Something From Tiffany’s (42 page)

Vanessa didn’t even look at him. ‘We were having a business meeting,’ she explained weakly, but Ethan was by now an expert in lame excuses, given the ones he’d had to concoct himself recently.

‘Really? A business meeting – on Christmas Eve? I wasn’t aware Brian had become one of your authors, or indeed that he was in New York.’

‘Brian was heading downtown and I had some shopping to do so we shared a taxi back from . . . our meeting,’ she continued, her hazel eyes shining with tears as she spoke. ‘When we reached Fifth Avenue I spotted you and Daisy on the street outside Tiffany’s. I started to panic, stupidly worried that you might see us, although of course this was impossible but . . .’ She shook her head. ‘Brian tried to calm me down and we started arguing, and then—’

‘I knew it!’ Gary proclaimed. ‘I knew that gobshite driver wasn’t paying attention! Walked out in front of him, my foot! Tell lover-boy thanks very much. His lies fucked up my lawsuit.’

Ethan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘So you were actually there when the accident happened? But what about afterwards, when you saw Daisy and me trying to help? Did you just . . . sneak away, hoping we wouldn’t notice?’

Obviously he wouldn’t have noticed, though, Ethan thought; at the time, his only concern was for the injured Knowles. He remembered the cab driver mentioning something about his fare abandoning him, but the last thing Ethan would have expected was for someone he knew to be in the cab, let alone to have caused the very accident that had . . .

Then an uneasy feeling came over him and, just like that, he understood. One look at Vanessa’s shamefaced expression told him everything. ‘Oh my God . . .’ he whispered. ‘You – and Brian?’

Vanessa and Brian . . . having an affair?

Christ, did Vanessa’s determination stop at anything? He knew well that she had her heart set on securing the great Brian Freeman for her publishing house, but would she honestly sink that low?

And of course good old Brian, who was used to women throwing themselves at him, would hardly refuse. Suddenly, Ethan recalled Brian’s rather odd reaction that time when he’d told him about his planned proposal going awry.
Make sure it’s what you both want, and for the right reasons . . .

Now, in retrospect, it made sense.

He couldn’t believe he’d been betrayed in such a way, and by two people he cared for and trusted. Clearly care and trust didn’t work both ways.

‘Perhaps whatever went on at that meeting was your unique way of trying to poach him?’ Ethan asked scornfully.

‘That’s not fair. Ethan, we didn’t . . . Brian doesn’t . . . Look, things are different now. You and I are engaged, whereas before I – I was never sure how you . . . if you really—’ Her gaze dropped to the floor. ‘Of course it had nothing to do with poaching him. Brian and I, well, we’d known each other for a while and it was sort of ongoing before you and I met. We bumped into each other a lot socially and it gradually became a . . . I don’t know, a kind of habit, of sorts.’ She shook her head, unable to explain it away, and Ethan couldn’t believe that he’d been made such a fool of. ‘Seriously, Ethan, it meant nothing, and it’s over now. As soon as you proposed, I told him it was over.’

Ethan wanted to be sick. To think that he’d trusted Brian, confided in him all his doubts and worries about Vanessa, their relationship, marriage and of course the ring, and all along his so-called mate had been sleeping with her behind his back! God, he was an idiot!

And right then he wondered whether, on Christmas Eve, up there somewhere, darling Jane was having a word in the ear of her beloved universe.

‘So,’ Gary said, breaking the silence, ‘about this ring . . .’

Chapter 41

At that moment Terri reappeared with a still perplexed-looking Daisy in tow. ‘Look, you lot might be perfectly happy to stand around and chat all day, but might I remind you that this is a restaurant, and I have customers to serve?’ Her voice was hard. ‘If the three of you want to continue this, then please do so at a table instead of blocking up the place!’

Daisy stared at Vanessa’s stricken face. ‘What’s wrong, Vanessa?’ she asked and Ethan could see from her expression how her anxiety levels were rising.

