The Perfect Husband, page 2
What did Tom know about Jay to ask me such a question?
‘Your best man warned me about you,’ I fired back without thinking.
‘He what? You better be lying!’ growled Jay.
I looked up, embarrassed, as Zara, the nurse who had taken me for my X-ray, entered the room.
‘Sophie? I’ve got your results back.’
‘About time. Can we go home now?’ demanded Jay.
‘Actually, Mr Bradley, if you can come over here, please?’ instructed the nurse as she placed the X-ray against the screen. She switched the light on, illuminating the bones in my left hand and arm.
I noted the icy tone in her voice.
Not that Jay was bothered. He was above caring what other people thought of him.
He sighed with irritation as he stood up. I noted his puffy, bloodshot eyes, the half-unbuttoned waistcoat, lopsided loose tie and creased jacket under one arm. I realised from his dishevelled appearance he must be feeling hungover, considering the countless shots he had knocked back earlier at the bar.
‘I said it wasn’t broken. Bloody waste of time and a wedding!’ he stated.
‘Actually, there are two serious fractures in Sophie’s wrist. Here and here,’ she pointedly said.
He didn’t say a word. But the flash of annoyance in his eyes said it all.
I waited for an apology, or at least a recognition of my injury. Nothing.
You did this to me… On our wedding night. How could you not have any remorse?
He folded his arms as he looked at the nurse. ‘So, what now?’
‘We need to reset the bone and fit a cast,’ Zara explained. She then turned to me. ‘But first, the doctor will need to anaesthetise your wrist in order to do this. Okay?’
I nodded.
‘I can stay with you, if you want?’
‘Thank you,’ I said, avoiding Jay’s glare.
I wasn’t scared. Not here. Not now. But I was terrified of what would happen when we went to the bridal suite we had booked. For I would be returning married to a man I didn’t recognise. To a man who hours earlier had vowed to love and adore me forever.
To protect me.
I felt as if I was barely clinging to my sanity. Jay had convinced everyone he was the perfect partner. And up until a few hours ago, he had had me truly convinced as well.
How could you have ended up in Treliske Hospital with a double fracture to your left wrist on your wedding night? How was that possible? How could your husband of literally eight hours have done this to you?
Shocked, I stared at the X-ray with one question on my mind: who had I married?
PART ONE
‘We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.’
IRIS MURDOCH
1
THE EVE OF THE WEDDING
‘I’m no good at making speeches, so I’ll make this brief,’ Jay began as he scraped his chair back.
I looked at him as he stood up. He had never looked more at ease with himself, basking in the attention as he glanced around the small gathering. We had chosen not to have a stag or hen party, preferring this intimate dinner on the eve of our wedding.
We sat outside Blue Bar down by Porthtowan Beach under the bejewelled night sky as the candles on our table danced for us in the warm breeze, adding a dreamy, contented glow to everyone’s faces. The bubbling, happy chatter of other people enjoying the balmy evening floated on the air around us.
I let my eyes drift to the idyllic view of the expansive beach and the Atlantic Ocean, combined with the backdrop noise of the waves lazily lapping against the golden, shimmering sand under what was the breathtakingly brightest and lowest-hanging full moon I had ever seen.
It was perfect.
Too perfect maybe?
I discounted the unease I felt, dismissing it as pre-wedding nerves. I was terrified that something was going to go wrong.
I looked around our small collection of guests. We didn’t need lots of people or a lavish venue. We had the sublime, rugged and dramatic North Cornish coastline and azure blue ocean as our wedding backdrop and the people dearest to us to witness it. My two best friends from my university days, Anna and Grace, had driven together from London for my wedding, and my mother and sister, Liv, had flown in to Newquay from Edinburgh to be with me this weekend. The four of them were all staying at the atmospheric and historic Driftwood Spars by Trevaunance Cove, where Jay and I had booked the bridal suite for the following evening. We were unsure as to when completion contracts would exchange on our new property and had booked the rooms as our rental flat overlooking the play park by the beach in Porthtowan only had one bedroom.
