Deliver to Dublin...With Care

HarperImpulse an imprint of

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2014

Copyright © Aimee Duffy 2014

Cover Images © Shutterstock.com

Aimee Duffy asserts the moral right

to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are

the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to

actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is

entirely coincidental.

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Ebook Edition © August 2014

ISBN: 9780008106324

Version 2014-08-05

Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.

For the ninja, super-graphic-girl and queen Catco.

I couldn't have done this without the support of you 'special' ladies.

Copyright

Dedication

Dublin/Home

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Aimée Duffy

About HarperImpulse

About the Publisher

Week Two

Ciara flipped to the help wanted page of the third weekly newspaper she’d bought that day. She didn’t have much hope that this one would be any different from the other two but she had to try.

The café she’d chosen to wait for Gem was quiet despite it being a Saturday morning but then she guessed most people would be out at the shops or maybe even at home with their families.

Not that her da was around to spend time with. Business was booming and he was out working the weekend with two of his new employees. She couldn’t believe that even after he’d paid her tuition he was still working himself to the bone. Then again she could relate too. She wished she had something to keep her mind busy. Zack invaded her thoughts more and more as the days went on.

‘Another latte?’ the waitress asked.

‘Please,’ Ciara said, handing over her empty mug.

‘We’re looking for someone to cover maternity here if you need a job,’ the woman said.

She looked around the café, seriously considering applying since she’d still to find anything else. ‘Do I just hand in a CV? I’ve worked at a café like this when I was at university.’

‘Even better, it means you can work your way round a coffee machine. You wouldn’t believe how many people manage to block it by filling the thing in the wrong compartments.’

Instead of saying she knew exactly what the woman meant by doing the same thing her first time filling a coffee machine, she smiled. ‘I’ll drop it in on Monday.’

It didn’t take long until she had a fresh latte in hand and a glimmer of hope that her almost empty purse might see a penny or two in the near future.

‘Sorry I’m late,’ Gem said, when she burst through the door.

Ciara’s smile got wider. It had been almost two weeks since she saw her friend, despite texting and emailing. But it hadn’t been a happy fortnight. ‘Let me guess, you hung back again to see if you could catch a glimpse of the pilot?’

Gem rolled her eyes. ‘Any other time you’d be right, but not today.’ After dumping her brolly and removing her coat, she said, ‘Does it ever stop raining in Dublin?’

‘Not since I got back.’ It felt like the dingy sky and miserable weather was underscoring her mood.

Her friend sat down across from her and Ciara could tell by the serious expression she wasn’t going to like whatever Gem had to say. ‘I got a call from Elle when I landed and missed my taxi.’

Her heart started pounding fast until she blurted, ‘How is she? I haven’t heard from her since… well, you were there.’

She still hated remembering their argument, never mind talking about it but she had tried like mad to make things right to the point she could give a stalker a run for their money.

‘I do. Cia, she asked me to tell you to stop calling. She has nothing to say. I’m so sorry.’

‘Oh.’ It was hardly surprising. Elle had rejected every one of her calls, ignored her text and emails and even unfriended her on social media.

‘I told her to stop being a cow but you know Elle. That just made her mad.’ Gem wrinkled her nose. ‘This is getting ridiculous though.’

‘Don’t give her a hard time. It’s my fault. If I’d just gone to bed alone the first night we were in LA instead of kissing him, we’d still be friends.’