Rory & Chloé E-Book

Amelia Doyle

• Herausgeber: BRINKLEY Verlag
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Chloé Amiya Kapoor and Rory McCarthy spent all their childhood summers with Chloé’s aunt Élodie and her wife Saoirse (Rory’s godmother) in beautiful Dublin. Chloé in Mumbai and Rory in London are both astonished when, almost a year after Élodie’s funeral, a lawyer’s letter unexpectedly arrives at their houses asking them to come to Ireland in May. When they arrive in Dublin, not only is the aunt’s and godmother’s lawyer waiting for them, but also a big surprise: Saoirse has signed the house over to them with a clause that says that they have to spend one last summer together in the villa before they can decide what should happen to the property. However, the friends have not spoken to each other since an unexpected incident at the airport last year just a week after Élodie’s funeral. How will they react to the additional clause which has the potential to disrupt their entire lives?

Leseprobe

Amelia Doyle

Rory & Chloé

A Dublin Love Story

Rory & Chloé

A Dublin Love Story

Copyright © 2024 by Amelia Doyle

Published © 2024 by BRINKLEY Verlag

This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, incidents and places

are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally.

Names and similarities with persons or actual actions are

coincidental and unintentional.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book,

or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For more information address

www.brinkley-verlag.at

Typesetting: Sussman Marketing

Translated from German BRINKLEY Verlag

Editing: Kelly McErlean

©Cover design: Steph Buncher

www.stephbuncherdesign.co.uk

ISBN 978-3-903392-19-9

www.brinkley-verlag.at

Prologue

12 months ago

Chloé Amiya Kapoor was still in shock that her beloved aunt had died. Her family and friends had finished sitting Shiva only yesterday. She could not imagine a life without Rivka Élodie Bamberger and she didn’t even want to try. She would never forget the day her father knocked on her office door in their family-owned publishing house in Mumbai. She had been on a call with one of their authors and he was unhappy with her feedback on his latest manuscript. When she saw her father’s tear-stained face she dropped the receiver from her hand.

“What happened, Baba? Is it Maman?”

“Élodie … She is. An accident. Hospital.” Vikram faltered. “The doctors couldn’t save her. Your mother couldn’t wait any longer. She has already left for Dublin. Your Aunt Miriam will meet her at a stopover in Paris and they will travel to Ireland together. The funeral is tomorrow.”

“No! This can’t be true, Baba. No.” Chloé had collapsed. Now that they were in Dublin she could barely recall their drive to the airport and landing in Dublin some twenty hours later.

Saoirse O’Mara-Bamberger stood at the door of her guestroom. Her godson Rory McCarthy had been staying with her for the last week and now he was packing his suitcase to fly to Edinburgh in just a few hours. “Do you have everything, love? Would you like something to eat before you leave?”

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to stay a few more days, Saoirse? I don’t like to leave you alone.” Rory spoke from the corner of his room. He had always spent his summer holidays with his godmother but now he barely recognised her.

“You don’t have to do that, Rory. Miriam, Léa and Vikram are going to stay a few more weeks and they will help me with … with …” Saoirse began to weep.

Rory walked over and hugged his godmother. He was unable to believe that he would never see Saoirse’s wife Élodie again, but he would not forget her. Both women had been like mothers to him. Especially since his own mother had left Ireland after her divorce to live in California with his father’s business partner.

It broke Rory’s heart to see Saoirse in such pain. Even though her in-laws were going to stay with her for a few more weeks, he would rather she flew back to Great-Britain with him.

Like the other family members and close friends, he too felt like he had been running on autopilot for the past week. Élodie’s death had been a shock to everyone. Rory was as miserable as Chloé.

During the funeral at the liberal Jewish cemetery, he stood near Vikram. He saw how this man, whom he had admired his entire life, was himself living in pain and anguish while he supported the most important women in his life. But Rory did not move from Saoirse’s side. Vikram gave him a look when the female Rabbi read something out loud which neither of them understood. Both men realised at that moment that everything was over. Everything had changed.

“I’m going to pack you a few pieces of the cake which the Cantor’s wife brought yesterday.” Saoirse wiped tears from her face and walked down the stairs. Suddenly, Vikram was at the door.

“Do you have a moment, Rory?”

“Of course, Vikram!” Rory stepped aside to let him enter the room. To his surprise, Vikram closed the door behind him.

“All of this has to be very hard for you, Beta …” Vikram sat down on the bed and motioned for him to sit down next to him.

“It’s not easy, Vik”, sighed Rory.

“Léa wants Saoirse to stay with us in Mumbai for a few months. I think it’s a good idea.”

“I cannot believe that none of her relatives came to the funeral!” Rory clenched his fists.

Vikram said, “They are devout Catholics. I was surprised that Miriam came.” His wife’s parents and siblings had disowned both Léa and Élodie after they refused to enter into arranged marriages with good orthodox Jewish men. He himself had never met Léa’s parents and had only met her sister Miriam twice in his life – and he had been married to Léa for over 35 years.

