The Guest List (34 page)

His voice dripped with mockery and she took the phone from him. ‘Zack—’ she started, but he held up his hand.

‘You and I have plenty to talk about, but talk to your sister now. She is calling long-distance after all and I’m sure that you have
much
to discuss about the wedding.’ He shook his head sadly at Danielle as she placed the phone at her ear, and she did her best to divert her gaze as she talked.

‘Hello Cara? I’m sorry sweetie, but this really isn’t a good time—’ she began.

‘Danielle? I just had to call you and tell you, the wedding is back on!’ Cara squealed on the other end of the line, an ocean away. Of course Danielle couldn’t help but feel happy for her, but at the same time, a cold dread rose up inside her as she thought about the nightmare in which she’d just landed herself.

Just like that, everything that she had planned, everything that she had tried to avoid was coming at her like an out-of-control train. Why couldn’t Cara have just emailed the latest news in the same way she had been doing these last few months? Although she supposed she couldn’t blame Cara; she was just excited to tell her and couldn’t have known that Danielle would have been trying to keep the whole thing a big secret . . .

She had to think hard and fast to try to figure out a way out of this. ‘Oh, that’s such great news!’ she enthused, trying not to betray her distress to an obviously delighted Cara. ‘I’m so pleased and I’m sure you must be too. I can’t wait to hear all about it but I really have to—’

‘And Zack, I’m so thrilled that I got to talk to him – finally. He sounds lovely and I can’t wait to meet him. But anyway, I am just so excited, everything got straightened out and your bridesmaid dress should be arriving any day now, so all we have to do now is make your travel arrangements. Oh, it’s going to be so perfect and I can’t believe we are all going to be together again. The whole family!’ Cara chirruped happily.

‘Yes, about that—’

‘It’s all finally coming together. After all that’s happened Mum and Dad are completely on board now and so are Shane’s parents – although that’s a long story. Heidi’s stopped her moaning for once too. Oh, we just can’t wait to see you! It should be a good crowd; some of my friends are coming and Conor my boss . . .’

Danielle tuned out the words. As much as she wanted to share in Cara’s joy, she was keenly aware of Zack still standing behind her, and she was anxious to end this call and get on with the difficult conversation she knew they were about to have.

‘Cara, really I’m very happy for you that the wedding is back on,’ she said gently, looking carefully over her shoulder to meet Zack’s gaze.

Yup, he was pissed
.

She swallowed hard.

‘Will you let me know when the dress arrives, or if there are any problems with the sizing?’

‘Of course I will.’ Danielle didn’t want to admit that the gown was already sitting in her wardrobe. And she had no idea if there was any problems with the sizing because – not expecting to ever have to wear it – she hadn’t bothered trying it on.

‘Yes, I’ll give you a call when it arrives and we can talk about any other arrangements then, OK?’ she said, angling to end the call.

‘Brilliant. I can’t believe it’s so close now. I can’t wait to see you. And Zack too. Tell him bye for me, OK?’

‘Absolutely,’ Danielle said tersely, hanging up the phone before Cara could say any more. She placed the handset down and took a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes as if that would help her balance her chakras.

‘So,’ Zack said from behind her. ‘A wedding . . . in St Lucia . . . and in September too. What are the chances?’ He put a hand in his pocket, a gesture that seemed casual but one which Danielle knew indicated that he was seriously ticked off. ‘Frankly though, I’m struck by the similarities between your younger sister who it seems recently called off her wedding, and the client you lost when they backed out of the deal around the same time. But now, miraculously, your sister’s wedding is back on. Does that mean your deal has a new lease of life too?’ he drawled. ‘That your client has, shall we say, reconsidered? And that you are once again going to have to run off to St Lucia in September?’

Danielle looked at her feet. ‘Zack—’

‘So am I to assume that you made that story up? The one about a client I mean.’

She didn’t know how to get out of this, so she just nodded and continued to stare at the floor. She felt like a teenager again, caught out in yet another lie by Betty and Mick.

‘I could ask why, but I am not an idiot,’ Zack continued. ‘It’s obvious you didn’t want me to meet your family. What is it, Danielle? Are you ashamed of me? Embarrassed? I didn’t think I was the kind of guy that you should be afraid to take out in public. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe you aren’t as serious about me as I am about you. Or how serious I
was
about you.’

