‘Maybe you just picked the wrong men? You’ve never told me about your love life,’ Maddy remarked. ‘I don’t even know if you’ve ever been in love.’
Leanne shrugged and picked up her glass of orange juice. ‘Sure I have. But it always ended in disaster. I sometimes broke it off myself before he could, when I suspected the relationship was about to end in the toilet. But let’s not go there right now, okay?’
‘Of course. But if you ever want to tell me, I’m here.’
Leanne put her hand on Maddy’s and gave it a squeeze. ‘You’re a brick, Mads. I do love you, you know. I’ve never had a friend like you. I’ve built up a defensive wall and pretended to be tough, but you know I’m all marshmallow on the inside. I built that hard shell so I couldn’t be hurt.’
‘I suppose you did. Except I thought you were such fun from the moment I met you. And those girls you teach, they all love you. Isn’t that why you got an extension on your contract?’
Leanne brightened. ‘Oh, I never thought of that. You’re a pet for saying that.’
Maddy leant forward and fixed Leanne with a steady gaze. ‘You’re a terrific person, you know. And you’re attractive, fun, intelligent and charming. Don’t ever forget that.’
Leanne squirmed and blushed. ‘Aww…’
‘And look at you now,’ Maddy continued. ‘All glowing and happy after a night out with a handsome man who seems to fancy you. Aren’t things truly turning out for the better?’
Leanne grinned. ‘You’re right. I’m a right auld misery guts, aren’t I? What a total bore. And it’s such a grand day and all.’ She peered up at the cloudless sky. ‘Does it ever rain here?’
‘I’m sure it does, from time to time.’ Maddy finished her orange juice and got up. ‘Come on, enough of this. Let’s go for a swim. We need to top up our tans and take some more of those selfies.’
Leanne grinned. ‘Work, work, work. What a slog this is.’
‘It’s a killer. But we do it for our fellow man – I mean woman.’ Maddy picked up Bridget, who had been asleep under the table. ‘I’ll take her for a little walk and pee. You go on. I’ll catch up with you later.’
‘Okay, darlin’. See you at the pool.’ Leanne skipped down the gravel path. Her phone rang as she ran and she stopped to answer. Maddy could hear her say: ‘Hi Carlo. How sweet of you to—’ The rest faded as Leanne walked away.
Maddy sighed, hoping Leanne wasn’t heading for another heartbreak. What she had seen of Carlo did not inspire trust. And an Italian ex-model with those kinds of looks was hardly husband or father material. But Leanne was an adult and must make her own choices. Hopefully they would be the right ones. When Bridget had finished her business, Maddy, deep in thought, walked her on the lead toward the guest cottage to change into the red bikini. As she rounded the corner, she narrowly missed bumping into a tall figure, sending her heart racing.
* * *
‘Oh!’ She backed away and squinted up at Erik against the bright sunlight. ‘I thought you had left for the office.’
‘Yes. But I’m back.’
‘So I see.’ Their eyes locked for a loaded minute. Being so close to him after their night together was unnerving. In the warm, velvety darkness, they had whispered things to each other that now seemed too intimate in the bright light of day. The memory of his hands on her naked flesh was suddenly too much for Maddy. ‘I’m – going for a swim,’ she managed, starting to walk away, her heart beating.
But he wouldn’t let her escape. He took her gently by the arm. ‘Maddy? It’s okay. We’re okay, I mean. All is well. Last night meant a lot to me. But we can take it slow and easy for now if that’s what you wish.’
Overwhelmed by his smell and touch, she could only nod, even though she wanted to press herself against him and feel his hands on her again. ‘Yes,’ she mumbled. ‘I think that would be best. Let’s not—’
He smiled. ‘I know. You feel a little embarrassed about what we did, perhaps? Not really your usual mode with men you’ve just met, I guess.’
‘That’s putting it mildly,’ Maddy said, letting out a nervous giggle.
‘But never mind. I came to ask you if you’d like to come for a drive with me. I want to show you the farm I was talking about last night. You know, the one I bought. Do you think that’d be okay? If you’re not too busy, of course.’
‘I remember.’ She noticed a wistful look in his eyes, as if he needed to share this new dream with her, but was afraid she’d think it was foolish. She smiled and shook her head. ‘Busy? Oh yes, I was going for a swim and then taking selfies with Leanne. That kind of busy.’
He laughed and squeezed her hand. ‘You go on and do that. I’ll go and get a picnic together and then we’ll meet at the front of the house in, say, an hour?’
‘Perfect.’ They looked at each other again before Maddy walked away with a swagger that mirrored her mood.
* * *
Leanne was floating on her back staring up at the sky with a blissful expression when Maddy joined her. The heat was intense as the midday sun stood high in the pale-blue sky and the air was full of the smell of lavender and wild thyme, which Maddy would forever associate with Provence in summer. She slipped into the cool water and swam across to the edge, looking out over the peaceful landscape.
‘Don’t move,’ Leanne shouted. ‘That’s a gorgeous shot, with you at the edge of infinity.’
Maddy stayed where she was. ‘Infinity?’ she mumbled. ‘That’s a dizzying thought.’
