Читать книгу By Request Collection April-June 2016 - Оливия Гейтс - Страница 56

THE wedding was a glorious affair. There might have been Parisian couples in the past who’d outshone the Valentins, but most of those had been royal.

The ceremony in the mairie’s office was purely a bureaucratic formality, though the room had been decked with pink and white roses and a red carpet laid for the bride and groom. The real ceremony came afterwards, at the Eglise St-Eustache, a sixteenth century church with exquisitely stained glass.

The service itself was austere and beautiful.

Shari had forgotten Luc’s connections in the air industry, or she wouldn’t have been so surprised to discover that a friend of Luc’s had volunteered his private jet to transport Neil and Emi, their children and two nannies to Paris for the festivities.

As it was, Shari was overjoyed.

Strangely, Neil and Emi were not as totally astounded by her and Luc’s falling in love as Shari might have expected, though their approaching parenthood had come as a surprise.

As well, an elderly gentleman from Venice made the journey. When he’d first strolled into the mairie’s and sat down beside his wife, Shari glimpsed a sudden rare shimmer in Luc’s eyes.

A magnificent reception was held at the Ritz, one of the Hotel’s last great events before it shut up shop for renovation. Everyone Shari and Luc knew in Paris was there, including some friends Shari had made at her language class.

Even if Neil hadn’t been able to come, even if Shari hadn’t been wearing a Valentino original, cut specifically to reveal the blue bird of happiness on her shoulder, just seeing her lover’s joy would have made the day fantastic. As it was, it was sheerest heaven.

After the dancing, the toasts, the love and bonhomie of family and friends, Luc whisked his bride upstairs for one last splendid night in their favourite suite. Then in the morning, after a long and leisurely breakfast, he flew her to Italy for their honeymoon, where they planned to explore the Amalfi Coast for some weeks while their apartment was being renovated.

This time in palest ivory trimmed with softest aquamarine and a pale, pale, very watery blue, shades Shari knew suited her complexion perfectly.

It was a beautiful time of life.