She looked up, pleading in her eyes. ‘No Zack, it’s not that at all, it’s not. It’s just my family; there’s a lot of baggage and most of the time I can barely tolerate being around them and—’

‘Your sister seemed pleasant enough. And apparently they know enough about me.’

‘That’s only because I mentioned you a few times. It’s not because I’m close to them. I haven’t been close to them in years. In fact, I would rather they all disappeared and then I would never have to worry about any of it, or having to ever face . . .’ Danielle felt close to tears and she realised she was on the verge of saying too much.

‘Face what, Danielle?’ Zack enquired, his tone now a mixture of hurt and curiosity. ‘What are you afraid of? What are you hiding? Because I think it’s pretty obvious that you are hiding something. And that worries me, because I always believed I knew exactly where I stood with you. That there was no bullshit.’

She felt a thin sheet of sweat erupt across her forehead
. Keep your cool, Danielle and for God’s sakes shut your stupid mouth
, she thought.

‘There is no bullshit,’ she said tiredly. ‘And I’m not hiding anything.’ Zack didn’t look convinced. ‘You just don’t understand what it’s like,’ she continued, trying to turn the tables on him. ‘Why do you think I left Ireland all those years ago? And haven’t you ever wondered why I hardly ever go back?’ She looked away. ‘It’s because I am nothing like them. I don’t get along with my mother, I haven’t for years and I have nothing in common with any of them. I don’t see why this has to be such a big deal.’ She felt the bitterness rising in her chest, and she hoped that her feelings were visible on her face and would show Zack how she felt about her family clearly enough that he might not want to go to the wedding. Not that Danielle was counting on him going anywhere other than out the door. And she couldn’t blame him. She’d be angry and suspicious too, if the tables were turned and she’d caught him out in a lie.

Still she felt determined to match his gaze, to keep her eyes steady on his, as if issuing a silent challenge. However, she failed, finally turning her eyes away under the pressure of his stare. She felt her inner resolve crumble and wondered how it had all turned so bad, so quickly.

Finally Zack spoke, breaking the silence. ‘Well, if it’s not such a big deal then I suppose you have nothing to worry about, do you? It will be just a nice family gathering on a paradise island.’ He smiled. ‘After all, a wedding is a happy affair and we have been together for some time now, right? So I’m thinking it’s only appropriate that I meet your family. That’s what happy couples do, right?’ She turned her eyes towards him, not sure if he was mocking her or being serious. Yet there was no malice in his face. ‘But let me tell you Danielle,’ he finished ominously, ‘I am very much looking forward to meeting your family. Every last one of them.’

Cara could barely contain her excitement as on September
9
, the plane taxied to the gate at St Lucia airport. She peered out of the tiny window, her face aglow at the fact that they were really here. For her and Shane’s beach wedding. Finally,
finally
, things were going according to plan, and they hadn’t looked back since Shane’s parents had come onside.

‘Oh wow, it looks amazing!’ she gasped as she took in the stunning surroundings bathed in Caribbean sunshine. The glorious volcanic twin Pitons soared above the island, and she couldn’t wait to reach the shore and set eyes on the white sandy beach. Palm trees swung lightly in the ocean breeze and Cara could almost taste the salt from the azure ocean they’d seen from the sky on the way in.

She smiled at Shane and rested her head on his shoulder. They had flown in a couple of days earlier than the rest of the wedding party. She did feel slightly guilty about not travelling with her parents, as Betty and Mick were both likely to feel nervous about their first ever flight, but Kim had assured her that she would keep an eye on them and (more importantly) make sure they got on to the plane in the first place.

‘Just think, in three days’ time, we will be man and wife. Can you believe we actually made it this far?’ she laughed. It seemed as if the past few months were nothing more than a blurry memory now. She had replaced all the negativity of the earlier days with more recent positive experiences: making up with Lauren and Gene, her final wedding dress fitting, and the impromptu hen party Samantha and the girls (aided by Kim) had thrown for her last week. And she’d made a point of no longer thinking about the challenges that they had encountered up to now.