‘It’s nothing, darling,’ he soothed, reaching down to put an arm around her. ‘Why don’t we do as Terri says, and go back to our table and finish our food? Did you have fun meeting the chef?’ Ethan was trying desperately to keep his voice light, while inside he wanted to put a fist through the wall.

‘Ethan, I—’ Vanessa began, but he held up his hand.

‘Leave it. Now is not the time.’

There must have been enough in his voice to warn her not to push it, because instead of continuing to argue she quietly relented. ‘I’m sorry,’ she sobbed, turning on her heel and heading straight for the ladies’ room.

Terri gave Ethan a quizzical look and he shook his head slowly as if to say ‘Don’t ask.’

He and Daisy made their way back towards their table on the other side of the room, his legs weak and jelly-like. He was vaguely aware of Gary following them.

‘Dad? What’s going on? Why is Vanessa crying?’ Daisy was clearly perturbed, and she looked at Ethan for reassurance.

‘It’s OK, honey,’ Terri said, taking the little girl’s hand again, somehow understanding that Ethan was struggling to cope. ‘She’s just upset about something.’

‘Is it the baby?’ Daisy asked, and right at that moment Ethan was glad that he was just about to sit down, because he really didn’t think his legs would be able to hold him up.

He looked at his daughter. ‘What?’

Terri raised an eyebrow. ‘I think I’d better leave you to it. Gary, now that you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful,’ she urged, nudging him on the arm. ‘I’ve got some tables that need clearing.’

‘To hell with that, I’m in the middle of something.’ But Terri’s tone must have given Gary pause, as he hesitated for a brief moment before reluctantly moving away, leaving Ethan and Daisy alone.

Ethan looked at his daughter. ‘Honey, what are you talking about? What’s all this about a baby?’

Daisy looked around hesitantly, as if trying to locate Vanessa.

‘We had a little argument,’ he said by way of explanation. ‘I think she might be gone for a while.’

Daisy sighed and looked down at the table, where the platter of wedding nibbles had long since gone cold. ‘Please don’t be cross, Daddy,’ she said guiltily, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

‘What? Why would I be cross with you?’ At this point, Ethan had no idea what was coming. And what was all this about a baby?

‘OK,’ Daisy sighed again. ‘Well, I think I’d better tell you everything.’

After prising Gary away from Ethan and whatever drama he and Vanessa were experiencing, Terri had strong-armed him into helping her clear tables by promising that she’d tell him what she knew about the ring’s disappearance.

Despite what she and Justin might think, she realised Gary wasn’t completely stupid and once Rachel had revealed that the ring was missing he must have put two and two together.

It was such bad luck that Ethan had to be here when he reached the obvious conclusion. Or was it? Clearly Gary’s appearance had sparked some controversy between Ethan and his fiancée, and from the snippets she’d overheard while going to and from the kitchen, it wasn’t just about the ring.

Poor Ethan, it seemed that his trip to New York had caused more than one problem for him. Her heart went out to Daisy too. She seemed a nervous little soul and had been hugely unsettled by the scene. That Vanessa woman shouldn’t have made the child privy to Gary and Ethan’s argument, irrespective of how curious about it she might have been herself. As it was, Justin had tried to cheer Daisy up and stop her worrying about Ethan by asking her to ‘help out’ with the cookie dough.

Now that the lunchtime rush was over and only a few occupied tables remained in the dining room, Terri turned to Gary in the kitchen. ‘Why are you here?’ she asked him again. ‘It’s Rachel’s day off. Aren’t you supposed to be spending time with her today?’

‘I told her I had something else on,’ he replied. ‘Something important – like finding out how the ring she’s so upset about could suddenly have disappeared into thin air.’ He stared at her, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Terri looked away and continued piling used plates on top of one another. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘Come on, Terri, you can’t fool me. I saw the ring on Greene’s missus. Isn’t it a bit coincidental that it just “disappears” the last time he was here? The very same time the two of you came crying to me with some sorry story about it? And what is he doing here again anyway? Trying to rub Rachel’s nose in it or something?’

Terri put her hands on her hips. ‘Gary, how many times do I have to say it before it gets into your thick skull? The ring isn’t yours; it never was. You admitted as much to me yourself that night you got drunk.’

