Positively Yours Read online

  About the Book

  Beth has fallen hook, line and sinker for her boss. Tom is everything she wants in a man but when Beth discovers she’s pregnant he makes it clear that a baby was never part of his plan. Is she really ready to take on motherhood alone?

  Grace’s life changed when she fell in love with American Ethan. Their beachside house in sunny San Diego is a far cry from the terraced house in Dublin where she grew up. But when Ethan’s firm offers a transfer to Ireland, Grace is unsure about moving home and all the family pressure it will bring.

  Erin has the perfect marriage, but still yearns for one thing – a child. Her husband John reassures her constantly that this will happen in good time. But her obsession is getting worse and soon puts a strain on their relationship.

  As Beth, Grace and Erin face big choices and changes of the heart, they realize their lives will never be the same again.

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also by Amanda Hearty

  Copyright

  Positively Yours

  Amanda Hearty

  For my daughter Holly

  the most beautiful girl in the world

  1

  BETH PRENDERGAST SAT at her desk overlooking Dublin’s leafy St Stephen’s Green, its trees ablaze with autumn colours. Out of her window she could see tourists, children and mothers streaming into the city-centre park, with nothing but an afternoon of relaxing, playing and feeding ducks in front of them.

  She turned back to work, as her computer screen flickered with numbers and incoming emails. The offices of Burlington Stockbrokers were loud and busy. All around Beth her team were taking phone calls from clients or preparing presentations. As a senior portfolio manager, it was her job to make Burlington’s long list of private clients even wealthier. The markets might be jittery now, but investing huge amounts of money around the world still made her heart beat faster.

  Each morning as she walked into the office, a takeout coffee in her hand, the Financial Times in the other, her assistant handing her minutes of the previous day’s meetings, she had to pinch herself. She still couldn’t believe her luck! Beth knew how hard it was for women to scale the ladder in this industry. And she’d had to sacrifice a great deal – nights out, holidays, romances and relationships – to get to where she was now.

  As she checked the Dow Jones index, one of the directors, Tom Maloney, walked by, and stopped at her desk.

  ‘Can I talk to you?’ he asked.

  Beth looked at her boss. Tom Maloney had been one of the founding partners of Burlington Stockbrokers. Twenty years her senior, he was feared in the industry as being one of the toughest you could meet. When she had started working in the company she had heard all the stories about him surviving on two hours’ sleep a night, getting through fifteen secretaries, and firing employees for arriving half an hour late for work. But his strength, hard-working attitude and determination to succeed made Beth respect not fear him, and over the years this respect had grown – leading to other feelings too, unfortunately.

  She followed him into his large plush office.

  ‘We are pitching to the CEO of O’Brien Construction tomorrow morning,’ he said. ‘You’ve shown your expertise with that German property portfolio, and we could really do with you in trying to win this guy over. We want his firm, they’re huge,’ he said.

  Beth listened. Picking the right investments and the perfect moment to buy or sell involved a lot of research and judgement – but she loved it.

  ‘Apparently David O’Brien didn’t like the way his last stockbrokers managed his investments, so it’s important we impress him,’ said Tom. ‘The meeting is at 8.30 a.m. I’d like to meet you in the conference room at 7 a.m. to go through possible suggestions for him. I presume that won’t be a problem?’

  ‘Seven should be no problem, boss, unless someone keeps me out late tonight!’ Beth gazed at Tom in his Armani suit, scarlet silk tie and well-polished shoes. He might be fifty-five, but Beth thought he could hold his own in any group of young men.

  He closed his office door, lowered his voice and let his stern face relax.

  ‘Oh, I won’t do that! You might be up till the small hours, but we will be indoors all right! I’ve booked a room at the Shelbourne, their top suite. Why don’t we meet there at 9 p.m.? I’ll organize the food and wine, you just need to bring your gorgeous self.’

  Beth smiled. Suddenly his phone rang, and with that it was back to business for Tom. Beth walked out of his office. She was aware she should know better, and that having a relationship with Tom was wrong. The company disapproved of employees dating each other and doing so could jeopardize her job and the position she had worked long and hard for. But every time she went to finish things with Tom, she just thought about the other guys out there and knew none of them could compete with him, even if he was a divorced man in his fifties.

  As she sat back down at her desk, she looked back out the window at the children, grannies and mothers in the park, thinking that kind of life couldn’t be further from hers. Then her phone rang and she got back to what she knew and did best – work.

  2

  BETH FOUND IT hard to concentrate on her early morning meeting with David O’Brien, the CEO of O’Brien Construction. She hadn’t had far to walk to work that morning, what with the Shelbourne Hotel being only yards from her office, but she had been up late drinking expensive wine with Tom Maloney, and was feeling the effect of it now. As Tom chatted away to David O’Brien, her mind wandered back to the night before, and their dinner in the privacy of the hotel suite. She was falling ever more in love with Tom. He was exactly the kind of man she had always wanted: successful, confident, charming and knowledgeable on everything from stocks to fine art. Beth had never even thought of dating a man from work before, but Tom was no ordinary man or employee.

