Love Redesigned

by Iles, Jo

  So why did he feel so guilty? And not for dream-cheating on Miranda by imagining Holly—but for shagging Miranda in the kitchen where Holly had eaten? Daniel’s animal instincts had taken over at the time, but now, upon reflection, it just didn’t sit right with him that, after having spent pretty much the whole day with Holly, he’d done with Miranda exactly what he’d wanted to do with Holly.

  * * *

  The next week only proved to Daniel what an emotional mess he was. Whenever Miranda was nearby, he felt wholeheartedly in love with his fiancée. He liked her personality: she could actually be quite funny, a trait that most people didn’t give her credit enough for. He also greatly admired her for her business acumen. She was a great saleswoman: a huge reason the business had done so well was down to her and the decisions she’d made. But when Miranda wasn’t around, Daniel spent the week racing to his phone every time it buzzed, or continually refreshing his emails. Holly had been in touch sporadically throughout the week, sending him updates of her plans for the house redesign and asking for his opinion on various materials and layout options. And Daniel found himself longing for, and looking forward to, any contact she initiated.

  The content was all professional. There was absolutely nothing untoward, or anything that resembled flirtation. It was just contact. Regular contact and the exchanging of information, with the occasional witty one-liner from Holly, usually about what Harry had been up to. It was real life. Sometimes mundane, but still interesting, as far as Daniel was concerned. And something he was glad to be included in.

  Daniel clicked on his inbox to refresh it once again, just in case it hadn’t done it automatically. It was approaching lunchtime, and as he waited for the screen in front of him to reload, his mind wandered to Holly’s busy design office. He wondered if she ever had time for lunch, or if she just grabbed whatever she could when she could. He concluded that it was probably the latter.

  ‘Bingo,’ he said silently to himself as a smile escaped his lips. Holly had emailed.

  Hi Daniel,

  I think those timescales as previously discussed will work with the contractors, so we’re good to go on that front. I’d like to send one of my colleagues round this week to measure up more accurately if that’s possible. Let me know when would be a convenient time for Stephanie.

  Best,

  Holly

  PS. Harry told me to say hello if I spoke to you, so, hello. He says he has a secret to tell you the next time he sees you. Apparently it’s for boys only!

  PPS. I’ve signed your divorce papers.

  Daniel leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen. He reread and reread the final sentence until his eyes went blurry and he had to look away. Holly had signed the divorce papers. And she’d seen fit to tell him in the bloody post-postscript of a work email. This was monumental, life-changing news, and Holly had made it impersonal—an afterthought. Daniel noticed that he was shaking. Whether it was from the fact that she’d signed them, or the way that she’d informed him, he couldn’t tell for sure.

  Right on cue, Miranda breezed into his office carrying a stack of paperwork. She really was all efficiency and grace as she crossed the room to the meeting table and began sifting through various files, pulling the papers out that needed actioning. She was undoubtedly very good at her job, but maybe not the most perceptive fiancée in the world. Daniel had remained glued to his seat at his desk for a full-on minute before Miranda actually looked over at him.

  ‘Is something the matter?’ she asked, directing her gaze at him quickly before returning to the document she was scanning. Daniel knew he had to choose his words carefully now. The wrong reaction, and he could be in for a world of trouble. He needed to strike the right balance.

  ‘Nothing’s the matter. But I do have some news which concerns you,’ he said carefully. That got Miranda’s attention, as he knew it would.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked. She remained calm on the outside, but Daniel knew from her slightly strained voice and wider eyes that she was anxious to know what he was about to say.

  ‘It’s about Holly,’ Daniel said seriously, stringing it out longer than necessary. Miranda never seemed to get remotely flustered, and he thought it might be fun to see how far she could be pushed.

  ‘Yes?’ Miranda said expectedly, a curious look in her eye.

  ‘Well… I’ve received an email.’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake, just spit it out,’ Miranda snapped, losing her patience. ‘What did Holly say? Or write?’