“Rory” Vikram spoke again. “You don’t have to be strong for me, Beta. I can quite well imagine how you must feel. Chloé and you … You spent countless hours with Saoirse and Élodie over the years and …” as Vikram uttered these words tears ran down Rory’s face. “Come here …” Chloés father put his arm around Rory. “Let it out, Beta … Let it out …”

Rory put the suitcases in the boot of the waiting taxi while Chloé said goodbye to her mother Léa and Saoirse. Vikram approached him with his arms open and gave him one last hug.

Rory said, “I will ring you as soon as I arrive in Edinburgh, Saoirse.” It was difficult for Rory to leave his godmother. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me after all? I will even let you sit with me in the cockpit when I’m flying!” Rory gave her a sad smile. His green eyes looked tired.

Saoirse took his pilot’s cap out of his hand, ran her hands through his hair one last time and put the cap on his head. “Next time, love. How would it look now if I suddenly packed my suitcase and disappeared?”

The twinkle in her eyes made him smile. “I'm back in Dublin in a few days.” Rory gave her a last kiss on the cheek and opened the door of the taxi for Chloé. If she wanted to catch her flight to London on time, they had to leave now.

Deep in thought, Chloé toyed with the engagement ring on her left hand as they silently drove through the streets of Sandymount. Even the taxi driver didn’t talk. It was clear to him that these passengers were not in the mood to discuss the weather or the results of the most recent rugby match. Rory requested that they take Sandymount Strand and the toll route to reach the airport as quickly as possible.

Chloé stared at the water the entire drive. Not even when they crossed Tom Clarke Bridge did she dare avert her eyes to have a last look at the city before they drove onto the motorway. Rory looked at her every now and again from the corner of his eye. Even though they had known each other their entire lives he had never seen her like this.

She started to quietly cry and wiped tears from her face. He took her hand in his and gently stroked it with his thumb. He himself was lost for words and thought it would be better not to say anything, in case he said something wrong. The night before, Rory had overheard a conversation between Chloé and Vikram and knew that in all reality she would have liked to stay with her parents. But she had to return to Mumbai to attend the funeral of one of her fiancé Rahul’s relatives. Her father mentioned multiple times that the Sharmas would understand if she spent a couple of more weeks in Ireland but Chloé would not hear of it.

What neither Vikram nor Rory knew was that a few hours prior to the conversation between father and daughter, she and Rahul had argued and that now she felt compelled to fly back to Mumbai.

“That would be 28 Euro,” announced the taxi driver and looked at Rory in the rear-view mirror.

“Thank you.” Rory turned from Chloé and paid via his app. She still did not look at him. The taxi driver had already opened the boot when Rory asked Chloé to get out of the car.

After checking in Chloé’s suitcase at the British Airways counter, Rory took her by the hand and brought her with him to avoid the queue at security. He didn’t want her to be subjected to that kind of stress in her current state.

A glance at his watch told him that he still had a couple of minutes before he had to go find his co-pilot and prepare for his flight. He wanted to walk Chloé to her Gate before saying goodbye to her. Chloé silently wiped the tears from her face. Rory regretted not having asked the airline to send him to London today. Even if he could not have sat next to her, he at least wanted to be near her before she boarded the plane to Mumbai.

Chloé sighed as she stopped in front of a small book kiosk near her Gate. How much she would like to buy one for the flight … but she was afraid to choose one in which a beloved character might die. Thinking of this made her cry again and she turned towards Rory. Without saying a word he took her in his arms and stroked her hair. At that moment he didn’t care if he was late. He could not, and did not want to, leave her alone like this.

“I don’t understand it, Rory.” Chloé looked up at him with teary eyes. “Élodie was such a wonderful person! It’s just not fair …”

Rory’s breath caught in his throat. “Chloé …”

“Oh, Rory. Everything is so awful,” Chloé sobbed while he used his thumbs to try to wipe the tears from her face. They were streaming down her cheeks. Carefully he kissed her forehead. He removed his cap and started kissing her tears away until finally, his lips found hers. Neither knew what was going on. To Chloés surprise, she kissed him back. When Rory realised what was happening between them, he opened his eyes wide and abruptly pushed her away. He looked first to the left, then to the right before he turned around and ran away. After a few metres he remembered that he had left his hand luggage beside her. He turned around again and ran back to where she was standing. Perplexed, Chloé didn’t know what to say. She just looked at him open-mouthed. As he stood in front of her again with his cap in his hand, he wasn’t able to speak. Chloé frowned when he grabbed his pilot’s case and ran away as quickly as he had arrived. She didn’t understand the world anymore.

Confused, she walked to one of the last available seats at her Gate. Chloé couldn’t have guessed that on her flight she wouldn’t be able to think of anything else but Rory’s kiss. She need not have concerned herself that she would be preoccupied by thoughts of her deceased aunt on the return trip. She also remembered that upon landing in Mumbai her fiancé would pick her up from the airport, unless he just sends his assistant.

-1-

Today

After a restless night in an airport hotel close to Heathrow, Chloé woke up at half past seven in the morning and went into the bathroom to start her day. She had arrived in the late afternoon the day before to spend the evening with a friend from New Delhi and her family. They had lived in England for years. Chloé didn’t have to be in Dublin until eleven o’clock so she gladly added this stopover. With the many daily direct flights leaving London for the Irish capital, she didn’t have to worry about arriving on time for her appointment.

