“I can pay you back for the salmon—”
“I’m not asking you to do that.” Marnie shook her head. “I just... I just want you to sort things out with Ari, okay? Sort it out. Please.”
“Mom,” Tom replied softly, “I’m going to try my best, okay? That’s all I can promise right now. I’ll try my best. I want this to work with her . . . I still love her, Mom.”
“I know,” Marnie replied with a sigh. “I know you do.”
“I’ve always loved her,” Tom said, the weight of truth heavy on his tongue.
“So, she’s not just some woman then?” Corentin asked wryly, and Tom turned to him, shaking his head.
“Not just some woman,” he replied. “My Ari. And I want to win her back.”
* * *
“You know, I’ve been thinking . . .” Sebastian remarked, looking at Ari and Luis with a serious expression.
“Dare I ask?” Ari replied, popping two paracetamols into her mouth and chugging them back with a mouthful of water.
“It’s just, now that Reine has that incredibly awkward blank space on her birth certificate filled, she should really move schools.”
Ari stared at him, affronted. “There’s nothing wrong with being a single mum. Besides, Reine loves her school, andIlove her school. Why would I move her?”
“Also,” Luis cut in, “you forget that I’m the secretary of the PTA. If Reine leaves the school, they’ll ask me to leave too.” His face darkened. “And I just know that cow Barbara Canning has her eye on my role.”
“So? Let her have it. You complain about the PTA all the time,” Sebastian replied flippantly.
“Yeah, but it’s still mine.” Luis crossed his arms over his chest. “Until that scheming witch Barbara Canning gets her way, that is.”
“Forget Barbara Canning,” Sebastian replied.
“I try, but she’s insidious. Sometimes I dream about her at night, you know.”
“Don’t remind me.” Sebastian groaned. “Nothing like being woken in the middle of the night by your leg kicking my stomach while you shout ‘Barbara, get away from that cake stand!’ or ‘Barbara, you bitch, that’s my patch to sell raffle tickets! Stick to the back gate where you belong!’ or—”
“Guys, I have a massive headache building right behind my temple,” Ari cut in, rubbing her forehead, “and I’m already maxed out on painkillers. Sebastian, get to the point and tell me why I need to move my child from the school she loves to — that’s a point, where do you even think I should move her?”
“Why, a good British public school, of course,” Sebastian replied confidently.
Ari groaned. “Not this again. She’s not going to St Paul’s Girls School, okay? I don’t care how good their synchronised swim team is.”
Sebastian gave a frustrated sigh. “Things have changed since you last said no, Ari. Reine’s a Somerset now. Think of her marriage prospects.”
“Her marriage prospects!” Ari rolled her eyes. “Oh, for the love of God, is this about Prince George again? If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times — stop trying to marry my child into the royal family.”
“I was only half-serious before,” Sebastian carried on without blinking. “But Ari, honey, think about it. With Reine’s looks and background, plus all that French royal blood and money now, she could goall the way.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Sebastian,” Luis chimed in. “Reine isn’t going to marry a prince.”
“You don’t know that,” Sebastian returned easily. “And just think, if she did, you could design her wedding dress.”
At that, Luis sat up, a flicker of interest in his eyes. “I’d be like the Emanuels.”
“Think of the miles of taffeta you could use,” Sebastian smiled at him. “The yards and yards of silk and satin.”
“Don’t persuade Luis into this, Sebbie,” Ari said with a frown. “Reine is going to make her own choices in life. I’m not going to encourage her to spend her life chasing after a prince who may or may not even be interested in her.”
“What, you mean just like you did?” Sebastian quipped, before he clapped a hand over his mouth. “God, Ari, I’m so sorry—”
