Something From Tiffany’s (26 page)

And, to add insult to injury, he wouldn’t even be in this position if he hadn’t gone out of his way to help a complete stranger. Talk about rotten luck!

He supposed he was just nervous about coming face to face with Gary, as he was the wild card in the entire scenario, whereas Rachel seemed like a rational, normal person and, Ethan figured, would be horrified when she found out the truth.

So really all he had to do was go in there and politely explain the situation, and refuse to leave until everything was resolved to his satisfaction.

He drew in a deep breath and steeled his nerves. He could get through this. Still, there was a side of him that wished he had brought Brian along for company. From what he remembered of Gary at the scene of the accident, he was rather well built, and Ethan could do with some brawn on his side if things got messy.

Oh well, too late now . . .

As he walked into the dimly lit room he looked around. Rachel had mentioned something about meeting them at the cocktail bar beforehand, but he didn’t see either of them there. Maybe they were already at the table?

As he waited to enquire at front of house about the reservation, he heard a voice behind him.

‘Ethan, there you are!’ Looking in the direction of the sound, he swallowed hard. There was Rachel, leaving her coat at the cloakroom and wearing a red dress that could stop traffic.

Her smiling face took on a slightly confused expression and Ethan realised he was standing and staring at her with his mouth open. He quickly tried to compose himself and cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, I was a little early.’ His thoughts were moving slowly, taking in every aspect of her appearance. Then the bright flash of the diamond on her hand as she smoothed her hair down all at once reminded him of the purpose of this dinner. He was here for the ring. His ring . . . Vanessa’s ring.

Then he noticed something. ‘Has your fiancé been delayed?’ he asked.

Rachel coloured, and her eyes wouldn’t meet his. ‘I’m so sorry, but Gary couldn’t make it in the end. Long story.’ She made a face and Ethan’s jaw tightened. What was going on here? The guy was avoiding him on purpose, wasn’t he? Why else would he refuse to return his phone calls and then cry off on this so-called ‘gratitude’ dinner?

But what Ethan really wanted to find out was whether or not Rachel knew what was going on. Was she also part of some plan to try to stop him retrieving the ring?

Well, forget that. Lovely as she might be, there was no way he was allowing himself to be played any longer.

Still, judging by the look on her face, he could tell that Rachel was deeply uncomfortable about the situation, and the fact that once again she had to make excuses.

‘Oh. I see.’

‘I’m so sorry. It was really my own fault for making plans without consulting him.’ She went on to explain about Gary being marooned in some pub miles away from civilisation, and although it sounded an unlikely story, for some reason Ethan believed her. She was so apologetic and seemed so genuinely embarrassed that he could hardly question it. ‘It was late by the time I found out and I knew it would be rude to call and cancel so, if you don’t mind, I guess you’re stuck with just me for company.’ She laughed lightly and, despite himself, Ethan found he was not altogether resistant to the notion.

‘Of course not, but you really shouldn’t have worried about being rude. If it’s not convenient of course we can cancel.’

‘Oh no. Truly, it’s fine. We’re here now, and to be honest I’m always glad of any opportunity to check out the competition,’ she added wickedly, and Ethan smiled.

‘Well, based on what I ate today, this place has a hell of a lot to live up to.’

‘That’s kind of you, thanks. You didn’t have any problems finding it, did you?’ Rachel asked as they were led to their table. ‘I figured it was best to go for something close to your hotel. That way you don’t have to worry about taxis and all that.’

‘No, not at all.’ There was silence for a moment as they took their seats and Ethan looked around the restaurant.

It was a nice place, not as cosy or intimate as Stromboli but the menu looked good. Then, reminding himself that his real purpose here tonight was not pleasure but pure business, he tried to focus on the situation.

When the waiter had taken their drinks order, he decided he should dive straight in and get to the point. The problem was that he had no idea how to start.