  Until Tom, Beth’s love life had been going nowhere fast. She’d had a few boyfriends and been on plenty of dates, but no one had seemed willing to put up with her long working hours and ambition. And as she had risen through the ranks in Burlington Stockbrokers, she had seen how her success was a threat to men who didn’t work in that culture. Initially it would attract them. They’d be pleasantly surprised to see she had brains to go with her tall, blonde good looks, but when they realized her annual work bonus was worth more than the
ir yearly salary, their jealousy and old-fashioned belief that a man should earn more than a woman would get in the way of romance. Even men who worked in the same field felt threatened by her because she knew more about the financial world than they did.

  Beth had hated all this, and had dated less and less as her career had taken off. Instead she had used her spare time to search for a wonderful apartment. She’d known her friends had been jealous when, just as everyone else in Ireland was complaining about outrageous house prices, she had been able to buy an apartment outright, no problem. She remembered the excitement of signing the paper for the two-bedroom home in Sandymount. It overlooked the Strand and Dublin Bay, and Beth had been so happy to finally find a place she could call home. Having been at boarding school, then having rented flats with friends for years, she had longed for somewhere that would be all hers, with no more sharing of bathrooms, fridges, sofas or car-park spaces. And even though she had felt a bit lonely the first night, opening a bottle of expensive champagne on her own to celebrate the move, she had hoped that one day she would have a partner to sit with her and enjoy the view of the waves and water.

  Unfortunately that day still hadn’t come. And as the years went by, even Beth’s expensively decorated apartment became less appealing. With no man in her life, she had started spending more time at work, and soon the office felt like her home. It was while working all those long hours that Beth had come to Tom’s notice. He was attracted to her brains as well as her looks, and liked the way she had a similar work ethic. And after weeks of working closely on a big deal with a new client, which ended with them having to spend a night together in London, their mutual attraction had become irresistible. Before Beth knew what she was doing she had fallen hook, line and sinker for Burlington Stockbrokers’ top man.

  Beth watched Tom charm the CEO of O’Brien Construction, and knew how David O’Brien felt. After that night in London, she’d had misgivings, but somehow Tom’s charm had made it all OK. He wasn’t threatened by her career or salary, and he made her feel proud of her achievements. Of course his six foot four athletic build, dark brown hair and green eyes helped, and every time he looked at her she felt a flush of excitement. And now, one year later, she was still excited each time he booked a night away or a romantic dinner. She knew she should expect more than just the little time he had left over after work. Dating a workaholic wasn’t fun, but Beth was in love with Tom and, having no other men in her life, she put up with the problems.

  Tom didn’t do the obvious, and pretend their relationship would lead to marriage and kids. He often reminded her that he had done the whole rearing babies thing years before, and still had two grown-up children to keep an eye on. Beth tried to convince herself that being thirty-five years old, and with a man who didn’t want to settle down, was madness. That she was getting too old to mess about, and that getting a regular boyfriend would be a whole lot more sensible and better for her. But even so, she still found herself melting when she looked into Tom’s green eyes. Maybe you can’t have the perfect apartment, job and man all at the same time, she thought. But, as she wasn’t willing to give up the first two, she had to put up with the fact that even though her love life wasn’t perfect, Tom was. Almost!

  3

  ERIN DELANY STARED at the display of buggies and prams in the Little Tots shop. She was drawn to the denim-coloured Bambino Pramette buggy. It was one of those cool three-in-one travel systems – a buggy, pushchair and car seat. She pulled the buggy on to the shop floor and began opening and closing it.

  ‘Can I help you?’ asked an eager-looking assistant.

  Erin turned to the girl while balancing the car seat in one hand and buggy in the other.

  ‘I’m just trying to see how this works, and how easy it is to actually open and close the buggy. It is important to be able to open it using only one hand, as the baby will be in the other one, obviously! It seems good, though.’

  ‘Oh, it is,’ reassured the shop assistant. With a twist of her fingers she began transforming the buggy into a pram, and reeling off the pramette’s selling line that worked on all mums-to-be. ‘This is a unique, revolutionary new concept that combines a traditional pram with a practical, lightweight pushchair. Versatile and comfortable, the pramette is suitable from birth and grows with your child into their toddler years.’

  ‘It seems perfect.’ Erin smiled, impressed.

  ‘And the handles extend, too,’ the young girl explained. ‘So, when is your baby due?’ the assistant went on.

  Erin suddenly felt herself freeze.

  ‘I’m not actually pregnant,’ she replied quietly, trying to control her voice. ‘Not at the moment. I’m researching baby products for when I am.’

  She sounded lame and stupid, and she could tell the assistant was not impressed. She took the car seat from Erin’s hands.

