‘Come here,’ Jessica told Jean-Luc, rising from her seat. ‘Come and sit next to Hannah. Then you can gabble away in French together as much as you like.’
Obediently, Jean-Luc got up and moved to the other side of the table, where he and Hannah sort of huddled together, their shoulders almost touching, and proceeded to strike up an intimate conversation just for two.
Meanwhile, Jessica took the chair beside Edie, crossing her long legs easily, one over the other.
‘Did you buy anything?’ she asked.
Edie shook her head. ‘Not this time.’ She was gazing at Hannah’s flushed face and simpering smile and wondering why Jessica seemed so keen on pushing her and Jean-Luc together. Did she find it amusing? If so, Edie didn’t get the joke.
Jean-Luc might mock his father’s womanising ways, but by the looks of it, he was a chip off the old block. He was certainly doing his best to bewitch Hannah, who was embarrassing herself, she was so smitten. She was like putty in his hands.
‘It’s good to see Hannah smiling for once,’ Jessica said in a low voice, as if she could read Edie’s mind. ‘She seemed so tense yesterday and this morning. Like a coiled spring.’
‘Oh, she’s always like that at the beginning of a holiday,’ Edie replied airily. ‘She works like a demon most of the time and it takes her a few days to unwind. She’ll get there.’
This wasn’t strictly true, but Jessica needed to be reminded of Edie’s long-standing friendship with Hannah. She couldn’t just waltz in and make out she knew more about Hannah’s state of mind than Edie did.
She didn’t seem to get the message, though.
‘She needs to know not all men are like Mac. There aresomenice ones.’
A bubble of hot rage swelled and popped in Edie’s stomach. She wanted to tell Jessica to mind her own bloody business. She wished she’d never mentioned she was worried about Hannah and Mac’s relationship.
She was on the point of saying something when she noticed Marina fidgeting, first with her hair, then the hem of her dress. Edie and Jessica had been completely ignoring her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Edie said, turning to Marina. ‘How rude of us!’
Marina shook her head and leaned forward to take a sip of water from the glass in front of her.
‘No, no, it’s not you. I feel a bit light-headed, that’s all.’
She set the glass back down with a sigh.
‘That’s better. It’s gone now. Perhaps I was dehydrated.’
‘Here you are!’
Edie glanced round and was surprised to see Mac sauntering towards them. He waved at her and gave a cheery smile but her heart sank nevertheless.
He looked quite suave in a red-and-white-striped shirt, open at the neck and rolled up at the sleeves, smart navy shorts and boat shoes. On reaching the café, he stopped right in front of Edie and ran a hand through his thick brown hair.
‘I’ve been trying to call Hannah but she never picks up,’ he said, rolling his eyes.
He glanced round the table and it was only then he noticed Hannah next to Jean-Luc. They were bent over, their knees almost touching, and so deep in conversation, they hadn’t even clocked his arrival.
‘Hannah?’ Mac said. ‘Hello!’
Hannah looked up and started. ‘What are you doing here?’
Quickly pulling back her legs, she straightened up, tucked her hair behind her ears and reached for her sunglasses, which were on the table. ‘I thought you were relaxing by the pool.’
‘I got bored, so I thought I’d come and find you, my darling wife,’ Mac replied, somewhat sarcastically. ‘Aren’t you pleased to see me?’
Hannah gave a small, cool smile. ‘Of course. Come and join us. Would you like a drink?’
He took a chair from the empty table next door and Edie shuffled round to make room. Jessica then made the introductions, telling Mac first about Marina, then her brother.
‘Hannah’s been practising her French with Jean-Luc,’ she said. ‘It seems to be improving by the minute.’
