Heart Restoration Project

Chapter Fourteen

My head was positively pounding, and the tannins from last night’s wine were still thick on my tongue. I swallowed back a few Advil and chugged an entire bottle of Evian in practically one gulp. It sloshed around my empty stomach before threatening to come back up. Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes and prayed for the room to stop spinning. When I opened them, it took a second to refocus, but when they did, they fell to the television, which was inadvertently airing a rerun of EVERLYday.

It was odd to hear my own voice and those of my family dubbed in French voices that hardly matched their own. By the look of Lemon’s bangs (which took her a full two years to grow out) it was one of the later seasons, maybe season eight or nine? I inched back on the bed, feeling for the remote, and flipped on the English subtitles just as Lemon was telling Mom she was going skiing with her boyfriend and wouldn’t be home for Christmas that year. That’s when Rhys, my “perfect” boyfriend, showed up, offering to spend the holidays with my family, winning everyone (including the audience) over with his thoughtful gesture and bold contrast to Lemon’s lemon of a beau.

I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it was real and how much of Rhys’s performance was for the cameras at that point? Could I pinpoint the moment the switch had flipped for him? When the stardom became more important to him than I was? The lines between reality and performance blurred beyond recognition, and I was left to wonder if I truly knew the person I had once been unable to live a day without. I don’t think I ever really did.

A bit hungover and very dehydrated, I begrudgingly fumbled around the room for something to wear until I found my jean shorts from the other day and a clean black tank top. I felt around in my bag for a pair of oversize sunglasses, slipped them on, and hurried downstairs to meet Bastien. Agnès and Pascal, already in the dining room setting up for breakfast, were turning chairs and setting the tables with utensils and sugar caddies.

“Bonjour, Prune, sleep well?” She glanced up, extending her usual greeting, and quickly returned to her laundry list of tasks. She unfolded a white linen tablecloth and spread it across the table, smoothing out any wrinkles with her hand. “Odette showed you a nice time in Avignon, I hope?”

“Yes, she did. We had a lovely time.”

“Merveilleux, I am so pleased when visitors really get to experience Avignon et Maubec and the real experience de Provence,” Agnès said with a flourish. When she was finally satisfied with the placement and wrinkle-free state of the tablecloth, she set down a small cup and saucer. “Croissant? Espresso?”

“Would it be possible to take them to go? I’m already running way behind.”

She nodded. “Coming in une minute.”

Agnès scooted off to fix the small order before I could even say thank you and brought a small paper cup and white wax paper bag back just as quickly. Tucking the pastry into my purse, I said, “Merci beaucoup.”

Pascal said, “Prune, your French is already much improved.”

I pushed my sunglasses onto my head. “Really?”

“No, I tease,” he deadpanned. “But how about we work on it together. I can tutor you. Would you like that?”

I clapped my hands together enthusiastically. “Ooh yes! I am très excitée!”

He lifted an index finger in the air and waved it furiously. “Non, non, non!” He scooted closer, and I couldn’t help but notice a rosy tint creeping up his face. “Mademoiselle, uh ... excitée doesn’t mean the same thing here as it does where you live, I think.” The blush on his cheeks was even more pronounced as he fumbled through the explanation. “It has more of a connotation sexual, n’est-ce pas? Vous comprenez? Sex-u-al?” He lifted his brows and slowed the word, his embarrassment reaching a fever pitch.

“Oh ... Ohhhhhhh!” I cupped my hand over my mouth, finally at long last understanding that excited in French means excited. “Oh my gosh, that’s um ... not what I meant ... at all. I just meant I can’t wait to start, but in a completely nonsexual and platonic type of way,” I sputtered, already mortified and ready to cancel the lessons altogether.

He smiled warmly and nodded. “?a va, ma belle. How could you have known? It is what we call a faux-ami, a false friend. It is a word that looks the same as your English one, but doesn’t mean quite the same thing.”

“Good to know. And I don’t need any more of those, false friends that is,” I joked. “But either way, I guess we’ve already gotten over me worrying about making a fool of myself, so nothing left to lose, right? Anyway, all that to say, I’m very interested, and I can pay you whatever the going rate is?”

“You can pay me nothing. Consider it a hotel amenity. We don’t have a fancy spa or gym or swimming pool on property, so the least I can do is offer my services to teach you a few phrases to help you get around town.”

“That is very generous. But I think you’re ahead of the game. I mean, who needs a gym with all these steep hills everywhere anyway?” I craned my neck toward the door. “I should probably get going.”

“à toute à l’heure! J’espère que tu as passé une merveilleuse journée!” Pascal called.

I froze in place trying to see if I recognized any of the many words he’d just thrown my way. Journée ... journey? Ugh ... I didn’t know. With that whole faux-amis thing, he could have been talking about the Academy Award nominees for all I knew. I just shrugged and smiled. “Yeah, not gonna lie, I didn’t catch any of that. Maybe we can start our lessons tonight?”