  ‘She’s signed the divorce papers,’ Daniel said slowly. It sounded strange to his ears, but by saying it, he hoped it would start to sink in. Miranda leapt up from her seat, let out a delighted scream, danced over to where Daniel was sitting, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Daniel smiled dutifully, but he knew his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  ‘Are you pleased?’ he asked Miranda, who was now peppering his neck with butterfly kisses.

  ‘Of course I am,’ she replied as she manoeuvred herself so she was sitting on his lap. ‘We can move on with the rest of our lives now. Just you and me. Oh, and Harry of course.’

  ‘I suppose we can start properly planning the wedding now,’ Daniel said as he nuzzled her neck and breathed in her expensive perfume.

  ‘I’d love that,’ Miranda said earnestly. ‘And I’ve been thinking: we should have an engagement party.’

  ‘What? Another one?’ Daniel asked, as he stopped nuzzling her to look at her properly.

  ‘The last one was your birthday party. It wasn’t our engagement party. Let’s have a real party focusing on you and me, and celebrate our impending nuptials properly. We could have it in a month’s time. That way, it gives us plenty of time to organise things and let the paperwork go through.’

  ‘I guess we could,’ Daniel replied slowly. ‘Let’s keep it small though. Nothing too showy.’

  Miranda’s face dropped ever so slightly and he realised this must be a big deal for her. Unlike him, she hadn’t already been married, and she obviously wanted to have the works.

  ‘Okay,’ she replied sweetly, and kissed him. He knew for a fact by her immediate acceptance that there was no way she was going to listen to him about having a small party.

  ‘I’ve had an idea,’ she added excitedly, pulling away from him slightly.

  ‘That was quick,’ he laughed.

  ‘Why don’t you invite Holly?’

  ‘To our engagement party? I’m not sure that’s entirely appropriate,’ Daniel said, finding the idea abhorrent.

  ‘Of course it is. She’s the mother of your child. If this is all going to work, then we are all going to have to be adults about this less-than-ideal situation. Plus, you want Harry to come, don’t you?’

  ‘Well, yes… but I hadn’t given it much thought, to tell you the truth. You’ve changed your tune. I didn’t think you wanted me to have much to do with them,’ he pointed out.

  ‘Yes, I know I didn’t. But I’ve been thinking a great deal about it all. Harry is your son—and I’m going to be his stepmother, whether I like it or not. I can be mature about this. At first, I felt a little excluded because of your past with Holly and the fact that you have a child together. But now that it’s all very nearly done and dusted… well, it puts my mind at rest. I trust you, of course. I just didn’t trust her. I thought she might try to win you back.’

  ‘Really? You thought she was trying to win me back?’ Daniel asked, surprised.

  ‘Honestly. You men are utterly clueless. I saw the way she was looking at you, and how she’d gotten herself all dressed up for your party, and then again when she came here the other day.’

  ‘Everyone gets dressed up for a party,’ Daniel said, finding it hard to believe what Miranda was saying.

  ‘Yes, but… trust me. I’m a woman. I know these things.’ And that was clearly the end of that discussion. ‘Oh! You know what we could do? Just to show there’s no hard feelings anymore, you could get Holly to design the party!’ Mirand
a suggested.

  ‘Umm, I’m not sure party planning is really her thing,’ Daniel countered tactfully, not wanting to hurt Miranda’s feelings. Her heart was in the right place.

  ‘Nonsense. She’s a designer, isn’t she? And I’m sure she can’t be that busy with her little projects. Promise me you’ll ask her,’ Miranda said, bringing her face close to his and opening her eyes wide.

  ‘Fine, I’ll ask,’ he said, but only to keep the peace and let Miranda think she was getting her own way. He had zero intention of asking his very nearly ex-wife to come up with a party concept for his next wife. That was just plain weird.