‘So do you and your fiancé come here a lot?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘Not really. Gary isn’t a big fan of restaurants, apart from ours, of course.’ She smiled sheepishly. ‘He’s actually much more of a pub-grub kind of guy.’

‘I see. And have you two been together long?’ He figured he might as well lead into the subject by getting as much background on these two as possible. That way, if it became clear that Rachel genuinely didn’t know about the mix-up, it might make dropping the bombshell that much easier.

‘No, it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind romance really,’ she replied, explaining that they had been seeing each other for less than a year. ‘New York was actually our first trip away together.’

‘Had you two spoken about marriage before he proposed?’ Ethan pressed, trying his utmost to keep any sarcasm out of his voice.

Rachel smiled. ‘Absolutely not. It was a complete surprise, actually; possibly the last thing I expected.’

‘Really? Why’s that?’ Then, thinking that he might sound too pushy, he added, ‘It’s just that I’m in a similar position myself and hoping to propose to my girlfriend soon.’

‘Oh how lovely. Congratulations.’

‘Well, I haven’t actually done it yet, but I hope to very soon.’

Rachel smiled. ‘Well, for what it’s worth, it’s such an exciting time, and I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. How long have you two been together?’

‘A little over a year.’ She was so approachable and easy to talk to that, somehow, Ethan found himself telling her all about Jane’s death and how much it had affected him. And before he knew it, they had eaten their starters and were on to the main course by the time he’d finished.

Rachel had tears in her eyes. ‘She sounds wonderful. I’m so sorry for your loss. And poor Daisy, losing her mum so young like that . . .’

‘Yes, well, we were very lucky to find Vanessa.’ Realising he had spent all this time taking about Jane but had barely mentioned Vanessa by name, he felt guilty. ‘She’ll be a great mum.’

Rachel cocked her head to the side. ‘I’m sorry, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you keep saying what a great mum she’ll be. Isn’t that a little unfair?’

Ethan put his fork down. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, and again forgive me for speaking out of turn, but it sounds like your main rationale for marrying Vanessa is so you and Daisy can be a family again. I can completely appreciate you wanting that for Daisy’s sake, but surely you must love her as much as you loved Jane?’

Ethan looked at her, realising that this woman, who was practically a complete stranger, had pretty much hit the nail on the head. But no, he realised then, it wasn’t all just about being a family again. Of course he loved Vanessa just for herself; yes, maybe not quite as much Jane, but he honestly didn’t think that was possible.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she added then, looking horrified. ‘You barely know me and here am I, sticking my oar in. Forget I said anything.’

‘No, it’s fine,’ he replied easily. ‘It’s my own fault for making it sound that way. I do love Vanessa, very much, and I can’t wait to marry her.’ He figured this was as good an opportunity as any to get the conversation back on track. ‘The only problem is—’

‘Of course, and again don’t mind me, I guess I’m just projecting really.’

Ethan looked at her, curious. ‘How so?’

‘Well, I sort of have the same hopes for me and Gary, about a being a family, I mean. I lost both of my parents a while back, and since then I’ve always felt a bit lonely . . . slightly cast adrift, I suppose.’ She went on to tell him how Terri and the staff at the restaurant were the closest thing to a family she had. ‘So now that Gary’s proposed, it means I’m finally going to get the chance to be part of a proper family, or help build one of my own – if we’re lucky enough to have kids, that is.’

‘I understand.’ There was so much longing in her voice that Ethan’s heart went out to her.

‘And this,’ she said, lovingly caressing the ring. ‘This signifies the start of all that, the start of everything I’ve always wanted. It’s just so precious and so incredibly beautiful that I can hardly believe it’s mine.’

‘Actually—’

‘It’s something I can see myself passing down to my children, and perhaps on to their children too, sort of like creating a tradition. Sicilians are big on tradition, and having never been able to take part in all that, it feels important, almost essential, that I start my own, you know?’ Then she laughed self-consciously and shook her head. ‘Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this; you must think I’m a complete loolah.’

