Nate watched him rise to his feet.
“And now I shall bid my farewell. The quicker we shoot this video the quicker we get back to the UK. Like you said, we have a song to promote.”
He smiled, but Nate could see it wasn’t a happy gesture. His face was tinged with a mixture of sadness and hope. Not that Nate responded to either of his guest’s feelings. With his own emotions all over the place, how could he? He simply joined him on his feet and accompanied him to the door.
“Don’t ever be a fool like me,” Lenny said as he opened it to leave. “If you’re lucky enough to fall in love, make sure you hang on to it, no matter what. Leaving you and your mum is something I’ll always regret. I often think about what could have been.”
“You’ve never moved on?”
He let out a hollow laugh. “Have you?”
Nate didn’t answer. He simply watched Lenny head for his car.
Opening his vehicle door, Lenny stopped before climbing in. “Have you heard the new song, by the way?” Without waiting for an answer, he reached inside and pulled out a CD, before tossing it in Nate’s direction. “You should listen to it.”
Seeing it hurl towards him, a reflex action kicked in and Nate automatically reached out to catch it.
“Nice save,” Lenny said.
Nate continued to stand there as Lenny got behind the wheel, started the engine and drove away.
Any frustration Nate felt turned to melancholy. He never thought he’d feel almost as sorry for Lenny as he did for himself.
He looked down at the CD in his hands, surprised to see a picture of his mum looking back at him. He took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea about the hurt you’ve caused?”
30
With the party looming, Flick undertook a final check of the chateau in readiness. She soaked up the atmosphere as she went, which felt in stark contrast to that during the video shoot. With no mass of people racing around, no stacks of equipment crowding the place and no music blaring, it was as if the band and crew had never been there. Everyone had left the building exactly how they’d found it, to the point that anyone would think she’d imagined the whole thing.
A calmness had settled and she felt at peace as she wandered along the upstairs landing. Entering one of the bedrooms, she wanted to believe that it was her father’s presence surrounding her, that he was there somehow, enjoying the adventure alongside his wife and daughter. Of course, the video shoot shenanigans weren’t over just yet, she acknowledged, they had to get the evening out of the way before they could truly relax and plan for the future. And catching sight of herself in one of the mirrors, she just hoped that she looked the part of chateau owner even if she didn’t quite feel it yet.
She smoothed down her crimson woollen dress and checked out her matching kitten heels, examining her reflection face front, before turning side on and then back again. For once, Flick actually liked what she saw. For the first time in a long time, she felt confident and, ready to give the evening her all, she was glad she’d ditched her usual black. She took in her red attire again. It felt symbolic, as if she’d come out of mourning. It was a statement to say she’d finally moved on. “What do you think, Dad? Will I do?”
Making her way downstairs, she popped her head into the reception room where she planned to serve the food and drink. Flick still didn’t like the idea of using pasting tables but thanks to Julia’s crisp white linen, at least they were well hidden. And, naturally, once Jess’s delicious food was in place everyone would be too busy eating to notice anything else. “As long as they don’t miss the view.” Looking out of the window, Flick almost pinched herself. Was this really all hers? Was this new life in France really happening?
Flick’s ears pricked as the sound of voices filtered down the hallway and heading to the kitchen, she wasn’t surprised to find Dee fully prepared and ready for action.
“Good, you’re here,” she said to Flick. “Let’s get started.”
Flick watched her pull out a ream of A4 sheets from her bag, happy to accept as she passed one each to both her and her mother.
“These are the details of the chateau, complete with photos, which we’ll give to anyone and everyone who’ll take them. I find it’s always good for potential customers, in this case yours and not mine, to have something to keep referring to.”
Flick looked down at Dee’s handiwork. “These are stunning.”
“The place looks gorgeous,” Brenda said.
Dee dismissed the compliments with a wave of her hand. “Now when you’re talking to people, focus on the room sizes, the original features et cetera. And if anyone dares to go down a negative route, after all, we can’t hide the fact that this place isn’t exactlyVersailles…”
“Not yet, it’s not,” Brenda said.
“Simply point out that the building is a blank canvas. Draw their attention to this…” She held up an A4 sheet. “And tell them that if it looks this good now, imagine how fabulous it could look once one of their set directors gets their hands on it.”
Flick giggled. It was clear why Dee was good at her job. “Remind me never to go house-hunting with you.” Flick turned to her mother. “No wonder you bought this place. You and Dad didn’t stand a chance.”
Dee paused to look at her audience. “So, we all know what we’re doing?”
“We do,” Flick replied.
