AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dolly spoke slowly, as if she thought he was an idiot. Which, actually, she probably did.
‘I don’t know how.’
‘Then try. Or you’re on your own.’
Ben stared out across the gardens of the château and thought. He needed this. Needed Dolly’s help if he was ever going to get Luce out here and convince her that they could be a real family. But convince her he was worthy of Luce? Impossible.
‘I’m not,’ he said, finally. ‘I’m not worthy of her. Nobody could be.’
‘Right answer,’ Dolly said. ‘Now, tell me your plans and I’ll see what I can do. Because, I’m telling you, she’s absolutely miserable without you.’
Ben smiled for the first time in a week and told Dolly his plan.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
‘AT LEAST TELL me where I’m going,’ Luce said as Dolly threw more clothes into her suitcase. ‘And how long I’ll be gone. I need to call work...’ Which would be fun. Dennis was still speechless over the pregnancy thing.
‘Already done,’ Dolly said. ‘I told them you’d be back next week. If you decide not to... Well, call them once you’re there.’
‘Where, exactly?’ Luce asked, frustrated. ‘And if I’m there longer than a few days that skirt won’t fit me any more. Three months and I’m already starting to show.’
‘You’re glowing,’ Dolly said. Then she stopped and looked at her. ‘Well, sort of. Right now you just look stressed.’
‘I can’t imagine why.’
Dolly slammed the lid of the suitcase shut and fastened it, leaning hard on it with her elbow to keep it closed. ‘Look, just trust me on this one. It’s for the best, and everything’s going to work out fine. You need a break. You need looking after. And, most importantly, you need to not be in the house while they’re fixing the attic. God only knows what they’re going to find up there, and all that dust would be bad for the baby. Even the builder’s told you to get out for a few days.’
‘I could have just booked into a hotel round the corner for the weekend,’ Luce pointed out.
‘Except I know you.’ Dolly gave her a look. ‘You’d be back here every five minutes, wanting to check on things. No. This is my first chance to be the grown-up and in-charge sister, and I’m taking it. I have booked you a long weekend and you are going. End of story. I’ll take care of everything here, so you don’t need to worry at all.’
Luce opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Telling Dolly she couldn’t go, that she’d worry too much, was tantamount to telling her she didn’t trust her to look after things. How could she do that when Dolly was trying so hard?
‘And, look,’ Dolly said, pointing to the carry-on bag next to the suitcase. ‘I’m letting you take your research notes and your laptop, aren’t I? I know how close you are to finishing the revisions on your book. So it can be a working holiday. Perfect.’
Luce bit her lip at the memory of her last accidental, snowy working holiday. ‘Thanks, Doll. I just...’
‘You just need to relax. Come on—let’s get you to the airport.’
In the end Luce decided it was easier just to cave in to Dolly’s boundless enthusiasm and go. A weekend away did sound wonderful, and it was nice to have someone else take care of the planning for a change.
Or so she thought until her plane landed in Nice and there was no one there to meet her.
This was why she took care of things herself. As hard as Dolly was trying, organisation and responsibility still didn’t come naturally to her. And now Luce was stuck in an airport with no idea where she was supposed to be going.
Fishing her phone out of her bag, she called Dolly. ‘I thought you said there’d be a car here to meet me? With, you know, a driver? To take me to the hotel?’
‘He’s not there?’ Dolly’s incredulous voice screeched down the line. ‘Hang on. I’ll call you back.’
Luce took her bags and sat down on a nearby bench to wait. The Arrivals lounge began to empty out a bit, waiting for the next influx of passengers from the following flight, and she glanced around her, trying to see if she’d missed a sign with her name on it or something. Dolly had been so sure it was all arranged...
The doors in front of her opened with a bang, and Luce looked up to see Ben Hampton—paint on his face, jeans, shirt and in his hair—running towards her just as her phone rang.
‘Dolly.’
‘He’s on his way,’ Dolly said quickly. ‘There was a mix-up—’
