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‘That’s Xavier,’ Liv said, opening the boot and lifting my bags out.
Xavier the much-lauded chef? But he could only be in his early thirties? Where was my wrinkled, Ramsay-esque figure? Xavier was tall and tanned, with a mess of auburn hair and a stubbly, square jaw. I’d been expecting an old Michelin MasterChef, with a lifetime of experience.
‘Morning, I’m Holly,’ I said brightly. ‘It’s a bit early to be up, isn’t it?’
‘Better get used to that,’ he said in a French accent, ‘first lifts are 8 a.m. and sleep is overrated if you want fresh snow. Welcome to Verbier. I’m Xavier.’ He swept his hair from his eyes and held out his hand to shake mine.
‘Hi,’ I said, taking his hand as he caught me off guard with a double kiss.
Liv passed my bag to Xavier and wheeled my case through the front door. I slapped my cheeks to force a bit of life into my face and gave my hair a ruffle as I made my way up the front steps.
‘You’re safe. They’re not here till tomorrow,’ Xavier said, as I tentatively looked around.
‘And Genevieve messaged to say they won’t arrive until lunchtime,’ Liv added, ‘so plenty of time to unpack.’
The chalet was like nothing I’d ever seen before. The front door opened into a woody dream. I was in the second little pig’s house and it was heaven. Beautiful oak floors and walls met with wooden-framed windows swathed in red, velvet curtains and a soft-carpeted staircase that led to the first floor. A Christmas tree covered in fairy lights and gold baubles twinkled in the foyer and the smell of fresh coffee percolated through the air. Liv was right about the temperature; I’d gone from the hot-bottom seat of a Porsche to full-blast central heating.
‘You’re sharing with me,’ Liv said, pointing to another set of stairs in the far-right corner that went down to the floor below.
‘We’re in the basement,’ Xavier added.
‘I imagine it’s still pretty nice,’ I said, running my hand along the smooth, pine handrail as the three of us made our way downstairs. Past the laundry room, the kitchen and the bathroom and finally arriving at the bedrooms. One for me and Liv, and one for Xavier.
‘What’s the room down the end?’ I asked.
‘That’s the ski room and sauna,’ Liv said, ‘and there’s a plunge pool just outside, if you’re into that sort of thing?’
‘No one is into that sort of thing,’ Xavier said with a smile, ‘except Liv.’
‘Loads of people are into it actually, Xavier. And yes, it’s changed my life,’ Liv said, with a nod. ‘Two minutes a day and it completely detoxes your body and sorts out your immune system.’
‘You mean there’s a plunge pool outside in the snow?’ I asked, just to clarify.
Liv nodded enthusiastically. ‘By the back door. You leave your towel on the bench, run out and jump in it for as long as you can bear, then come back in and use the sauna. No better way to get your blood pumping.’
‘Debateable,’ Xavier said, with a shudder.
‘OK, well good to know it’s there if I need it,’ I said, knowing full well, I wouldnever,everneed it.
‘There are two doors into the ski room, so we can access it from down here and Genevieve and Luca can walk down the steps from the top floor.’
‘The chalet is ski in, ski out,’ Xavier said casually, as if that should make sense. I was going to have to get up to speed PDQ or I’d be a laughing stock. Although skiing straight into the sauna sounded very dangerous. I was hoping Liv would help me out a bit. I didn’t want to look like an idiot. My palms were getting sweaty at the thought of Genevieve and Luca arriving the next day. How was I going to impress them with my basic food and sommelier knowledge? I needed Margot here to back me up.
Liv showed me into the bedroom, which was a basic twin with a wardrobe, a dressing table and a full-length mirror. The window between our beds opened out onto ground level and a selection of juices were nestled in the snow, nicely chilling in nature’s ice bucket. Half the room looked like a walk-in wardrobe had imploded, with piles of clothes everywhere, all over Liv’s bed, the wardrobe doors and heaped on the floor in the corner. We each had a shelf above our bed and Liv’s was full of trinkets and photos, with her smiley face peering out at different ages, next to lots of other tanned, smiley faces.
My side of the room was starkly bare in comparison. A single bed with a large, feather pillow and a double duvet folded in on itself. An empty shelf screwed into an empty wall and half a tiny wardrobe to hang up my salopettes and stash my shoe collection.
‘We’ll leave you to settle in,’ Xavier said.
‘Help yourself to anything you want from my stuff,’ Liv said, gesturing around at the mess. ‘Sorry it’s a bit, er…’ She picked up a pair of stray knickers and put them in her pocket.
‘No worries, I like that it’s homely,’ I said, side-eyeing the detritus for movement. Please God, let there not be rats.
Xavier and Liv left me to it and I collapsed onto the bed. I was here. I was really here. I’d taken the ‘fuck it’ pill and decided to stop deciding, and this is where life had taken me. I’d leapt, and now it was time for the net to appear.
Ten
3rd December
