‘Remind me not to get on the wrong side of you. I’ve worked out a potential schedule which will accommodate both weddings,’ said Hattie, rubbing at her temples, rather pleased with herself.
‘You life saver, thank you,’ said Hattie when Luc walked into the library with a tray of drinks in his hand. As always her heart did a little skip at the sight of him. It was like hitting a big bump in the road and leaving her stomach behind.
‘I could do with a break. Today my cousin has now decided she doesn’t want any bridesmaids, just a best woman. The good news is she has approved the final menu. But you don’t want to hear about that.’
‘Only because I don’t like to see you worrying. Fliss made somecitron pressé.’ He put the tray on her desk. ‘I thought it was safer to have it in here.’
Hattie gave him a quizzical look.
‘She and Alphonse are in the kitchen arguing again. He seems to delight in tormenting her.’
‘I wouldn’t worry, she’s quite able to give as good as she gets. Even my French is good enough to know she called him a pig this morning.’
‘I know, he was most indignant when I got back to the vineyard earlier. Hasn’t stopped cursing her all afternoon.’ Luc said with a laugh. ‘And then in the kitchen, just now he foolishly suggested that Fliss’s soufflé was a fluke. They looked as if they were preparing for a duel. I was worried I’d get caught in the crossfire.’
‘Ouch. What did she say to that?’
‘Quite a lot but the short version is that she’s cooking dinner in two days’ time for everyone, and he’ll be choking on his words.’
‘Ah, there’s not much love lost there,’ observed Hattie.
‘Au contraire,’ murmured Luc, a sudden impish smile tugging at his lips. ‘There’sMuch Ado About Nothing. I think Alphonse likes Fliss very much but he has no idea how to go about telling her and because he’s slightly shocked that he’s attracted to someone who is so much not his idea of the perfect woman.’
‘Really?’ Hattie said, although, when she thought about it, Fliss did seem to have quite a swarm of bees in her bonnet about Alphonse. She never missed an opportunity to insult him or complain about him.
‘Perhaps we should set them up like Beatrice and Benedick,’ he said.
Hattie, recalling the play, grinned. ‘You mean I tell Alphonse that Fliss likes him and you tell Fliss that Alphonse likes her?’
‘That’s it,’ said Luc. ‘Solange would thank us. Alphonse is always complaining he can’t find a woman he likes. What better than a woman he doesn’t like?’
Hattie laughed. ‘That sounds like a line Benedick would use.’
‘You know what I mean. I’ve known Alphonse since I was seven. I can promise you he likes Fliss – a lot.’
‘Well, I don’t know Fliss that well.’ Hattie stopped and thought back to Christmas and Fliss’s relationship with her best friend Jason, a Cockney who could turn the air blue with his swearing. They couldn’t be more dissimilar but they got on like the proverbial house. Honesty compelled her to add, ‘Although when I met her before, she and her friend Jason never missed a chance to take the piss out of each other.’ She took a thoughtful sip of her drink, welcoming the tart refreshment. ‘They do seem to strike sparks whenever they’re together. Maybe she does like him. How about I keep an eye on her and let you know?’
‘You’ll see,’ replied Luc. ‘How are the wedding plans progressing?’
‘Slowly, but I’ve made good progress today, so I count that as a win.’
‘We should celebrate,’ said Luc with a teasing smile, coming round to her side of the desk and tugging her to her feet.
‘And how do you propose doing that?’
He sat on the edge of the desk, pulling her between his legs. ‘Well…’ He lifted a hand to trace her lips. ‘I could kiss you or … how would you like a trip to Paris next week?’
ChapterTwenty-Four
Hattie craned her neck to get a better view of the city as the train slowed down. Luc had said it was much better to take the train as it was only forty-six minutes on the TGV rather than an hour and forty-six minutes if they drove, and the traffic was ‘always crazy in Paris’.
‘Where do you want to go?’ asked Luc, watching her with an indulgent smile.
‘Everywhere,’ she said, bouncing in her seat. ‘I want to see it all. Or as much as possible. The Eiffel Tower? The Arc de Triomphe? The Seine? Notre Dame? Place du Concord? I don’t know. I’ve never been to Paris before.’
‘We’ve got two days I’m not sure we can do everywhere,’ laughed Luc.
And with the wedding just over two weeks away, two days was the absolute maximum she could be away for. Everything was suddenly becoming very last-minute. Gabby was cutting it fine as she hadn’t confirmed numbers or decided which flavour sponge she was going to choose for the wedding cake. Fliss, bless her, was completely calm about everything.
