Page 89 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘No, she’s madly in love with you and can’t wait to marry you.’

He’s visibly relieved for a sec but then a frown appears. ‘But what then?’ How on EARTH do I tell him that thirty feet away, his ex-wife is waiting to watch him marry my sister?

Oh, fuck it, I think. ‘Your ex-wife is in the next room. Cécile brought her.’

His reaction would be comical if this were a movie and not real life?disbelief tinged with ‘ha-ha, very funny’ accompanied by a snort of laughter and then stillness, his eyes locked on mine, and finally realisation. ‘No,’ he says in an intense whisper.

‘Yes.’

‘Fuck,’ says Josh.

‘Yes to that as well.’

Jean-Luc’s eyes are roving the floorboards as though they have the answer to this dilemma. He blows out one of those French sighs, the ones like a raspberry. ‘I will? I will take care of this.’

I want to ask how, but he’s off before I can form the word, and Josh and I follow him into the next room. ‘Bonsoir, everyone, pardon but we will need just a moment of your patience. Nothing is wrong, but we will commence bientôt?as soon as possible.’ He smiles, then reaches down and grabs Cécile’s hand, tugging on it until she stands.

Vanessa stands too and Jean-Luc pauses then leans across and with a tight smile, kisses her on both cheeks, his expression fraught. He turns and drags Cécile by her hand into the reception room. Josh and I step back to let them pass and Jean-Luc takes her over to the window where they have a hushed but heated conversation in French. I only understand every tenth or twelfth word, but when Cécile shrugs and crosses her arms across her chest, I want to bitch slap her into oblivion. I hadn’t known I was capable of such violent thoughts until now.

‘Pardon,’ says a soft voice behind us. I turn and there she is, the Halle Berry look-alike.

‘Hello,’ I say, a sharp edge to my voice.

‘I … I think I will leave,’ she says.

‘Good idea.’

She recoils as though I’ve smacked her. ‘I … je suis désolée … Cécile, she convinced me that …’ She pauses, taking a breath. ‘I now see that Jean-Luc did not know … this was very stupid.’ At least she seems contrite, but I’m not quite ready to let her off the hook.

‘And cruel. My sister saw you. She knows you’re here.’

‘Je comprends. I am sorry. I will go.’ So, the ex-wife is not heinous, just misguided?or gullible. How on earth did Cécile convince her this was a good idea? I thought Vanessa was supposed to be intelligent.

‘Mon chou,’ she calls out?an endearment that’s hard to hear?and Jean-Luc looks up from his conversation with Cécile. He throws his sister a harsh look, then rushes over. He remains silent, a vein pulsing at his jawline. Vanessa rattles off what I am assuming is a heartfelt apology about how stupid she’d been listening to Cécile. Then she leans over and they repeat the rigid cheek kisses and she goes to leave.

Cécile is there in a shot, pulling on her arm and imploring Jean-Luc to stop her from going. ‘Non,’ he says to her emphatically and in English he adds, ‘I will speak to you later. This is …’ he seems to battle to find the word, then ‘… inexcusable. Désolé, Vanessa, but I agree, you must go.’

Vanessa nods then leaves. Like mine earlier, her footsteps echo on the floorboards as every one of the wedding guests watches her departure. I notice that Louis drops his head and shakes it?hopefully he’s as appalled by his wife’s behaviour as the rest of us. ‘Tu es un idiot, petit frère,’ hisses Cécile. Well, I know what that means.

‘Hey! Back off,’ I say, glaring at her. She scoffs at me.

‘Sarah,’ says Jean-Luc, placing a hand on my arm.

‘This is the family you want to marry into,’ Cécile says to him.

‘Yes. I am proud that they are my family, unlike how I feel about you at the moment.’

Well, that stung. She has no words and her eyes tear up. She swallows heavily as the siblings glare at each other. ‘C'est si blessant,’ she says, her voice catching.

Jean-Luc’s expression softens slightly. ‘Cécile … I love you but I am very angry. And you will need to apologise to Catherine.’ She shakes her hair back and lifts her chin, the stubborn cow. ‘I mean it, or I will ask you to leave.’

Her eyes narrow, then she snorts out a sigh and swipes at an errant tear. ‘D’accord,’ she says, though I don’t believe for a heartbeat that she’ll apologise to Cat.

Jean-Luc nods, clearly relieved, then steps past her and with a bright smile, he addresses everyone who is waiting?our friends, the celebrant, and Louis. ‘Just one more moment, please. I must go and get the bride.’ He jogs across the loft and disappears down the stairs.

Cécile’s eyes flick towards mine and I give her my best schoolteacher glare until she scurries away back to her seat.

‘Well, that was …’ says Josh, placing his hand on my shoulder. I turn and give him a quick hug.

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