Chapter 4
4
Laura didn’t eat any lunch the next day but it wasn’t because she was too bored with quinoa salad. Her appetite had been killed by irritation.
Weirdly, there was only one person she thought she could vent to who would understand.
Why is it that some photographers want to take pictures on strange angles? Or use a fisheye lens??
You should take your own photos for the properties you sell. I do.
You do?
Oui. Photography could be a perfect hobby for you. Useful as well as relaxing.
You do take good photographs.
Laura felt qualified to judge. She had dozens of them in her phone and email records and she’d looked at them all many times.
It’s not difficult.
What sort of camera do you use?
A Leica. Only the best.
Is it hard to learn to use?
Pas de tout. I could teach you.
I’m sure you could.
Laura added an eye-rolling emoji but she found she was smiling. She wasn’t feeling remotely irritated now.
She had to end the text conversation, however. Even the idea of Noah showing her how to hold a camera was enough to distract her completely from what she was supposed to be doing. Would he stand behind her? Put his hands over hers as he showed her how to hold it and which controls to adjust?
The notion was as distracting as it had been to imagine being the pillion passenger on his motorbike.
But it added another reason to make that booking to go back to France for a weekend. A professional reason that made it an opportunity she would be foolish to pass up.
She’d told Ellie that she would be happy to sleep on the couch if she came, but it occurred to Laura now that she could go back to that little hotel in Vence instead.
If nothing else, it was fodder for a whole new fantasy that she could add to the motorbike ride and the photography lesson. One where she not only went out to dinner with Noah Dufour but they ended up back in her – private – hotel room.
And why not?
If the fantasy couldn’t last, she may as well make the most of it while she could.
* * *
Ellie video called Laura to offer to pick her up at the airport when she arrived for the photo shoot visit. Finding the vintage 2 CV in the garage of La Maisonette had been one of the unexpected recent developments in the restoration project. That Ellie had found the courage to start driving it when she’d been so nervous of driving on the other side of the road had been even more unexpected. Chiding her sister for the silliness of giving the car a name – Margot – had only been an attempt to put off the inevitable.
Having to confess that arrangements had already been made.
That Noah was picking her up.
On his motorbike.
Laura deliberately froze her expression so there would no chance of her sister guessing even a hint of the fantasy that had become an increasingly dominant feature of her life. Fortunately, Ellie seemed diverted by something far more practical.
‘ What about your suitcase? ’
‘ I’m only coming for a couple of days. I could put my toothbrush and some clean knickers in my handbag if I need to .’
The silence from Ellie had been eloquent. The idea of Laura doing something so wild and irresponsible was so far out of character, it was disturbing. But Laura made light of it. Noah was being helpful, that was all. He was going to show her some of the area’s features that were worthy of mention in the brochure and… that included him taking her out to dinner. Perhaps they’d go to one of the local restaurants, like the Colombe d’Or. Or La Farigoule.
She’d found she could actually hear his voice instead of seeing the words as she remembered the text he’d sent the night of the awards dinner.
Notre table, Laura. Une coupe de champagne pour toi, peut-être?
Or maybe he’d take her to the one he’d told her about in St Paul de Vence that was as much an art gallery as a famous restaurant?
‘He’s taking you out to dinner?’ Ellie had sounded shocked. ‘Have you been online dating without telling me? ’
It was exactly what Laura had been doing but she wouldn’t have admitted that to anyone. Including herself? She’d laughed off the suggestion. Did Ellie really think she’d be interested in someone like him?
Her sister’s echo of her laughter had held a note of relief. Not in a million years…
And maybe that had been the tipping point, knowing that Ellie thought she could never be daring enough to go near a bad boy like Noah Dufour.
How shocked would her baby sister be if she knew the kind of things she was thinking about doing with him? Things that took her back to her teenage years when she’d read those steamy romance novels by torchlight under the covers of her bed.
But all that had been promised was a purely professional list of excursions and experiences. Impersonal enough to be able to tell Ellie about them and sound completely innocent. Imagining being on the back of his motorbike, however, when Noah had offered to pick her up at the airport, had been vivid enough to have almost scared Laura off the entire idea. Had he picked up on her second thoughts when he’d called to confirm her flight details?
Was that why he’d offered reassurance along with a final promise?
‘You need to live a little, ma puce . It’s a couple of days you’ll never have again. Something very French to remember. You’ll love it… I promise.’
Laura thought again of the way Ellie had laughed at the idea of her with a man like Noah.
The echo of the way that had made her feel – almost ashamed of not having the courage to do something so outside of her comfort zone – morphed with the knowledge that this was only a blip of a couple of days in her lifetime. One night. It was also an opportunity she was highly unlikely to ever be offered again.
Did she want to spend the rest of her life wondering what might have happened if she’d thrown caution to the wind, just for a day or two?
What it might have been like to be with a man like Noah?
No .
Dammit, Laura was going to do it.
Nobody else had to know the truth. Not her mother or Ellie. Not even Noah.
If it did turn out that fantasies could come true, it would be entirely her secret. And that – almost – made it feel safe.