After she blow-dried her hair, she went downstairs into the breakfast area of the hotel to eat. Since she had checked-in, she thought of her aunt Élodie, time and time again. It would be her first time back in Dublin again since the funeral and because of this she had barely slept. She still missed her aunt greatly. Whenever something happened in her life that she wanted to share with her, she automatically reached for her smartphone to call her. But today at least this thought did not make her instantly burst into tears.

The year before, when Chloé’s parents had barely landed with Saoirse in Mumbai, Vikram insisted Chloé should attend grief therapy. At first, she was sceptical, but when her mood still had not improved several weeks later, she gave in.

Dr Shakti Patil had been recommended to Vikram by the Head of Human Resources of his company. Over the next few months, Chloé would regularly visit the warm-hearted woman in her practice in the centre of Mumbai. Even today she wondered what had inspired Shakti to specialise in grief therapy.

Chloés thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her smartphone.

“Good morning, ma choupette!” Her mother Léa sounded as if she was standing in the middle of a marketplace.

“Maman! Where are you? I can barely understand you.”

“Do you remember the author Amir Singh your father wanted to sign last year before …” Léa’s voice faltered.

“Yes, Maman. What’s going on with him?” Chloé understood how hard it was for her mother to speak about Élodie’s death even today. It was not just the fact that Élodie wasn’t alive anymore, but it was also how her life had been taken. Chloé tried to push the thought aside. She would never be able to step onto a train or a tram or sit down anywhere again if she thought continuously about the last seconds of Élodie’s life.

“He wants us to represent him …”

“I hear a but …” Chloé walked towards one of the many empty tables by the window, balancing her breakfast tray of fruit, Greek yoghurt with honey and a pot of tea. Her smartphone was wedged between her right ear and shoulder.

“He first wants to see how I’m handling the Indian market. When he heard that I’m French and running the company with Baba he was sceptical if we were the right publishing house for him,” Léa sighed. Even after thirty-five years in India she still had to fight against such prejudice.

Chloé tried to cheer her up. “Please, don’t take it to heart, Maman. You know how excentric some authors are.”

“Amir just got out of the taxi. Have a safe flight to Dublin and please call us after your appointment. Speak later, ma choupette!” Before Chloé could answer, Léa had already hung up.

Chloé had to smile. Amir had no clue what was coming. Her mother could negotiate with anyone. She had acquired this skill over the years primarily from listening to her Indian mother-in-law. Jokingly Chloé teased her time and again that certain Jewish prejudices sometimes weren’t wrong. Maybe her negotiating skills had more to do with her own genes than with the mother-in-law who had taken her under her wing early on. Today her mother could join in the laughter. Something that, understandably, hadn’t always been easy for her.

Chloé glanced at her wristwatch. The timepiece was a present from her watchmaker cousin in Chennai. She had gifted the watch to her when she recently visited Mumbai. Chloé had enough time to call her father before she had to board the shuttle to the airport. When he hadn’t picked-up his phone on the third call she gave up and sent him a text.

As she ate her breakfast, Chloé scrolled through the online version of the Financial Times. She had subscribed to it years ago. She had been interested in the economy as a teenager and aspired to work in the finance department of the family business. It was important to her father that she gain experience by working in the different company departments during her university studies. Even though he was the owner of the biggest publishing house in India he didn’t want his daughter to be given everything on a silver platter. He did not want her to take over the company on his retirement without knowing the business inside out. Vikram was surprised when Chloé decided to work as an editor after obtaining degrees in Economics and Indian literature.

Chloé felt comfortable when surrounded by manuscripts and this made her father smile. For years he had a bet with his wife Léa as to which department their daughter would choose in the end. Even though Chloé was a numbers person, one rarely saw her without a book in her hand. Like her mother, Chloé mostly read non-fiction but was happy to work on any new project across a variety of genres.

“Good morning, Ms. Kapoor!” The receptionist greeted Chloé with a beaming smile. “I hope you enjoyed your stay with us. Is there anything else I can do for you? The shuttle bus will pick you up in five minutes.”

“Everything was perfect, Paul. Thank you very much.” They chatted briefly until Chloé could see her bus arriving and she said her goodbyes to Paul.

“Have a safe flight, Madam.”

“Thank you, Paul. Have a wonderful day and please send your wife my warmest congratulations on the birth of your son! I’m delighted for the both of you.” The receptionist thanked Chloé. It was not her first stay at this hotel and she enjoyed returning each time. In recent months she had visited London so often for the publishing house that she felt like she had seen more of Paul than her own father. Her father in turn had been travelling throughout India to meet with authors and printing houses. Chloé fondly remembered how just two weeks ago Paul had bolted past her in the revolving doors of the hotel on hearing that his wife had gone into labour.

On the way to Terminal 2 Chloé thought about her upcoming appointment with her aunt’s lawyer. She couldn’t imagine what it could be about or why she had to come to Dublin in person. Even though she was feeling better now it still felt strange flying back to Ireland. Her aunt would not be at the airport to greet her as she did over countless summers.

Neither would Saoirse be standing in the arrivals’ hall waiting for Chloé. She had gone to her summer cottage in the south of France. After visiting India she didn’t have the strength to return to Dublin just yet. So instead, she stepped on a plane to Paris. The pain of losing her soulmate was still great, even after a year. She realised that she needed more time to heal. When she felt strong enough she would return to her home country.

