Page 24 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
Rose stiffened, her hand with the blusher frozen in mid-air. ‘What woman?’
‘The one he went to New York with.’ Kate stared at Rose. ‘I thought you knew.’
Rose shot her a fake smile, even though she was seething inside. ‘Oh yes, her. Of course I knew. But the whole thing between us was over for a while before that, you know,’ she lied. ‘But what does it matter now? It’s in the past and I’m moving on. Noel is great company.’
Kate nodded. ‘Oh yes, and very nice he is too. Very different from Gavin.’
Rose nodded. ‘He’s a darling. I wasn’t interested in dating, but Noel changed my mind,’ she said with what she hoped was a happy smile. ‘He’s been such a sweetie. Things are looking up, I feel. I’ve just become an aunt, too,’ she added proudly.
‘That’s lovely. Congratulations,’ Kate said, looking disappointed. ‘I was going to ask if you and the tall guy you’re with were… together.’
‘Eh, yes, we are,’ Rose lied. ‘Why do you ask?’
Kate looked a little awkward. ‘I was hoping you wouldn’t mind me flirting with him. But I see now I was wrong. Sorry.’
‘Oh please don’t apologise. I can understand that you’d like him. Who wouldn’t?’
‘He’s really nice,’ Kate agreed, and applied another layer of mascara. ‘He’s such a break from the guys I usually meet. But you never know, there might be someone like him out there.’ Sheput the mascara away in her bag and paused on her way to the door. ‘I love your necklace, by the way. Absolutely stunning. Is it an old family piece?’
Rose touched the topazes that seemed suddenly to burn her skin. ‘Thanks. Yes, it’s something I inherited from my grandmother.’
‘What are those stones? Aquamarines?’
‘No, topazes,’ Rose replied, feeling guilty about lying. But what else could she do?
‘Must be worth a fortune,’ Kate said, her eyes still on the necklace.
‘Probably.’ Rose smiled. ‘But that’s not why I love it.’
‘I’m sure,’ Kate said, looking impressed. ‘It’s about family and the history of it, isn’t it?’
‘Exactly.’
‘Lovely.’ Kate’s eyes twinkled. ‘Well I’m off to flirt with… Someone who’s single. You’re lucky to have – what’s his name again?’
‘Noel. He was born on Christmas Eve.’
The girl giggled. ‘How cute. Well, see ya out there on the dance floor.’ She swished out of the ladies’, leaving Rose standing there, still shocked at what she had heard.
So Gavin did leave her for someone else after all, despite his protestations that there was no other woman and that it was all about his fear of commitment. He was never going to come back to her, and it hadn’t been about anything except some other woman. Well, Rose hadn’t really believed they would ever get back together, but the lies he had told her now felt like a betrayal.
Rose shook herself, straightened her back and put her lipstick away. She wasn’t going to let this ruin her life, or even the evening. It could just be idle gossip anyway and not true at all. Then she marched out into the ballroom, where the partywas still in full swing. She saw Noel dancing a little awkwardly with Kate, who was bopping away to the music, smiling and batting her eyelashes at him, despite what she had just said. He seemed to take it in good stride, even if his dancing was not what anyone would call smooth.
Someone grabbed Rose by the arm and pulled her out on the dance floor. ‘Hi there,’ Gavin mumbled in her ear. ‘How about a dance for old times’ sake?’
Without replying, Rose let him twirl her around for a few beats but then stopped and pulled him away. ‘I’ll dance with you, but I want to ask you something first.’
His smile stiffened slightly. ‘Yes?’
‘Did you leave me for someone else?’
Gavin looked suddenly guilty. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Because that’s what someone told me just now,’ she said, her voice cold. ‘And I suppose everyone knew except me. If what I was told is true, I mean.’
Gavin didn’t reply for a while. Then he shrugged. ‘Yeah, okay, that’s true. I didn’t tell you because I thought it would upset you.’
‘More than the fact that you were leaving and never coming back, you mean? The moment you walked out of the flat, I knew that was it. You could have been honest about why you left.’
