“I’m not sure, darling, and no, he hasn’t called yet.”
Daisy smiled weakly, and Vanessa knew she was still feeling upset that she had let the cat out of the bag. She’d been quiet for most of the day afterward and had since confined herself to her bedroom, barely speaking to her other than briefly over dinner and at breakfast this morning.
“Are you going to tell him I told you about the surprise?”
“Of course not.” Vanessa was quick to reassure her. “After all, you didn’t actually tell me anything.”
Which was the most frustrating part, really. When Daisy had inadvertently revealed something about aring, Vanessa was so curious, she wanted to shake the information out of her.
Based on what Daisy had said, though, she was almost certain his so-called research was merely a cover story for something else—namely some kind of intricate plan to propose? If there was a ring involved, that had to be it, didn’t it?
She wasn’t quite sure where this Rachel person came into it (perhaps she was a wedding planner?) if at all, but knowing Ethan, chances were he’d gone to Dublin to visit her parents to officially ask them for her hand.
He was such a traditionalist, it wasexactlythe kind of thing he’d do, and it had taken every ounce of restraint in her not to phone her mother in the meantime and find out if he’d been in touch. But she really couldn’t risk Ethan knowing that she was onto him or indeed risk falling flat on her face if her suspicions weren’t correct.
But then, last night on the phone when he started talking about visiting Irish country estates, she was pretty sure he was researching wedding venues, although she really would have preferred he included her in that.
Still, if all the subterfuge meant that a proposal was imminent, then Vanessa could certainly forgo that much. She’d known from the start that Ethan was perfect marriage material—mature, well respected, and talented. And possibly best of all, with Daisy, they would be a ready-made family.
Then the phone rang and she jumped.
“There, that must be him now,” she said to Daisy. With any luck, she would find out all she needed to know very soon.
Vanessa held the device to her ear. “Hi, darling. How are you? How’s everything going with the research?”
“Yes, well…I’m doing as much as I can in such a short space of time.”
“I can imagine. I really can’t wait to hear all about it. It sounds like such an interesting prospect.”
“Well, everything’s still in the very early stages yet,” he replied.
Vanessa stayed silent, feeling somewhat disappointed. Damn, what didthatmean? She didn’t think she could wait much longer; the suspense was killing her. And was it her imagination or did he sound a little…distant?
“Actually,” Ethan continued, “it now looks like I may have to rethink the idea altogether.”
“Why would you need to do that?” she asked, frowning. “Especially after going to so much trouble. You know, all the way to Dublin and everything.”
“Let’s just say the idea I had didn’t quite go according to plan, so now I think I may need to consider a different one.”
What did that mean? If he hadn’t arranged to see her parents in advance and then had maybe missed them when he called…
“Really? Why didn’t your first idea work?” she inquired.
“Well, I suppose I’m a bit worried that some people might be upset about the outcome.”
If by some chance, her father had said or done something stupid, Vanessa wouldmurderhim.
“Well, there will always be critics, Ethan. You can’t please everyone.”
“I know.”
“So perhaps you should care less about readers and more that you—or evenI—are happy with the outcome?”
“As I said, it’s early days and I’m not sure I’m ready.”
Damn. Now Vanessa’s thoughts were all over the place. What the hell was he trying to say?
“So where does that leave us in the meantime?” she asked, momentarily forgetting that they were supposed to be speaking in code.
