French Toast (The French Twist Series Book 2)

by Glynis Astie

  He sighed. “I know. Make sure you don’t forget it.”

  My dad cleared his throat. “And now I believe my son-in-law would like to make a toast to his beautiful bride.”

  I turned to Louis with a quizzical look in my eyes. This wasn’t part of the plan. He winked at me and took the microphone from my father.

  “Thank you, Ted, for such a beautiful toast. It means very much to both me and Syd.” He smiled genuinely at my father and then turned to me. “I would like to propose a toast to my amazing wife, Sydney.”

  My heart began to beat very quickly as I imagined what he was going to say. Even though he had known me for a rather short period of time, he had PLENTY of stories in his arsenal which many members of our audience hadn’t heard. I exhaled slowly and hoped he hadn’t decided to take my father’s place with an embarrassing toast. Of course, he probably wouldn’t see it as embarrassing, but simply good humor. Oh shit…

  He must have seen from the look on my face how worried I was, so he squeezed my hand. He then turned to our curious audience.

  “Just over fourteen months ago, I met this incredible woman. She disarmed me from the first moment I met her. Never in my life had I come across such honesty, such…vulnerability and warmth. Sydney is the kindest, funniest, most intelligent woman I have ever met. And from the moment I touched her hand, I knew I wanted her to be my wife.”

  There was a collective gasp from the audience.

  Louis grinned and said, “And not because I wanted a green card.” The room quickly exploded with laughter. Apparently that joke never gets old.

  Once the noise died down, Louis took my hand and looked at me tenderly. “I love everything about this woman, right down to her quirks and her rather odd sense of humor. All of it makes her the extraordinary person that she is. A person who stood by her new husband through a long series of difficulties. Through his behaving like, a jackass, quite frankly…”

  Laughter flared up throughout the tables once more. My dad gave Louis a nod of approval for working profanity into his wedding toast. He firmly believes a few judiciously placed curse words add emphasis to any point worth making.

  Louis chuckled and turned to me once more. “Despite everything we went through, you never gave up on me. You supported me through everything. I am truly the luckiest man in the world, to have married the love of my life. I will be forever yours, mon coeur.”

  For a moment, I simply stared into Louis’ eyes as our onlookers applauded. I was absolutely speechless. As my eyes filled with tears of joy, I put my hands on either side of his face, kissed him gently and said, “I will be forever yours, Bluey.”

  The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Due to the momentous occasion, I allowed myself a couple more glasses of champagne…OK, maybe three glasses, but what kind of trouble could I possibly get into now? (Don’t answer that! I know I should NEVER have asked the question! Damn it!)

  As Louis and I shared the last dance of the evening, I perused the remaining guests in the ballroom. My college friends were outside on the terrace with a few bottles of champagne, no doubt reliving the craziness of our youth. (I may tell you the stories one day, but we have definitely discussed enough turmoil for now.) Nigel and Grace were chatting up a storm with Monique and Sophie as Maya and Devon were twirling around the dance floor. Simone was practicing dance steps from her childhood with her sisters as their husbands observed fondly. Kate and Nick were still trying to capture a photo of Sam in her adorable flower girl dress while Zoe and Charlie snuggled quietly in the corner.

  Then my eyes settled on something I hadn’t seen in a very long time. It would seem both of my parents were positively giddy about becoming grandparents again so soon and consequently had a bit too much to drink in celebration. My father was pulling out all his dance moves from the fifties, which unfortunately including a lot of twisting and hand jiving. (I’m not entirely sure the entirety of those gestures were authentic dance moves.) My mother’s face was as red as the tomatoes she grew in her garden and she was talking far too loudly to anyone who would listen about her next grandchild.

  Suddenly, the thought occurred to me I wasn’t the one getting drunk and doing embarrassing things, yet again. I giggled at my mom’s brilliance in requiring my father to wear suspenders to this wedding. No one needed a repeat of his pants dropping episode from our first wedding. (With the force of his dance moves, it would have been a distinct possibility.) After that occurrence, it had taken me a full five minutes to recover from my laughing fit. My father; however, had not been amused.

  As the song came to an end, Louis took my hands in his. “Are you happy, mon coeur?”

  I regarded the motley group of people who had become our collective family and smiled.

  “Without a doubt, Bluey.”

  Epilogue

  I can’t believe we’ve finally reached the end of our wedding extravaganza! Louis and I had pulled off three weddings over the course of eight months across two continents involving literally HUNDREDS of people. We had brought our families together to share in the joy, the laughter and of course, a decent amount of embarrassment (to the great delight of both my father and father-in-law). In the end, we had all grown closer together, expanded our cultural palate and made great strides in our pantomiming skills. What language barrier?

  After all the activity and emotional turmoil of the last year, I was ready for a period of calm. Wait a minute. Period. When was the last time I had my period? I frantically started looking through my calendar even though I already knew I wouldn’t find the familiar “P” notation. Yes, I mark a big, fat letter “P” in my calendar on the first day of my period each month. Laugh all you want! Though, I hardly think this is the time.

  Oh my God! This is totally my fault! I shouldn’t have made the joke about taking a pregnancy test during the reception at our last wedding.

  OK, Sydney, slow down. Take a deep breath.

  I couldn’t possibly be pregnant. Could I? No. Absolutely not. It was just the stress of the wedding. I mean the WEDDINGS. Plural. Twice the weddings, twice the stress. And stress can absolutely delay your period. It’s a well-known fact. It is! Feel free to look it up.

  Phew. That was a close one. I’m so relieved!