-2-

Relieved that she had a seat in the eighth row, Chloé sat down. When the man sitting next to her asked her if she would prefer a window seat she quickly accepted. He appeared nervous and Chloé didn’t want him to have a panic attack during take-off or landing. She enjoyed sitting by the window and looking outside during a flight. Especially short flights such as this one to Dublin. The hour would literally fly by.

Chloé made herself comfortable. She put her laptop bag under the seat in front of her, fastened her seatbelt and opened the book she had just bought at the last minute in the airport. Even though she read for work she still enjoyed reading for pleasure as well. As she sat there, she thought about how calm and relaxed she felt. While she was sad that neither Élodie nor Saoirse would be waiting for her in Dublin, she suddenly had a feeling that everything was going to be alright. The fact that she had an appointment to go to was keeping her focused and stopped her thoughts wandering. She was relieved to have a goal to concentrate on during this first trip to Dublin since Élodie’s passing.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen! My name is Captain Rory McCarthy and together with my co-pilot Matthew Williams and our flight crew I would like to welcome you on board on our flight to Dublin. Our flight time today is one hour and fifteen minutes, the temperature in Dublin is 15°C and the sun is shining. We would like to wish you a comfortable and pleasant flight.”

Chloé’s book fell out of her hand. The man beside her quickly picked it up and returned it to her. She thanked him and smiled.

Today, Rory of all people would be flying her to Dublin. He didn’t have to introduce himself, she would recognise his voice anywhere. While she knew that he would be there at the appointment, she didn’t expect to be travelling with him to Ireland or that he would be flying her there. Chloé sighed. Why wasn’t she already there? Since leaving Mumbai, she had tried not to think of him or of what had happened the last time they were together. Deep in thought, she stroked her lips with the fingers of her right hand. She hadn’t heard a word from him in a year, but she was reminded almost daily how his mouth felt on hers. It was like it had happened only yesterday.

What was he thinking? Was he aware that she was sitting just a few rows behind him?

The engines accelerated and it didn’t take long for the British Airways plane to get in the air. Chloé looked out the window to look at London for the last time. God, how she loved this city!

As the aircraft flew over Wales two flight attendants walked through the aisle to offer passengers warm chocolate muffins and drinks. Chloé was still looking out the window. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear the flight attendant call her by her name. Only when the man next to her gently nudged her arm did she turn around.

“Ms. Kapoor?” asked the friendly flight attendant.

“Yes?” Chloé looked confusedly at the woman. Chloé read the attendant's badge - her name was Victoria.

“I have a message for you.” She bent down slightly and handed her a folded, torn off piece of paper. “Would you like something to drink or a muffin?”

“No, thank you … I already had breakfast …,” Chloé looked bewildered as the flight attendant placed the piece of paper in her hand.

“Well, just call me if you change your mind!” Victoria gave her a friendly wink as she took a step back pulling the trolley with her to serve the other passengers.

Chloé noticed the man next to her curiously looking at the piece of paper in her hand. She cleared her throat and their eyes met. As her eyebrows raised he turned away embarrassedly and reached for his muffin.

Good morning, Chloé!

Please wait for me after landing. We can go through passport control together then drive to our appointment.

Rory :)

Anger was written all over Chloé’s face. When she had crumpled up the piece of paper she would have loved to have stormed into the cockpit and shoved it down his throat. She had not heard anything from him for a year and now he was pretending as if nothing had ever happened. They could just drive together to the lawyer's office? It was not as if they had planned to fly on the same plane! For the first time that day, Chloé regretted not having flown to Dublin the night before already or to have booked an even earlier flight that same day. With over three hundred direct flights weekly between London and Dublin, why did she have to book this one? Chloé decided to only travel with Aer Lingus flights in future. She could still collect Avios points with the Irish airline. From now on British Airways was a hard no. She had made up her mind!

Rory’s voice came over the loudspeaker once more “Crew, prepare for landing.”

Tears of anger filled Chloé’s eyes but she wiped them away instantly. She had imagined the first time they would meet again thousands of times but this scenario had never occurred to her.

She barely registered the flight updates the co-pilot was now giving. She was happy though not to have to hear Rory’s voice again and hoped that that would continue until their appointment.

Chloé was so impatient that she could not recall the lawyer’s name. Was it Colm or Colin Byrne? Something with a C. Maybe Ciarán? Suddenly the name John came to mind. What’s this man’s name again? Chloé already reached into her handbag to check her calendar but remembered that she had turned off her smartphone. Sighing, she turned back to the window and looked outside. Even though she had expected to fly into the city over Dublin Bay, Rory seemed to be approaching from the south east of the island. Chloé could see the shades of green that she had fallen in love with as a child.

“Dear passengers, welcome to Dublin! It is 9:30 am local time. It is sunny, and the temperature is already 12°C. The way it looks, we have a gorgeous early summer day ahead of us! For everyone whose travel doesn't end here, we wish you a pleasant and safe onward journey.”

