The Guest List (37 page)

‘Yeah, what do you – erm, I mean sure!’ she replied, struggling to retain her American twang. She had noticed that even in the few hours she had been back around her family, the accent of her native land kept coming back unintentionally. ‘What do you need?’

‘Can you order a couple of margaritas, one for me and Ben and one for yourself if you fancy it. And some blueberry slushies for the girls.’

‘No problem.’ Danielle duly waved down a waiter at the other side of the pool, but couldn’t help feeling Heidi’s dark gaze on her from the next bed over.

‘Problem, Heidi?’ she asked. It hadn’t taken her long to get reacquainted with her sister, who was clearly quite the prima donna.

‘You really shouldn’t be encouraging her,’ the younger woman said shortly.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘The margarita. She’s pregnant, remember. As if she wasn’t making it obvious enough,’ she added, patting down her own decidedly more demure pool kaftan.

Danielle shrugged. ‘I’m sure it’s fine. It’s not like she’s doing shots or anything. Besides, it’s her business,’ she continued, her tone brisk. She had no patience for women like Heidi who had it in their minds that they were the authority on everything. Clearly it was a good thing that they’d never been close.

The waiter approached and Danielle ordered the drinks and looked at Heidi out of the corner of her eye. ‘Plus, a couple of shots of Patron, extra chilled,’ she added defiantly. The shots were for her alone, but she couldn’t resist winding up her younger sister by making her think she was ordering extra for Kim.

Just then, a squeal from across the pool diverted Danielle’s attention. It was coming from one of Cara’s girlfriends; she’d been introduced to them earlier but she couldn’t remember their names.

Some guy standing at the edge of the pool had just tossed the girl in. A rather cute guy too, she realised, taking in his nicely defined biceps from the back. He was wearing a tight pair of black swim trunks and it looked like he was a devout follower of a very good workout, she observed.

Then the same guy turned around to face the pool, a huge grin on his handsome face, and Danielle’s heart almost stopped.

Suddenly, everything around her became a blur. She felt the blood drain from her face.

Now her heart was beating so quickly she didn’t think it would be possible to slow it down, and her knees felt weak as she tried to get around the fact that the one man in the world she had never expected to see again was standing only a few metres away. A man whom she hadn’t seen in more than two decades.

What the hell? Why was he here? At Cara’s wedding, of all places . . .

Conor Dempsey, possibly one of the biggest skeletons in Danielle’s closet, was here in St Lucia.

And for some reason seemed to be a guest at Cara’s wedding.

Just at that moment Cara emerged into the pool area. Danielle hadn’t had a chance to catch up with her properly since she and Zack arrived, and she knew that Cara and Shane had been busy helping everyone get settled in and making last-minute arrangements for the wedding.

Cara strode confidently towards the end of the pool where her friends were laughing and joking. She was wearing a pale pink bikini that accentuated her light tan, and Danielle felt briefly envious of the fact that Cara looked even younger than she actually was – more like her early rather than late twenties – whereas she herself was unfortunately starting to show her age. She glanced down at her swimming costume, suddenly self-conscious now that Conor was here.

Danielle tried to push the thought from her mind as she watched Conor playfully catch Cara round the waist and heave her into his arms, threatening to throw her in the pool.

Laughing, Cara screamed and pounded on his chest, demanding to be let down. Instead, though, he started to swing her above the water, acting as if he was going to let her go any minute. Cara howled with laughter and, finally, Conor placed her back on her feet. She hugged Conor around his middle and he delivered a little peck to the top of her head.

What the hell? Clearly, Cara and Conor were very close friends, and watching all that made Danielle very uncomfortable.

‘That is not cool,’ she said under her breath, trying to calm her thoughts. She closed her eyes and tried to just relax and not think about it, not for the moment. She needed to try and balance her chakras, relax and enjoy the sunshine. Once that was done she could try to get her head straight and think about what to do next.

A moment later the waiter arrived and delivered the drinks, along with the extra shots of tequila she’d ordered. Danielle waved to Kim to come to the side of the pool, where she handed out the margaritas and slushies. Returning her attention to the rest of the group, she noticed Zack had just made his way down to the pool deck. He took in the scene, apparently deciding where to go.