  Shit. Could I really be pregnant? No, no, no, no, no. NO! It simply isn’t possible.

  I’m going to kill my father.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you so much for reading French Toast! If Sydney wormed her way into your heart, or perhaps tickled your funny bone just a little, I would be grateful if you took a few moments to write a review of your reading experience. Amazon or Goodreads; take your pick! Your time, effort and thoughtful words are greatly appreciated! Who knows? You may even wrangle a few unsuspecting folks into giving Sydney’s brand of humor a try!

  Acknowledgments

  I once read that writing the second book is even harder than writing the first. I found this to be absolutely true! I would not have been able to finish Sydney’s second adventure without the help of my wonderful family and friends.

  To my outstanding husband, Sebastien, who is not only the inspiration for Louis Durand, but also the anchor in my life. Thank you for loving and encouraging me through the journey of the sequel. You never stop inspiring me!

  To my beautiful boys, Ryan and Xander, for reminding me what is important in life and for making me smile when no one else can. I love you both deeply.

  To my sister, Megan, for being an incredible source of sanity and comfort. I am continually amazed at the amount of faith you have in me. Thank you for once again being an insightful editor, a gifted cover designer and the best friend a girl could ever have.

  To my sister-in-law, Jen, for eagerly jumping aboard for another round of editing. I cannot thank you enough for your perspective, your reassurance and your humor. I am truly grateful for your presence in my life.

  To my brother, Colin, for being the most honest and kind-hearted person I know. Thank you so much for your lov
e and guidance.

  To my brother-in-law, Josh, for the endless encouragement and validation. Thank you for helping me to keep my sense of humor intact!

  To my nieces, Sabrina and Skyler, and my nephew, Jackson, for devouring my first book with relish. Thank you for your undying interest and enthusiastic support. I am so lucky to be related to each of you.

  To my nephew, Evan, for being such a bright spot in my life. I have a great appreciation for your unique view of the world!

  To my wonderful friend, Cathy, for rounding out my trio of editors. Thank you for diving into my family and bringing me the viewpoint of the objective outsider. I am thrilled with your collaboration and touched that you understand and adore Sydney as much as I do.

  To my amazing friends, Erica and Jenean, for agreeing to be my beta readers at the last minute. Thank you so much for the last minute polishing you gave to Sydney and her crazy family!

  And to all of you who read French Twist, for following Sydney on her lengthy journey to happiness. Thank you for appreciating her, quirks and all, along with the wonderful personalities she shares her life with. I hope you will continue to follow her story in the upcoming French Fry.

  About the Author

  Glynis never expected in her wildest dreams to be a writer. After thirteen years in the Human Resources Industry, she decided to stay at home with her two amazing sons. Ever in search of a project, she was inspired to write the story of how she met and married her wonderfully romantic French husband, Sebastien, in six short months. The end result became her first novel, French Twist. As this was just the beginning of their epic love story, Glynis continued to chronicle their adventures in the sequel, French Toast, and is currently working on the third and final installment in the series, French Fry.

  When she is not writing, she is trying to keep the peace amongst the three men and two cats in her life, finding missing body parts (Lego pieces are small!), supervising a myriad of homework assignments and keeping a tenuous hold on her sanity by consuming whatever chocolate is in the vicinity.

  Connect with Glynis Astie

  Blog: www.glynisastie.com

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlynisAstie

  Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/glynisastie/

  Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/glynisastieauthor

  Also by Glynis Astie

  French Twist

  French Twist

  Sydney Bennett had spent her life in pursuit of perfection. She planned, weighed her options and made careful choices based on calculated outcomes. Through all of her efforts, she had come pretty close to perfection, if she didn’t say so herself. She had fled the cold winters in New York for sunny California, found a job that she loved and lived in the same town as her sister, and best friend, Kate. The one area of perfection that had always eluded her was her love life. No matter how hard she tried, she always ended up with a broken heart. After a particularly traumatic breakup, Sydney vowed that she was done with love.

  Just as Sydney threw herself into her new plan to forget about men, a handsome Frenchman tossed all of her intentions out the window as he swept her off of her feet. Louis Durand had lived a life filled with excitement and adventure. He was impetuous, intelligent and incredibly charming. So naturally, he scared Sydney half to death. From the moment they met, Louis and Sydney’s romance progressed at warp speed. Sydney did her best not to run, but her deep rooted relationship anxiety threatened to provide an easy exit. When Louis mentioned marriage before Sydney even knew his favorite color, she was more than tempted to reach for her running shoes. Will she be able to put her fears aside to follow her heart? The one thing that Sydney will learn is that sometimes perfection comes with a twist...

  “It was easy to root for Sydney because she was so darn likeable and her insecurities felt authentic…She made me laugh, she made me cringe with embarrassment and her relationships with her family made me cry (in a good way).”

  -Meredith Schorr, author of Blogger Girl and How Do You Know?

  “Based on real life events, French Twist is a beautiful love story that really makes you believe that love at first sight is possible…I look forward to reading more by this talented author!”

  -Hilary Grossman, author of Dangled Carat

  “Sydney Bennett is a mix of artlessness and anxieties with layers of zany…It’s light, fun, written with humour and happiness and all of that jumps off the page.”

  -Cathy Ryan, Between the Lines Book Blog

  “I really found the writing of the author refreshing and lively…I found the book quite entertaining… I cannot wait to start with book two.”

  -Lynelle Clark, Aspired Writer Book Blog

  “I thought this book was completely charming, fun, and romantic…You will get wrapped up in the story and swept away by the romance of it all.”

  Steph, Steph the Bookworm Book Blog