“Gorgeous early summer day, Rory?! Really?” Chloé mumbled to herself. As she reached for her hand luggage and laptop bag under the seat in front of her, she couldn’t wait to unbuckle her seatbelt and disembark. Why did she have to swap seats today? She said a quick prayer that the two men next to her were in as much of a hurry to leave the plane as she was. Why did taxiing take this long? Was he doing it on purpose? The rational part of her brain knew that this was not the case and that Rory had to follow the airport’s instructions. But the irrational part believed that she was locked inside a flying prison. The last thing she wanted was to meet Rory before their appointment. She could not admit to herself that she didn’t want him to see her this angry. In her imagination, they only met in the lawyer’s office. Cool and relaxed! Chloé didn’t want Rory to know how much his behaviour still angered her a year later.

Chloé had barely finished this thought when the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off. She jumped up as if she had been bitten by a tarantula. She did not want to waste precious time in getting to the gangway before the passengers sitting next to her. They looked at each other in shock when she stepped on their feet and apologised as she squeezed past them. Chloé didn’t care what they thought of her at that moment. She tried to push forward as best as she could in order to be one of the first passengers to get off the plane.

As she didn’t know how long the cockpit-door would stay closed she tried to hide behind a couple of rugby players who were sitting in the first row. She hoped that she would be able to leave without Rory seeing her. Impatiently she looked around until the aircraft door opened and she was one of the first passengers to exit.

Chloé was travelling on her French passport so she got through passport control without any fuss. As soon as she stood in front of the luggage carousel in Terminal 2 she became impatient. It felt like an eternity waiting for the first suitcases to come out. Time and again she nervously looked around to ensure that Rory was not suddenly standing behind her. She was annoyed with herself that she had never paid attention as to how long it took pilots to leave a plane and did they have to check their luggage like passengers did. She assumed they would have to with all the safety regulations in place.

“Come on already,” Chloé mumbled to herself. She still couldn’t see her lavender coloured suitcase. She thanked all the Jewish and Indian Gods that her aunt Élodie had gifted her this suitcase for her birthday and she never had to search for her luggage for too long. While thinking of her aunt she had to smile. She resolved to, if possible, take a taxi that afternoon to the liberal Jewish cemetery to lay a couple of stones on her grave.

Chloé noticed that more and more of her fellow travellers were approaching the luggage carousel. Some gave her a stern look. When she spotted the man who had sat next to her she tried to avoid him. Unfortunately she didn’t succeed.

“Did you badly need the loo or are you just hungry?” he asked with a grin on his face.

Chloé would have loved to ram the heel of one of the high-heeled shoes she had in her handbag into his foot. Why was she always so pragmatic and wore flats when travelling? “Maybe I just wanted to get away from the person sitting next to me?”

“Did it have something to do with the note you were given by the flight attendant?” the stranger asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“Is it any of your business?” Why was she even talking to him?

“No, I’m just curious,” he answered.

“What if I am a freelance assassin and my next job was written on that piece of paper?”

“Then you most probably wouldn’t mention it,” he laughed.

Chloé had to admit that he looked friendly. He had blond hair and blue eyes – he could be in an advertisement for vanilla pudding. Every normal person would have thought of hair shampoo, but not her.

“Are you sure? Maybe I’m just an honest person?” Chloé looked earnestly into his eyes.

“How about you tell me over dinner tonight?”

She could see how nervous he was. Chloé grinned and answered “You had an hour to speak with me.”

The stranger blushed, “I tried! Why do you think I asked you to switch seats with me?”

“Oh … you wanted to start a conversation with me …”

He nodded shyly and smiled at her.

Chloé relaxed a little. “I thought you had a fear of flying and didn’t want to sit by the window because it made you nervous.”

“I’m not afraid of flying.” The stranger laughed out loud. “I even have a glider licence!”

“Not another pilot …,” mumbled Chloé as she spotted her suitcase from the corner of her eye. “My suitcase!” She was about to reach for it when the stranger lifted it off the carousel.

“Thank you very much!” Chloé pulled the handle up and was about to head towards the arrivals’ hall when he spoke to her again,

“So, would you like to go out to dinner tonight or …”

Chloé looked around nervously. When she saw the flight attendants approaching she reached into her handbag and handed him a business card. “I’m sorry but I’m in a hurry. Thanks again for the suitcase and apologies for jumping over you earlier. Now I really have to go …”

His face reddened, “Anytime. Oh God, that sounded awkward. I’m not a creep!”

Chloé had to grin, “Don’t worry, I just really have to go!” As she ran towards the arrivals’ hall he shouted after her that his name was Nick and that he would get in touch with her later.

With later I of course meant in two seconds, Chloé. Nice to discover your name through your business card. 😊Nick

Chloé had just sat down in the taxi and put on the seatbelt when she saw the message. It made her smile. Soon she was on her way to Colin Byrne’s office. She decided that she would reply to Nick later and apologise to him. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that she gave him her business card after all. She had to admit that she could use the distraction …

-3-

While driving through the north of the city, past the botanical gardens, Chloé thought about how unique the Irish capital was. Dublin was neither London, Paris nor Madrid, but there was something about it that she couldn’t put into words.

“I can hardly believe how much the city has changed,” Chloé said to the taxi driver.

“Right. How long has it been since your last visit?” asked taxi driver Rob Lawless, who had just stopped at a red streetlight

“12 months,” sighed Chloé.