  ‘Well, as you can see, we are very busy, and we try to save the staff time for displaying buggy options to people who are actually about to have a baby.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Erin managed to whisper back to the young girl, who was now returning the buggy to the display.

  Erin was about to explain to her that all she wanted was a child – and to spend every weekend in stores like this, discussing cot, buggy and nursery options – but she could see the girl was annoyed. So she turned and walked towards the shop door. As she left she could see the girl pointing her out and talking to another assistant. No doubt they are discussing how crazy I am, shopping for a buggy when there is no baby in sight, Erin thought.

  She caught a glimpse of herself reflected in the busy South Dublin baby shop window. Her white face and big sad brown eyes stared back at her. She debated going to the hairdresser to get her long brown hair blow-dried before going out for dinner tonight with her husband and friends, but after the embarrassment in the baby shop, she decided to head home. She looked back at the mums and mums-to-be entering Little Tots, and couldn’t help feeling pangs of jealousy. All she wanted was to be pregnant. She placed her hand on her flat stomach.

  ‘When will it be my turn?’ she asked out loud.

  4

  ‘I HAVE A delivery here for Erin Delany,’ said the courier.

  ‘I’m Erin, let me sign for that,’ she said. The young man in a helmet handed it to her, got back on his motorbike and sped off.

  Erin closed the door behind him, and as she started walking back up the polished oak stairs towards her office she began opening the large wrapped parcel. Out fell two pieces of fabric – one a soft brown cloth embossed with blue flowers, and the other a heavy crimson and gold embroidered piece. Erin had been waiting all week for her supplier to send these swatches of material. They were for one of her clients, who still couldn’t find the right fabric for their new curtains.

  An interior designer, Erin worked in a small yet bright office in Sandymount alongside her friend Paula O’Driscoll, an architect. Erin had always been fascinated by colours and materials and had opted to study interior design in college for three years. Her first job had been in the busy design section of Habitat, before she moved on to work in Hudson’s – a small, exclusive interior design firm, where she spent most of her time fitting out apartments for investors all over the city as well as supervising two pub fit-outs and working on the concept for a funky new Thai restaurant in Temple Bar. Constantly obsessed with light, colour, texture and design, she went to endless trouble to source new materials from Swedish, French and Irish designers and craftsmen. She got huge satisfaction from the family homes she helped renovate or redesign.

  Despite being rushed off her feet, Erin had still found the time to fall in love. She’d met her future husband, John, through her cousin Barry. Barry was mad into sailing, and so was John. Erin and her two older sisters, Alison and Rebecca, were always hanging out with Barry and his gorgeous sailing buddies, and when one night his friend John tagged along, Erin had known from the second they were introduced that she liked him. He had such kind eyes and made her feel so comfortab
le. She was sick of trying to meet ‘nice men’ in nightclubs, it just hadn’t happened, but then along had come John! Those early days were such fun, with discos in the sailing club and afternoon trips to Howth Harbour! And before she knew it weeks had turned into months, and months into years, and they were married.

  The following year her friend Paula returned from working in London, and like many architects wanted to become her own boss. Paula suggested that they go into business together, combining the skills of an interior designer and an architect. She believed they would complement each other, and urged Erin to think about setting up their own company. Erin liked the idea of being her own boss and choosing what projects she got to work on. And so, encouraged by her husband and after much deliberation, the two friends had set up in business together, offering a complete design service.

  They had found a run-down office to rent, above an optician in Sandymount village. Despite its neglect, the office’s warren of pokey rooms upstairs had two big bay windows that let in great light and overlooked the busy street below. John had been a great help in turning the old and cramped rooms into a brand new office. He was busy working in the bank during the day, but spent every evening helping to get the place right. It had taken a lot of hard work knocking down partition walls to enlarge the work space, but it had been worth it in the end. They had never been so excited as the first day when Paula unlocked the old cream wooden front door and declared the two girls ‘in business’ at last.

  Erin and Paula had gone into partnership when the economy was booming and there was plenty of money to spare. Back then people had been more prepared than ever to spend money on completely refurbishing their newly bought houses, holiday homes and offices. But as the economy changed, business became harder to come by. Months had gone by without Erin working on any new apartments or fancy offices. And with nothing new being built, Paula was finding it harder to get any work also. They were both struggling, but hoping they could ride out the recession. And while the glory years seemed to have gone, Erin had noticed that people were still doing upgrades on their current places. Many weren’t buying flash new houses any more, but were staying put and using any spare money to do up what they already had. Attic conversions, remodellings and extensions were what people suddenly wanted and needed help with. And regardless of the economy there was always someone buying an old wreck of a house and needing help not only from an architect but also from someone who could give the place a fresh clean look, too. Erin and Paula were both good with their clients and through word of mouth they gradually got enough jobs to keep them going. They still had to compete with the big firms, but theirs was a smaller, more individual service. They could not only help maximize the space in a house but give advice on furnishing it too, and all within a budget.