“Silver lining?” Ethan asked suspiciously.
“Well, realizing that there are genuinely thoughtful people in the world—like you and your and lovely daughter. What a gorgeous dress you have on,” she said to Daisy, who grinned delightedly.
“Thanks. I like yours too,” she replied, and Ethan sat forward, keen to move past the mutual appreciation and get to the real reason they were here.
“Yes, we’re just in the city for a few days ourselves,” he said. “Our flight home is later this evening actually.”
“Ours would have been too…if this hadn’t happened. But the airline was great about changing, especially given the circumstances.”
“Of course. So—”
“You said you live in London? That’s one of my favorite cities, and I love spending time there. Granted, I haven’t been over for a while, what with the restaurant and everything,” she continued. “My friend and I run a bistro and bakery back home in Dublin. We cater too, on occasion.”
“Ooh, do you make cookies?” Daisy asked.
Ethan smiled fondly at his daughter. “Daisy’s become quite the cookie connoisseur on this trip.”
“Yes, although I don’t like to eat too many of course. Too much saturated fat,” his daughter pronounced solemnly, and Rachel smiled, briefly meeting Ethan’s amused gaze.
“Well, I do make cookies as it happens—muchbetter than these, if I do say so myself,” she joked conspiratorially. “We only use fresh ingredients too,” she added, and Daisy grinned. “Yep, cookies and pastries and bread and…all kinds of yummy stuff—you’d love it! In fact, tell you what. Why don’t you give me your address in London, and when I get home, I’ll send you a box of goodies for being so helpful to Gary. You don’t have to eat them all at once. How’s that?” she suggested, winking at Daisy.
“Yes, well, thank you very much, but on another note,” Ethan said. “I’m not sure if that nurse mentioned this to you, but actually it seems there was some confusion that day, and in all the melee—”
“Oops, sorry, that’s my phone,” Rachel interjected, taking a ringing device out of her handbag. “Might be the nurse. Hello? Is the doctor there now? I’ll just be…what?” Ethan watched her previously animated expression go dark. “Oh my goodness, is he okay? But what about…? Okay, yes, yes, I’m on my way.” Her brow furrowed, she disconnected the call. “I’m so sorry, but I have to go,” she said, jumping to her feet. “They changed Gary’s pain medication because they were afraid he was sleeping too much, but now it seems he’s had some kind of reaction… I’m not sure exactly what’s going on. I’m so sorry, but I really have to go.”
“No, no, of course. Shall we go back up with you?” Ethan asked, completely appreciating her panic but also not wanting to let the possibility of getting the ring back slip through his fingers.
“No, thank you, though. You’re so kind. Um…you have my number, don’t you?” she added, flustered. “Text me your address, and I’ll send those cookies over as soon as I get home, okay?”
Standing up too, Ethan ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, well, good luck with everything. Hope he’s okay,” he mumbled, feeling foolish and also completely clueless as to what to do. He couldn’t very well say anything now, could he? Not with the poor girl in such a state. Stupidly, he held out his hand to shake hers.
“I hope so too,” she replied, suddenly throwing her arms around him in a hug that caught him completely off guard. “Thank you so much again for all you’ve done—it was wonderful. Bye, Daisy!” she added, waving, and in a flash, she was gone.
For a long moment, Ethan stared after her, not sure what to think.
“I really like her, Dad,” Daisy said, completely unperturbed by the fact that after all that, they’d got absolutelynowhere. “She makes cookies.Andshe smells so nice.”
Ethan smiled distractedly. “Yes, yes, she’s lovely.”
Christ. What on earth was he going to do now?
Suddenly he felt completely exhausted. He was all out of ideas. It was too late to change this evening’s flight, and even if the airline was amenable, they’d no doubt charge him a fortune to do so. In any case, even if they did stay on longer, it wasn’t as if he could camp out here at the hospital until Knowles got better.
At this point, it was becoming embarrassing. Far from being blown away by Tiffany’s magic, Vanessa would surely just think he was a complete numbskull.
He was starting to feel that way himself and was now kicking himself for wasting all that time on small talk when he should’ve just come right out and said something. But he’d also been a little caught off guard by Rachel’s sunny personality and how effortless she was with Daisy so it felt wrong to be rude.
Damn him and his bloody manners…
He picked up his coffee and drank from it, although it might as well have been ditchwater. In fact, he hadn’t tasted anything or indeed eaten properly since Christmas morning, when all this started.
“What are we going to do now, Dad?” Daisy asked. “Should we just go back to Tiffany’s and get Vanessa another ring?”
Oh, the innocence of eight-year-olds! As if Ethan had another small fortune tucked away somewhere.
He picked up the cookie she’d been eating, hoping that the sugar rush might help sort out his nausea at least. “Give me a bite of that.”
“But, Dad, you’re not supposed to eat too many.”
