City Woman (62 page)

‘All right, Mother, I’ll be up in a minute.’ Devlin sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her tousled hair.

‘Your mother’s in her element. No general could be more in command in his field of battle,’ Gerry whispered conspiratorially.

Devlin laughed. ‘I’ll tell you one thing, Dad. If Luke and I ever have a daughter, she can elope with my blessing.’

‘Ah, it won’t be that bad once everything is in place,’ Gerry assured her. ‘The main thing for you is to enjoy yourself, because when all is said and done, your wedding
day is the most special day in your life. Forget all the incidentals, all the things your mother is enjoying getting into a flap about. Just think that nearly everyone who loves you is going to be
with you and at the end of the day, the one who loves you most is going to be the last person you see before you fall asleep and the first you see when you wake up.’

‘
Gerrryee!
’ Lydia’s voice resounded up the stairs.

‘Your mother would do well in Moore Street if it wasn’t for her accent,’ Gerry chuckled. ‘I’m coming,’ he called. ‘Devlin, before I go, while we have
these few moments to ourselves before pandemonium is unleashed, I just want to tell you that no daughter could make a man prouder than you’ve made me. I thank God every day for giving me a
daughter as special as you.’ Gerry leaned down and kissed Devlin on the cheek.

‘Oh, Dad,’ she murmured, overwhelmed at his words. ‘Look, you’ve made me blubber.’ Putting the cup on her bedside locker, Devlin wrapped her arms around her
father’s neck. ‘I love you, Daddy. Thanks for everything, and especially for all the support you gave me in the bad times. I know I’m marrying Luke and I do love him, but
I’ll always be your daughter. I’ll always need your love and you’ll always have mine.’ Devlin spoke from the heart. Her father’s arms tightened around her and his eyes
grew suspiciously moist. But he said nothing, just hugged her tightly, and then he was gone. Devlin was alone, sitting in bed in the room of her childhood.

‘Now, my girl,’ she said crossly, wiping away the tears. ‘That’s the end of your blubbering for the day. You are
not
a weeping willow, you are a very happy
bride-to-be, and besides, your mascara will run when you have your make-up on.’ She caught sight of herself in the mirror. ‘Idiot,’ she grinned.

She lay back against the pillows, determined to enjoy these last few minutes of peace. Caroline and Maggie would be here soon. They’d been through it all so they’d know what to
expect. She smiled, remembering the weddings of her two dearest friends.

They had a great day the week before, just the three of them. Luke was always teasing her that he was getting three for the price of one and it was just as well he wasn’t the jealous type
because Maggie and Caroline were bonded to her with Superglue and she to them. The three girls had seen one another through thick and thin and that was why she had wanted their little hen-party to
be so special. And it was! Devlin smiled at the memory.

‘A chauffeur-driven limo, you exhibitionist you!’ Maggie laughed as the three of them left City Girl. They had spent the morning having the works done, compliments
of the proprietor. They’d been cleansed, massaged, manicured, pedicured, aromatized, steamed, sauna’d,
everything
, before having their hair done and faces made up. It was a
morning such as every woman dreams of and the three had enjoyed every nano-second of it.

They stepped into the long, gleaming limo and were driven the couple of hundred yards to The Commons. ‘Today we’re going to be Ladies Who Lunch,’ Devlin grinned. ‘Lucinda
Marshall, eat your heart out.’ As usual the restaurant was thronged and as the glamorous trio were led to their table there was a lot of elbow-nudging and little murmured asides.

‘That’s Devlin Delaney. She owns City Girl.’

‘She’s marrying a gorgeous hunk. I saw him once. I wonder how long it will last?’

‘She really thinks she’s it, doesn’t she? Little tart. You’d think she wouldn’t want to be seen dead in public after that article the
Echo
did about
her.’

‘I believe the mother’s a plonkie. Probably driven to it.’

‘Who’s that with her?’

‘Oh that’s Caroline Yates. She’s married to Richard Yates, that very successful solicitor, but I think they’re separated.’

‘There’s something very fishy going on there. He disappeared for over a year and then she went off somewhere and came back with a tan, looking like a million dollars, dripping with
gold. I think she must have been having an affair with someone and it’s done her the world of good.’