For some reason he headed directly towards Conor.

‘Holy hell,’ said Danielle under her breath. Those were two people who should
not
have an opportunity to get to know each other.

She jumped up from her position on the lounge chair and wrapped a sarong around her waist.
At least I look hot in a one-piece
, she thought, considering her expertly toned stomach. Grabbing a shot of tequila, she threw it back and sucked on a lime as a chaser. She glanced briefly at the second shot, shrugged and thought,
what the hell?
Downing it for good measure, she stood up and walked with confidence towards her boyfriend, and her, well . . . ex-
something
.

‘Nothing like liquid courage,’ she said under her breath as the tequila burned its way down her throat and she considered how much would she have to drink to make it through the next few minutes – let alone the weekend – in one piece?

Cara looked up and smiled as she saw her approach.

‘Hi, Danielle, wow, you look amazing – like a fifties Hollywood icon or something,’ she said, and Danielle kept putting one foot in front of the other, while she tried to work out if this was actually a compliment. Then Cara grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. ‘There’s someone you haven’t met yet I think. She tapped Conor, who was still fooling around with the three other women and had his back to her, on the shoulder. Danielle steeled herself for the inevitable, knowing that she was powerless to stop what was about to happen next.

‘Conor,’ Cara smiled. ‘I want you to meet my big sister Danielle. Danielle, this is my boss, Conor.’

He turned around quickly, immediately meeting Danielle’s gaze head on. Suddenly, everything around her came to a stop. Despite the temporary buzz from the tequila, she felt the blood drain from her face and her knees go weak as his gaze locked on to hers. She thought she noticed a slight wrinkle of confusion in his face but just as quickly it was gone. Conor’s expression remained cool and collected, and Danielle struggled to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground, although she had the overwhelming desire to run.

Conor spoke, an ironic smile playing on his lips. ‘Of all the bars in all the world . . . Danni, how the hell are you?’

‘And so, it makes us so proud and happy to be welcoming Cara as a daughter and a new member of our family,’ Gene said later that night, addressing the small group in the private dining room where the rehearsal dinner was being held. ‘And also to welcome all of you. We are so happy to be a part of this wonderful celebration in this stunning location. Cheers to Shane and Cara!’

Everybody raised their glasses, saluting the happy couple in a toast. Shane and Cara exchanged a smile and a brief kiss and returned the fond gazes of the people around them.

So far, so good
, Cara thought. The rehearsal on the beach earlier had gone according to plan, even as she did her best to try to ignore the wind that seemed to be picking up around them, and the growing waves that grew more restless as they crashed on the shore. She wondered if maybe, just maybe, the weather would hold off until after tomorrow night? Come hell or, erm, high water (although no, scratch the high water bit), she wanted to get married on that beach.

‘Thank you Gene,’ she said, getting up from her chair and hugging the man who would hopefully become her father-in-law in less than twenty-four hours.

‘Pleasure dear,’ he said, returning the embrace.

Cara sat back down, delighted with the way things were going so far. She had to admit that everyone was getting along swimmingly. However, she couldn’t help but notice that Danielle did seem somewhat on edge, especially when Conor was in the room.

It had transpired at the pool earlier that the two already knew each other, which was a surprise, as Conor had never mentioned it to Cara before. When she’d asked earlier how they knew each other, both had been vague, saying something about being in school together and sharing mutual old friends, which Cara supposed made sense. Danielle had been away from home so long she’d almost forgotten her sister had had a life in Greygates too.

But it seemed that Conor hadn’t actually realised that she and Danielle (or Danni as he seemed to know her) were related, as Cara and her boss had only become acquainted after his return from London, long after Danielle had moved away from home. Cara was sure she’d mentioned her older sister on occasion, but evidently he hadn’t made the connection.

Lauren stood up and took command of the room. ‘I also have something to say, Cara,’ she said, turning to her. ‘Now, I am not sure if you have your “Something Blue” just yet and of course, if you do I understand. But I wanted to give you a gift of my own. Something that was given to me for my own wedding day. It seemed only appropriate that I now pass it to you since I never was blessed with a daughter, at least by birth. Come here Cara – you too Shane.’

