Flick didn’t know what to say. Recalling his anger over the whole thing, she doubted he would agree.
“Don’t worry,” Jess said. “This isn’t anything I wouldn’t say to his face.”
Glad to hear it, the last thing Flick wanted to do was to cause trouble between friends.
“He just needs to stop skulking about and face his demons. Stop hiding from the past and accept it.”
“You can understand why he might be loath to do that though, can’t you?”
“Most definitely. At least, here he has abitof anonymity. But getting back out there is the only way to stop all the curiosity surrounding him. If he really wants to step away from the limelight, he’s got to move on, take a few risks, show the world who he is today. The press will soon lose interest when they realise how boring his life is compared to before.”
The woman next to her may have sounded harsh to Flick, but admittedly she also made sense.
“Don’t get me wrong, Nate’s a wonderful bloke, he can just be his own worst enemy sometimes. You looked great in the photos by the way.”
“You saw them?” Flick wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
“Of course I did. Two friends appearing in the national press, I wasn’t going to let that slide without taking a peek. And it was a lovely article, all very romantic. It’s a shame Nate didn’t bother to read it.”
Flick felt herself blush. Unlike Nate she’d never experienced being in the news. All those breakfast tables, daily commutes, lunch break reads, how many people had seen that kiss?
“But anyway, enough about him. How are you?” Jess asked.
Flick ran her index finger around the rim of her glass. “Embarrassed. Feeling sorry for myself. Wishing none of this sorry affair had ever happened. And my phone hasn’t stopped ringing thanks to my work colleagues wanting all the juicy gossip. I’ve had to turn it off.” She considered the ridiculousness of her situation. It was like she’d gone from one soap opera straight into another. “After what went on with Matthew, I thought I’d finally found a way forward, some direction. Thanks to Mum, things are worse than ever.”
“I can’t think why.”
Flick laughed; that was easy for her to say. Flick thought for a moment. “Coming here made me step out of my comfort zone, see life through a different lens. Yes, doing something with the chateau would be hard work, but exciting at the same time. A challenge.”
“And that’s changed?”
“Definitely.” She couldn’t understand how Jess could even ask that. “You know what small towns are like. Even if people accept I didn’t know what Mum was up to, I’ll still be guilty by association. At least back in the UK I was only the jilted bride.”
“Only?”
Flick smiled an empty smile. “It’s funny how things turn out, isn’t it? Compared to being labelled an extortionist,jilted bridedoesn’t seem quite so bad.”
Jess took a sip of her wine, swishing it around her mouth before swallowing.
Flick could see that she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if she should. “What is it?”
“About Matthew…”
Flick closed her eyes for a second. Her heart sank; she could guess what was coming. “What about him?”
“Tell me to butt out if you want to…”
“You know he’s here, don’t you?”
“It’s been mentioned.”
“Of course it has.” She let out a laugh. “See what I mean about small towns? I was wondering how long it would take before word got out.”
“Rumour has it that he wants a reconciliation.”
Flick sighed. Was there anything about her love life that wasn’t common knowledge? “Then rumour would be right.”
“Do you still love him?”
