Dee stood proud. “I certainly did.”
Knowing the woman had only done her job, Flick smiled, trying not to hold it against her.
Next, a tiny elderly woman stepped forward. Dressed entirely in black, she wore minimal make-up, just a bit of powder and a pale pink lipstick. Her white hair was pulled back into a neat yet stylish bun. “Enchanté.”
From her appearance, Flick wasn’t at all surprised to hear she was French.
“Je m’appelleGigi.” The woman’s smile shone as much as the welcome in her eyes and as she leaned forward, Flick had to stoop in order to accept the delicate kisses Gigi placed on her cheeks.
“Je m’appelleFlick.” Once again, her attempt at the lingo sounded embarrassing to her own ears, but thankfully it seemed to please the old lady.
“Très bon.” Gigi clapped her hands in delight. She then stood back, allowing the next of the guests to introduce themselves.
Flick felt an immediate affinity. Out of everyone she’d met so far, this woman appeared as awkward about the situation as Flick felt. A fact made even clearer when the poor woman tripped, almost toppling into Flick, but managing to quickly recover her stance before any real damage was done.
“Sorry,” she said, trying to control her blushes. “I knew I shouldn’t have worn these shoes.”
Also forced to shift from one foot to the other, this was something else Flick could empathise with. Her own footwear might not have been quite so high, but thanks to her mother’s insistence that she make more of an effort, they were certainly higher than she was used to.
“Anyway, I’m Jess,” the woman continued. “And this is my husband Pete.” She turned, indicating to the man at her side. “We own the local bar. In the village, on the main street. You might have seen it? I know, I’m rambling. Shut up, Jess.”
Yep, Flick definitely liked this woman.
“Nice to meet you,” Pete said, coming to his wife’s rescue.
“Likewise.”
“I hope we’ll see you down there sometime,” he carried on.
Flick looked forward to it. “I’m sure you will.”
As Julia moved in to make the final introduction, Flick immediately recognised the man before her.
“I believe you’ve already met my nephew,” her host said.
“Indeed,” Flick replied, silently noting that he looked just as gorgeous as he had the first time round. As she waited for him to speak, however, he once again seemed reluctant to put himself forward and Flick was convinced she heard him groan when his aunt finally nudged him into action. Not that this unwillingness came as any great surprise. Again, thinking back to their first meeting, he hadn’t exactly proven himself as the sociable type.
“Hello again,” he said.
Staring once more into the greenest of eyes, Flick felt momentarily captivated and, lost for words, she willed herself not to blush. He leaned in to kiss the first of her cheeks, leaving Flick no choice but to breathe in his aroma. Somewhat pleasantly, rather than some fancy aftershave, he smelt clean and fresh like soap. His skin felt rough against hers, the prickle of stubble causing a sweeter sensation than it should have done.That’s enough of that!she thought, all of a fluster. And suddenly hot and bothered, she immediately stepped back, cutting short this part of their introduction in favour of a formal handshake.
Her sudden change in tack seemed to amuse him. “Nate,” he said, accepting the gesture.
“So, you do have a name then,” Flick replied.
He picked up a glass of wine from a tray on the console table by his side. “Drink?” he asked, his tickled expression continuing as he handed it over.
Flick took a gulp in an attempt at cooling herself down, before looking to her mum for assistance. However, Brenda was far too busy relishing in the attention being given to notice her daughter’s discomfort at being left alone with a handsome stranger. Flick stopped herself from interrupting though. Even if she waited for a gap in the chatter, she realised any complaints on her part would be unfair. It had been a while since her mum had properly relaxed and it was easy to understand why. On top of Dad’s death, having the issue of the chateau weighing heavily all this time couldn’t have been easy and as she carried on watching her, it felt good to see her mother smiling again.
Instead, Flick continued to just stand there, feeling a tad stupid. Nate might be giving her the odd cursory smile, but he was obviously the strong silent type, a man more interested in everyone else’s conversations, as opposed to striking up one of his own.
With nothing else for it, she too tuned in to what the others were saying and it quickly became apparent that she’d been right; everyone did want to know what she and her mum had in store for the chateau. They had so many questions that Flick didn’t have the answers to. Unlike Brenda, it seemed, who responded with ease.
“So what big plans do you have for the old place?” Gigi asked.
“Not sure at the moment. We’re just enjoying being here for now.”
“What do you think of the area?” Jess asked. “Have you had chance to explore yet?”
