Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
We stepped into the cellar, and a dank, moldy smell hit us immediately.
“Well, that’s not great,” Remi said, eyeing the puddle on the floor.
Despite Eric and Colette’s best efforts, the storm had still penetrated the cellar’s defenses.
“We should get these cases out of here so you can drain it,” Remi said. He looked around, his expression exhausted and frustrated. I could relate.
I nodded slowly, my whole body feeling like lead.
“You okay?” Remi asked.
“Yes. Fine. Just tired.” I forced a thin smile. “It’s just one more thing, right?”
He stared at me for a moment, then nodded curtly. “You need a vacation.”
I half-laughed. “Here I thought spending a few months in Provence would be all the relaxation I needed.”
“Then you decided to become a home renovator,” he teased.
I reached for a box.
“ Non . That is too heavy,” Remi said, coming to my side to take the case from my hands.
“I’ve got it,” I said.
“Elodie, don’t be stupid. It’s too heavy.”
Without thinking, I glared at him.
“Don’t call me stupid,” I snapped.
His eyes narrowed, then he sighed. “ Désolé . I meant, don’t be... stubborn. You’re tired. The case is heavy. I’ll do it.”
He tried again to take the box, but I felt a wave of righteous indignation swell up in me, so I elbowed him out of the way.
“I said I got it .” I hoisted the box up.
I didn’t have it. It slipped from my hands.
Remi swooped in and saved it from crashing to the ground.
“ Merde !” Remi shouted, slamming the box down. “What is your problem?”
For a moment, my heart was racing too fast to speak. Then I glared again.
“I don’t have a problem.”
“Why are you acting like a child?” he said.
I scoffed. “Why are you treating me like a child?”
He straightened up. “What does that mean?”
“You’re constantly hovering over me, waiting for me to drop the ball.”
“Or drop the box,” he said dryly.
I glared again. “Whatever.”
“You don’t take any of this seriously, do you?”
I stiffened. “Now, what does that mean?”
“This whole thing—the renovations, the harvest. This is just a little fantasy you’re playing out before you run back to real life in California. You’ve never been committed to this place.”
“Excuse me? I’ve given this place everything these past few months. You have no idea what I’ve been going through.”
“Because you don’t tell me.”
I shook my head. “Not everything is your business.”
“Are you getting back together with him?”
The question caught me so off guard I froze, like a deer caught in headlights.
Remi nodded. “ Oui , okay. I thought so.”
“Wait, what? Why would you think that?”
He sighed. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because he flew all the way to France, stayed the night. Because you’re still texting him.”
“What do you—”
“I didn’t mean to spy, I just accidentally saw.”
I massaged my forehead. “It’s not like that, Remi. We’re dealing with something with our old company. There’s this lawsuit, and—it’s complicated. I don’t want to get into it. Actually, I can’t really get into it until I talk to my lawyer and—” I was starting to babble. I shut my mouth.
Remi stepped closer. Too close. My heart raced again, my pulse quickening.
“But all that aside—where do you get off even throwing accusations at me?”
“They’re not accusations. Just questions. I have a right to know what you’re playing at.”
I ground my teeth together, feeling my temper flare. “I’m not playing at anything. All of this—this entire thing—was dropped in my lap. I never asked for any of it. Not Evan stealing my business, not this estate, not—you.” The last word barely came out.
He clenched his jaw. “But you want to leave, don’t you? Am I wrong?”
“I—I don’t know, Remi. This whole thing—I’m in over my head.”
He came closer. His breath was warm on my cheek.
“You’ve accomplished so much.”
Emotions flooded me. I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t belong here.”
“And what about us? You don’t belong— here ?” He waved a hand between us.
“Is there really an ‘us,’ Remi? It’s not like we’ve talked about any kind of future.”
“Why do we have to talk about everything? Why does everything require some great plan? Why can’t you just let things be?”
I nervously ran a hand through my hair, which got caught on a snarl, and I ripped it out, taking a chunk of hair with it.
“If only life were that simple,” I said.
“Americans love to overcomplicate everything.”
I laughed bitterly. “Because life is complicated, Remi. You’re the one who was just telling me five minutes ago I’m not taking this seriously. I—”
He didn’t let me finish. His mouth crashed into mine, full of urgency and heat. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer as the kiss deepened, raw and intense.
I finally pulled away, my lips pulsing and sore. He stared down at me, his blue eyes piercing right through me.
“Remi, I don’t know what—”
Remi said nothing for a moment, then nodded curtly. “I’ve crowded you. You need space to figure this all out. Désolé .”
He started to leave.
“Remi, wait.”
“ Non . It’s better if we get some space. You have a lot to work out.” He flashed me a thin smile, then raced up the cellar steps.