Page 47 of One Summer in Monte Carlo
Even before she tore open the envelope, Nanette guessed who these particular flowers were from. She read the brief message out loud to Patsy.
‘Happy Birthday. Will ring you this evening. Hope you’ve had a great day. Zac.’
Exasperated, Nanette said, ‘They’re lovely flowers, but I wish he hadn’t sent them. I’m going to have to say thank you and the last thing I want to do at the moment is thank Zac Ewart for anything. Why is he going to ring me this evening?’
‘We won’t be here anyway, will we?’ Patsy said. ‘Aren’t we going out to dinner in’ – she looked at her watch – ‘about an hour and a half, with Jean-Claude and Mathieu to celebrate your birthday in style?’
‘Heavens, is it that late already? We’d better think about getting ready.’
Nanette took Zac’s flowers out to the kitchen and asked Florence if she’d kindly find a vase for them.
Mathieu, arriving back with the twins just then, handed Nanette a small package. ‘Olivia and Pierre thought you’d like this. Happy Birthday from us all.’
‘This’ turned out to be a beautiful silk scarf from one of the designer boutiques on Avenue de Monte Carlo.
‘Thank you,’ Nanette said, hugging the twins and gently fingering the luxurious material. ‘It’s lovely. I shall wear it this evening.’
* * *
The Italian restaurant where Jean-Claude had booked a table was only a short walk away and Mathieu escorted them there. Nanette acknowledged her heart’s missed beat with a smile as she saw Jean-Claude standing there waiting for them.
‘Happy birthday,’ he said, and kissed her cheeks. The wordsma chériewere added so quietly that only Nanette heard them and she smiled at him gratefully.
Gallantly taking her hand in his, Jean-Claude escorted her to their table, where an attentive waiter was waiting to pour the champagne before taking their orders. A pianist was playing a medley of Italian songs and several couples were making use of the small dance floor around which the tables were grouped.
‘Will you excuse us while the birthday girl and I have this dance?’ Jean-Claude asked, looking at Mathieu and Patsy.
‘Go ahead,’ Mathieu said, looking at Patsy. ‘Would you like to?’
‘I’ll sit this one out, thanks,’ Patsy answered. ‘I think the bump would rather get in the way.’
Nanette, moving slowly around the dance floor, Jean-Claude’s arms holding her close, breathed a sigh of happiness. A feeling that this birthday was going to herald in a year of changes to her life flooded through her body, and surely this time, they would be good changes.
‘Thank you for my beautiful flowers, JC,’ Nanette murmured.
‘My pleasure. I have other presents for you, too, but you will have to come to the villa to collect them. Maybe when Patsy has returned home? Now, we’d better return to our table, I can see the waiters arriving with our food.’
The meal was delicious. Conversation and laughter flowed between the four of them. It was only when the waiter brought the sweet trolley for them to choose from that she realised Patsy had gone quiet.
Concerned, she looked at her. ‘Patsy are you all right? You look awfully pale.’
‘I’m fine – just feel a bit queasy. Probably too much rich food. I think I’ll skip dessert.’
‘Do you want to go back to the apartment?’ Nanette asked.
‘Certainly not, but if you could just point me in the direction of the ladies’?’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Nanette said, giving her an anxious look.
‘You stay here,’ Patsy said, standing up. ‘I’m pregnant – not incapacitated. I see they’ve got your favourite dessert,’ she added, glancing at the trolley. ‘So enjoy.’
Nanette could hardly swallow a spoonful of her tiramisu, delicious as it was. When, after ten minutes, Patsy hadn’t returned, she stood up.
‘I’ll just go check on Patsy,’ she said.
Nanette found her sister, sitting in a wicker chair, sipping a glass of water given to her by the concerned restroom attendant.
‘What’s going on?’
