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‘Salut,’ Luca said, holding his glass up.
‘Salut,’ I replied, taking a sip of the red, which was bloody delicious.
‘Medium rare for your steak?’ I asked.
‘Is there any other way?’ he replied. It was a good point. ‘What’s this?’ he asked nodding towards Jules on the TV.
‘Oh… I suppose you don’t get it in France. It’s theHootenanny,’ I said with a smile.
‘The Hooter Nanny?’ he repeated, enjoying the sound of it.
‘Yes, we always watch it on New Year’s Eve.’
‘Your family?’
‘No, me and George… my ex, we used to watch it,’ I said, feeling my heart sting. Not anymore. It would just be me watching it on my own from now on. I gave the sauce a stir and ruffled up the chips, throwing the steaks on to cook.
‘Shall I put it on in the lounge and we can eat in there?’ Luca asked.
‘Lovely,’ I said, ‘and er… should I put my uniform on?’ Better to ask than get it wrong.
‘Of course not. Unless you mean that slinky number from your first day?’ he said raising his eyebrows.
My cheeks flushed. ‘No, not that one.’
I sizzled the steaks, both plump and juicy, cooking them to perfection, then served everything up.Steak fritesin front of the TV with a hot French man, va va voom! I just had to remember he was the boss and to stay professional at ALL times. I checked my reflection in the tiny kitchen mirror, tucked my hair behind my ears and put some lip balm on. The plates were hot as I carried them into the lounge, where Luca had laid the table, and the red wine was aerating. Jules was all smiles on the TV, introducing Adele. Perfection.
‘Merci beaucoup,’ Luca said, taking his plate, ‘this looks delicious.’
‘It was easy,’ I replied with a shrug.
‘Even more impressive,’ Luca said, taking his first bite and closing his eyes to savour the taste.
We ate our dinner on the coffee table and watched as band after band performed a combination of old classics and new music. The steaks were perfect and sitting on the sofa, drinking expensive red wine with Luca was a definite upgrade on last year’sHootenanny– and strangely comfortable.
‘Did they find someone to take your place at the Eiffel Tower dinner?’ I asked.
‘It wouldn’t have been hard,’ he said with a shrug, ‘but to be honest, it’s a relief not to have the pressure of a big night out. I so rarely have a night in. This is… nice.’
‘You can’t beat a good bottle of wine and a steak,’ I said, not wanting to misinterpret his words. He looked gorgeous sitting there on the sofa in the candlelight, but it was just an accidental night in together, wasn’t it?
I took our empty plates down to the kitchen while Luca decided on some Champagne for midnight. There was a chocolate mousse in the fridge, so I served up two portions, with chopped berries and clotted cream.
‘I thought we’d go with the Dom Perignon?’ Luca said, popping it open and pouring out two glasses.
New Mewould have to wait until tomorrow morning.
He handed me a glass as Jules started the countdown to midnight. I felt the tension of the past year start to slip away. It was time to let it go. Out with the old and in with the new.
‘Seven – six – five – four…’ I held my glass out to Luca who clinked it and smiled. ‘Three – two – one! Happy New Year!’ The TV screamed, party poppers exploded, and gold confetti covered everyone in the studio as they cut to the fireworks. Luca was sitting so close to me, our legs were touching and I was starting to feel slightly flustered.
‘Happy New Year, Holly,’ he said, and before I knew what was happening, he leant in and kissed me gently on the lips.
I was pretty sure this wasn’t allowed as I kissed him back, breathing in his unique scent of cigarette smoke and expensive cologne. Was I allowed to kiss him back? What was happening?! It had been years since I’d had a first kiss and I was suddenly very conscious of my body and what was where. Luca’s nose touched mine as I pulled myself away and looked at him. Not bad at all.
‘Happy New Year to you too,’ I said, trying to play it cool but feeling totally panicked. I sat forward on the sofa and started stacking the dessert plates, grabbing Luca’s fork and spoon and accidentally knocking the salt on the floor.
‘It’s only a kiss, Holly, no big deal,’ Luca said, leaning back lazily as I fussed about.
