The Chocolate Lovers’ Wedding (27 page)

After a blissful night at The Ritz, Chantal and Jacob had travelled down to the wilds of north Cornwall. Jacob had organised a beautiful boutique hotel in Watergate Bay for them and it was all that a honeymoon should be. The hotel was chic, quiet and right on the edge of the sweeping sandy beach. Jacob had booked the best suite in the house and it was gorgeous. Their room had a spacious balcony and a spectacular view of the sea. The walls were covered in sanded driftwood and there was a big brass bed covered with sand-coloured throws and cushions made of pale-blue ticking. In the main room, blue leather chairs were set in one of the bay windows; the other held a roll-top bath.

For the last few days they’d explored the area at a leisurely pace, having a few gentle walks, indulging in some shopping in touristy art galleries and taking in a restorative cream tea or two on the way. She tired easily and didn’t want to overdo things.

Back at Watergate Bay, they’d meandered barefoot along the beach feeling the sand in their toes, as happy families started to pack up their colourful towels and beach games for the day. When Lana was a little bit older, they’d bring her back here. She’d love it. Chantal felt a twinge of longing for her baby. It was the first time she’d left her for any length of time and, though she was loving being with Jacob, it was so hard being away from her.

She watched a little girl of about six or seven skipping along the sand with her parents. Before too long, that would be Lana and it felt good to know that she had a fighting chance of being around to see that.

‘Like mad,’ she said. ‘But it’s nice for us to have some time to ourselves. She’s in good hands.’
Ted had booked a week’s holiday to stay in England while they were away and she was grateful that he’d offered. It had felt a little strange to have her ex-husband at her wedding, but the awkward feeling had soon gone.
They were both living at Chantal’s house so that it wouldn’t be too disruptive for Lana. It had been lovely to see how thrilled Ted was to be having her for more than a few hours and it would give Lana and Elsie plenty of time to play together. ‘I’ll ring Ted soon and talk to her.’
Arms entwined and heads together, they sat on the sand, watched the paddle-boarders bob on the gentle waves and let the sounds of the sea soothe them. Chantal didn’t think she’d ever felt more settled and restful.
After a while they went back to the solace of their room and Jacob ran her a bath. She was now luxuriating in it with a glass of champagne in her hand. The French doors were open and Jacob sat on the balcony in one of the steamer chairs. All they could see was the vast expanse of the ocean and the slowly sinking sun. It looked as if it was going to be another spectacular sunset. What bliss.
She rearranged the bubbles over her chest and, beneath the water, tentatively dared to touch the scar where her breast had been. Her battle scar. It still didn’t quite feel like her own body, but she was beginning to learn to live with it. As soon as they were back from honeymoon then she’d start nearly six months of chemotherapy. It sounded weird, but she couldn’t wait for it to begin. All she wanted was to be sure that they’d got every scrap of this cancer out of her body.
They’d consider too whether she’d need to have the other breast removed. After that, she’d have reconstructive surgery to return her curves to her. She’d never look quite as she once had, she supposed, but it was a small price to pay for being able to stay around to see Lana grow up.
She was still awkward in front of Jacob and hadn’t yet let him see her completely naked. He would be marvellous about it, she knew that, but she had to be ready herself. Instead, she treated herself to some pretty post-surgery underwear – thank heavens for the companies who made it. When she’d finally steeled herself to buy it, she’d chosen something pink and very lacy to make herself feel more feminine, and wore that to bed instead. It didn’t seem to have dimmed Jacob’s ardour, though he did hold her as if she was porcelain.
She stood out of the bath and wrapped herself in one of the luxury dressing gowns provided by the hotel. The weather was gloriously hot, but a cool breeze from the sea tingled against her skin. Chantal paused for a moment. When this all got too much, she wanted to remember the small things, to hold on to some golden memories. This honeymoon was one of them. She went out on the balcony to join Jacob.
‘Top up?’ he asked.
She nodded and, reaching for the champagne, he poured some more into her glass.
He moved up and she curled along the length of him on the steamer chair. The sky was turning orange, pink, purple. The sun a burning ball on the horizon.
‘This is heaven. Thank you for organising it.’ There was no way that she could have faced getting onto a plane and jetting off to one of the places more usually considered a honeymoon destination – the Maldives, Seychelles, Mexico. This was just what she needed.
‘You’re looking much better,’ he said.
Normally, Chantal shied away from exposing herself to the sun, slathering her face and body in sunblock and wearing an enormous sun hat so that her skin wouldn’t age or wrinkle. This week, she hadn’t been nearly so rigorous and, for once, had enjoyed feeling the rays warm her limbs. It felt as if it had soothed her down to her bones, comforting her. As a result, her face had a golden glow and freckles that she didn’t even know she had were dusted across the bridge of her nose.
They were due to go down to dinner soon and her tummy rumbled in anticipation. Each night they’d dined by candlelight on locally caught seafood, beautifully prepared. A bit of sunshine and sea air had certainly brought her appetite back and she was feeling ready to face the rigours ahead.
Jacob stroked her hair, tenderly.
‘Will you still love me when it all falls out?’
‘I don’t remember promising “in hairiness or in baldness”,’ he teased.
‘Apparently, it’s the pubic hair that goes first.’
‘Sexy,’ Jacob said.
Jacob nuzzled against her as the sun said goodbye for the night.
‘Cancer may have its claws into us at the moment, but I don’t want it to shape our future.’ She ran her fingers over Jacob’s chest. ‘I want you to be my husband. Not my carer.’
He tilted her chin and kissed her intensely.
‘Whatever happens,’ he murmured, ‘I’ll love you for ever.’ ‘Hmm.’ She kissed him back.
‘I promise you with all my heart, Mrs Chantal Lawson, that we are going to have a very long and very happy life together.’
She settled into Jacob’s arms. ‘I like the sound of that.’

