Then Daisy thought of something. She pictured her mother showing her the various necklaces and bracelets she’d collected over the years, and remembered what her mum used to say about Tiffany’s being a special, magical place.
Daisy had always been fascinated by her mum’s jewellery collection as well as all her lovely clothes and shoes, which she vaguely remembered playing with when she was small and her mum was still here. She knew her dad had kept some things in storage for her when she was old enough to wear them, and she couldn’t wait. Her mum had the nicest things.
But she thought again about her mum’s exact words.
‘A little bit of Tiffany’s magic sprinkles happiness on everything, Daisy,’ she’d said, and the man Daisy and her dad had spoken to in the store had agreed.
Which meant that maybe the things that came from Tiffany’s were magical too – enchanted . . . kind of like the enchanted forest in
Sleeping Beauty
.
So maybe everything that happened in New York happened for a reason, like in a fairy tale. Maybe the bags getting mixed up hadn’t been her fault at all? Maybe it was magic that had made it happen so that really it was Rachel and not Vanessa who was
supposed
to get the ring?
After all, if the ring fitted Rachel’s finger, then maybe she was the one her dad was supposed to marry, like in
Cinderella
, when the glass slipper would only fit the right girl for the prince?
Daisy’s heart raced with excitement. She would get her dad to find out if the ring fitted Rachel’s finger, and if it did then . . .
Suddenly realising she was being silly, she shook her head, trying to make the stupid thoughts go away. Chances were the ring didn’t fit Rachel at all. Daisy might only be eight, but she really should be old enough to realise that life wasn’t quite like it was in the storybooks.
Instead, her dad would straighten things out with Rachel in Dublin, and come back with the ring. Then he would ask Vanessa to marry him, she would accept and they would all be a family, like her dad always wanted. That’s the way it would work out, Daisy told herself.
That
was real life.
‘Ethan – hello!’ exclaimed a voice behind him, and Ethan turned his head to see Rachel standing in the doorway of the kitchen, smiling at him. ‘Terri and Justin told me you were here. Delighted you had time to call in and see us.’
‘I hope you didn’t mind my arriving unannounced. My meeting ended earlier than expected, you see, and . . .’ He trailed off, not wanting to get into too many details.
‘Not at all; it’s lovely to see you again. And I hope Terri and Justin have been taking good care of you?’
Ethan looked down at his near-empty plate. The paella he’d chosen was one of the most delicious he’d ever eaten, and the accompanying sourdough was almost literally out of this world. ‘Yes, they’ve been great. This is magnificent.’ He wasn’t about to add that her colleagues had also played twenty questions upon his arrival.
He stood up and offered his hand. ‘It’s so nice to see you again.’
Rachel smiled easily and took the seat opposite. ‘Oh please, sit down and finish your meal. So how have you been? Happy new year, by the way.’
‘Same to you. Is Gary here?’
She blushed furiously. ‘I’m afraid not. He needed to do something important this afternoon, and of course we weren’t entirely sure when or even if you’d be visiting . . .’
Ethan felt deflated. Hell! On second thoughts, perhaps he should have been more specific instead of trying to catch them out. ‘Of course, I understand.’
‘He’ll be kicking himself now, as I know he really wanted to see you, and thank you.’
‘Oh well, not to worry.’ Forget Gary; Ethan had hoped to keep Rachel out of this, but now it seemed he’d just have to get her involved, regardless. He took a deep breath. ‘I was wondering –’ he glanced around the bistro, which had become a lot quieter since his arrival ‘– I know you’re working now, but would you have time for a quick coffee, perhaps? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.’
Rachel looked so apologetic, he felt like a heel. ‘Oh I’d love to, Ethan, but I need to cover Terri’s break now, and then we’ve got to prep for the evening sitting . . .’
Right at that moment, as if on cue, the aforementioned Terri appeared at the table.
‘Was the food OK?’ she asked him. ‘Can I get you a coffee or some dessert, perhaps?’
