Seven hundred miles away from London, in a small village in a fold of the mountains behind Nice, France, Jodie Delahaye woke at stupid o’clock that same Friday morning. Turning her head, she stole a look at Ben, flat on his back and still in a deep sleep. Ben Delahaye, writer of bestselling crime novels and her husband. If she were honest, she still pinched herself occasionally, not quite believing the fairy-tale-like twist her life had taken recently. The stressed-out PR executive of four months ago had become a married woman living the dream in the South of France with the man she loved.
It had been a real coup de foudre moment when Tina introduced her to Ben. She’d known instantly that her life was about to change.
For once, she and Tina had been working at the same event, the Frankfurt Book Fair. Tina was manning a stand with the literary agency she worked for and Jodie had been assigned to represent her company, who were handling the PR for one of the big six publishers at the Fair. It was the very last evening and they were at the closing party when Tina said, ‘Oh, Ben’s here. Come on, I’ll introduce you.’
‘Who’s Ben?’ Jodie hissed, dodging around a large man blocking the way as Tina led her across the crowded room.
‘Benjamin Delahaye, crime novelist. Used to be one of my clients but sadly got poached by a big agent with lots of connections. Couldn’t blame him for leaving – they had the expertise I didn’t at the time for him to expand in the US.’
As Tina introduced them, Jodie’s hand was taken and held firmly by a tall man who regarded her intently with the most amazing chocolate-brown eyes she’d ever seen, and who, as far as she was concerned, eclipsed every other man in the room. His sexy French accent when he said ‘Enchanté’ took her breath away and she realised she was unlikely to return to her humdrum existence any time soon if Ben had anything to do with it. She was right. From that moment, things took on a life of their own.
Ben bought her a drink, they found a quiet corner and talked to each other nonstop. His English was good and Jodie could have listened to his sensual voice telling her about himself all night, but he wanted to know about her too. Two hours later, when they were asked to leave as the venue was closing, Ben escorted her and Tina back to the hotel, asked Jodie for her telephone number and promised to ring her the next time he was in London, around Christmastime.
‘So, you liked Ben then?’ Tina had said, smiling at her as the lift carried them to their room on the seventh floor. Jodie had nodded, happiness shining from her face. The next day she’d returned home in a daze, wishing the next two months away. She’d been back just twenty-four hours when Ben rang. He was in London, longing to see her again, and would she please join him for dinner?
Just eight weeks later, in the Mairie’s office of the small French village where Ben lived, they were married. Ben’s mother, Annette, and Tina, who flew over especially for the ceremony, were the only witnesses. The day had been perfect in every way, except that her mother wasn’t there to share in her happiness. Jodie had never missed her so much as she did that day, and she’d only just managed to keep back the tears.
Thinking about her mother now, Jodie’s fingers clasped the chain of the gold locket around her neck. Her mother’s locket. Two years ago, Jacqueline Saville had been knocked off her bicycle by an out-of-control car driven by a joyrider. The hospital had fought hard to save her but she’d died from her head injuries less than twenty-four hours later, a distraught Jodie holding her hand.
The locket had been around her neck ever since that horrible day when the nurse had gently removed it from Jacqueline’s body and handed it to Jodie. Dazed with grief she’d opened it and stared at the picture of herself as a toddler standing between her parents, holding their hands. The nurse had come running back when she’d screamed at the pair of them for dying and leaving her alone in the world.
When she and Ben fell in love, it had been left to Tina to assume the grown-up position with regard to Jodie’s sudden rush to get married. Although she was openly envious of Jodie’s unexpected change of fortune, Tina had taken her to task about the quickly arranged wedding and the new life she was throwing herself into.
‘Think about what your mum would say. You barely know Ben. You’ve been a townie all your life. The only place you ever go on holiday is Devon because you reckon it’s the perfect place – you’ve been muttering for years about moving down there one day. And now you’re getting married to a Frenchman and actually going to live in France? You’ll probably never set foot in Devon again. You don’t think you’re maybe rushing things a bit?’ Tina had paused for breath and shaken her head. ‘I just hope you know what you’re doing burying yourself in a village in a foreign land.’
‘Mum would have loved Ben,’ Jodie said. ‘And he would have adored her too.’
‘Maybe, but giving up your career and being a kept woman in a foreign country isn’t necessarily the right choice for you,’ Tina insisted. ‘You’re always out attending some party or launching a product. Your social life is as busy as your nine-to-five one. And…’ She’d paused as though what she was about to say clinched it. ‘You love shopping. How many shops are there in rural France? Not many.’
Jodie laughed. ‘I know, but honestly it’ll be a relief to step off the merry-go-round. Besides, I’m still going to have a social life, Ben knows lots of people. We’re only going to be an hour away from the Riviera so I’ll be able to go shopping on Rue d’Antibes in Cannes whenever I want. That can’t be bad, can it?’
‘But what exactly are you going to do all day?’ Tina asked. ‘Turn into a Stepford wife overnight?’
‘Of course not,’ Jodie had answered. ‘For a start I have to brush up my French. Try to become fluent so I can talk to the natives and make friends. Ben has promised me, once this latest book is finished, we can go house-hunting for a new home together. So I am going to be busy – just with different things. And I will look for another job, once everything has settled down.’
‘Have you asked Ben about moving over here?’ Tina demanded in one of their heated ‘Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?’ exchanges. ‘After all, writers can write anywhere. All they need is a laptop, a gallon of coffee, and to be shut in a room to write!’
‘True, but to be honest I haven’t even mentioned the possibility of him moving to London,’ Jodie said.
‘Why not?’ Tina asked.
Jodie hesitated. ‘Because his mother is still alive.’
Tina had looked at her open-mouthed before closing her eyes and nodding understandingly.
When Jodie had refused to even think about postponing the wedding, or worry about moving to France, Tina had given in, throwing herself wholeheartedly into helping her friend organise the wedding she’d always dreamt about. Quiet and romantic. The phrase ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure’ was voiced once and then never again uttered.
Something for which Jodie had been extremely grateful. But why was it popping back into her head now, two months later?