“A bad breakup?”

“One could call it that way … I had to bury my aunt,” she explained.

“Oh! I’m sorry to hear. Were you very close?”

Chloé always found it interesting how Irish people accepted death as part of life and could talk about it so freely.

“I spent every summer holiday with her and her wife since I was eight years old,” Chloé explained. Rob glanced back at her in the rear-view mirror.

“Even though the pain is deep, the memories stay.”

“Wasn’t it the late Queen of England who used to say that grief is the price we pay for love?” Chloé added with a tired smile.

“Are you visiting your aunt’s wife or what brings you to Dublin this summer?” Rob turned onto the street adjacent to St. Stephen's Green park, the only park in Dublin that was as long as it was wide - confusing tourists day in and day out.

“She’s in the South of France at the moment. To be honest, I have no clue what I’m doing here. A few days ago, I received a letter from my aunt’s lawyer stating that I have to be at his office today at eleven o’clock. When I spoke to his secretary she couldn’t or wouldn't share any more information with me…” Chloé let out a stressed laugh while the taxi driver parked by the lawyer’s office.

The Georgian buildings on Fitzwilliam Square made her smile. Chloé squinted. She believed that she had been in this part of the city before. If she remembered correctly, the last original double doors of Dublin were near here.

“That will be 20 Euro.”

“May I pay with my phone?” Chloé asked as she put on her Louboutins and packed her walking shoes into her bag.

“Of course.” Rob reached the card reader to her in the back of the taxi. Then, he got out and took her suitcase out of the boot. “Best of luck!”

“Thank you!” Chloé took a deep breath and walked the four steps up to the main entrance of the building. There were numerous solicitors’ offices located in this area of the city and four firms occupied this building. She scanned the intercom buttons and pressed on Byrne.

“Good morning, how may I help you?” asked a friendly female voice.

“My name is Chloé Kapoor. I have an appointment with Colin Byrne at eleven o’clock.,” answered Chloé.

“Wonderful! We are on the second floor. You can leave your suitcase downstairs.” The lock released and the door opened.

Chloé had travelled directly from the airport yet Rory had apparently managed to arrive before her.

Chloé carefully closed the Bordeaux door behind her and put her lavender coloured suitcase next to Rory’s forest green one he had also received as a present from her aunt. If it was not for Élodie, Chloé would not be in Dublin right now. She took a last deep breath and reached for the balustrade. She would regret her choice of shoes when she descended downstairs later.

“I’m delighted to meet you in person, Ms. Kapoor!” Catherine O’Reilly held out her hand. “Unfortunately, we have only spoken on the phone. May I take your coat?”

“Thank you, Catherine! Please, call me Chloé.” Relieved to have remembered the secretary’s name, Chloé took off her cream-coloured trench coat which she had bought on impulse in London.

“What a beautiful dress, Chloé! I love it!” Catherine admired the black sheath dress which her boss’s client was wearing. “Oh my God, are those Louboutins? Size 5?”

“Yes, a present to myself after I persuaded a renowned Indian author to join our publishing house last month.” Chloé blushed. She didn’t like to be the centre of attention for long.

“I should start rewarding myself too!” Catherine laughed and was about to open the door to Colin Byrne’s office when Chloé asked her if she could have a quick minute to freshen up.

“Of course!” Catherine pointed to a nearby door and looked admiringly at Chloé’s shoes as she walked away.

“Thank you.”

Chloé checked her wristwatch, she still had three minutes. Nervous and excited all at once she looked into the mirror. Pull yourself together, Chloé!

By now her wavy black hair reached the centre of her back. After leaving Dublin the previous year she only had her ends cut. Rory had run his hands through her hair at the airport and now she could only bear to part with a few millimetres. Chloé closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about Rory or about what had happened. She would see him again in a few seconds. Chloé sighed and looked into the mirror one last time before returning to the secretary. Catherine smiled at her then walked her to the lawyer’s office door.

After a gentle knock she opened the door and announced Chloé’s arrival. Then she took a step aside and let her enter.

“Ms. Kapoor!” Colin was about to stand up when Chloé signalled him to wait a moment. She turned to Rory who was already on his feet.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” he asked with a smile. He wanted to take her arm and give her a kiss on both cheeks as was common in Ireland and France.

Without warning Chloé slapped him. Stunned, Rory looked at her with his green eyes then grinned mischievously. “I missed you too, Chloé!” He turned to an astonished Colin. “Don’t worry, I deserved that!”

“That he did!” Chloé turned to Colin and took off her oversized Jimmy Choo sunglasses and held her hand out to him. “Chloé Kapoor.”

“What just happened here interests me!” The lawyer winked at her with a devilish grin. “Are you …?”

“Definitely not!” Chloé vehemently shook her head.

“Could you say that any faster?” commented an irritated Rory.

“Do you even know where to find the stopwatch on your smartphone?” Chloé challenged him with a smug grin.

“This is just getting more and more interesting! How about we go out to dinner tonight?” Chloé and Rory took their eyes off each other for a moment and looked towards Colin. He had sat back down behind his desk.

“Girlfriend? Fiancée? Wife?” Chloé tilted her head to the side.

“Definitely not!” Colin grinned at the choice of words he had purposefully used to get a reaction from her.

