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 just had a little argument,” he said by way of explanation. “I think she’ll be gone awhile.”
His daughter sighed and looked down at the table, where the platter of wedding nibbles had long since gone cold. “Please don’t be mad,” she said, looking guiltily up at him through her long eyelashes.
“What? Why would I be mad at you?” At this point, Ethan had no idea what was coming. What was all this about ababy?
“Okay.” Daisy sighed again. “Well then, I think I’d better tell you everything.”
Chapter 52
After prying Gary away from Ethan and whatever drama he was having now, Terri strong-armed him into helping her clear tables by promising that she’d tell him what she knew.
Evidently he wasn’t completely dumb, and once Rachel had revealed the ring was missing, he must have put it all together.
“Come on, Terri. You can’t fool me. I saw the ring on Greene’s missus. A bit coincidental that it just ‘disappeared’ the last time he was here? The very same time he came crying to me with some sorry story? And what is he doing back here anyway? Trying to rub Rachel’s nose in it?”
She put her hands on her hips. “How many times do I have say it before it gets into your thick skull? The ring isn’t yours. It never was—you admitted as much to me yourself.”
Justin came rushing into the kitchen, but they both ignored him.
“As far as I’m concerned, itisRachel’s, and regardless of how we 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 it from her. It was you, wasn’t it? You and Greene in it together. I wonder what Rachel will think when she realizes she can’t trust her own friend. What do you think about that? How is she going to feel?”
At that moment, the door from the dining room swung open.
“How am I going to feel about what?”
They all turned to face the doorway where Rachel stood, a perplexed expression on her face.
***
“What’s up?” Rachel urged, laughing lightly. “Everyone’s gone very quiet all of a sudden.”
She quickly noticed that they had all become deathly silent upon her entry.
And what was Gary doing here? He looked worked up too; she recognized that vexed expression, and it seemed as though he and Terri were having a spat of some kind. Justin too had dropped whatever he was doing upon her arrival and had rushed into the kitchen ahead of her.
“Well? How am I going to feel about what?” she repeated, and a shiver of unease ran down her spine. Neither would meet her gaze. “What’s going on? And am I seeing things, or was that Ethan out there? I’m almost certain I spotted him on my way in.”
Terri smiled, but Rachel could tell it was forced. “Yes, he’s here with his fiancée. They were thinking of hiring us to cater their wedding and are trying the tasting menu.”
“Oh, so he did pop the question.” Rachel smiled, unsure how to feel. “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 either. He lived in London, so why on earth would he want Gillini 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 not to catch up this time.” Rachel tried to keep her voice light, but every bone in her body was telling her there was something awry.
“Oh, I’ve caught up with him all right,” her fiancé replied.
“So what were you lot talking about?” she asked again. “I thought I heard my name being mentioned.”
“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 something that needed Gary’s approval? And she’d walked in right in the middle of it. Whatever it was, she was sure she’d find out in time.