“I am very much looking forward to it,” he called after me with a wave.

I stepped outside into the cooler temperatures of the early June morning, surprised to find Bastien already waiting for me, fresh faced and wearing a crisp white T-shirt and dark jeans. He was holding a helmet and leaning up against his Vespa, seemingly unaware of the young Dylan McKay, 90210—or better even still, James Dean—vibes he was giving off.

“You look well.” Bastien set the helmet down on the seat and kissed me hello. Smooch, smooch.

“Oh, well that’s good because I feel a little bit like I was hit by a truck.”

Monsieur Grenouille, the proprietor from across the way, was shooting daggers with his eyes. I wasn’t sure what he disapproved of more: me, Bastien, Vespas, or the combination of all three so close to his patisserie. If looks could kill, there was no doubt in my mind I’d be a chalk outline in the middle of the town square by now.

“Bonjour, Monsieur Grenouille, top of the morning to you,” I called out to him.

He made a sort of humph as he set his jaw, hugged his broom to his chest, and marched back into his shop.

Bastien’s attention darted back and forth between us. “What was that all about?”

“I don’t think he’s particularly happy the circus has come to town. And by circus, I mean me.” I took a huge swig of water and for just a second was worried it might come right back up. I put my hand over my mouth, closed my eyes, and swallowed again.

“If you want to do this another day, we can certainly reschedule,” Bastien said.

“No, we cannot do this another day,” Elliott said, walking out of the inn and interrupting our conversation. “The network wants to start reviewing footage this week.”

I rolled my eyes. So much for compassion. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me. A little more hydration, and I’ll be right as rain in no time,” I said, steadying myself against the stone wall outside the inn.

“So then, shall we?” Bastien pointed to his Vespa.

“Plum’ll ride in the van with me,” Elliott said, his eyes never leaving me.

For as annoying as it was to admit, Elliott was probably right. I was barely able to balance myself upright on solid ground, so my chances of staying on the scooter as it navigated curvy gravel roads were slim to none. I turned to Bastien. “Probably not a bad idea while my stomach settles down.”

Bastien nodded, slipped his helmet on, and called out to Gervais, “Emmenez-les à l’église de Saint Orens. D’accord? à toute à l’heure!”

Elliott started to climb into the van, but then stopped himself and backed out, gesturing his arm into the vehicle instead. “No need for us to get all comfy, just in time for you to request a round of musical chairs. Better you just take the window seat and save us the shuffling.”

It took me a moment to realize he wasn’t kidding. “Oh, um ... thanks. That was ... thoughtful.” I pushed my seat belt firmly into the buckle.

“Honestly, it was a little self-serving. I didn’t bring a change of clothes,” he said in almost stern admonishment, and a fresh round of mortification burbled up like the bile I was fighting like hell to keep down. His serious face remained stoic for an extra beat until he broke into a smirk. “I’m just messing with you. But truthfully, no one needs a repeat performance of our airport trip. Just better to set things off on the right foot straight out of the gate, am I right?” Elliott nodded as if affirming his own statement, reached into his backpack, and passed me the day’s itinerary.

I looked over at his sheet and noticed our first stop was the church of Saint Orens. I looked up from the sheet. “Why are we going to this church instead of Chateau Mirabelle?”

“In these small villages, churches serve as the equivalent of a town hall. We should be able to find some of the original blueprints, maybe even some interior photographs of the house. All good fodder for the first episode. We’re meeting with a Father ...”—Elliott riffled through the papers—“ah, there it is, Father Fran?ois. He oversees their archives. Apparently Chateau Mirabelle has quite a rich history in Maubec. Did you know that the house was actually used by the French Resist—”

I cut him off midsentence. “I know, Bastien told me all about it.” Elliott’s general know-it-all-iness was really starting to grate on me. Sure, he thought he was highfalutin when he interned for Ken Burns, and sure, he probably considered this gig to be a huge step down, but man, he really needed to take a chill pill. Between his condescension, Roy Kent–style gruffness, and overall attitude toward me, this was going to be a looooong three months.

Elliott pursed his lips together, satisfied, and folded the itinerary back into his bag. “Good. Well then, nothing more to talk about I guess.” He pulled out his earbuds, popped them in, rolled his head to the side, and closed his eyes for the rest of the ride.

The van squeezed down a narrow alley, stopping in a picturesque town square with a large limestone fountain in the center of it. I pushed my face up against the window, my eyes trailing up a long cobblestone road lined with charming old white and honey-colored stone houses with blue wooden shutters.

Gervais threw the van into park and opened the door. “Sortez-ici. Out, out.”

