“It’s…slander.”
“Perhaps, but it’s impossible to chase down every silly headline. Better not to read them in the first place.”
“Ugggh.” Mila’s distaste was obvious.
Cora changed the subject. “How are you feeling?”
“Exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure. Thank you for helping Phoebe organise the other night. I had such a lovely time.”
“I’m glad, Mila.”
The sound of a baby’s crying filtered into the call.
“Uh oh. The twins are awake.”
Cora gripped the phone more tightly, a thousand questions flooding her brain. “Mila—,”
“Yes?”
But now wasn’t the time. The crying grew louder. Cora grimaced. “Nothing. You go and deal with the babies. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“I’llseeyou soon,” Mila corrected. “One week til the wedding!”
“Yes, yes, one week, of course.” She tried to inject enough enthusiasm into her voice, but the truth was, Cora was so tired of pretending. “Give those little darlings a cuddle for me.”
The ceremony wasto take place in the Loire Valley, at a Xenakis family property there, at sunset, as the vines were bathed in gold. A marquee had been erected beside the rambling farmhouse, and guests were being brought by private limousines or helicopters from the nearby town or the small regional airport one village over, where several guests had flown with their private jets.
Everything was in order. Cora had chosen to wear a bright dress, loose to disguise the hint of roundedness starting to show, and even managed to paste a smile onto her face.
After the wedding, she’d tell her brothers that she was pregnant. She wouldn’t out Samir as the father. She couldn’t. She’d simply say that it was an accident but that she was happy and leave it at that. And when the media started speculating?
She’d cross that bridge when she reached it. For now, she wanted only to be a loving, supportive family member for her cousin and his stunning bride.
And Mila was stunning. Even if Cora hadn’t known that Mila was a world-record holding figure skater, she’d have been able to guess from the grace Mila showed as she walked down the aisle—a red carpet that had been laid in the middle of the field.
Love beamed from Leonidas and when Mila reached the front, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, regardless of the fact that part wasn’t quite supposed to happen yet. Cora kept her smile carefully in place but blinked away, scanning the guests without really seeing them, until her wandering gaze landed on a pair of eyes she knew every bit as well as she knew her own, a pair of eyes that would forever be burned into her mind.
Samir.
She gasped—she couldn’t help it—but when Nicholas looked at her sharply she had to push a smile back to her face and look away, swallowing and gripping the seat in front of her for support.
Samir was here. Staring at her.
Ofcoursehe was here. He was friends with all the other Xenakis, naturally he’d been invited and naturally he’d come. Only he wasn’t supposed to be here. She’d made subtle enquiries and been told that state business precluded him from being able to join them.
She’d told herself that was a relief.
Cora’s body was in meltdown. Her pulse was rushing, her heart thumping, her brow covered in perspiration, her fingers trembling, so it was all she could do to get through the short, beautiful ceremony without passing out. As soon as it was over and the couple had kissed (again!) and made their way down the aisle to rapturous applause, Cora began to excuse herself, not via the central aisle that would bring her closer to Samir, but rather towards the edges of the seating—best for beating a hasty retreat.
“Cora?” Nicholas’s voice broke into her stressful escape plans. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. I just—,” She thought quickly. “I remembered something I was supposed to do. It’s for Mila. I’ll…I won’t be long.”
On trembling legs, she fled, away from the happy crowds and towards the farmhouse, her lungs burning with the effort of breathing, stars filling her eyes as she blinked. Halfway there, she reached out a hand to support herself on a tree trunk, not daring to look back, just in case he was paying attention.
But he wouldn’t be. Any man who could go to such lengths to avoid a past lover was surely not going to be caught staring after her now.
With renewed determination, she pushed on, until she reached the front doors and entered the house, expelling a deeply held breath and pressing her back to the wall.