Chapter 5
Five
CLARA
I n hindsight, I should have been petty enough to send an itemised list of everything in the flat that was mine and therefore should not be touched. Maybe then, I wouldn’t have come home to find my sofa missing.
I found out through the grapevine (Drew told Gavin, who told Becky, who told me) that Drew planned to get his stuff from the flat four days after I asked Jesse to be my plus one to the wedding.
It hadn’t been hard to find a way to make sure I was out of the flat for as much of the day as possible. I’d tagged along with Becky as she did some last-minute wedding errands. She and Gavin were supposed to be doing them together, but something had come up for Gavin, and Becky couldn’t do it alone, so it ended up working out perfectly in the end.
While we were deciding what colour garter Becky should wear, she asked me if I was sad about the fact that somewhere in London, an era was coming to an official end. Part of me was sad that the man that I’d built a life with was extracting himself from the very fabric of it, but it was dwarfed by the part of me that knew it was the right move for me. For both of us.
All of me was angry when I returned home. Legs aching, I went to throw myself onto the sofa and nearly ended up in a broken heap on the floor because it wasn’t there anymore.
As I was trying to assess if Drew had taken anything else that wasn’t his, I heard three knocks on the door. As expected, Jesse was standing on the other side. He immediately pulled me into a quick hug, and I went happily.
“He seemed hellbent on taking the sofa, which feels strange because I don’t recall him being involved in getting it up here,” Jesse said as a greeting. Suddenly, I remembered that Jesse had been involved in getting the sofa into my flat. He’d caught sight of Dad and Xander trying to get it up the stairs because the lift was broken and had stepped in to help. I didn’t remember what excuse Drew had for not helping.
“How did he even manage it?” I asked as he walked in.
“Well, the lift is working today, so that helped. I’ll come with you when you buy a new one if you want,” he said casually as he headed to my kitchen.
“That won’t be until after the wedding now. I don’t have the headspace to deal with it this side of that,” I said as I followed, leaning against the kitchen island once I got there.
“Which brings me nicely to why I am here. This wedding you invited me to last week and have not brought up again despite seeing me every day since. You having second thoughts about inviting me?” He sounded like he was joking. To anyone else, he might have got away with it, but I could hear the doubt lingering under the surface.
“Not at all. It was actually on my list of things to talk to you about today, so your timing is perfect. You know it’s in France. We’re staying at Domaine de Villeneuve, which is in Villeneuve-Les-Avignon.”
Jesse raised his eyebrows in surprise as he settled into a bar stool.
“That was pretty flawless pronunciation. Do you speak French?”
You’d think it would have come up in the three years I’d known Jesse that English was technically my second language. But apparently, it had not.
“Yeah, my mum is from Martinique. We primarily speak French in my family home. Have we really never spoken about this before?”
“No. Any time I’ve seen you with your parents, you’ve spoken English. Although, I guess that was because you weren’t at home.”
“Well, consider this your confirmation that I speak French.”
“Good to know. Can you give me the travel dates, and I’ll look into flights?”
“No need. Just give me your details, and Xander can probably get you on the same flight as them.”
He frowned. “As them? When are you flying if not with them?”
“The same day, but they are all morning people. I am sure you have noticed that I am not. I’m getting a later flight, and someone is gonna pick me up from the airport.”
Jesse’s fingers were playing with the chain around his neck, and I found myself noticing the length of his fingers.
“Drew wasn’t flying with you?”
Thankfully, he was not due to be on that flight. I’d hated it at the time, but now it was a relief that I wasn’t going to have to travel with my ex-boyfriend. “No. He’s got an immovable meeting that day, so he’s flying the day after.”
“So you’re flying on your own?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
And it was fine. As long as I didn’t think about how much I hated flying.
“I’ll fly with you, if possible. Sounds like you’re flying at a much more reasonable time, anyway.”
I started shaking my head. I was not a good flyer. I’d had more panic attacks in the air than I’d had on the ground. I was not prepared to run the risk of that happening in front of Jesse. He’d already witnessed one extreme outpouring of emotion. I didn’t want him dealing with another so quickly. Jesse placed a hand over mine, which had started gripping the edge of the counter at some point. I loosened my hold on it.
“Clara, I’ll fly with you. It’s probably for the best, anyway, seeing as you’re the one I know best. And I know about your no talking before nine a.m. rule, so I will be a silent companion until you tell me otherwise.” His voice was gentle as his thumb swept over the back of my hand soothingly. I nodded. It would be nice to not have to get on a plane on my own.
“Okay, sure. I still need your details, and I’ll ask Xander to get you on the same flight as me. You have any other questions?”
He squeezed my hand before removing it, leaving tingles in its wake.
“Who’s gonna be there?”
“For the whole week, it’s me and my parents. The twins, their parents, and Rachel. Gavin and his brother, Samuel. Samuel’s wife, Danielle. Addie will get there halfway through the week. You…Drew.” My voice was barely a whisper as I said my ex-boyfriend’s name.
“Oh, so just everyone that you care about most and your ex-boyfriend.” He was trying to tease, but there was an edge to his voice. The weight of what I was asking of him finally hit me.
“You don’t have to come. It’s asking a lot, and it’s fine if you don’t want to. I don’t even know why I asked.”
Except I did know. I wanted him there.
His hand came back out to release my fingers from the counter again.
“Clara, I was joking. I have met most of those people before. It’s fine. I want to come. I am coming, there are no take-backsies.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Poor me. Wait, I’ve remembered other key things you need to know. Bring shoes you can walk in. For a while. Becky insisted on a historical walking tour, and it’s mandatory for all guests. There is a pool. And I’m sorry for the late notice, but grey and black suits are banned for the men attending this wedding. And you can’t wear blue. Oh, let me know if you have any allergies or food preferences, and I can let my dad know as he’s dealing with all the food for the week.”
“Lucky for me, I already have a suit that fits the bill. As for food, I have no allergies, and I eat pretty much anything. Except whole tomatoes. Raw. They’re fine when they’re cooked.”
It was my turn to raise my eyebrows in surprise. “How did I not know that we only eat tomatoes under the exact same circumstances until just now?”
“Que sai,” he replied, his fingers idly playing with one of the rings I was wearing.
Two words spoken in my first language had no business sounding as hot as they just had. I slipped into French to assess just how fucked I might be.
“And you accused me of holding out on you with the French-speaking?”
“There were no accusations. I was just surprised that it had never come up before that we could both speak it,” he said confidently.
I switched back to English. “Why French?”
“Feels like it chose me. It’s the only language I’ve ever been able to pick up,” he answered in English.
“And you’re fluent?”
He leaned back on his stool, releasing my hand, and smirked as he held eye contact with me. “Yeah, I am.”
I was well and truly fucked.