‘I’ve only met you twice, Noelle, and I already know that’s true,’ Ashleigh agreed with a rueful smile and her eyes flicked to Olivier’s. ‘It takes one to know one.’
‘Well, shit. You sure know who your friends are when the alcohol loosens people’s tongues.’ Noelle broke the last crust of baguette she’d been nibbling in two and threw them at Beth and Ashleigh.
Nick picked up the bread and put it on the plate on the table. ‘No food-fighting – this isn’t our house.’
‘On that note, actually, we should make a move.’ Stephen rubbed Noelle’s back. ‘Thank you so much for your hospitality, Olivier.’
‘God, you’re sexy when you use your manners.’ Noelle’s eyes widened as everyone stared at her, including her boyfriend who the remark had been directed huskily towards. ‘Did I say that out loud?’
They all began untangling themselves from each other, getting up to put shoes and coats back on. There was a melee of hugs and kisses and goodbyes at the door and then the house was quiet, only the sound of music playing low in the background.
Ashleigh hadn’t left with them. It was just the two of them now.
And his maman upstairs with her earplugs in.
They looked at each other and the distance between them seemed to be heavy with unspoken things.
‘I’ll help you tidy up,’ she offered.
They carried the dishes and mugs through to the kitchen. And then she sat down at the kitchen table and twisted on her chair to talk to him, stretching her arm over the back, as she rested her chin on her shoulder, her bright eyes following him as he moved around the kitchen.
‘I’m so sorry about yesterday, Olivier.’
He ran some water in the sink, adding washing-up liquid, because he needed to keep his hands busy. ‘You don’t need to be sorry, Ashleigh. You didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘But you were upset about what I said. About your mum. I really didn’t mean it. I know how much your mum loves you. She talks about you all the time, and she’s so proud.’
Olivier smiled. ‘That’s lovely to hear. I wasn’t upset with you.’
‘I could tell something was wrong.’
He hesitated. Of course she’d noticed – she’d always had that knack with him, and he supposed it wouldn’t be kind to leave her imagining that it was her fault. ‘It was what you said about burying my head in the sand. Sometimes the truth hurts I suppose. I think I did that with Nancy.’
‘Nancy?’
‘My ex-wife.’
Her eyes widened and her skin paled like he’d mentioned Voldemort. She who must not be named. ‘Will you tell me what happened?’ She said the words calmly but her delicate shoulders had stiffened.
He turned his back on the sink, drying his hands on a towel and frowning down at the new tiles on his maman’s kitchen floor as he started to tell her about it.
‘I made a very big mistake when I married Nancy.’ He kept his voice low. ‘We had a whirlwind courtship. A few months and we fancied ourselves desperately in love. Or I did, anyway.’
Ash gave him a small nod as though to indicate she was following but the rest of her was very still.
‘I think I liked the idea of being in love. And Nancy is one of those people who everyone wants to be around. People are drawn to her. I was flattered that she was interested in me. So, I proposed, and we married just a couple of months after that. My papa was adamant that it was a bad idea, but I wouldn’t hear it. I think I wanted something of my own, something that he’d had no hand in – and some stability after years of moving backwards and forwards between boarding school and my papa’s and maman’s.
‘So, we began to live our lives, and I thought everything was going very well. We bought the apartment and I was working hard – you know it’s long hours at the restaurant and…well my papa was especially demanding as he’d just promoted me. Nancy still went out a lot in the evenings and of course, I wouldn’t ever have expected her to stay home alone. And then we were invited to an opening of a new restaurant, one of my papa’s friends…and I found out afterwards…’ He cleared his throat. ‘My papa showed me some photographs of her with someone else.’
Ashleigh sat straight up in her chair, blue eyes wide. ‘Oh, Olivier, no. I’m sorry.’
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘He said he’d always known she was “that kind of girl” and that I should have listened to him. But I don’t believe there is a “type of girl” – just all different people and situations. He’s a bit, old-fashioned like that. All that aside, when I confronted her, she admitted it wasn’t even the first time. She was bored being married to me.Thatwas what I should have known. We weren’t suited really – I like to go out and socialise of course, but I also like simple pleasures, dinner at home with friends and family, watching classic films. Old before my time she said. We had never stopped to talk about anything serious really. It was all excitement and I buried my head in the sand and didn’t spot the signs that would have told me she wasn’t happy. Or wasn’t the person I really wanted to be with.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘You don’t have to say anything. It was my mistake. We didn’t communicate. I wasn’t clear. I didn’t say what I wanted and went along with what she wanted until I couldn’t because I had other obligations that got in the way and…well, we found out too late that we weren’t compatible after all.’
‘You shouldn’t blame yourself for how other people have treated you.’
