The Guest List (21 page)

Ben looked surprised. ‘Wow. I find the idea of Danielle assisting on a project that would bring all of us closer to where she lives very surprising. She really hasn’t had anything to do with us in ages.’

Kim had to admit that she didn’t know much about her oldest sister-in-law, only having met her once or twice at best. Of course there was an oddball in practically every Irish family, and it seemed Danielle was the obligatory black sheep in the Clancy household.

Ben never really spoke about her and Kim knew that it was a sore subject for Betty and not really to be discussed in her presence, so she couldn’t help but be curious about her. Reading between the lines, Kim got the impression that Danielle was a somewhat fragile soul. Given Betty’s overbearing ways, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her.

‘You always make her out to be sort of . . . unhinged or something.’ While Ben might have worked actively to stay out of the drama that his family had the ability to perpetuate, he too seemed somewhat judgemental about his older sister.

‘Nah, I don’t mean to be like that; it’s just that Danielle’s just never made that much of an effort – especially since she moved abroad. If she shows up at Cara’s wedding, I’ll be surprised. Remember she didn’t come to ours – or Heidi’s.’

Kim remembered. She also remembered that Betty hadn’t seemed to mind her oldest daughter’s absence. That had been a bit off form, considering how involved Betty was in all of her children’s lives.

‘Well, we’ll definitely be close to where she lives, that’s for sure. Isn’t she based in the Fort Lauderdale area?’

‘So I believe,’ Ben said. ‘Nobody’s ever been over to visit her, and she hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with invitations either, if you know what I mean.’

‘Well if she is so close, I’m sure she will be at the wedding. I mean, St Lucia’s practically next door, isn’t it?’

‘Pretty much. I just hope Cara knows what she is getting herself into – not just with the wedding.’ Ben pursed his lips. ‘Because the only thing worse than my mother on her own is my mother within a ten-foot radius of Danielle.’

Danielle paced the length of her living room. She had just opened her email to find a message from Cara. Apparently everything in St Lucia was now booked and ready to go.

She fidgeted with her hands. If it wasn’t for her offer to put Cara in touch with her contact at the resort, none of this would be happening right now. She was ultimately the one who had set this in motion, the one who had effectively signed her own death certificate, so to speak – by giving way to the opportunity to have her family – Betty – close by. It gave her a sick feeling in her stomach. It was like a freight train plunging ahead and she was powerless to stop it.

She opened her patio doors and walked out onto the sun porch. Taking a seat on the chaise longue, she watched the tide roll in and out, lost in her thoughts.

She could handle this, she reassured herself. After all, she had been away from them for so long now, and had made too much of herself to allow some simple, little family wedding crumble everything that she had worked so hard at building.

She could control this. Right?

September twelfth. Only four months away. Four months to figure out how she was going to keep Zack away from her family. Four months to figure out a reason for not attending the wedding. She didn’t know how the latter was going to work out. Not with the other request.

In the email, Cara had also asked her to be a bridesmaid. A bridesmaid! That was simply adding insult to injury. Danielle didn’t like to think about herself in these terms, but wasn’t she a bit
old
to be a bridesmaid? She felt like crying. The only thing worse than going to this wedding was also having to be a bridesmaid.

Plus, the whole situation was absurd. How could she be a bridesmaid at this wedding? She barely had a relationship with any of these people.

More to the point, how on earth could she get out of this? What were her options?

Briefly she considered living in denial. She had done that before after all. Just ignored reality, hoping it would go away.

And remember how that worked out?
she reminded herself, reluctant to revisit such a painful time.

No, she decided, thinking of her therapist’s advice, she had to tackle the issue head on, and come up with a plan. If she had a plan, a solution, she could manage anything, and she had to manage this.

Four months seemed like a significant amount of time, but in reality Danielle knew that it would go by in the blink of an eye. She wished that she felt something other than dread at the thought of seeing her family.

There was no way that she could expose Zack to them either. If he knew the extent of her issues, he would run a mile.