‘You still see them together occasionally and they look happy enough. I wonder why he went away? Do you think there might be some sort of scandal – you know like the ones we’ve
been having lately? Richard Yates – now that would be a shocker!’

‘The redhead’s the one who wrote
City Woman
. It was brilliant. Now, I don’t usually read, I don’t have time, but I just couldn’t put it down.’

‘She must be a millionairess by now. She was on the bestseller list for months. I believe she has another book coming out soon. It’s such easy money, isn’t it? Just sitting
scribbling whatever comes in to your head. I might try writing one myself.’

‘I wonder if she came here to do research. I bet The Commons will be in the next book.’

‘All eyes are upon us,’ grinned Devlin. ‘I’d love to be a fly on the wall near some of the tables.’

‘Did you see Rachel Kennedy?’ Caroline was shocked. ‘She’s aged twenty years.’

‘Her husband ran off with a younger woman and I believe he’s trying to sell the house from under her,’ Devlin informed her. ‘So she’s turned to the
bottle.’

‘I know all about it,’ Caroline grimaced.

‘Oh, look,’ murmured Maggie, ‘it’s Shaun Archer, the TV personality. Isn’t he supposed to be having a rip-roaring affair with Veronica O’Kelly, the woman who
owns all those night clubs?’

‘ “Supposed” is the operative word,’ Caroline whispered. ‘Apart from the fact that Shaun is such a narcissist that the only one he could ever have an affair with is
himself, the relationship with Veronica is just a front. I have it on the best of authority . . .’

‘What do you mean?’ Maggie was puzzled. ‘Who’s he having an affair with?’

‘Maggie!’ Caroline exclaimed. ‘You’re hopeless.’

Devlin’s eyes widened. ‘You’re not serious. Shaun Archer? What a waste!’

‘You mean he’s gay?’ Maggie was gobsmacked.

‘Pat the girl on the back,’ giggled Devlin.

They had a giggly gossipy lunch such as only really close old friends can have and then they hit Grafton Street looking for Devlin’s going-away outfit. No stone was left unturned, no
garment untried, until finally the decision was made and a beautiful, superbly cut Paul Costello trouser-suit was wrapped and bagged.

‘God, I hate that grunge look,’ Devlin declared as they sank back into the comfort of the limo and drove out to Clontarf.

It was a beautiful midsummer evening and the breeze was balmy as they sat on the balcony, Devlin and Maggie sipping champagne, Caroline with sparkling mineral water.

‘To the new Mrs Reilly.’ Caroline held up her glass.

‘To the new Caroline.’ Devlin toasted her back.

‘To us,’ toasted Maggie and they clinked glasses and laughed.

Well, she’d really better get up, Devlin decided happily. She couldn’t believe that it was her wedding day. When she asked Luke to marry her, he lifted her in his
arms and swung her around until she was dizzy, much to the amusement of the other passengers in Terminal Four.

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ he declared, and she knew that everything was going to be fine between them. She had made the right decision. They had spent hours discussing where they would live
and how they would cope with their respective businesses. Devlin, who had been thinking about it the whole long flight back from Abu Dhabi, turned to him and said, ‘I’m going to ask
Caroline to be the administrator of Dublin City Girl. I think she’d be perfect for the job. I trust her implicitly. I’ll be able to concentrate on the overall business plan and spend
most of my time with my new husband.’

‘I’m marrying a genius,’ Luke exclaimed, as happy as she had ever seen him. They decided on the earliest possible wedding-date, much to Lydia’s dismay. Although Devlin
would have preferred a small intimate wedding, she knew that Lydia would have been disappointed and so she let her have her way with the reception, the catering and the guest-list. Devlin
didn’t care; all she knew was that she and Luke were getting married and she was the happiest girl in the world.

There was hardly a soul around as Luke left Devlin’s apartment and strode down the drive and out on to the main road in the direction of Howth. All that could be heard
was birdsong and an occasional dog barking and the clink of bottles as the milkman made his early-morning deliveries. The air was fresh, the breeze salty, and Luke walked quickly, anxious to get
closer to the sea. He loved to watch the sun sparkling on the water in the hours after sunrise. It brought back memories of his sea-going days. They had been carefree times with one responsibility
only: to do his job well. It had been his own choice to come ashore and he had done well for himself, but occasionally there were times when he would give anything to feel the deck of a ship
rolling under his feet, to watch the bow diving into the waves and up again and to taste the salt of the sea-spray on his lips.

