Page 4 of Never Have We Ever
Chapter 2
Their wedding was on a holy Sunday and likewise hosted on a flower-filled plantation boasting a 17thcentury chateau and a community-sized cathedral that once initiated the local French duchy into the route to Heaven. The property did not belong to the Dubois family, but to an old family friend who insisted on renting the whole estate to Madame Dubois and her onlyson for one Euro.
The rest of the budget went to the pageantry.
When a member of the Dubois family married, it was practically a royal affair. Heads of states and some of the oldest families in Europe – to survive revolutions, anyway – appeared with gifts that cost more than the wedding. Cakes and treats were driven in from Paris, while the food was unapologetically Mediterranean, with trainedItalian and Greek chefs creating a delectable fusion that tingled every taste bud at the outdoor reception. Horse carriages transported the bridal party from the chateau to the cathedral, and then from the cathedral to the gardens, where the reception tittered with a live orchestra and Valeska’s favorite classical German singer, who had the honors of performing for the couple’s first dance as husbandand wife.
Valeska may have been a year older, but she was hardly any wiser. Over those past few months she volleyed between canceling the nuptials and convincing herself it was the best choice for her sophisticatedly humble life. Although the magazine editor and photographer who arrived early on the morning of her wedding to take a photoshoot of her Italian bridal gown made her feel anythingbuthumble.
She was a princess. A few years before Kate Middleton walked in Westminster Abbey, but she felt as much of an imported Germanic princess as Marie Antoinette must have once thought herself.
Except Queen Marie Antoinette had her head lopped off in that very country. A country Valeska would soon call her second home as soon as the immigration papers went through and she received hernew passport. She still couldn’t hold a conversation in French.
She couldn’t holdanyconversations on her wedding day. How could she, when five thousand thoughts swam in her exhausted head. Was her dress okay? The zipper hadn’t ripped, had it? Where was her sister? In the nursery with her newborn when she should have been searching for Valeska’s bouquet? What the hell was their mother Marlenedoing now? Flirting with the British prime minister? She had better things to do!
Granted, Valeska’s family was much more invested in the wedding than she was. The bride was more concerned about what would happenafterthe wedding.
She was especially worried when she walked down the aisle in the small cathedral and saw her new husband standing in his fitted suit. She had barely kissed this man,let alone seen him naked or felt how he made love.
Because, as fate had it, they were still strangers.
They had courted, of course. Once the engagement was announced, their families’ PR agencies made it clear that they must be photographed together at least once a week, assuming André wasn’t on the other side of the world for business. So they dated – at least once a week.
Dinners, operas,plays, and tours through home cities with only one bodyguard shadowing them in the twilight. Their mutual English was good enough to get their points across and their opinions noted. Yet it wasn’t enough to dig deeper into their hearts and unearth how theyreallyfelt about one another.
André was a gentleman, of course. A handsome young man of means whoappearedto be good husband material, assuminghe stayed true to his gentlemanly word. As for fatherly material? That also remained to be seen.
Except she didn’t really know him. Only a few chaste kisses had ever been exchanged. Kisses that still made her knees tremble and her lips burn for the next several hours, but chaste nonetheless. Even after they exchanged phone numbers and sent each other daily greetings – in their native languages,because wasn’t that adorable? – Valeska still married a stranger.
Hence her occasional desire to run. It was only when she reminded herselfwhyshe was doing this that she remained true to her oath to her family. The Reiters already reaped the immense benefits of joining with the Dubois family. Valeska’s father had new business connections in the Francophone world, and in return, money was pumpedinto a Dubois investment in western Russia. Everyone they spoke to declared the match heavenly, and the new couplemagnifique.Several gossip magazines insisted that they were the most beautiful couple of the year, and everyone wept to imagine how Valeska would look in her wedding dress.
She was presentable, she supposed. The lacy sleeves itched, and the veil was unwieldly in her curly hair,but nobody criticized her. Marlene and little sister Hailey were the types to criticize Valeska without consideration.
She removed the veil in the carriage on the way to the reception. Beside her, the man she had joined in holy matrimony asked if she had tracked any dirt on her hem.
“It’s fine,” Valeska insisted, but only because she couldn’t stand the thought of André touching her when shewas so anxious. She had married him, but they were not yet close enough for her to feel that comfortable around him. Mrs. Valeska Dubois – shit, that would take getting used to – needed her space in that cramped Victorian carriage.
Everyone complimented on their exquisite tastes, and most of that praise was lobbed at Valeska, who thanked her guests for their kind words. In reality, she had noidea who was catering or that every centerpiece would be a giant Easter lily surrounded by pink baby’s breath. The wedding planning had been entirely left up to Marlene, with only a few bits of input from Valeska. The only thing she insisted on having total control over was her dress. Marlene hadn’t put up a fight, since she and Valeska had the same tastes in high fashion.
This wedding wasn’tabout the new couple. It was about their families celebrating their fabulous business deal, and this was their public chance to show their closest confidants and other big names of Europe how rich and tasteful they were. Both the Dubois family and the Reiters would walk away from the reception with Blackberries full of new contacts that would go on to become some of their biggest clients.
Perhaps,if Valeska and André had been in love… her feelings toward her “big day” would have been different.
Instead, she treated her own wedding as a theatrical attraction. She played the coveted lead role of bride, starring opposite of the (formerly) most eligible bachelors in Europe, let alone France. As long as she followed the script of greeting guests, eating cake, and dancing with her male lead,she would be fine.
Unfortunately, the headspace had to end. As twilight loomed on the horizon, the Parisian wedding coordinator whispered in the couple’s ears that it was time for them to leave.
Hailey and Marlene accompanied the bride into a small room built specifically for this moment. While the party continued outside, the other Reiter women looked Valeska up and down and muttered to themselvesin brusque German.
“It would be a terror if this dress is harmed. We should have her change.”
“They’re just going to the chateau, Mother.” Hailey, who usually had her baby attached to her hip these days, scoffed. “It would be much quicker to let her into the honeymoon suite and let him deal with the dress. So what if he tears it off her body?”
Valeska gasped.
“You know what I mean, right?”Hailey laughed at her big sister’s embarrassment. “You married the man. You must know he’s a steed.”
“Hailey.” Marlene shook her head. “Please. Your sister is a lady, unlike you.”