And no matter how many years distanced her from them or how she had changed, the mere fact was that like it or not, Danielle was attached to her family through the invisible rope that tied them to her, now and always. She couldn’t forget about that.

A little while later she heard the patio door open, and temporarily her sun was blocked. She opened her eyes to be met with Zack’s tanned and handsome face. He stood above her, the sun at his back highlighting his blond hair and all-American good looks. He smiled at her, his teeth glowing white and perfect against his dark skin, his blue eyes sparkling.

Even in her current mood, Danielle couldn’t help but smile back.

‘What are you doing out here? I could have sworn I heard you talking to yourself,’ he said in a flat South Florida accent, the kind that Danielle herself had taken so much care to develop.

She shielded her eyes against the sun and patted the chair next to her. ‘Oh nothing, just enjoying the sunshine.’ She wondered if she should tell him about the conversation with Cara, but decided against it. He didn’t have to know about any of it. She rarely talked about her family to him anyway, and if this blasted wedding did happen, there was no way it would involve him. He was
not
going to meet her family, no way, no how.

‘No way,’ she muttered out loud, unbeknownst to herself.

Zack arched an eyebrow. ‘Sorry?’

She swallowed hard. ‘Just thinking out loud. That’s all.’

Please don’t press
, she thought. She knew she was a terrible liar.

‘Anything I can help you with?’ he asked, but thankfully at that moment his BlackBerry chirped.

Saved by the bell
, she thought, relieved.

‘Oh, I have to take this, sorry – what do you think about going out to dinner later? Maybe head down towards Miami?’

She nodded and smiled. ‘Sure. Go get that. I’ll be right in.’

He touched her cheek, and then turned his attention to his phone. ‘Cool.’

The moment Zack left she returned to her thoughts. She felt slightly guilty for not telling him about Cara’s call, but really, he was so cultured and worldly and completely removed from the kind of background she had that there was no way he would ever understand her family, or ever fully comprehend her history with them. It was just so complicated.

What’s more, over the years Danielle had worked very hard to make herself the person she was today, and she simply wasn’t prepared to let all that be stripped away. No way was she going to show Zack where she really came from.

If this wedding did take place close to home, she would bear the burden alone. She would fabricate a work trip; maybe create a client who was interested in property on St Lucia. That was it! Danielle sat forward as her mind raced. A quick weekend jaunt and then a deal that just happened to fall through at the last minute . . .

Easily done and Zack would be none the wiser about her nutty family or the skeletons from her past. Exactly how it needed to be.

Danielle hated to think of herself as unworthy of a good relationship, of something positive in her life . . . but she also knew who to blame for those feelings. Betty. All the therapy in the world couldn’t beat out of her head the insecurities her mother had instilled, not to mention the still-painful highlighting of her shortcomings.

‘What’s up?’ Zack asked, coming back out on to the balcony. ‘You look stressed.’

‘No, I’m fine, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking about work and a client – a somewhat frustrating client. But how’s your day been?’ she smiled, hoping that Zack would take the bait.

‘It’s been good. Is there anything I can help you out with?’ Zack was so incisive when it came to business. He was a self-made man, with an empire that he had created from scratch encompassing some of the most lucrative business ventures in the US. He was involved in a variety of real estate and land dealings, hotels and entertainment, as well as finance. He was often compared to a young Donald Trump, although with better hair and without all the kids and ex-wives – an up-and-comer who was intent on taking the business world by storm.

Danielle cheered inwardly. She could start planting the seeds now about this client – the one with the interest in property in St Lucia. The one that she just might have to assist on the island on September
12
of this year.

‘Oh, no I don’t think so,’ she said, straightening her shoulders, trying to project her usual confidence. ‘Really I just think this client is a pain in the ass, or at least has the potential to be. Interested in Caribbean property, St Lucia specifically.’

‘Well, that would probably be a nice commission,’ Zack commented mildly. ‘Who’s the client? Anyone I know?’