I knew that the Driftwood Spars would be as much of a hit with our guests as it was with us. The impressive beams, or spars, hence the name, were salvaged from shipwrecks along the coast and formed the construction of the Driftwood in the 1650s. It had been a tin mining warehouse, amongst other uses, before being converted into a pub and hotel in the early 1900s. Filled with character, it was one of our favourite haunts to enjoy a few drinks and listen to live local music surrounded by centuries-aged wood and walls steeped in history. It was a magical, evocative, otherworldly place; especially when the sea mist rolled up from the cove while the wood-burning stove roared and hissed inside the Driftwood, warming stray guests from the wet and cold unfurling fingers of the sneaking, suffocating fog or the driving rain and howling wind. At times like that, as the windows rattled and the beams groaned, I could imagine the lost souls caught in the eye of a storm, eventually shipwrecked against the harsh rocky Cornish coastline and washed, bloated, ashore or forever restless on the ocean’s bed.
It had been a difficult decision choosing the wedding venue, Porthtowan, like St Agnes, was a North coast Cornish beach, a popular destination for surfers, with its fine golden sand, imposing dunes and impressive cliffs. Jay had proposed to me on the beach. Blue Bar, with its adjacent Boardroom with a bar and seating for up to 100 guests, was an ideal wedding venue with the beach and ocean on its doorstep. We had also just bought a house overlooking the breathtaking valley below with the beach that stretched for nearly 1.5 miles at low tide. But it was the Driftwood Spars, with its beautiful high garden with a wooden-style altar overlooking the stunning Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes’ main beach, that had won us over. Instead of being married at the registry office in Truro, the registrar would officiate the wedding in the garden of the Driftwood Spars, which was part of the hotel’s wedding package. Given the short notice of the wedding, we were fortunate they could fit us in tomorrow due to a cancellation, unlike Blue Bar, whose bookings ran through the entire summer and the following one.
My wedding to Jay was the antithesis of the wedding Ben, my ex, and I had planned. My mother was involved in its organisation, unlike this one. Jay had insisted that he take charge of ours, giving me the much-needed time to work on my latest romance novel, which was due in to my editor. Jay was a musician and currently out of work and so had the time to organise everything, even down to the photographer, wedding breakfast, cake and the live music. If left to my mother, my wedding would have been a much more extravagant affair. Our small budget was a significant factor in restricting the size of the occasion and forgoing a honeymoon. Much to my mother and Liv’s disappointment, I refused to postpone it to save for a more lavish event.
Jay was happy that our wedding bore no resemblance to the expensive and excessive day my ex and I had booked and had made a point of making ours as minimalistic as possible. I repeatedly worried about Jay not involving my mother and sister in the wedding plans, only to be persuaded by him that this was about us and not them. He also pointed out that I was worried about nothing, as they would understand. I looked up at him, about to make a speech and couldn’t help smiling. We were here because of Jay and his efforts to bring all of us together the night before our wedding.
‘Firstly, I want to say thank you to Tom, for agreeing to be my best man, tomorrow,’ Jay said, standing up. ‘You’re like a brother to me.’
‘A much younger brother, I’m assuming?’ Tom asked with a cheeky grin.
Jay laughed, as did the rest of the table.
However, I noted a subtle flash of annoyance in Jay’s eyes. He was sensitive when it came to his age. He spent time with his appearance, priding himself on not looking his years. He also dressed and acted more youthful than his age.
‘Anyway,’ Jay continued, ‘thanks, Tom. I owe you, mate!’
Tom raised his pint to Jay. ‘Any time, bro!’
Jay turned his smile on my mother and sister.
‘And to you, Joanna and Liv, as you will have noticed, I have no family present, so thank you for letting me be a part of yours. I lost my mother last year, which devastated me. But now I have you, Joanna,’ he said, putting his hands together and nodding to her in gratitude.