‘I meant the infinity pool, ya twit,’ Leanne laughed. ‘Come on. Let’s do some selfies.’
Maddy looked up at Leanne’s long, tanned legs, the slim body in a blue bikini and the happy smile on her pretty face. ‘Give me the phone. I want to take a shot of you from here. You look gorgeous.’
Leanne handed her the phone. ‘Careful. If you drop it, you’re dead.’
‘I won’t.’ Standing on tiptoes, Maddy took the shot and handed the phone back. ‘There you go.’ She turned and did a few laps, then got out of the pool, feeling refreshed.
Leanne was uploading the pictures onto the blog page. She glanced up when Maddy climbed out of the water. ‘Why are you getting out? I thought we’d float around and talk for a bit. Carlo had some great ideas for the next leg of our trip.’
Maddy stopped drying herself. ‘What kind of ideas? Don’t tell me he wants to come with us.’
‘Not quite, but…’
Maddy faked a yawn. ‘You can tell me later. I think I’ll go and have a nap. I need to catch up on some sleep.’
Leanne looked back to her phone that had just pinged. ‘Okay. I might do the same. See you later. Drinks on the terrace at six, I think Dad said.’
‘Perfect,’ Maddy said, echoing what she had said to Erik earlier. She glanced at Leanne, wondering if she should tell her the truth; that she had a date with Erik for a drive up the hills and a picnic lunch. But no, she decided. Why stir things up before anything happened? Feeling only slightly guilty at telling a lie, Maddy left the pool and walked into the shadows of the oleander bushes. Her future was hers to make or break on her own.
Chapter Thirty-One
The road wound around boulders and outcrops, high in the hills above the town of Vence and its surrounding villages. Maddy felt as if she was in the middle of one of the Manon des Sources movies about the village in Provence, as she looked at the scorched reddish soil and sparse vegetation. As the sunlight bounced off rocks and sandy soil, there was a wild beauty to this landscape, not unlike the Rocky Mountains or the Grand Canyon.
‘Gosh, it’s wild around here,’ she remarked, holding on to the dashboard of Erik’s SUV. ‘I’m glad we’re doing this in a four-by-four. The roads would wreck any car.’
‘Yes,’ he said, his eyes on the road. ‘It’s a little rough up here. But still, not too far from civilisation.’ He glanced at her. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m grand. Not getting seasick yet.’
‘Good. We’re nearly there. Then you
’ll see it was worth the pain.’
They turned into a narrow track and trundled up a short slope until Erik drew up outside an old house, part of which was in ruins. ‘Here we are,’ he announced with pride. ‘My future home.’
Maddy looked at the crumbling pile and laughed. ‘That’s a bit of a contrast to your present one, I have to say.’
‘I know. But it has more character, don’t you think? And wait till I show you the period features.’
‘What period would that be, the stone age?’ Maddy quipped, wondering if Erik had a screw loose. But as she got out of the car and walked around the house, she started to see the charm of it. At the back, wild roses climbed up the ancient walls and the remnants of a terrace had stunning views of the valley and rolling hills all the way to the deep blue sea in the far distance. Up here the peace had a spiritual quality with the sound of the wind and the distant squawk of a raven high in the cloudless sky. The breeze cooled her hot cheeks and she could hear water gushing nearby. ‘You have a stream?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’ Erik pointed down the unkempt garden which was a mass of olive trees and cork oaks. ‘In the clearing behind the trees. The water comes from an underground well in the mountains.’
‘Just like in Manon,’ Maddy exclaimed and started to run down the slope to the trees. She found the stream and sank down on the grass to take off her sneakers. Barefoot, she got into the water and stood, her eyes closed, enjoying the feel of cool water washing over her feet and legs.
Erik followed with the bag of food he had brought and put a bottle of white wine to cool between two rocks in the stream. ‘It’s really what makes this place so perfect,’ he remarked as he followed Maddy’s lead and took off his trainers, standing beside her in the water.
‘It really does.’ Maddy squinted up at him in the dappled sunlight and smiled. ‘It’s a little piece of heaven really.’
He looked at her with such affection it made her blush. ‘It is when you’re here with me,’ he said, as if to himself. He took her hand and held it to his cheek for a moment. ‘Pity I promised to be good.’
She looked up at him and moved closer, feeling reckless. ‘Maybe you could be released from your promise…’
His smile broadened. ‘That sounds good. You’re sure?’
She put her arms around him and pressed her breasts against his chest. ‘Yes,’ she whispered.
In one smooth movement, he picked her up in his arms, carried her to the bank and laid her on the damp, soft grass. It didn’t take long for her to whip off her T-shirt and shorts, her cotton bra and knickers joining them among the pebbles on the edge of the stream. He was beside her as soon as he had removed every stich of his own clothing. She found herself admiring his toned physique, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed in this green, shady space, where the gushing water accompanied the sound of their voices as they made love on the grass under the canopy of old olive trees. It seemed somehow primeval – and so natural – this lovemaking in the old garden, where the crumbling house stood in the distance, watching, waiting for them.