  * * *

  For the rest of the day, Daniel kept coming back to this conversation he’d had with Miranda. Whether deliberate or not, Miranda had used some quite belittling language in describing Holly’s business—referring to her small projects and assuming that she wasn’t that busy. Miranda obviously hadn’t done any research into what Holly had going on at all—which was strange, because Miranda was normally paranoid about staying abreast of what the competition were doing. In Daniel’s mind, Miranda had significantly underestimated Holly. Perhaps they all had. Two more people had handed in their notice at Delamonte Developments recently, both remaining conspicuously silent with regard to their next jobs. Daniel couldn’t prove anything, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew why. If he was right, then they were soon going to be hearing about Holly and her business on a much more frequent basis.

  Although Miranda obviously didn’t see Holly as a business threat, she had alluded to the fact that she felt she had been in personal competition with her. That surprised Daniel greatly. For one, Miranda had never before felt any sense of rivalry from other women; she always appeared so sure of herself and her own magnetism. So she must have been worried for her to even mention her fears to him. But she said she’d trusted him, just that she didn’t trust Holly. If only she knew: it was Daniel who wasn’t to be trusted.

  Could Holly be trusted? Did Miranda have a point that Holly had been trying to win him back? This utterly baffled him, as he hadn’t gotten that impression at all. He’d thought they’d been having a bit of fun for old times’ sake. But… could Miranda be right? She usually was. Had Holly been trying to get back together with him? She’d said as much in the office the other day, but he’d just laughed at her, thinking it preposterous—and she hadn’t been the same since. She’d been pleasant enough, but… guarded, more reserved around him.

  Daniel suddenly felt unsettled; unable to concentrate on anything for long periods of time. He knew the right thing to do would be to continue with his life, just as he had done for the past few years. With Miranda. But there was a niggling voice in the back of his mind. A voice that was inspiring images of Holly right where there should have been images of Miranda.

  Daniel could accept that he had feelings for Holly. But were they simply on account of their shared past and their son? Or were these new emotions—emotions that were stronger than those based on memories? He wasn’t sure.

  And what worried him even more was: What if his feelings for Holly weren’t reciprocated? The fact that she had now signed off on their marriage for good, after weeks of stalling, spoke volumes.

  Chapter 7

  It was the morning of the engagement party, and Daniel hadn’t done a thing to stop the wheels that he’d set in motion a month or so ago. His doubts had been growing, but the coward in him had done nothing to slow Miranda down. She’d been in her organisational element, throwing what he fully expected to be the engagement bash of the year, as well as ploughing headlong into wedding preparations. It didn’t help that he’d barely seen or heard from Holly, aside from a quick hello when she’d dropped Harry off for a couple of afternoons of father-son bonding. She hadn’t even been around to oversee the ground floor redesign, or if she had, she’d timed it when he’d been at work. If he’d seen her a bit more, then maybe it would have spurred him into action, but a lack of contact had left him unsure of what to do.

  Further compounding his state of emotional confusion was the fact that the house now looked amazing. The contractors had worked down to the wire to get Holly’s designs realised in time for the party. As Daniel surveyed his finished home on his way down to breakfast, he couldn’t help noticing the changes Holly had made, large and small, that now made the place feel more like a home. His home. There were now personal touches where none had been before—family photographs, even one of his mother, and lots of comfortable soft furnishing, all with incredibly tactile qualities. It was still modern and chic, but now it also had a personal and comfortable feel about it. The only downside to all of this was the fact that, as he took in all the changes for the first time in the daylight, the essence of the place said nothing about Miranda, and everything about Holly.

  The pièce de résistance was the kitchen. Stephanie had been initially quite put out that her sparkling kitchen was going to be ripped out, partially reused, and altered—but as he entered the bright space, with its wall of light, he could see from Stephanie’s beaming smile that she very much approved of the changes.

  ‘Good morning, Daniel,’ she almost sang.

  ‘Hello, Stephanie,’ he said, taking a seat at the new breakfast bar. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘Oh, it’s wonderful. Beautiful. Such a clever use of space,’ she practically gushed. And he’d never known Stephanie to gush before.

  ‘I’m glad you like it.’