‘This is the sixth venue we’ve looked at,’ Crush notes. ‘Or maybe seventh.’ I can hear the weariness in his voice. It’s actually the eighth.
‘Shall we get married here then?’ He shrugs at me, hopefully. ‘It’s nice. No? Yes?’
‘Yes.’ I look round the room at the Mayfair Library and can find nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. It’s perfectly acceptable. I’m sure lots of brides get married here and love it. But I’m not sure that my heart’s in it. It isn’t the lovely temple in Golders Hill Park. We won’t be able to have a picnic on the grass.
The registrar is enthusiastically pointing out the plus points of the building, but I’m struggling to concentrate.
‘You don’t seem all that keen,’ Crush says.
‘It’s lovely.’
He frowns at me and says to the registrar, ‘Can you give us a minute, please?’
‘Certainly.’ Hastily, she backs out of the room, leaving us alone.
When she’s gone, somewhat reluctantly, Crush says, ‘We can look at other venues, if you want to.’
Though, as he already pointed out, we have been around more than half a dozen already and I have discounted them all for various reasons: too big, too small, too expensive, too chav, not chav enough.
‘This is fine.’
‘If you want to we can arrange everything at Golders’ Hill Park again.’
‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘That was Chantal’s wedding and it was perfect.’
‘Couldn’t we use one of the other areas there? They all looked great. Maybe Jacob could organise something different to eat?’
‘Like what?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Crush admits. ‘Making decisions about food is above my pay grade.’
‘No. We can’t go there again. Everyone will compare it. We have to do something different that makes it ours.’
‘If you say so,’ Crush concedes. Though his voice actually says ‘I will never, not in a million years, understand women.’
‘It has to be special.’ I feel my chin begin to wobble. ‘It’s just that . . . ’
‘What?’
I burst into tears.
Crush takes me in his arms. ‘You don’t regret handing our wedding over to Chantal?’
‘A bit of me does,’ I admit. ‘It was all so lovely and it should have been me. But how could I begrudge her?’
‘It was a really nice thing to do. I’m sure it gave her a real lift and will help her get through the next few months. They’re going to be pretty awful for her.’
‘I know,’ I sniffle. ‘I know all that. And they’re having a lovely time on their honeymoon. It’s just that it was a really special place and nothing will ever be able to match it. Well, not on the budget we’ve got.’ All of the hotels are just so ridiculously expensive. I’m sure the minute you say the word ‘wedding’ it adds twenty-five per cent to the cost. I want to have a lovely day, but I don’t want to be ripped off either.
‘Let’s postpone it and save up some more,’ he says. ‘I want you to have the day of your dreams.’
‘I’m trying to be sensible,’ I say. ‘I just want to marry you.’ Then I cry a little bit more.
‘Your coffee and chocolate levels are dangerously low.’ He holds my shoulders and smiles at me. ‘We need to fix that.’
‘I am feeling a little bit weary.’
‘Let’s book this,’ Crush suggests. ‘Then we’ve got something in the diary. If we happen across somewhere better then all we have to do is cancel.’
‘Good idea.’ I don’t want to be negative while he’s being proactive. It’s his day as much as mine.
So I dry my eyes and we go through to the office. We book a date that seems like a long way down the line and fill in all the paperwork we need. In my head, I try to convince myself that I like it here.
A short while later, deed done, and we have a wedding date. Together, we breeze out of the building and Crush is grinning. ‘Happy?’ he asks.
‘Very much so.’ I pin on a smile.
But, to be honest, since he said the word chocolate, he lost me completely.

