Page 23 of My Big Fat Italian Break-Up

‘Yes, you were. But you were also right. I seem to be the only one wanting this wedding, after all.’

‘Don’t say that. Julian loves you.’

I huffed. ‘I know. But he sure has a weird way of showing it lately.’

‘The poor guy’s stressed. He has a million things on his mind.’

‘And I don’t? I run this place single-handed. All he does is come and go, talk to strangers about his books and smile into cameras. I’d gladly trade. Plus, he’s always with that…Sienna.’

I knew I was being unfair. He’d never said or done anything untoward that could remotely make me worry. It was just my old insecurity demons playing with my mind.

‘Aww, come on. None of that self-doubt again. How many times do we have to do this? He lovesyou.’

I bit my lip, then eyed him. ‘Yeah. I know.’

‘And if anything, please be kind to her formysake at least?’ Paul pleaded. ‘Sienna has amazing connections. I should get on her good side to see if she can hook me up with prospective clients.’

‘And I’m the one who needs an honesty check? Could you sound any more utilitarian?’

He shrugged. ‘That’s how business works. You know that better than me.’

‘Right.’

‘So you promise to be diplomatic with her and get me in there?’

I huffed. ‘Promise.’

And it turned out Sienna Thornton-Jones didn’t simply have connections. Shewasconnections. A real jet-setter. Word had it she’d been involved in some sort of politico-sex scandal as a teenager – something about a much older man, an MP – but I wasn’t supposed to know. As if I didn’t have fingers to surf the net like the rest of the world.

And now she was already dazzling Julian with talks about a movie option for his first comeback book,Stepping Up.

‘Of course, we’ll have to go straight to the USA, which means that you won’t be here for Thanksgiving and maybe even Christmas. Sorry,’ she said, eyeing us both.

She was no idiot. She knew what this was costing us relationship-wise. But did she care? She was just like Terry. People were secondary to her own needs. I guess, at the end of the day, most of us were like that. I wanted to put the wedding day before Julian’s career. But – and therein lay the difference – I never had. Because I loved him and wanted him to have everything he’d never had before. Even if now I was starting to think that she was milking it a bit too much.

Ease up on him, I wanted to say to her.We’re trying to keep our family together and your schedule isn’t helping.

‘What do you think?’ Julian asked me when we were alone in our bedroom. ‘A movie…’

‘It sounds like a wonderful opportunity.’ Gawd, could I have been any more lame?Support your man in all weathers, I told myself, although it was storming brutally on my part at the moment.

‘Geez, Erica, a little less enthusiasm or you’ll go right through the roof.’

I stared at him. ‘I’m being very enthusiastic and supportive,’ I argued. ‘I just don’t want you to get hurt. Do you know how many times a movie option dies into nothingness?’

‘I won’t, but for now it’s a nice thing to hang onto, isn’t it?’

‘Is that what you’re doing? Hanging on? Is that what your life has become?’

He groaned. ‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it.’

I sidled over to him, taking his hand. ‘Julian, you’re a beautiful writer. Your stories are raw – honest and uplifting. Keep your feet on your writing path and let your people worry about Hollywood.’

He flinched. ‘Why should I if there’s more to life than writing a book?’

I dropped back, stunned. Is that what he thought his life was about? Writing a book? What about owning an agricultural business, a B & B, horses and oh, by the way, being a stepfather and, while we’re at it, a future husband? Obviously these things, these dreams no longer carried as much weight with him as they used to. Or maybe they were weighing him down too much…

‘I didn’t mean it that way,’ he sighed as I turned away from him.

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