His heart hammered. “Rachel?”
“Yes, the agent you met with in New York. I figured she might have been the one who’d suggested the Irish angle? For the manuscript, I mean.” While her tone sounded completely casual, he could hear the italics.
He bit his lip, not sure what to think now. Something had happened in the meantime, he was sure of it. Could Daisy have spilled the beans?
No, he thought, shaking his head. She would never have revealed to Vanessa what was going on—not in a million years. Unless she happened to let something slip by accident…
But of course he couldn’t come right out and ask Daisy that on the phone now either, not with Vanessa in earshot.
It was unlikely, and chances were Vanessa was only asking about the manuscript because she was in the publishing business—not to mention genuinely supportive of his ambitions.
“Like I said, I still have quite a bit of work to do to convince her. That’s what this weekend is all about really,” he continued, pleased that for the first time throughout all this, he wasn’t technically lying.
“Well, good luck with it all. I can’t wait to hear how it goes,” Vanessa said breezily. “What are you up to this evening then?”
“Nothing much. Just planning a little more location scouting. There are some beautiful country estates in the vicinity, and I thought I might check those out.”
This notion had come straight from a tourist brochure in front of him in the hotel room, but he thought he should try and at least make his research sound authentic.
There was a tiny pause. “That sounds like a lovely idea. I went to one of those a couple of years back for a wedding, although this was more of a castle than a country estate. Perfect for weddings, those places.”
Now she sounded so enthusiastic and much more like herself that Ethan felt stupid for thinking she’d suspected something before.
“So you’re thinking an old country estate might be a good setting for the story?” she went on. “I think you’re right. It would be absolutely stunning.”
“Well, I have a few things in mind, but it’s certainly worth checking out,” Ethan said, not wanting to commit himself too much. Otherwise, he really would have to visit some random Irish country estate and whatnot.
He sighed heavily, realizing that all the subterfuge was becoming too much for him. He couldn’t wait to fly back with the ring in his pocket. This had gone on long enough.
“You sound tired, darling. Don’t do much, okay? As it is, you really shouldn’t have taken all this upon yourself. You know I’d love to help if you’d let me.”
“Of course. Anyway, I just wanted to call and see how you and Daisy were getting on. I’m heading out again soon, but it might be a bit late when I get back so—”
“No problem. I’m sure you have lots to do and plan. Oh, I have to say, I just can’t wait to read this book,” she gushed happily. “I realize a lot of planning needs to go into it, but believe me, when everything is ready, I know you and I are going to have such a wonderful time reading it together.”
Ethan wrinkled his brow. This conversation was definitely borderline surreal.
“Well, I don’t want to take anything for granted,” he said, chuckling nervously. “This weekend is just to hammer out the idea, get the ball rolling and that. You know how it is.”
“Of course. But just keep in mind that I’ll be happy with whatever ideas you come up with. Anyway, better put you on to Daisy for a bit. Have a lovely time, and see you tomorrow night.”
They said their goodbyes, and having spoken briefly to his daughter, Ethan hung up, thoroughly confused about the conversation with Vanessa.
If nothing else, at least it had succeeded in briefly putting tonight’s confrontation with Knowles out of his head.
In truth, he was absolutely dreading the prospect of dinner. He despised conflict, and there was no doubt that this conversation was going to be…tricky. He just hoped that the guy would be man enough to confess to the mix-up and reassure his fiancée that their engagement wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment thing.
It certainly sounded like that to Ethan, and from what little he knew of Rachel, she truly didn’t deserve that. Hell, what woman did?
Taking a shirt and a pair of chinos out of their suit carrier and laying them on the bed, Ethan turned on the shower and commenced preparations for tonight’s battle.
Chapter 31
“Gary, no. I can’t believe you would do this to me.”
Rachel wanted to scream. Having finally gotten Gary on the phone (network reception could be dodgy in the Dublin Mountains) to make dinner plans, she’d discovered that he and Sean had spent much of the afternoon knocking back pints with some “old mate” they’d met in the pub.
“Sorry, babe, but there’s nothing I can do,” he said contritely “There’s no way I can drive back to Dublin tonight. It wouldn’t be responsible.”