And just like that, Ethan knew that there was no way he could shatter this lovely woman’s dreams by telling her the truth. He just couldn’t do it, and it wasn’t his place to, in any case. Gary was the one who should be here listening to Rachel pouring her heart out about how much all of this meant to her. Despite his failings, at least Ethan knew his intentions towards Vanessa were honourable, whereas the cad that Rachel was marrying . . .

‘It doesn’t sound crazy at all to me, and I’m sure Gary is looking forward to those things just as much as you are.’

‘Well, honestly, I don’t think he really understands any of that “mushy stuff”, as he calls it.’ She laughed good-naturedly. ‘You wouldn’t exactly describe Gary as the type of guy in touch with his feelings. Your typical Irish macho male, I suppose.’

Again, Ethan felt maddened on Rachel’s behalf that she’d ended up with a guy who sounded like some kind of knuckle-dragging idiot.

‘You should tell him in any case. Let him know how much all this means to you, at least.’

‘Well, first I have to try to get him to set a date for the wedding!’ she said jokingly, and pushed her plate away. ‘Goodness, Ethan, I can’t remember the last time I opened up to someone like this. And you’re supposed to be an English lecturer? Are you sure you’re not really a psychologist in disguise?’

He smiled bashfully. ‘No, definitely just a boring old professor. But really, despite what you think, you really should share some of this with Gary. He is the man you’re going to marry, after all.’

Maybe then the guy would have a crisis of conscience and admit that their engagement was all a sham. Ethan would certainly be urging him to do so anyway.

He sighed. He supposed the best option now was to stop all the pussyfooting around, and just get Gary’s telephone number from Rachel. Then he could talk to him straight and accuse him outright of taking the ring and trying to pass it off as his own. He’d like to give him a good ear-bashing too about resorting to such a mean course of action with this lovely woman, but he knew it wasn’t his place to do that.

Rachel blushed. ‘I know, and he really is a special person, although I realise a lot of people don’t see what I do.’ Ethan didn’t know how to respond to this so he remained silent. ‘It would be nice if you could meet him.’

‘I’d very much like to meet him too,’ he replied wryly. ‘So, you two haven’t actually made many plans for the wedding, then?’ he asked, feeling somewhat relieved that they hadn’t set a date, not when everything might well end up having to be cancelled.

‘Not yet. I’ve started looking into the arrangements, and Terri and I are going shopping for dresses soon, but Gary thinks it’s all a bit girly.’

Of course he does, Ethan grumbled to himself.

It was all beginning to sound as though there would have been no prospect of an engagement at all if it hadn’t been for this ring. He decided he’d try to tease out the specifics of the proposal. That way he’d know for sure if the engagement had been on the cards or if it had been precipitated entirely by the mix-up with the bags.

‘So how did you react when he proposed in New York?’ he asked. ‘You mentioned before that it was something of a surprise.’

She beamed widely. ‘Honestly, Ethan, I couldn’t believe it. When I saw the Tiffany’s box I nearly fell down.’

‘I can imagine.’ Ethan’s fists clenched involuntarily. ‘So he asked you to marry him, and then gave you the box?’

‘No, no. Actually . . .’ Her eyes dropped to the table and she hesitated slightly, as if she was about to say something but then decided against it. ‘No, after he was released from the hospital we were exchanging Christmas gifts and he just produced that stunning little blue box and . . . well, when I saw what was inside I nearly lost it.’

‘I know exactly what you mean,’ Ethan said through gritted teeth. ‘I mean, I can imagine,’ he clarified quickly, but it seemed she hadn’t picked up on anything untoward.

Rachel was still smiling at the memory. ‘So while it took a bit of prompting – it was so funny because I’ve never seen Gary so nervous – he finally popped the question and the rest is history.’

Based on this account of events, Ethan now knew for certain that a proposal had never been in the offing, and from what he could tell this guy was making a complete fool out of this poor woman. She deserved so much better and Ethan sorely wished he had the courage to tell her that. But he really couldn’t.