‘It was delicious. I really couldn’t eat any more,’ he joked, handing Terri a plate that couldn’t be any cleaner if he’d licked it. And Ethan had almost been tempted to.
She laughed. ‘Yes, I can see that.’
‘But a coffee would be lovely, thank you.’ He hoped that, given the circumstances, perhaps Terri might urge Rachel into joining him.
‘Such a pity Gary isn’t around, isn’t it, Rachel?’ Terri said. ‘Oh, and have you told Mr Greene about your engagement?’ she added, indicating her friend’s left hand. She smiled at Ethan. ‘After all, you played such a large part in the whole thing, rescuing Gary like that. If you hadn’t come along when you did, who knows what might have happened?’
But Ethan barely heard her. Instead, he just stared at Rachel’s hand.
There it was. His ring, exquisite and sparkling just as he remembered it, but on another woman’s finger. Immediately he was reminded of what Daisy had said earlier, and saw that it did indeed fit Rachel to perfection.
Then he quickly shook himself out of his stupor, realising that Terri had unknowingly given him the perfect opportunity to raise the subject. All he needed to do was explain the situation, and he could be on his way.
But for some reason, mostly down to Rachel’s beaming, radiant expression, he just couldn’t get the words out. ‘It’s beautiful. Congratulations,’ he mumbled.
Noticing Terri giving him a speculative look, he squirmed uncomfortably, worried that he might be betraying himself.
‘Thank you. We’re so thrilled.’ Rachel looked at Terri and stood up. ‘OK, OK, I’m coming now,’ she said, laughing. ‘Ethan, again I’m so sorry. I really wish we had more time to chat but . . .’ Then she stopped short, looking thoughtful. ‘Actually, what are you doing this evening? I’ll be finished here by seven, and Gary should be back by then, so if you’re free it might be nice for the three of us to meet up for dinner somewhere, that’s if you’re not rushing back to London later?’
Ethan’s heart lifted. Bingo. ‘No, I’m not flying out until tomorrow afternoon, and I don’t have any plans for tonight, as it happens.’
‘Fantastic! Where are you staying? I’ll give Gary a call and arrange to book somewhere nice close by. That way the two of you can have a good chat, and he’ll finally get the chance to thank you properly. Does that sound OK?’
‘Sounds wonderful.’ Having quickly filled her in on where he was staying, and told her what kind of cuisine he might like to try, Ethan sat back and relaxed a little.
He felt a whole lot calmer now that he knew he’d be seeing Gary, and definitely much better about not having to unburden himself to Rachel.
Because tonight, when the truth about the mix-up was finally revealed, wasn’t it only right that Gary Knowles – and not he – should be the one worrying about the fall-out?
Chapter 21
Back in the kitchen, while Rachel was making dinner arrangements with Ethan, Terri nudged Justin hard on the shoulder. ‘Did you
see
that?’
He drew back. ‘Hey, stop the abuse; you know I bruise easily.’
She put her hands on the counter and started drumming incessantly. ‘Well, did you?’
‘I sure did. He’s cute, isn’t he?’
‘That’s not what I’m talking about,’ she replied, exasperated, although yes, there was no doubt that Ethan Greene was
extremely
cute, in that open, earnest sort of way. With his soft blue eyes and sculpted masculine jawline, he certainly looked like no professor Terri had ever encountered. ‘I knew it,’ she said.
‘They say you always know when you’ve found the One,’ Justin teased in a sing-song voice.
Terri chuckled. ‘Could you be serious for just one second? Forget what he looks like, you and I both know that there’s something out of kilter about this guy’s visit. Any fool can tell that he isn’t here just to enquire after Gary’s health. Hell, he’d hardly sat down at the table before he started asking about him.’
It was also pretty obvious from Greene’s jumpiness when he asked about Gary that there was something else at play here. The problem was that Terri couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Yet.
Justin considered her statement. ‘OK. Well, yes, I agree with you that there’s certainly something fishy about the way he’s just turned up out of the blue.’
‘
And
you should have seen how Gary reacted the other day when I told him that his “rescuer” had phoned here looking for him. He didn’t look at all happy about it, even though the same guy is supposed to have done him such a favour.’