Just then, Justin came rushing into the kitchen. ‘You two, change of subject might be good right about now.’

They both ignored him.

‘Look, as far as I’m concerned it
is
Rachel’s; and however we might have ended up with it, she adored that ring,’ Gary retorted. ‘But I wonder what she’ll think when I tell her that her so-called best friend conspired to steal her engagement ring from her. It
was
you who took it, wasn’t it? You and that Ethan Greene were in it together. I wonder how Rachel will feel when she realises she can’t trust her own friend. What do you think about that? How is Rachel going to feel?’

At that moment, the door from the dining room swung open.

‘How is Rachel going to feel about what?’ a voice asked.

Terri, Justin and Gary turned towards the doorway, where Rachel stood, a confused look on her face.

Chapter 42

‘What’s up?’ Rachel asked, laughing lightly. ‘Everyone’s gone very quiet all of a sudden.’

She’d noticed that all three had become deathly silent upon her entry and she examined the scene in front of her more closely.

What was Gary doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be at Sean’s, fixing up some problem with the bike? He looked worked up about something too; she recognised that vexed expression. And it seemed as though he and Terri had been having some kind of animated discussion. In addition, Justin seemed to have dropped whatever he was doing in the dining room upon her arrival and had rushed into the kitchen ahead of her.

‘Well? How am I going to feel about what?’ she repeated. She looked at Gary, then at Terri and a shiver of unease ran down her spine. Neither would meet her gaze.

She searched each of their faces. ‘What’s going on? And was I seeing things, or is that Ethan Greene out there? I thought I spotted him on my way in.’

Terri smiled, but Rachel could tell it was forced. ‘Yes, Ethan’s here with his fiancée. They were thinking of hiring us to cater for their wedding and are trying out some samples.’

‘Oh so he did pop the question, then?’ Rachel smiled. ‘That’s nice. I must go out and say hello.’

But her words were automatic because deep down she knew that there was something not quite right about Ethan’s presence here, and the catering thing seemed very odd indeed. He was supposed to be from London, so why on earth would he want them to cater for his wedding?

Gary spoke then. ‘Funny you should mention him,’ he said scathingly and Terri shot him a look.

‘Well, you’ve certainly no excuse for not catching up with him this time, Gary.’ Rachel tried to keep her voice light, but every bone in her body was telling her there was something very odd here.

‘Oh I’ve caught up with him all right,’ her fiancé replied, and she didn’t like the ominous way he said it.

‘So, what were you lot talking about?’ she asked again. ‘I thought I heard my name being mentioned.’

‘It was nothing, really,’ Terri told her. ‘We were all just chatting about the wedding.’

‘Oh.’ Of course, Rachel thought, relaxing a little. Terri was her bridesmaid, after all, so perhaps she was planning a surprise that needed Gary’s approval? And then she’d walked in, right in the middle of it. Whatever it was Rachel was sure she’d find out in time. In truth, she was still so relieved that Gary hadn’t hit the roof about her losing the ring that she was happy to let him and Terri plan anything they wanted.

‘What are you doing here anyway, Gary?’ she asked. ‘I thought you said you’d made plans with Sean.’

‘I did, and I just popped in for a sandwich on the way.’ That wasn’t unusual, but Rachel knew it annoyed Terri that Gary took advantage and often assumed the food would be free just because of their relationship. So that could have been what they were arguing about.

‘How come you’re here, boss?’ Justin asked. ‘I thought you were taking the day off.’

‘I thought I would, but I was bored.’ She laughed. ‘Can’t keep away from the place! Anyway, I might as well give a hand with the clean-up while I’m here,’ she said, looking at the pile of dirty plates on a nearby counter. ‘But first, I might pop out and say hello to Ethan.’

‘Ah, you’d better leave it for the moment.’ Terri grimaced. ‘Last thing I heard, he and the girlfriend were having a bit of a discussion,’ she said, leaving Rachel in no uncertain terms that said discussion wasn’t a pleasant one.