Cara turned her attention to Lauren and got up as requested. Her mother-in-law to be turned back to the table where she had been sitting and retrieved a dark rectangular velvet box.

‘Now of course, if you don’t want to wear this, I understand, but I just thought . . .’ She handed the box to Cara.

Cara took it and looked at Shane, somewhat puzzled but delighted at the same time. Opening the box slowly, she saw that inside was a delicate sapphire-studded necklace, sparkling beautifully beneath the overhead lights. It wasn’t big or gaudy, but simple and classic, a fine stream of sapphires sitting in an invisible, white gold setting. But regardless of its simplicity, Cara knew this necklace would have cost a fortune. Indeed, she did already have her ‘something blue,’ some sexy underwear to wear beneath her dress, but she decided that a little more couldn’t hurt.

‘Oh my goodness, Lauren. It’s beautiful . . .’

‘I know you’re dedicated to having a simple, no-fuss beach wedding,’ Lauren said somewhat self-consciously. ‘So if it’s too much and doesn’t fit with that, I understand.’

‘Lauren, it’s amazing, thank you. I’ll wear it proudly.’ Cara was blown away by the wonderful effort Shane’s mother was making to be a part of the day and the festivities without being pushy. It made up for all the hassle of before. ‘Mum, come and see.’ She passed around the jewellery box to show everyone and received a chorus of oohs and ahhs.

‘It’s really gorgeous, Cara,’ smiled Danielle as she showed her. ‘It will look amazing with your dress.’ Cara smiled brightly at the vote of confidence from her glamorous older sister. She’d shown Danielle her wedding dress earlier, delighted by their new-found closeness since they’d started communicating again for the wedding.

From across the room, another voice sounded.

‘Excuse me,’ Conor called out. ‘I wonder if I could say something?’

At this Danielle looked up sharply. Was it Cara’s imagination or had her sister’s tanned complexion turned white? She glanced from her to Conor, wondering what she was missing.

‘What’s the matter?’ Cara inquired, sitting down in an empty seat next to her in the hope of teasing some information out of her on this history between her and Conor.

‘Nothing, why?’ Danielle replied, wide-eyed.

‘But—’

‘Shh!’ hissed Heidi from the other side of Cara, turning her attention to Conor.

Conor cleared his throat and looked around the room. ‘I just wanted to have a quick word if you all don’t mind. I know I am not a member of the family and am here just as a guest but . . .’ Danielle threw back the remainder of what was in her wine glass, and looked to Zack to refill it from the bottle to his left. He obliged her willingly.

Cara watched her sister with growing interest as Conor went on. ‘Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone, Mr and Mrs Clancy, and Mr and Mrs Richardson and especially Cara and Shane, for inviting me here and making me feel so welcome. I’ve known Cara a long time now and she is very special to me.’ He smiled at Cara, who blushed, not sure what to make of all this, given what she’d suspected recently. Nonetheless it was true; of course she and Conor were so much more than boss and employee; they were truly good friends. And how lovely of him to get up in front of all these people and say something so nice. She just hoped Shane didn’t mind.

As if reading Cara’s thoughts, Conor turned to Shane. ‘Mate, you are a very lucky man. I can only hope to meet someone like her some day. So keep a watch out,’ he added with a wink. ‘And make sure you marry her tomorrow, because otherwise I might try to steal her away.’

Cara gulped and everyone else laughed except Danielle, who at that moment choked and began coughing violently into her napkin.

Cara looked at her sister, as Zack began gently pounding on her back. ‘Are you OK?’ she asked, concerned.

‘Sure,’ Danielle finally said, when the coughing fit had ended. ‘Something just went down the wrong way.’

‘Here’s some water,’ offered Zack.

‘It’s fine. I just . . . I just need to go to the restroom. I’ll be back soon.’ Danielle stood up abruptly and hastened from the room.

‘What’s the matter with her?’ Cara asked.

Zack shrugged. ‘I think she’s just a little tense.’

‘Yes, I sort of gathered that,’ she replied.

The question was, Cara wondered, tense about what?

Later that night, Cara and Shane said their goodbyes and separated for the night, having decided to take the traditional stance of not seeing each other until the wedding ceremony.