“K.I.S.S.I.N.G.”
He supposed their shock at hearing this shouldn’t come as any great surprise. In all the time he’d been in France, he’d done his damnedest to keep himself to himself. He certainly hadn’t been tempted on the romantic front. Until Flick came along.
He felt his cheeks redden. Without her realising, Flick had managed to put a chink in his invisible armour. But regardless, he didn’t plan on acting on this chink, either thenorin the future. Having been burned in the past, it was an experience he had no intentions of reliving and he certainly wasn’t about to chance rejection. He looked at each of the group, paying particular attention to the two women. “Not that any of us need mention this again,” he said.
Jess nodded, heeding the warning. Pete smiled a wry smile. Julia, however, continued to just sit there quiet. Nate could almost see her cogs turning, no doubt, trying to hatch a plan to get him and Flick together. As well as rebooting her nephew’s love life, she probably thought such scheming might be enough to make Flick choose France and her chateau over the UK. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Still, at least everyone’s silence meant the conversation could move on.
“Thank you for your understanding,” Nate finished.
Images of Flick popped into his head. He smiled to himself. In some ways, she seemed to lack confidence like Jess. Flick clearly didn’t know how beautiful she was and she had this vulnerability that Nate supposed understandable after everything she’d been through. Every now and then though, a quiet determination had shown itself – a quality she obviously got from Brenda.
He thought about Brenda’s unwavering request for help. Did he really think she would broadcast his whereabouts once she got back to England? Was his plan really about protecting himself? Or had his growing interest in Flick somehow informed his decision to step in? He had to admit that deep down he’d been as disappointed as everyone else when he learned of her decision to sell up and leave. Not that he supposed any of this mattered. When it came to being blackmailed, thanks to the developer, it turned out he didn’t really have a choice. Flick’s mother seemed the lesser of two evils.
He remembered his own mum’s adage about keeping enemies close. For what good it did her; when it came to friends and foes, she never did have the right judgement to tell the difference. If anything, she seemed to have a knack of attracting the wrong people, something that Nate had to admit he too had been guilty of in the past. But whereas he liked to think he learned his own lesson, he wished more than anything that he could say the same about his mum.
Dee suddenly appeared at the café. “Why all the weird faces?” She plonked herself down in a seat at the table and, looking around at everyone, waited for an answer.
Nate jumped in before the others had chance to pull themselves together. “They’re commiserating the new chatelaine’s departure.”
“Even more so now we know Nate fancies her,” Jess said.
Nate threw her a look. How could she?
“Really?” Dee placed her bag on the floor. “Now that is interesting.”
“It’s a bloody shame,” Julia said. “That’s what it is. So, if you’ve come bearing more bad news, I suggest you keep it to yourself.”
“I come with nothing of the sort actually. Unless you count the hordes of screaming teenagers about to descend on the place. Along with a mass of ageing groupies of which I have to admit I’m one.”
Realising this could be the ‘concrete’ he’d been waiting for, Nate’s interest grew, unlike that of his aunt who was clearly in no mood for games.
“What are you talking about now?” she asked.
Dee turned her attention to Pete. “Be a love and get me a cup of coffee, will you? I’m parched.”
“Well?” Aunt Julia persisted.
Nate too wanted an answer. If he was right, his plan was, at last, coming into fruition and he willed Dee to continue. Unfortunately, the glint in her eyes, as she waited for Pete to return with her coffee, told him she much preferred a more teasing approach when it came to disclosing what she knew.
“You might want to sit down for this,” she said, refusing to continue until everyone, including Pete, was seated. She looked around to make sure no one else was listening. Taking a sip of her drink, she then leant forward, bringing her voice down to a whisper. “It seems there’s been a development.”
“What do you mean?” Jess asked, intrigued.
“What kind of development?” Julia asked, straight to the point.
Dee appeared unsure, as if she’d said too much already.
With his future at stake, even Nate’s impatience grew thin. “Come on, Dee. You’re an estate agent not a doctor. There’s no such thing as client confidentiality.”
“You’d be surprised.” Dee took another sip of her drink, but try as she might, maintaining her professional façade didn’t last long. “Oh, okay then,” she said, her whole body crumpling thanks to her need to reveal all. “I suppose I’ve started, so I may as well finish.” She took a deep breath. “It would seem the sale of the chateau is on hold for now.”
Julia smiled. “Really?”
Dee nodded. “Apparently, someone wants to use it for a video shoot.”
“Who?” Pete asked.