“I understand.” She gave a wry smile. Nick would have to wait. “Pick me up at eight. I’m staying at the Haddington House in Dún Laoghaire.”

Rory cleared his throat when he noticed Colin staring at her feet. “Are you done? I don’t want to interrupt whatever this is but now that Ms. Kapoor has finally joined us, can we talk about why we are actually here?”

Chloé threw an irritated look in his direction. Did he really just call her Ms. Kapoor?

Throughout the meeting she had to force herself to concentrate on the lawyer and not Rory. He looked too good in his uniform. Why was it so hard for her to ignore him? In the year since she had last seen him – why did he never upload any pictures of himself to his Instagram account? – he had barely changed, but he somehow still did look different from before. He seemed taller than she remembered. Again, her thoughts wandered back to their goodbye at the airport.

Chloé looked at him in shock. Had she really just slapped him? In front of a lawyer?

“Did you hear what I just said, Chloé?” asked Colin.

“I was deep in thought … excuse me … could you please repeat it?”

“You can cancel your hotel reservation. Your aunt and her wife signed the house over to you,” Colin repeated.

“Say that again?” Chloé understood the words the lawyer used, nevertheless, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “They did what?”

“They signed the house over to you …,” Colin repeated for a third time.

“Do I hear a but?” Rory asked.

“They knew that you had your main residence in London Rory, and Chloé yours is in Mumbai. They were concerned that you would let your emotions get the better of you and sell the house immediately. Therefore, they agreed long before Élodie’s passing that you could only make a decision about what should happen with the house after you have lived together in it for three months.” Colin leaned back in his whiskey-coloured leather chair and looked at them expectantly.

“Three months? With him?” Chloé opened her eyes wide and pointed her thumb towards Rory.

“Chloé …,” sighed Rory.

“These are the conditions.”

“What shall we do with a house in Dublin?” Chloé felt lost, her emotions were written all over her face. “How can I, after having sat shiva at the villa, be happy there for three months,” she whispered, barely audible even to herself. As Rory reached for her hand she quickly got up and moved her chair to the other side of the room.

“Here are the keys.” Colin handed each of them a set.

Rory couldn’t believe that his godmother had signed over her part of the house he loved so much to him. Why didn’t she tell him anything when he called and spoke to her on the way to the lawyer? His eyes fell on Chloé who was finding it difficult to take the keys from Colin's hand.

Confused, Chloé left the room and glanced at Catherine before she turned to Colin and gave him a forced smile. He again confirmed that he would pick her up from her house later that evening.

“I’m already looking forward to tonight, Chloé.” He politely helped her into her trench coat.

“Enjoy your day, you two!” The secretary called after them before Rory closed the door behind him and descended the stairs in front of Chloé.

-4-

As they left the building Chloé was in a pensive mood. She didn’t even notice that Rory took her suitcase out of her hand and walked to his car which, if it wasn’t standing at the airport, was parked in his brother’s driveway. He always stayed with his brother and his sister-in-law when he was in Dublin.

Without uttering a word and entirely lost in her thoughts, Chloé climbed into the passenger seat of the dark blue Audi. They drove silently through Ballsbridge.

“Do you intend to ignore me for the entire drive home because of that thing?” Rory blushed slightly while looking at her.

“I have nothing to say to you,” she answered.

“Aren’t you exaggerating a little, Chloé?”

“I was engaged, Rory!”

“Apparently, you aren’t anymore.” Rory looked down on her left hand to make sure that he wasn’t wrong earlier and that she really wasn’t wearing an engagement ring or wedding band.

“That does not matter! You cannot go around kissing women who are engaged! Especially not like that!”

He blurted out “It was an exceptional situation! Do you think I lay in bed the night before and asked myself what would be the best way to surprise you before a long-haul flight? Do you think I planned it?”

“That would have been even better!” Chloé had a fire in her eyes and yet Rory couldn’t stop smiling. “That’s not what I meant, Rory!” Chloé herself was finding it hard to suppress a laugh with the way he was looking at her. “It’s turned green. Don’t you want to drive?” she asked him when he turned to her again.

“You just looked so sad …” Sighing, Rory put the car into second gear.

“Do you kiss every woman who looks sad?” She gave him a sideways glance. She had forgotten how attractive his profile was.

“Chloé …”

“That's not even the biggest problem with the whole thing!” Chloés voice began to tremble.

“But?”

“That you ran away without saying a word!” The memory of that day pained Chloé deeply. Even now she felt as if it had been just twenty-four hours since that kiss.

“Because they called my name. Not because I wanted to …” Rory was tense and gripped the steering wheel. He had to hold on to something.

“Rory, I was engaged …,” whispered Chloé.

“If I remember correctly, you kissed me back …” He was close to admitting that he had not been able to think of anything else since they parted company the previous year.

“I most certainly did not!” Chloé's voice was an octave higher. She could not lose face and admit that he was right.

“I probably know if a woman is kissing me back or not!”

“Rory!”

“It couldn’t have been that bad for you, otherwise you wouldn’t have done it!” The words burst out of him.

Chloé was too irritated to say anything which made him grin again.