Now that it’s properly summer, I’ve dressed Chocolate Heaven with swathes of pastel-coloured bunting and it looks fabulous. We’ve got a summer-fruit range of chocolates and Alexandra’s cocktail-inspired cupcakes on offer – piña colada, strawberry margarita, lime mojito, classic gin and tonic, and Pimm’s ones which have a strawberry, orange and cucumber garnish with a sprig of mint on top. It would be nice if, next year, we could perhaps have a small selection of ice-creams. They would go well.

Finally, when all the customers have gone, I turn the sign on the door to ‘closed’ and breathe a sigh of relief. Today has been completely manic and, I have to confess, I’m even missing Ms France. I should go and wash my mouth out with soap for even saying that.

We’re having a meeting of the Chocolate Lovers’ Club; even that has to be after hours as I’ve been too busy to grab a few minutes to myself these last few days. Chantal is back from her honeymoon and, although Nadia has popped in, I haven’t had a chance to sit and chat to her. Autumn has been busy with her daughter and, though she brought Willow in, I didn’t think it was the right time to talk about my proposal – so I can’t wait to have a chat with her when she comes.

Behind the counter, I select us some of the yummy cocktail cupcakes – though there’s not that many of them left. I tried the gin and tonic one, which was utterly fantastic. It felt as if it had health-giving properties. I’ll swear my stress reduced just inhaling it. I think I’d like to make some of the flavours a regular feature on the menu for the whole of the summer. I’ll see what the girls think.

I phone Crush. ‘I’m going to be late home,’ I say. ‘Telling me something I don’t know.’ His tone is indulgent. ‘Not work this time. The girls are all coming by soon for a