Maybe some day he and Devlin would just take off and sail around the world. He smiled to himself. It was hard to believe that in a few hours’ time he would be a married man. It was even
harder to believe that Devlin had asked him to marry her. He had to pinch himself sometimes to make sure it wasn’t one big dream.

It made it all the more special that
she
had asked
him
. It was the greatest proof that she really did need him. He knew Devlin loved him, but he had always thought that the
relationship they were having suited her fine, leaving her plenty of time to develop her business, which was of paramount importance to her. He had longed to ask her to marry him but had never felt
that she was ready to commit herself to that permanent relationship.

When she disembarked from that plane, tanned and glowing, eyes sparkling and happy, and asked him to marry her, you could have knocked him down with a feather. He would always remember the
shock, the disbelief and then that great wave of joy that had engulfed him. He had never experienced such a sense of happiness before. Luke smiled at the memory as he turned on to the Bull Wall.
Across the bay, he could see a cargo ship moving slowly down the Liffey. What a sight, he thought with pleasure, walking briskly along, enjoying the smell and sound of the sea as it slapped up
against the rocks. He reached the statue of Our Lady just as the ship was passing the Poolbeg lighthouse and he paused to watch her as she steamed along at the beginning of her voyage. He was
beginning a new voyage himself today, he thought happily, as he stood staring out to sea in the quiet solitude of an early Dublin morning.

‘Your boss is very kind to pay for our flights and hotel accommodation. Imagine him asking you to his wedding. He must think a lot of you.’ Dianne Westwood’s
younger sister bubbled happily on as she sipped champagne in the first-class section of the Boeing 737 that was winging its way across the Irish Sea and bringing them to Dublin for Luke’s
wedding.

Frankly, Dianne felt she was having a nightmare. When Luke came into work the morning after Devlin Delaney had arrived back in London from her holiday in Abu Dhabi, and told her that he was
getting married, she had been stunned. How she had managed to utter the words of congratulations she would never know. But she had, and then she escaped to the sanctuary of her own office, and sat
numbed and shocked. Twenty minutes later, she typed her letter of resignation. She couldn’t stay on, knowing that Luke was marrying Devlin.

She just couldn’t bring herself to give the letter to Luke that day, so she had slipped it into her drawer and gone home and bawled her eyes out. If she handed in her resignation she would
never see him again. Could she bear that? After a long night of tossing and turning she had decided not to leave. The marriage would never last. She knew it wouldn’t. DD wasn’t the
woman for Luke, and never would be. No, it would end in tears and when it did, he would turn to her, the one who had been at his side through thick and thin. Then Dianne would come into her own and
he’d see her for what she was, his loyal, loving soulmate.

When he asked her to the wedding she said yes. It would have been churlish to refuse and he wouldn’t have understood her reasons. It would be the worst day of her life but she would carry
it off. Dianne had no doubts about that. No-one could carry it off like she could. No-one had her style, her class and her complete professionalism. Luke had once called her the perfect PA. Some
day he would call her his perfect woman, she vowed, as the plane circled and began its final approach to Dublin Airport.

Caroline stood humming under the shower, soaping herself all over. She still had her Abu Dhabi tan, she thought with satisfaction, and she was working diligently on keeping it
up. It was hard to believe she was home almost three months now. Sometimes she thought her time in Abu Dhabi had been a magical dream. But it was incredible the way things had turned out. When
Devlin told her she was going to marry Luke and offered her the position of administrator in City Girl, Caroline had been speechless. To walk into a job like that after spending six exciting months
in a foreign country was too good to be true. Her luck was definitely turning, she firmly believed.

Richard had again asked her to consider their buying a place together, and once again she had refused. Her husband was a sad and lonely man and she pitied him, but she had to do what was right
for her and she wanted to be free. She had written to the Marriage Tribunal only the week before, to ask them to set a date for her and Richard’s psychological assessment. She was determined
to make a new start and if Richard couldn’t cope with it, that was not her problem.