I looked around, confused. “What is happening? We’re in the middle of the street in the middle of nowhere, and he wants us to get out of the van here?”

Elliott yanked his earbuds out and explained, “The van can’t make it up the road to the church. It’s too steep. We’ll have to walk up the hill.”

We both climbed out of the van and stepped onto the curb just as Bastien pulled up beside us in his Vespa. “Can I offer either of you a lift to the church?”

“I have to take up all the camera equipment, so I’ll just meet you there,” Elliott said.

“And Plum? Et toi?”

I glanced over at Elliott.

“Go ahead. There’s no reason for both of us to sweat our asses off as we struggle up the hill,” he said.

I turned to Bastien. “I don’t have a helmet.”

Bastien reached under the scooter’s seat and pulled an extra from the small compartment. But instead of handing it to me, he gently plunked it down on my head and fastened the clip under my chin with a wide grin and a satisfying, “Voilà.”

Elliott raised his arm. “Hold up a second. Can I have the two of you do that whole exchange again?”

“What exchange?” I asked.

“That whole bit with the helmet, that’s the kind of thing Kate wants me to make sure I’m capturing. You two getting to know one another as the show kicks off.”

A large lump formed in my throat. Yes, I knew perfectly well the reason I was in France was to film reality TV, but over the last couple of days that fact managed to slip further down in my consciousness. Elliott’s request, though, brought it all right back to the surface. Like one of those trained seals, as soon as I saw the camera, boom I was standing up straighter and tracking the sun to figure out the most flattering light. Quippy one-liners that could be used as potential sound bites raced through my head.

“Are you serious?” Bastien asked.

I squeezed Bastien’s forearm and looked up at him. “It’s fine. Let’s just give him what he needs so we can move on with our day.”

Elliott repositioned me and Bastien so the steeple of Saint Orens was now our backdrop, held up five fingers, and started mouthing a countdown. When he got to one, he pointed to us, indicating it was time to start the scene, but Bastien just stood there in stunned silence.

“Bastien, say something,” I whispered.

“Comme quoi?” He glanced at the camera and then at me, the panic clearly visible on his face.

I gripped his shoulders and stared into his dusky eyes. “Just pretend like nobody’s watching us. It’s just you and me and nobody else. I promise, after a while, you’ll forget the camera’s even there. Okay?”

Bastien nodded, moistened his lips, and exhaled. “D’accord.”

Elliott stepped forward. “Let’s do this. Bastien, you pull up on your Vespa, while Plum steps out of the van again. We’ll pick up the conversation there. It’ll read more naturally that way.”

Elliott called out “Action” as Bastien revved up the Vespa’s motor. He pulled up to the van, a curl of smoke trailing behind the engine. I hopped out of the van and turned my body slightly to accentuate my best angle to the camera and kept my face toward the light as I’d been taught from a young age.

“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Everly.” Bastien flashed me his most dashing smile. “Are you ready for our adventure?”

I crooked my right eyebrow. “Adventure, did you say?”

“Ah oui. Provence is all about finding beautiful places to get lost in. Today, we’ll get lost in the beauty of L’église de Saint Orens,” he said, pointing up to the old church.

I tilted my head and turned up the flirt. “How will we get up there? The road looks far too steep for the van.”

He patted the back of the Vespa.

I smiled coyly and looked from side to side. “But I don’t have a helmet.”

Elliott zoomed in for a close-up while Bastien reached under his seat, pulled one out, and placed it on my head. He leaned down to snap it closed, coming within inches of my face, and took my chin in his fingers once the clasp was fastened. His dark eyes were inviting, enticing me with every seductive flicker of his thick lashes. “Voilà, there you are.” His breath warmed my cheek, and I felt the undeniable and irresistible magnetic pull of us drawing closer and closer.

I chewed my bottom lip completely, forgetting about Elliott and the camera in front of us. “Merci,” I whispered, eyeing his mouth and his eyes looking at mine as if we might—

“Annnnddddd cut!” Elliott yelled, shattering the moment in a blink.

“How was that? How was I?” Bastien stood upright. “Plum? What did you think?”

What did I think?I thought we were going to kiss, that’s how real the moment felt. I expelled a breath that had been caught in my lungs in preparation for the smooch I thought was coming, but didn’t. “You did great. It was all very, um, natural. Right?” I shifted from Bastien, stepping away to widen the space between us, and turned to Elliott. “So what did you think? Did you get what you need?”

“Yeah, it was great,” Elliott replied flatly, in a tone that made me wonder if he was lying or simply over this job before it’d even really begun. He’d made no secret that he was here for the paycheck, nothing more. Hoisting the camera onto his shoulder, he wordlessly set up the steep road toward Saint Orens.

Bastien motioned for me to hop on the bike. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and off we went zipping up the hill, leaving Elliott in the dust.