Page 23 of Belle Amour

“HA!”Francesca chortled, and Mirabelle and Bastian exchanged surprised looks, not sure what to make of her reaction.“I knew you would bring him. We must have a few drinks before the wedding.”

“Absolutely!” Mirabelle nodded eagerly, and Bastian could see how happy she was that whatever issue Francesca had with her had been forgotten or forgiven. “Bast has a lot of stuff planned for us, but we'll fit you in.” She paused, looking uncertain. “Why a farce?”

“Of course, you wouldn't know.” Bastian didn’t think he’d ever heard so much disappointment in a person's voice before.“They're getting married because the bride is pregnant.”

“Really?” Mirabelle looked incredibly bemused; Bastian knew it was because Eddie had been very supportive of her “no kids” stance, so hearing he had gotten Casey pregnant was probably a shock.

“Yes. They told us and thought we would be excited to be grandparents! Victor almost lost his mind.”Francesca sighed loudly.“Then, to add insult to injury, they asked us to pay for the wedding. Victor absolutely refused and told them we had already given Eddie his wedding fund less than four years ago and were not obligated in any way to give him another one.They stormed out after that, but Eddie came back the next day alone and pretty much begged on hands and knees. Victor and I discussed it and said we'd pay if they invited you, and you accepted.”

Bastian and Mirabelle glanced at each other again. It was starting to look like Bastian had been right when he said Eddie invited them to prove to his family Mirabelle had forgiven him. “OH! Well, I'm sorry I accepted now.” Mirabelle cringed, and Bastian knew it was because they had given Eddie a small fortune for their wedding, so much that they ended up using it to cover a month-long honeymoon in South America.

“Oh no, don't be dear. I'm excited to see you show up with your divorce lawyer.”Francesca sounded absolutely thrilled.“Totally worth it. Besides, the child is innocent and deserves to come into the world free of the sins of the father, so to speak.”

“I guess.” Mirabelle didn’t sound entirely convinced. Bastian also questioned the validity of that statement and wasn’t sure what the child being innocent had to do with anything, “So, it is a black-tie event, then?” Maribelle clarified, going back to the reason for the call in the first place.

“Yes, it is,”Francesca confirmed, sounding supremely uninterested. “So, when did you want to meet for drinks?”Bastian noted the hopeful note in her voice when she asked about seeing Mirabelle and smiled to himself. It would seem Eddie and Casey had worn out his parent’s goodwill to the point that they wanted his ex-wife back in their lives.“And I insist Bastian joins us as well.”

“Um... Bast?” Mirabelle nudged him, and Bastian closed his eyes briefly as he thought about the schedule he’d created.

“Wednesday, here at the bar in the hotel.” Bastian decided. “If that works for you, Mrs. Shea.”

“Francesca.”She corrected him. “Mrs. Shea is my mother-in-law. Wednesday works for Victor and me as well. Shall we say eight pm? Which hotel are you in?”

“The Weber Boutique Hotel.” Mirabelle smiled happily when Bastian nodded in agreement with the time. “Eight works for us.”

“Excellent, we're staying at the Weber as well. See you Wednesday, if not before.”

“Thanks, Francesca; see you soon!”

“Ciao, dear!”

Mirabelle hung up and stretched, looking very pleased with how that went. “So, shopping and dinner?”

“Shopping and dinner, let's go.”

Chapter Sixteen: Dinner Surprise

Since Bastian’s tuxedo was specially tailored for him, he brought it with him. After being folded into his suitcase for the flight to Ann Arbor, it needed to be steamed, so Mirabelle and Bastian dropped it off at the hotel's dry cleaner service before they left to go shopping, then went looking for swimsuits and a dress for Mirabelle. The swimsuits were easy, and they got that out of the way quickly at a nearby sports store. The dress was a lot harder, and it took them almost all afternoon to find a boutique with dresses that matched the black-tie dress code, Mirabelle's style and were Bastian-approved. He was much more of a fashionista than Mirabelle, and she trusted his judgment completely because he always made her look incredible.

In the store, Mirabelle followed behind Bastian as he moved quickly through the racks, rejecting dress after dress. She’d never seen him have so much trouble finding something for her to wear, and after twenty minutes of him muttering to himself, she had to ask.

“What are you looking for, exactly?”

“Mira,” He looked up from the rack he was looking through, looking exasperated. “You have to look incredible because A. You're a gorgeous woman, and you need to wear things that show it off. B. You're the ex, so you have to show him and everyone else what he lost. C. He's marrying the womanhe cheated with, so you have to look classy, but at the same time, you can't outdo the bride because then you come across as jealous and petty. So, I'm doing a very delicate dance right now.” He gave her a quick grin and went back to searching through the racks. A few minutes later, he came to a dead stop, pulling a black satin dress out of the rack and holding it up to show her. “This is perfect.”

Mirabelle let out a soft gasp. “Bastian! It's incredible!” The bodice had off-the-shoulder, three-quarter length sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, and the skirt was ankle length with a slight A-line flare and a thigh-high slit.

“Of course it is.” He smiled, and Mirabelle rolled her eyes playfully at how smug he looked. “Go try it on, but I don't want to see you in it until the wedding.”

Twenty minutes later, they were on their way to a seamstress, at Bastian's insistence, to have the dress altered so it fit her perfectly. Then, they were back at the hotel to get ready for their dinner reservation. Bastian grabbed a quick shower and then came out to get ready, letting Mirabelle do the same. She went in with the clothes she wanted to wear and her toiletries bag, suddenly feeling shy about him seeing her in a state of undress, which didn’t make logical sense considering he’d helped her shower when she broke her elbow in Hawaii and seen her naked, dressed and everything in between throughout their friendship. Deciding not to unpack that other than it was just different now, she got ready, putting on a grey pencil skirt and white blouse and doing her hair and make-up.

Leaving the bathroom, she found Bastian in gray wool slacks and a navy blue sweater. “Well, don't you look handsome?” She smiled at him as she looked him over. Handsome was a bit of an understatement; he looked good enough to eat. The slacks were practically moulded to his ass andthighs, and the sweater fit him perfectly, showing off all the hard work he put in at the gym without being tight.

“And you look beautiful.” He smiled back and held out her leather jacket so he could help her get it on. “Ready to go?”

“Yes, sir.” She nodded, picking up her purse as she followed him out of the room. As they walked through the lobby, she vaguely recognized a small group of people as friends of Eddie’s and Casey’s. She saw them stop and stare at her and Bastian out of the corner of her eye as they passed. She nodded politely and kept going, reaching for Bastian’s hand as they walked and moving closer. She guessed the cat was out of the bag now.

They reached the Earle with minutes to spare for their reservation and were shown immediately to their table. Mirabelle took a good look around as the hostess led them through the restaurant and was pleased with the décor and general feel of the place. It was very warm and inviting, with the outer front wall in bare brick and the others in beige-brown paint. The tables had navy tablecloths, and the chairs were large and comfortable. A stage took up a corner, and a jazz band was playing, but they were far enough away that it was just loud background music. She ordered sparkling water and limoncello and listened as the hostess listed off the names of the scotch they had. One of them had a strange name followed by the words “special release,” which made Bastian’s eyes widen, and he immediately said he’d take a double of that one and an ice water.

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