‘No, I wouldn’t think so. Name is, um . . . Ben Richardson,’ she said, thinking quickly, and combining the names of her brother and future brother-in-law.

Zack considered the name. ‘No, I don’t think I have heard of him. Who is he?’

Danielle fidgeted with her hands. She hated lying and now she was faced with a situation where she had to fabricate a person in order to spin a complicated story, all just to keep Zack from meeting her family.
Was it worth it?
she asked herself. She wondered for a moment what would happen if she just bit the bullet and let him meet them. She felt a shiver run down her spine. No, in this situation, the lie would definitely be better.

‘Oh, I think new money, definitely. Seems like a young guy who has lots of ideas and lots of cash that he likes to throw around. Kind of tacky, you know the type.’ She felt surprised by her answer and how easily the lie had tripped off her tongue; it had been effortless actually. Zack didn’t hold tacky people in high esteem; therefore he wouldn’t be interested.

Zack rolled his eyes. ‘Shame to ruin St Lucia with more idiots. What is he interested in?’

‘Oh, you know; ocean-front, marble floors, hot tub, stripper pole in the entertainment room, the works. Sounds like a cast member of
Jersey Shore,
doesn’t it?’ she added lightly, trying to drive home the idea.

‘Does he have money to spend though?’ Zack pressed.

She shrugged. ‘Seems like he is willing to spend for this, but he’s also alluded to the fact that price might be a sticking point,’ she said vaguely, thinking of Cara’s budget worries.

‘Ugh. Send him to the Dominican or some other place. Keep him off our island,’ Zack joked with a smile.

Danielle grimaced, thinking her boyfriend had no idea how true his words were or how she had echoed the same sentiment with Cara’s initial phone call. Truthfully, there was only one island that she felt comfortable recommending to her family. Ireland. Where they were now and where they should stay.

‘Well, I’ll see what I can do. But there is a chance that I might have to go out there,’ she said, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice. The last thing she wanted was for Zack to suggest that he should go with her.

There was a smile in his voice. ‘Well, I would think so, if this guy wants to look at property . . .’

Danielle wondered if she should pre-empt by suggesting that he should come with her, only to stress how horrible it would be if she was working the entire time. Counter-intuitive, she knew, so she decided it might work, especially because she knew he hated trying to combine a business opportunity with a vacation.

‘Yes, well, if I have to go, maybe you and I could make a weekend away out of it? Try to have some fun?’ She smiled and crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that her ploy would work.

Zack laughed as he sat down on the couch and stretched out his long legs. ‘Right. Weekend away. Come on Danielle, you know better than that. Any time business is involved, it is impossible to separate it from any type of pleasure. While you are fantastic company, if you’re running around showing some young, rich idiot property all over the island, how on earth could we possibly relax together? No, I’ll hang back this time, thank you. Instead, if you have to go there, do it, close the deal, make some money and then you and I can have a real vacation. No work.’

Inwardly Danielle breathed a sigh of relief. Jackpot. It had worked exactly as she’d planned.

She sat down next to Zack on the couch and curled herself up next to him. Thank goodness he wasn’t clingy. She had always hated having men around her who depended on her for their entertainment. Who felt like they had to be constantly on her heels. Zack was definitely his own man.

‘However, if you have to go, you might as well show up in style, make sure this guy knows he’s not working with some minor leaguer. You should take one of the planes. Maybe the Cessna,’ he suggested.

Danielle’s smile deepened. Wow, imagine arriving in a private plane to her sister’s wedding on St Lucia. She tried to picture her mother’s face as she stepped down the stairs of the Cessna onto the tarmac, outfitted in a beautiful and expensive designer suit, walking with purpose in twelve-hundred dollar shoes. Betty’s expression alone would justify the trauma of attending and maybe make the weekend more bearable.

She felt bitterness surge through her veins. She would show her mother that she wasn’t useless after all, she
had
made something of herself, and that someone worthy
did
want her in their life.

She looked at Zack, trying to dismiss the further notion of how satisfying it would be to introduce this handsome and wildly successful man to her parents.