I turned my attention to my mother, who politely smiled in return. However, I could see from her restrained expression that she didn’t receive his words warmly. Jay was nine years my mother’s junior and much closer to her in age than he and I, so his words failed to either compliment or impress.
Picking up on her coolness, he added, ‘Not that you look old enough to be Sophie or even Liv’s mother, can I add! You’re far too beautiful and young to be my mother-in-law.’
I felt a sudden wave of jealousy take hold at the realisation that he was flirting with her. I could see it in his eyes and infectious smile.
Oh my God…
However, my mother’s expression remained impassive, making me doubt the thought.
Not that he noticed my disquiet.
I conceded that Jay was trying to seduce my mother with flattery into liking him. I had noted from the moment we met that he was flirtatious. Jay had repeatedly assured me that it was harmless as he was devoted to me.
I had seen photographs of him as a lead guitarist in his twenties, and he had been a striking-looking young man who I imagined attracted a lot of attention. He still desired that adulation despite age robbing him of his coveted chiselled attractiveness.
‘And now to dear Liv,’ Jay began, as he beamed at her. ‘I was an only child and always wished for a sister. Now I have you, and I couldn’t be happier to be a big brother. If anyone bothers you, you let me know, all right? And that includes my best man. I’m watching you, Tom!’ Jay laughed in Tom’s direction, who was halfway through taking a mouthful of beer and ended up coughing in reaction.
Jay suddenly turned his focus from Tom to me.
He waited for a beat before speaking, holding my expectant gaze.
‘Sophie,’ he gently began, ‘I knew the moment that we locked eyes in The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell eight months ago that we were meant to be together. My mother and father married in their mid-thirties and had me in their late thirties. I was such a shock to them that they never dared risk having another child,’ he shared, laughing. ‘They were the most amazing parents, and they showed me the meaning of love every minute of every day. My father adored my mother and she equally adored him. They were lost without each other, so much so, when my father died three years ago, my mother was never the same. She had lost her soulmate. Her person. I never understood what that was until I met you,’ Jay stated, gazing intently down at me. ‘They waited until they found each other, and that’s what I did, I waited… But I never expected to find what they had. Never. Until you walked into my life and changed it forever.’
I tried to swallow back the tears threatening to come as his heartfelt words overwhelmed me.
He reached out for my hand and, taking hold of it, continued, ‘You are my soulmate. You are my person, Sophie Blair Kennedy. Without you, I am nothing. To my future wife, tomorrow can’t come soon enough.’
Overcome, I wiped at the tears that slid down my face.
‘I love you,’ I mouthed as I raised my glass to him.
Grace and Anna cheered and applauded before raising their glasses of champagne to us. I noted my mother politely smile as she raised her glass. Liv watched me, seemingly surprised at my reaction. I nodded at her glass which was still on the table, for her to raise it, which she did. She struggled with the idea that I was marrying Jay, someone she barely knew or liked, and not my ex-fiancé, Ben. My decision had devastated her as no one could compare to Ben in her eyes. My ex had been in Liv’s life for eleven years. At the age of twenty-five, most of her teen years involved him as part of our family. We had met at uni in London and had become friends first for a few years, before becoming romantically involved. When Ben and I split up, it wasn’t just me he was leaving behind; it was also Liv, who he had equally doted on as if she were his sibling.
‘Soph?’ Grace prompted me.
‘Jay summed it up all perfectly. I can’t follow that?’ I answered, knowing that she expected me to follow suit.
‘Come on, Sophie! You’re good with words?’
Jay looked at me as he sat down and squeezed my hand.
I could feel Liv’s doubting eyes on me, scrutinising my every move for a sign that I had lost my mind. After all, Jay and I had only known each other for eight months and were now getting married. This short time confirmed for her it was rebound, not love, that influenced my decision. Even at this eleventh hour, she waited, ever hopeful, for me to cancel the wedding.
I raised my glass of champagne to our guests and then turned to Jay. I stared for a moment into his glistening, adoring eyes before speaking, ‘Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.’
‘Babes, you are so special,’ Jay murmured as he leaned in and slowly kissed me.