‘So what do you think, Sherlock? Is it that there’s more to this accident story than we’ve been told?’ the chef wondered.
‘Or Rachel’s been told . . .’
Justin narrowed his eyes. ‘Well, that wouldn’t surprise me in the least, knowing our Gary’s ability to . . . ah, make friends and influence people,’ he muttered sarcastically. ‘But what could have happened? Does this Greene guy have some kind of bone to pick with Gary, do we think?’
Terri shrugged. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?’ Goodness knows, Gary had a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way.
‘But didn’t he say that he’d never actually met Gary?’
‘You’re right.’ She thought hard. ‘But something is going on nonetheless. Ethan Greene is here for some reason other than to enquire after Gary’s health. That much is obvious. We just need to try to figure out—’
At that moment, Rachel rushed into the kitchen. ‘Terri, I’m so sorry,’ she began, flustered. ‘Go ahead and take your break; I’ll get cracking here.’ She grimaced apologetically. ‘I didn’t think he’d just arrive unannounced like that, and seeing as Gary isn’t around to deal with him . . .’
‘It’s not a problem,’ Terri assured her. She grinned. ‘Anyway, I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to chat longer; he’s gorgeous.’
Rachel nodded. ‘Isn’t he? And such a lovely guy too. I’m so glad all three of us will get a chance to chat properly tonight, especially after what happened in New York.’ She looked at Justin. ‘Will I start on the pastry for the aubergine tarts?’
‘Good idea.’
‘What did happen?’ Terri asked, fishing. ‘I know you said Greene gave Gary first aid and all, but for someone who’s supposed to be a complete stranger, he seems very interested in Gary’s well-being, doesn’t he? I mean, to come all the way over here from London just to see him . . .’
Rachel opened a fresh bag of flour. ‘Well, it wasn’t just to see Gary; he was going to be here anyway and . . . Oh hell!’ She grasped at the diamond on her finger. ‘I keep forgetting to take this off when I’m here.’
‘I know. Knuckledusters can be
such
a drag!’ Justin gasped dramatically and the others laughed.
On her way out, Terri looked across to where Ethan Greene had been sitting, but his table was now vacant. Pity. She would have liked the opportunity to pick his brains a little further. This thing was intriguing her more and more, and she wasn’t going to rest until she got to the bottom of it.
‘So how is everything going?’ Vanessa asked when, later that evening, Ethan called to say hello from the comfort of his hotel room.
If he was being honest, he had to admit that he was still somewhat rattled from seeing Rachel with his ring on her finger, and was hoping that a well-timed phone call home would ground him and bring him back to reality.
He smiled into the phone, wanting to sound enthusiastic. He truly hoped that Vanessa wouldn’t detect the strain in his voice. ‘It’s going well. I’d forgotten how charming Dublin is, actually. We really should visit your parents more often.’
‘I’m sure we will,’ she said, sounding uncommonly enthusiastic, given that she was usually rather lukewarm about the idea. ‘So how’s the . . . er, research going? I know you’re not long on the ground, but has the Muse struck yet?’
There was something about the way she said this that put Ethan on alert. The way she’d accented the word ‘research’, as if she knew that the so-called reason for this trip was all nonsense.
Then Ethan realised he was probably just being paranoid; heaven knew it was the day for it. ‘Well, like you say, I’ve only just got here, but I’m getting lots of ideas, all the same,’ he muttered quickly. ‘How’s Daisy?’
‘She’s great. She’s reading in her room at the moment.’ She sighed. ‘Did her best to pretend earlier that she wasn’t worried about you flying, but I know she couldn’t really relax until you sent that text.’
Ethan had suspected as much, which was why he’d sent them a text message as soon as the plane had landed, a reassuring text for his little worrywart daughter.
‘Like I said before, I’m not entirely sure you should entertain this type of behaviour from her,’ she continued, and Ethan knew that Vanessa felt that by trying to counter Daisy’s fears he might actually be validating them.