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“I thought we’d done that with press conference?”
“Sweetheart, I want to celebrate the rebirth of our marriage, show everyone we’re back together. I’ll understand if you want to cancel until after we’ve dealt with Mwana, but I thought you’d also want to celebrate our special occasion.” “Special occasion?” she asked, puzzled.
He pulled her closer. “Have you forgotten what day tomorrow is?”
Frowning, she started to shake her head, but then the date burst through her brain like an exploding firework.
“Oh, my God, Nick, I can’t believe I did!” Deep chagrin tinged her voice.
“With everything that’s gone on lately, I don’t blame you for forgetting we will be married exactly one year tomorrow.”
“But how could I?” Tears clouded her eyes. Her wedding day had been the happiest day of her life.
“You probably buried it subconsciously because our marriage didn’t turn out the way you’d envisioned it. And for that, I’m sorry.” Nick brushed away a tear from her cheek. “It’s okay,yineka mou. I won’t hold it against you. But we need to decide whether we’re going ahead with the party or not. According to Bertrand, the
RSVPs have been coming in thick and fast.”
“Oh, no. How many people did you invite?”
“Only those important to us. And one or two business associates.” The poker face he tried to adopt didn’t pass muster.
“Nick! That’s about half of London.”
A very Greek shrug manifested itself as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Can you blame me for wanting to show off my beautiful wife to the world?”
Ignoring her palpitating heart she said, “Not normally, but I think tomorrow is a special day, a day for us, and I’d like to keep it intimate, if you don’t mind.”
“And this will make you happy?” he asked, an intent look in his eyes.
Feeling the tears threaten again, she nodded. “Then I will make it so.”
“Won’t they be upset?”
“They know what you’ve been through. I’ll smooth things over. I suspect Jameson will be pleased, too, for security reasons.”
In the end, they settled for a modest guest list of twenty-five, and she felt relieved when she learned Nick, through Bertrand, had already set events in motion. Dealing with floral arrangements and extensive menus had never been her forte.
While Bertrand handled the caterers and florists, she wrestled with what dress to choose from the twelve her stylist had delivered that morning. When she found out Nick had arranged for her to visit a beauty spa, she felt secretly grateful.Her hair had grown wild and unkempt in the last two months. A simple solution would have been to scrape it all up for the evening, but she didn’t put it past Nick, who loved her hair down, to put a cog in that plan.
She was picking matching jewellery for her final three dress choices when she heard Bertrand’s raised voice. She went into the kitchen where he was just hanging up the phone.”
“Is everything all right?”
“It’s nothing, Madame. Just dealing with the catering company’s incompetence. Two of their staff have developed food poisoning. They are trying to find alternatives but—” He threw up his hands in an uncharacteristic Gallic display of frustration.
Belle hid her smile behind her hand. Only Bertrand would see someone coming down with food poisoning as a personal affront to his well-laid plans.
“Do you need me to do anything?” she offered.
“Non, Madame,merci. It is a mere hiccup. I will deal with it.” He straightened his cuffs and picked up the phone again.
“Great. Thanks, Bertrand.” She couldn’t suppress her smile as she returned to her room. Suddenly, it felt good to be home.
Their anniversary daydawned bright if a bit on the chilly side. After a frantic call to Liz, her friend had offered to come to the salon with her. Belle tried to ignore the cynicism in Liz’s tone when she’d heard the reason for the salon session. They met at a swanky café on the Kings Road, a few streets from the spa, and they’d barely sat down with their mocha lattes before her straight-talking friend plunged into conversation.
“You and Nick are truly backtogethertogether, I see,” she said with a meaningful glance at her wedding rings.
“Yes, and before you start giving me a hard time again, I want you to know it won’t be like last time. I love him, Liz, but I’m no longer living under his thumb. He knows I won’t take that. This time we’re both going into it with our eyes wide open.”