
Jacob and Becky were fantastic and seemed not to have suffered too much as a result of the break-up. The fact that she spent much more time with them these days meant she had become much more involved with them on a day-to-day basis. Her party-plan business had taken off in leaps and bounds. She was now the
‘
in
’
party-planner and she was enjoying it enormously
.