catch up. I’ll be about an hour. I can bring some food in.’ ‘I’ll make something for us. There are noodles in the cupboard
and vegetables that aren’t too floppy in the fridge.’ ‘Those are the words to make a woman’s heart glad.’ He laughs. ‘Don’t eat too much cake or you’ll spoil your
appetite. I’ll see you later, Gorgeous. I thought we had some
wedding planning to do?’
‘I’m too tired,’ I confess. ‘Maybe at the weekend?’ ‘Sounds good to me.’ Then he adds, ‘Is Autumn coming in
tonight? Are you going to talk to her about coming in to help
run Chocolate Heaven?’
‘Yes. I hope she’ll agree. It can’t happen soon enough. Then
we can think about the wedding.’ I’ve yet to tell him that I still
have qualms about the place we’ve booked.
‘See you later,’ he says. ‘Love you.’
‘I love you, too.’ I hang up just as Nadia knocks on the front
door. I let her in.
‘A lock-in at a chocolate shop,’ she says. ‘What kind of joy
is this?’
‘I thought you’d have Lewis with you.’
‘I’ve just dropped him off at Anita’s so that he can play with his cousins. They’re very good with him. She’s making dinner
for us later, so I can’t stay too long.’
‘How are things with your sister?’
‘With Anita, they’re fine. She’s disappointed that my parents
weren’t so keen to welcome the prodigal daughter home, but
at least we both tried. I feel quite ambivalent about it, if I’m
honest. Besides, I have a lot more to worry about.’ ‘Tell all,’ I say.
‘Soon. When the others are here.’ She hands over a couple
of bottles of wine. ‘Let’s put it this way. Tea isn’t going to hit
the spot. I thought we needed something a bit stronger.’ ‘Sounds like a plan.’ While she sits on the sofa, I get some
wine glasses from the back room.
I’m just pouring the first glass when Chantal and Autumn
arrive within seconds of each other. ‘Did you smell the scent
of Pinot Grigio?’
‘No,’ Chantal says. ‘It was, as always, the lure of chocolate.
And good company, of course,’ she adds with a laugh. But she takes the wine with a welcome sigh, nevertheless. We all kiss each other and they sit with Nadia. ‘Look at you,’ I say to Chantal. ‘Ms Beach Body.’ She looks
tanned, healthy – deceptively so – and relaxed. You’d think she
hadn’t a care in the world.
‘We’ve had a fantastic week,’ Chantal says. ‘I highly recommend honeymoons.’
‘Nice to see you all loved up.’
‘It’s been very therapeutic to take some time out and think
about anything other than you-know-what for a week.’ I wrinkle my nose. ‘I thought honeymoons were all about
you-know-what?’
‘The
other
you-know-what!’ Chantal chides.
‘Oh,
that
.’
‘Well, you look great,’ Autumn says. ‘And you’re feeling good?’ ‘Yes,’ she says. ‘Ready for the next stage. I’ve been into the
chemo ward today for a first glimpse. It’s like an airport lounge
with IV drips. Not quite as scary as I’d imagined.’ ‘We’ll make sure we have a rota so that we can all take turns
in coming with you.’
‘That would be great. The whole session will take about
three hours, so it would be good to have some company.’ ‘Sitting around gossiping, we can do very well.’ ‘There were some very young and fit-looking people in there,
too. Just goes to show that cancer can strike anyone.’ She takes
the glass of wine that I hand to her. ‘I might have to knock
this off soon. It depends on the drugs they give me and how I
react.’ She sighs longingly at her glass. ‘At least there’s no adverse
reaction between chocolate and chemotherapy; then I really
would be stuffed.’
‘Ah,’ I say. ‘Speaking of which.’ I bring the assortment of
cocktail cupcakes from behind the counter. ‘I need your opinion
on these babies. They’ve gone really well today and it would
be nice to know which ones you think should be regulars.’ They fall on them the minute I put the plate down. I’m not
sure that this will be a discerning audience for my wares. I pour myself a glass of wine and join them in the cupcake
research. The strawberry margarita is particularly good.
However, I too am at the point in the day when I’m not very
discerning. It’s cake. What can I say? ‘I also have news. I think
it’s good.’ They look at me expectantly. ‘Marcus is heading off
to work in Dubai. Ms France is going with him.’
‘No,’ Nadia says, aghast. ‘I didn’t see that one coming.’ ‘Me neither,’ I admit.
‘It’ll certainly be more difficult for him to meddle in your
life from Dubai,’ Chantal says. ‘I’m pleased to hear it.’ I cringe before I say, ‘Is it wrong of me to say that I’m going
to miss him?’
‘Lucy!’ they all shout.
‘I know. What can I do?’ I nibble my cupcake for comfort
and, when that’s not enough, take a swig of wine. ‘It’ll be funny
without him.’
‘A blessed relief is what it will be,’ Chantal tells me. ‘Crush said pretty much the same,’ I admit. ‘There was one
good thing, though . . . ’ I turn to Autumn. ‘He said he’d be
open to you putting in an offer to buy into the company. That’s
if you want to.’
‘Really?’ She looks surprised.
‘Would you be up for it?’
‘I still have the money from my parents sitting in my bank
account. I can’t think of anything better to do with it. Are you
sure?’
‘I have lots of plans,’ I say. ‘It would be lovely if we could
do it together.’ I show her my chocolate-course brochure. ‘I’m
thinking of training to be a chocolatier. A proper one.’ ‘That sounds great, Lucy.’ Autumn looks quite animated.
‘Perhaps we could both do it.’ She flicks through the pages,
scanning quickly. ‘What do we have to do?’
‘We’ll need to put a proposal to Marcus about buying the
business and we can take our time with that, but I’m desperate
for help here now that Ms France has gone,’ I tell her. ‘If you
want to come and work here as an assistant, in the meantime,
it would be fantastic. The sooner you can start the better.’ She looks at Nadia. ‘Is that going to be possible? I’d love to
do it, but I don’t want to let you down with childcare.’ Nadia touches her arm. ‘Autumn, you help me out on an
entirely voluntary basis. You owe me nothing. You have to grab
this chance. It would be terrific if you and Lucy could run this
place together.’
Autumn grins. ‘I’m so excited.’
‘What would you do with Lewis?’ I ask.
‘Ah,’ Nadia says. ‘You’re not the only ones making major
changes. I have some news of my own.’ She sets down her cake
and puts on her serious face. ‘I’ve decided to sell up and go to
the Lake District to be with James.’
We all sit there, stunned.
‘I’ve had the estate agent around to value the house and
that’s going on the market this week. He said he didn’t think
it would take long to sell.’
I’m the first one to speak, but all I can say is ‘Wow!’ Nadia looks at us anxiously. ‘You do all think I’m doing the
right thing?’
‘Absolutely,’ Chantal says. ‘He’s a great bloke and that’s where
your heart is now. But, heaven only knows, we’re going to miss
you.’
‘Don’t.’ Nadia holds up a hand. ‘You’ll start me off crying
again. I’ve done nothing but blub since I decided. What am I
going to do without you?’
‘We’re all just going to have to spend our holidays in the
Lakes from now on,’ I tell her.
‘I’m pleased that I’ve made the decision,’ she says. ‘But I’m
scared to death as well. There’s so much to think about.’ She
holds out a hand to Chantal. ‘I want to be here for you, but
I’m looking to move up there as soon as possible, so that I
can get Lewis settled before he starts school full time in
September.’
‘I’ll still be here,’ Chantal says. ‘There are phones. We can
Skype. You have to take this chance of happiness. I’m having
six rounds of chemo and then radiotherapy afterwards. This
could go on for ages. Don’t even think about putting anything
on hold for me.’
‘You can come to stay with me for some rest and recuperation,’ Nadia says, sniffing back a tear.
‘I’ll hold you to that.’ Then they hug each other tightly. ‘Now you’re starting us all off.’ I wipe away a tear. ‘How
can we let you go to the untamed wilds of the north without
a celebration? There’s only one thing for it. We have to have
one hell of a party before you go.’