Page 1 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
1
The invitation was lying on the doormat when Rose came home, laden with shopping bags. Dublin was dull and dreary in early March, and she was tired after a long day at work followed by grocery shopping. But she forgot all that when she saw what the postman had brought. Excited, she dropped her bags, picked up the bright pink envelope and opened it. Here it was at last. The invitation to the wedding of the year, which was bound to be extremely glamorous. Smiling, Rose read the brief text.
Louise and Aiden are pleased to invite Rose Fleury and Gavin Lynch to their wedding in St Mary’s Church Killarney, Co. Kerry, on May 2, at 3pm, and to the dinner after the ceremony at
Aghadoe Heights Hotel.
Black tie
RSVP before April 20.
Rose’s smile widened when she saw where the wedding was taking place. Aghadoe Heights was where all the posh wedding receptions took place. Killarney was also a short drive awayfrom Magnolia Manor, where she had spent all her childhood summers. She couldn’t wait to tell Gavin about the event and show him the invitation. She knew he’d be delighted to go. Perhaps they could extend their stay for a few days, if the weather was nice. It was the perfect time to go to Kerry and enjoy the beautiful landscape around Killarney, then perhaps travel further to Dingle town with its wonderful views over the Atlantic Ocean.
As the wedding was on a Saturday, she and Gavin could go and visit Rose’s grandmother at the manor. They could see how the building work on the old house was progressing. Gavin hadn’t seen it all yet, but this was a perfect opportunity to introduce him to some of the family. Rose put the invitation on the mantlepiece and went into the kitchen with her shopping. Tonight was a very special night, and the wedding invitation would add to the celebrations. She couldn’t wait for Gavin to come home so they could make plans for the wedding and their trip to Kerry. It would be so lovely to go there in early May, when the spring sunshine made everything look so beautiful. She was sure he would fall in love with her hometown.
Gavin was the managing director of Murray & Fitzpatrick estate agents, and they had met when Rose started working there. Her degree in marketing and her diploma in real estate was more than enough for her to be hired straight away. She had been so excited to work at such a prestigious firm, the largest estate agents in the country. She had had no plans to fall in love, but a few months after her arrival at the office, she had felt someone’s eyes on her as she walked to the copying machine. Looking around, she spotted a tall, dark-haired man staring at her across the expanse of the reception area. She knew who he was but had never spoken to him directly – he was one of the partners in the firm and she was still a junior agent. But he wasn’t technically her line manager, so he had asked herout very soon after that first encounter. They had connected immediately. Everything happened so fast after the first few dates. He told her she was different to any of the girls he had met before, and she felt the same. He was handsome, fun, flirty and absolutely irresistible, always made up in a perfectly pressed suit. It was as if their meeting was written in the stars. After a short period of dating, Rose had moved into Gavin’s plush apartment in one of Dublin’s smartest areas.
Rose knew that dating her boss was not ideal, as her sister Lily often warned her. ‘Having a relationship with one’s boss is a very bad idea,’ Lily had said many times, to which Rose had just shrugged and rolled her eyes. Lily was so old fashioned. The fact that Gavin was her boss didn’t have any impact on their relationship, good or bad. And they didn’t actually work together; he was technicallyeveryone’sboss because he was so senior. At home they were just a couple like any other. ‘A gorgeous couple’, many people remarked when they were out together, and Rose silently agreed. Gavin was handsome, glamorous and well-off, a heady combination that attracted many women. But he had chosen Rose, not only because of her blonde hair and bright blue eyes, but also because she was clever and fun. At least that’s what he often said.
They had been together four years, and that’s what they were going to celebrate tonight with dinner. She wasn’t the best cook in the world, but she’d do her best to serve up something special, like she did every year on their anniversary. She had been to the posh deli around the corner where she’d bought a ready-made potato gratin and fillet steak from the butcher, all of which she was sure she could manage to cook to Gavin’s liking. The gratin just needed twenty minutes in the oven and the fillet steak was easy enough – he liked it rare. They would have a tomato salad, then a Camembert that was ripe enough to be slightly runny, just the way Gavin liked it. Then profiteroles with extra chocolatesauce. All this served with a lovely Beaujolais, Gavin’s favourite, and half a bottle of champagne that she had bought as an extra treat.
Rose had just put the gratin in the oven and laid the table when she heard the front door slam. Gavin was home just in time. Her face glowing, she turned around and smiled as he came into the kitchen.
‘Hi, sweetheart. You’re home early. Dinner won’t be long. You’ll have time to shower and change beforehand.’
‘Not yet,’ Gavin started, with a strange look in his eyes. ‘I have something to tell you.’
‘Oh?’ Rose closed the oven door. ‘Is it about that house in Rathmines? Did the sale fall through?’
‘No, it’s not about that.’ Gavin put his keys in his pocket, still standing in the door, looking at her.
‘What is it then?’ Rose asked, busying herself with the steaks. ‘Oh, by the way, Aiden and Louise’s wedding invitation is on the mantlepiece. They’re getting married in May in Killarney. They never did a save-the-date thing, so it was quite a surprise. But it’ll be lovely, don’t you think? And we can go to Dingle afterwards and stay with Granny, she should be home from France by then, and?—’
Rose stopped as she looked at Gavin. He stared at her as if he had never seen her before. ‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘You look as if… Has something happened? Something bad?’
‘Sit down, Rose,’ he said.
‘Okay.’ Her knees at once weak, Rose sat down at the table. ‘Tell me then,’ she urged. ‘I can’t stand you looking at me like that.’
Gavin sat down opposite her, his face pale. ‘I don’t know quite how to put it, so forgive me if this sounds harsh.’
‘Go on,’ she urged.
Gavin cleared his throat. ‘The thing is, I’m leaving.’
‘Leaving?’ Rose asked, bewildered. ‘Quitting your job?’
‘Yes and no.’ Gavin looked down at the table, then met Rose’s worried eyes. ‘I’m going to New York. The firm is setting up an office there and I’ve been asked to head the new team.’
‘Oh, wow, that’s exciting,’ Rose exclaimed, relieved it wasn’t anything worse than that. ‘So we’re moving to New York? When?’
‘We’renot,’ he corrected. ‘I’m not taking you with me.’
‘Oh,’ Rose said, trying to understand. ‘So you want me to come over a bit later?’ she asked, even though she felt in her gut what was coming.
‘No.’ Gavin paused, looking awkward. ‘It’s not easy to say, but the thing is…’
‘You’re breaking up with me?’ Rose whispered, finally acknowledging what he was trying to tell her.