  ‘Now, what would you like for breakfast?’ she asked, looking keen to get her hands on the new appliances under her fingertips.

  ‘A full English, please,’ Daniel answered obligingly. He wasn’t overly hungry, but he knew it made Stephanie happy to feed people. She was such a good employee, he was happy to indulge her.

  ‘Coming right up,’ she said, smiling broadly, as she fired up the stove and began busying herself. ‘Are you looking forward to your party?’ she asked happily, as Daniel thumbed through the morning papers.

  ‘Yes, I suppose so,’ Daniel replied automatically. He knew he was going to have to lose the downbeat attitude at some point that day, but with Stephanie, he could be himself.

  ‘Well, that doesn’t sound too cheery. Will Holly be making an appearance this evening?’ she asked, throwing a raised eyebrow in his direction.

  ‘Yes, apparently so,’ Daniel sighed. ‘She said she’d come over after lunch, so Harry could spend a bit of time with me.’

  ‘Well, that’ll be nice,’ Stephanie said, as she began cracking eggs. ‘She’s a lovely girl. I’ve gotten to know her a bit over the past few weeks, what with the renovation and all, and I think she’s been marvelous.’

  ‘Has she been here a lot?’ Daniel asked, surprised.

  ‘Why, yes, at least a couple of times a week. Didn’t you know? She was overseeing most things and putting those workmen in their place. What I can say is, she’s an absolute perfectionist. I had my doubts about this new design idea of yours, but she knew what she was doing, all right. I know it’s probably not my place to say anything, now that you’re marrying Miranda, but that Holly is one hell of a catch, and I hope she finds true happiness. She deserves it,’ Stephanie said almost wistfully.

  ‘When were you going to tell me?’ Daniel asked, having listened to every word—and all the other words, that were left unsaid.

  ‘Tell you what, Daniel?’ Stephanie looked lost.

  ‘That I’m in love with Holly,’ Daniel said simply. He felt vulnerable for saying these words, but at the same time, he was glad they were out in the open.

  ‘Ahh,’ Stephanie said, and continued making breakfast as though Daniel saying he was in love with his ex-wife was an everyday occurrence. ‘I thought you knew that much already.’ She fixed him with a steady gaze. ‘Honestly, you men are all the same,’ she then added, clearly exasperated by his ignorance, and began turning the bacon.

  Daniel didn’t say anything. He looked like a little lost boy.

  ‘Poor Daniel Madison.’ Ste
phanie laughed as she clocked his sad face. ‘Supposedly in love with two women, and now you’re not sure who to choose. Am I about right?’ she asked, like an all-knowing mother hen.

  ‘Maybe,’ Daniel replied. He thought he sounded like a surly teenager.

  ‘Well, if you want my tuppence’s worth, you’ve got two options,’ Stephanie began. ‘Stay with Miss M and live an easy life, enjoying your money, the business, and each other. Maintain the status quo, so to speak. Or… are you willing to take a risk on option two, with Miss H? To risk your safe and secure life for one that might not work out again, and could potentially give you a lifetime of headaches along the way? But it could work, and you could have a family. You could be truly happy and fulfilled with a selfless woman.’

  ‘You’ve made it perfectly clear who you’re rooting for.’ Daniel smiled and shook his head. ‘Hold on a minute. Why did you say supposedly? Before. Why did you say I was supposedly in love with two women?’

  ‘Because, Daniel my dear, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never been in love with Miranda. It was your mother who pushed you two together. You were just too broken-hearted at the time to notice.’

  ‘Did she?’

  ‘Yes. She thought Miranda would do you good, would help you move on after Holly. That’s why she wouldn’t fund your business. She wanted to push you ever closer to Miranda.’

  ‘The interfering old…’ Daniel began, feeling his temper ignite.

  ‘Don’t waste your time thinking ill of your mother. It’s futile. What you should be thinking about, now that you know you’re in love with Holly, is: What are you going to do?’ She sounded impatient for him to make a decision.