‘Ahh, Sophie!’ Grace cried out.
‘That’s so beautiful,’ murmured Anna.
I pulled back and smiled at Grace and Anna. ‘Thank Aristotle!’
Neither Grace nor Anna really knew Jay. They had met him a couple of times when we were still in London, but hadn’t seen us since we’d moved to Cornwall. But I could tell that they both liked him, despite his obvious differences to Ben. Unlike Liv, they were more accepting of my new choice of husband.
‘Thanks for coming,’ I said to them. ‘It wouldn’t have been the same without the two of you,’ I added.
Anna raised an eyebrow at me. ‘You mean you wouldn’t have anyone to help you with your make-up and fitting into your dress?’
I smiled at her. ‘I just want my two best friends to be there with me on what will be one of the happiest days of my life.’
‘And we will be,’ Anna assured me. ‘But, sticking with tradition, don’t you think you should stay at the hotel with us tonight?’
Anna quickly glanced at Grace. It was obvious they must have discussed it before Jay had picked them up.
‘There is only one person I want to spend my last night as an unmarried woman with, and he’s sat right next to me,’ I answered, turning and lightly kissing Jay on his cheek.
He responded by gently squeezing my hand. We’d discussed it and decided we couldn’t bear to be separated, even for one night.
‘You know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?’ my mother teased.
‘I’m sure we’ll be just fine,’ I reassured her.
The plan was for Jay to take me to the Driftwood Spars in the morning. Our wedding ceremony began at 4 p.m., allowing me to spend the day with them. I had booked us a spa and beauty treatment for the morning and a champagne lunch.
I could feel the excitement building at the prospect that tomorrow evening, at this time, we would be married.
It didn’t seem real.
An hour later, everyone was tired and ready to call it a night. I noted that Tom had drunk a considerable amount, which wasn’t like him. Not that I knew him that well. He had met Jay in Blue Bar the first week we had moved here. Tom was a guitarist and played in a local band and so Jay had immediately hit it off with him.
‘What’s wrong with Tom?’ I whispered, leaning into Jay.
He looked at me, not sure what I meant.
‘He looks really down,’ I answered.
‘He’s just had too much to drink, that’s all.’
‘Are you sure?’
Jay shrugged. ‘I don’t know? Maybe he’s got girlfriend trouble.’
‘I didn’t know he was seeing anyone,’ I replied. ‘Otherwise, I would have invited her tomorrow.’
‘No, it’s fine. He hasn’t mentioned anyone in particular. I’m just surmising, Soph. Don’t worry about it. He’s cool.’
I looked across at Tom’s slumped figure sat on the bottom stone step leading up to the bar. He was staring into the blackness of the shapeshifting dunes ahead.
‘Look, I’m going to round everyone up and get them back to the hotel. If you’re that worried about Tom, ask if he wants dropping off? Tell him the taxi is arriving soon. I’m sure we could fit him in as I booked an eight-seater minibus.’
‘Sure,’ I replied.
I stood up and headed towards the steps.
‘Hey, Tom?’ I called out as I walked down and sat next to him.
‘Soph,’ he slurred.
‘You, okay?’ I found myself asking.
‘I don’t know,’ he replied.
‘You want to talk about it?’
‘I dunno.’
‘You know I’m here if you need someone to talk to,’ I offered.
He nodded.
‘Jay said if you want a lift home, we’re leaving now.’
He morosely shook his head. ‘Nah, I need some air and time on my own.’
‘Sure,’ I replied, about to stand up.
Before I did, he grabbed my arm. ‘Are you certain you want to marry him?’
‘Who? Jay?’ I asked, shocked.
His question came out of nowhere.
Tom intensely stared at me and waited.
‘Of course, I do,’ I replied, feeling very uncomfortable. ‘Why?’
He shook his head and looked across at the blackness of the imposing dunes that seemed to inch ever closer. A storm had deposited the disruptive, changeable hills of sand the other day, hiding the beauty of the beach beyond.
