Page 9 of Under A Sicilian Sky
‘Not a word. Can’t say I’m bothered though.’ The last thing Ruby wanted was to hear the dickhead’s voice.
‘Didn’t you have any wedding stuff to cancel?
Ruby scoffed. ‘We never actually set a date, so nothing was ever booked. That alone should’ve been a red flag, eh?’
‘Hindsight and all that. Oh, and more flowers have arrived from H. Any idea who that is?’
‘Not a clue. It’s a bit strange but probably just a fan. I’ve received gifts before, and I suppose I should be grateful it’s something nice like flowers. It could be so much worse under the circumstances.’
‘Ah well, at least you know you have a supporter out there. Look, the suite at the Four Seasons is still on hold as soon as you need. But let me know if you decide not to take it, okay? And, Ruby, we’re gonna get you through this.’
There was another knock at her door.
‘Thank you, Valerie. Look, I have to go but I’ll speak to you later. Bye.’
She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. ‘Come in!’ she said as brightly as she could manage.
Philippe cleared his throat. ‘Miss Ruby, I’m afraid I have seen Monsieur Harrison on the news and—’
Her lip trembled. ‘It’s okay, Philippe, I’ve just seen it.’
He shrugged. ‘Now you see what I knew all along. Il est un sac à merde.’
She nodded, figuring out, with what little French she could remember from school, what he’d said. ‘Oh yes. He certainly is a giganticsac à merde.’ And if she got the opportunity any time soon, she would tell him that to his face.
* * *
Sunday was family day for the Brodeurs. They graciously invited her to stay another night so she could join in with their board games. Bayleigh had suggested Trivial Pursuit and Ruby had gone on to answer every single entertainment question correctly.
‘I think we should ban Ruby from answering pink questions!’ Bayleigh said with a giggle. ‘I say we make her answer all the science ones instead.’
‘If that’s how it’s gonna be, maybe you should be banned from answering the sports questions!’ Brienne interjected with a wink at Ruby.
‘Maybe we could go out to the garage and play pool?’ Philippe suggested.
‘Oh yeah, Dad, let’s play a game you can actually win, huh?’ Bayleigh said and Jessica and Brienne laughed along as Philippe feigned innocence.
The day was so much fun, and as Ruby watched the four family members playing around and laughing with each other she smiled. The love that Jessica and Philippe had for their daughters shone in their eyes, and every so often they would share a secret smile that spoke of their love for each other too.
Dinner was pizza which was to be followed by a movie. Brienne and Bayleigh sat, one on either side of Ruby, as Philippe cleared away the dishes and Jessica made a bowl of popcorn.
‘I think you should choose what we watch, Ruby,’ Brienne told her. ‘I mean, I’m guessing there are certain movies you really don’t wanna watch,’ she said with a cringe. ‘So, if you choose, we know you’ll be happy.’ She shrugged.
Ruby smiled at the sweet gesture. ‘Thank you, Brienne. That’s very kind. What type of movies do you both like?’
Bayleigh chimed in, ‘I like horror, but my sister’s a wuss and has to hide behind a pillow if we watch anything scarier thanThe Addams Family.’
Brienne rolled her eyes. ‘Oh yeah? And who had to sleep with the light on last year after she watched that old movie about the kids in the woods and the witch?’
Ruby interjected, ‘TheBlair Witch Project? That scared the pants off me!’
Bayleigh nodded vehemently. ‘Right?’ She shifted in her seat and waved her hands. ‘Oh my god, the tree outside my window was tapping on the glass and I had to get my dad to go out at midnight and trim the branch!’
Ruby giggled. ‘Oh no, poor Philippe. Anyway, weren’t you a bit young to be watchingThe Blair Witch Project?’
Bayleigh chewed her lip and appeared sheepish. ‘Hmm… I was at a friend’s house for a slumber party and her brother dared us to watch it. Brie had stayed home.’
Brienne gave a hearty laugh. ‘Mom and Dad went ape when they found out.’