In the scheme of things, none of it mattered now; they had made it to St Lucia and were about to have the wedding of their dreams.

The plane came to a stop and the flight crew went about the motions of preparing the cabin and the passengers for arrival. Cara was so eager to get off the plane after the ten-hour journey, that she jumped anxiously in her seat.

‘Hey, calm down,’ Shane laughed. ‘We’ll be off soon enough.’

‘I know; I’m just dying to get to the resort, throw on my bikini and get some sun.’

Shane chuckled. ‘Don’t forget about the cocktails.’

‘Hmm, pina coladas . . . margaritas . . . I can’t wait.’

This was definitely the way to do it, she reassured herself. A wedding in an amazing tropical-paradise location, poolside relaxation and guaranteed sunshine. Perfect.

‘I think we’re good to go now,’ Shane said, rising as the line of passengers began moving towards the front of the plane.

She took his hand and gathered her carry-on luggage from the overhead bin. As they slowly inched their way towards the exit, Cara heard a man from behind her make a comment in a loud British accent.

‘So is there any news on Gail?’ he drawled. ‘Does it still look like she’s heading in this direction?’

Cara turned round to see his female travel companion staring at the screen of her iPhone.

‘Looks like there is a chance, but it’s still off in the Atlantic. They’re saying it could turn north yet.’ The woman looked up, and shook her head. ‘Figures . . . of all the bloody weeks to plan a trip, we had to pick the one where a hurricane is brewing over the ocean.’

Cara blanched; she’d heard nothing about any hurricane, but then again, over the past few days her mind had been set on last-minute travel and wedding plans, and she hadn’t been paying much attention to the news.

‘I’m sorry, what did you say about a hurricane?’ she asked.

The woman looked at her. ‘Hurricane Gail started forming the other day off the coast of Africa, and is already heading this way.’ She shook her head. ‘She’s fast too, worked up to a Category Five already. Could be big as Katrina,’ she commented, somewhat nonchalant about all of it.

‘That big . . .?’ Cara gulped, alarmed. She was well aware of the catastrophic hurricane that had rocked the American Gulf Coast a few years previously.

‘Yeah, but don’t worry, they still think she might head north towards the Florida coast and skip St Lucia altogether.’

‘Did you hear that, Shane?’

He nodded and pressed his lips together, his brow furrowing. ‘Cara, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll just have to deal with whatever happens. We knew that it was a possibility when we booked, remember? Let’s just stay positive and not worry about the things that are out of our control, OK?’

Cara shook her head, clearly worried. ‘But what if it hits and we can’t have the wedding on the beach?’

It didn’t cross her mind that if a Category Five hurricane hit the small Caribbean island they would have bigger problems than whether or not they could have their wedding on the beach.

‘Well, then we will just have to have it indoors,’ he said simply, a determined smile on his face.

They reached the front of the plane and were immediately hit by a wave of warmth as they exited the doorway and walked down the stairs into the humid Caribbean climate.

Cara grinned in spite of herself and Shane smiled up to the sky as the sun hit his face. ‘Come on bride-to-be, let’s go get those cocktails and soak up some sun.’

Two days later, Cara and Shane lounged in their ocean-view room at the Paradise Oasis resort. The resort was simply incredible and their suite was the last word in comfort and luxury. They even had a jacuzzi in their top-floor suite that looked right out over the incredible Caribbean Sea, and for the last couple of nights they’d left the patio door open and had fallen asleep to the sound of the waves crashing gently on the shore. It was the most relaxing sound Cara had ever heard.

In fact relaxation was the last word in this resort, and she and Shane had been blown away when, the day before, they’d met with the wedding planner to go through the final details and check out the location for the ceremony.

As Cara had been insistent that they exchange vows right on the beach (she so wanted the wedding to be exactly as she’d first visualised it and feel the sand in her toes as she walked towards Shane), the wedding planner had shown them to a secluded spot right on the edge of the beach, on soft smooth sand looking towards the horizon with palm trees lining the shore. The wedding was to take place at sunset the next day. Absolutely everything was in place.

All that was left now was for the guests to arrive.