“Are you saying that it was the greatest kiss of all time and that you have been unable to think of anything else ever since?” He was concentrating on the road and didn't catch the withering look she gave him at this comment. Once again, Chloé had no intention of admitting that even though he was joking, he wasn't wrong in his assumption.

“Did you tell Rahul about it?” Rory asked unexpectedly.

To Chloé’s big surprise he became extremely nervous.

“No …” she murmured, barely audible from the passenger seat.

“Are we keeping this little secret from him?” Rory winked at her to cheer her up.

“That’s not funny …”

“Why didn’t you tell him about it? Where is he anyway?” Rory asked as he turned the car into a quiet side street.

“Either underneath his mother’s interior designer, on top of his step-sister or behind the wedding planner.” Chloé closed her eyes. She still couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. She didn’t even notice how many women Rahul had cheated on her with in India. If her mother had not caught him in the act with the wedding planner, she most likely would have never found out.

“Excuse me?” Rory stepped on the brake pedal. “Why didn't you tell me about this?”

Chloé opened her eyes wide and looked at him in surprise. “Why did you stop? Have you never heard of a man cheating on his fiancée before?”

“I didn’t stop because of that, I stopped because we had arrived.” Rory pointed out the window. “So, why haven’t you told me anything about this?

“Because it’s none of your business, because you ran away from me and ignored me for a whole year?”

“I didn’t ignore you, Chloé …” Rory sounded as tired as she felt.

“You just ran away … you of all people!” frustrated, Chloé leaned her head back onto the headrest and closed her eyes.

“Because they called my name!” his forehead fell against the steering wheel.

“You could have gotten in touch …”

“Would you have wanted that?” Rory turned to see her reaction.

“Excuse me?” now Chloé turned to him.

“Would you have left Rahul for me?”

“That’s not the point, Rory!” At that moment, Chloé didn’t understand the world anymore. Was Rory McCarthy really implying here that he was interested? Still is?

“What if I … Or, what if Rahul had caught on to what had happened and given you an ultimatum …”

Chloé took a deep breath. “You have no idea how this weighed on my conscience Rory! I let it almost slip several times! In hindsight, what would have been wrong with that if I had? Did I tell you that it was my mother who caught him? Last month. In the car. With our wedding planner!”

“Léa? Really?” Rory wanted to add something when suddenly a neighbour knocked on the driver’s side window and startled him.

Áine McDonnell was ecstatic to see Chloé again and didn't want to let her go. “Saoirse called me yesterday from France and told me that you were coming today! I am so happy to see the two of you after such a long time! Olivia also moved back from Melbourne a few days ago.” Áine explained excitedly that her daughter – a medical doctor who had practiced for two years in Australia like so many Irish doctors do - had made the decision to return home. “Talk about the devil! Liv, come here! Rory has just arrived!”

Chloé arched her eyebrows. Was she suddenly invisible?

“Rory! Lovely to see you.” Olivia walked through the garden gate and threw her arms around Rory. “You have barely changed!”

“Neither have you Olivia! How long has it been? Three years?” Rory let her go and stepped closer to Chloé.

“Chloé!” Olivia greeted her childhood friend as wholeheartedly as she had Rory.

“Liv! I thought that you were not returning for another few months?” Over the years, the two women had met up every now and again for a few days in Asia to explore new cities together.

Olivia whispered in Chloé’s ear, “Toby and I broke up and I couldn’t take it anymore. Mum doesn’t know about him. Please don’t say anything,” she added.

Olivia put her hair into a ponytail and listened intently to Rory as he talked about his life in London. Chloé looked at the mother and daughter and was surprised to realise how similar the two women looked now that Olivia was older. Both had blonde hair, water-blue eyes and such a light skin that you could have mistaken them for the porcelain dolls in her mother’s glass display in Mumbai. She had to get in touch with her parents! She didn’t have any time for it yet. Hopefully they weren’t too worried about her.

Chloé didn’t know how the two of them would react to the news that their daughter was going to spend the next few months in Ireland. Politely she nodded every now and again while Áine told them about the flowers her landscape architect had planted in the front yard the week before.

-5-

After the McDonnells said goodbye to Chloé and Rory and went back into the house, the two of them looked at the familiar Victorian villa in front of them. They both could not believe that this house in Shrewsbury Road now belonged to them.

“We should bring our luggage inside before it starts to rain, Chloé. I’ll drive the car in later when we get back from the supermarket.” Rory cleared his throat.

“Didn't you announce from the cockpit that it was going to be sunny all day?” Chloé asked nervously without looking at him.

“It’s Ireland … The weather can change every few minutes.” He opened the gate, lifted their suitcases and walked towards the entrance door. On the second attempt, he managed to unlock the door.

When Rory was about to turn around to Chloé, he realised that she was not behind him, she was still by the iron gate. Carefully he put their suitcases inside and locked the door behind him then walked back to her.

“Come on, let’s go shopping!” He gently took her arm and guided her back to the car. As he was about to open the passenger door for her she first wiped the tears from her face.

“Chloé …” Rory reached for her chin and tilted her head up a little. “Please get into the car. You don’t want to get wet.” He looked up to the sky then opened the door. Without saying a word, Chloé got in.

A few minutes later Rory parked in front of the supermarket and unbuckled his seatbelt.

---ENDE DER LESEPROBE---