‘Nothing’s perfect,’ Sophie muttered.
Hannah’s eyes widened. ‘Are you saying that sex with my brother is less than perfect?’
Sophie got to her feet in a hurry. ‘I’m not saying that at all. I’m not saying anything about my sex life with your brother.’
She didn’t want to talk about Hannah’s sex life with Luc, either.
Ironically, it was Tom who saved her, as Hannah’s phone buzzed with an incoming message.
‘Oh, my God…’ She looked up at Sophie. ‘Did Tom tell you that Dad’s given him the choice of whatever car he wants from the yard as a wedding present?’
‘He did mention that he and Luc were doing a test drive this afternoon.’
‘He’s made his choice. Look atthis.’
Tom looked as happy as Sophie had ever seen him, leaning on the side of a sleek, stylish and probably absurdly expensive Audi sports car in a bright, almost sapphire shade of blue.
‘He said he had to buy this one.’ Hannah’s voice sounded misty. ‘Because it’s the colour of your eyes.’
11
‘So… this is where you live?’
‘Yes.’ Sophie stepped back to let Luc through the sky-blue door of her house. ‘And work, which is why I suggested you made a bit of a detour on your way to the airport.’
Ouah…Was that an intentional put down? Letting him know that she would never have invited him into her home for a personal reason? Perhaps the thought showed in his face because there was a flash of comprehension in Sophie’s eyes and he could feel that she was thrown off balance. Disconcerted?
‘Our next wedding’s more than a bit hush-hush,’ she added, hurriedly, pushing the door shut. ‘Which is why I didn’t want to discuss any details in a public place or put things in writing that could potentially be intercepted.’
‘I’m intrigued,’ Luc said.
He was looking around a long, thin room that made up the ground floor of the house. At the far end was a huge, arch-shaped window divided into small panes that flooded the space with natural light and he could see framed fragments of forest-covered hills and the Mediterranean in the distance. Two couches sat at right angles to each other beside the window. At this end of the room were two antique, wooden desks and a tall bookshelf piled with file boxes and stacks of paper.
Tilly was sitting at one of the desks.
‘Hi, Tilly,’ Luc said.
‘Cou cou, Phoenix,’ Tilly said. ‘Ça va?’
‘Très bien, merci,’ Luc responded. ‘Et toi?’
Tilly just beamed at him.
‘Tilly’s in her happy place,’ Sophie said. ‘She’s organising a destination proposal.’
‘I think I might like them even better than weddings,’ Tilly said. ‘It’s the first real commitment – the question that makes someone so… vulnerable. The holding the breath for what the answer is going to be. The wedding is…pfft.’ The movement of her hand looked like she was throwing the opinion of others over her shoulder. ‘La cerise sur le gâteau.’
Sophie laughed. ‘It’s a lot of work organising those weddings if they’re just the cherry on the cake. Or the icing, for that matter. Which reminds me – can you give Françoise a call, please, and check on the catering details for the Gilchrist–Dufour wedding? See if they’ve made a final choice for the cake flavour and decoration. I can’t keep Luc too long or he’ll miss his flight.’
‘I’ll call her while I walk,’ Tilly said, getting to her feet and taking her bag from where it was hanging over the back of her chair. ‘I must get to the post office and clear ourboîte postale.’
‘We’ve been using a post office box for all the correspondence to do with this wedding,’ Sophie explained to Luc as Tilly slipped out of the house to head into the village. ‘Just as a security precaution untilNDAs are signed.’
‘Sounds like you’ve got a lot to fill me in on.’ Luc really was intrigued now. ‘Just as well I’ve left plenty of time.’
He was taking in more details of Sophie’s home as he spoke. A narrow staircase against the wall clearly led to another floor of the house and opposite the staircase was a fireplace that was incongruously ornate against the rustic exposed beams in the ceiling and the pitted square terracotta tiles of the floor.
The fireplace was marble, with a carved, leafy grapevine trailing down the sides. Beneath the mantelpiece was a row of inlaid yellow ceramic petals around white centres, like reverse daisies. It was as quirky as the colour choice for the front door and he liked it. He liked the whole feeling of this room, in fact. Even if it was set up as more of an office than a living area, it felt welcoming.