They lay still for a while, eyes locked, smiling. Erik touched Maddy’s face. ‘Thank you.’
‘Please,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t thank me. I didn’t do this for you, I did it for me – us.’ She sat up and eased herself into the water to wash.
He watched her for a while and then joined her, trickling water over her shoulders and breasts. ‘You’re more than beautiful. You’re – a real woman.’
She kissed him and got out of the water. ‘I’m a hungry woman,’ she said, laughing. ‘Where’s the food?’
‘In the bag I carried down. There are sandwiches and fruit. Nothing fancy, just bread, cheese and tomatoes.’
‘Terrific.’ She found the bag and when she had dressed, laid out the food on the grass while he opened the wine. They ate and drank, satisfying both thirst and hunger. Then they talked. The conversation was friendly at first, even loving. But as Erik laid out his plans for the old farm, his future there and how she might join him, Maddy felt a little chill run down her spine. What was going on? He seemed so sure of her and how she would share his dream. He never once asked how she felt about it or if she really wanted to move here.
He stopped talking. ‘What’s the matter? You look annoyed.’
Maddy stiffened. ‘Annoyed? No. But I’m a little puzzled. How can you sit there and be so sure I’ll want to join you in this remote place? Didn’t I tell you yesterday that I want to go back on the road and see a bit more of Europe before I return to Ireland? That I want to teach for the whole of the school year, remember? And my divorce and my children… Didn’t you hear when I opened up about all of that?’
‘Uh, yes, but…’
Maddy got up from the boulder she had been sitting on. ‘But what?’ She hurled the core of her apple into the stream. ‘But once you got me here and seduced me with this gorgeous place and the sunshine and the stream and the olive trees, you thought I’d forget all about my own life and live with you?’
Erik’s eyes darkened. ‘Yes. That’s what I was hoping. Who wouldn’t love this place? And imagine the life we’d have. It would be a simple life, growing our own food, going to the market, keeping goats, producing our own olive oil…’ His voice trailed off.
‘Holy shit, you’re delusional,’ Maddy exclaimed. ‘Or just a man, really. I’d be the little woman, is that it? Where do you think we are? In the nineteen fifties? You didn’t even ask if I like goats!’ Without another word, she marched up the slope to the house and the jeep, where she came to a stop and burst into tears.
She stood there for a while in the hot sunshine, sobbing, trying to wipe her face until Erik caught up with her. He took her hands and prised them away from her face. ‘I’m sorry. Oh, God how stupid I’ve been. Of course you’re upset and confused and angry. Jesus, what an idiot you must think I am. You’ve just broken up from a long marriage and we only just met, and here I am talking about the rest of your life, as if it’s something I have any right to plan. Please forget everything I said. Let’s start again. Let’s…’ He sighed and held her close. ‘I don’t know what else to say.’
‘Just take me back.’ She looked up at him, not bothering to wipe away her tears. ‘It’s okay. I understand,’ she said, softening. ‘You were in the middle of a dream, thinking it was real. I’ve been there before,’ she added regretfully.
Erik let her go. ‘I suppose that’s what I was doing.’
‘Nice dream. Except—’
‘What?’
‘I hate fecking goats.’
Chapter Thirty-Two
‘We have to get away,’ Leanne said the next morning. They were on the terrace outside the main house, where breakfast had been laid out for them under a huge white umbrella.
Maddy put on her sunglasses and sipped cold orange juice. ‘Why?’ she asked, even though she knew. The night before, she had heard Erik and Leanne shouting at each other in the garden during a flaming row that ended with Leanne running into her room in the guest cottage and slamming the door behind her. Not wanting to interfere or pry, Maddy had gone for a walk with Bridget up the hill behind the house, only returning at dusk. The house and garden had been silent and she was grateful to spend the evening in peace beside the pool, reading and eating a light supper brought to her by one of the young servants before she went to bed. But she hadn’t slept, her thoughts about Erik keeping her awake until the early hours. She knew her temper tantrum had shocked him, but she had suddenly felt cornered as he talked about his future plans that he was so sure would include her.
She knew she was falling for him, but it was too soon to go further. She had rushed into marriage when she was very young for the wrong reasons. She had got carried away with her fantasy of Ludo. She didn’t want it to happen again. She wanted to try her new-found wings and fly solo for a bit before she committed herself to a new relationship.
She had lain in bed, thinking about it from Erik’s point of view for a while, and
then it had come to her. He wanted a woman to share his new life, and any attractive woman would do. She had simply happened to arrive at the right moment. Yes, there was a strong physical attraction and they truly liked each other, but it was just a start. She needed to get away and grow as a free, single woman, and he needed to truly want her – Maddy – with all her flaws and difficult sides, and not just any woman who fitted his needs. Time alone, away from each other, was what they both needed – a chance to think and let their feelings grow. Maybe they even needed to miss each other too? Having resolved all this, she had finally relaxed and fallen asleep, dreaming about a little farm in Provence with olive trees and sunshine – but no goats.
‘I have a plan,’ Leanne announced, cutting in to Maddy’s thoughts about her dream the night before.
Maddy blinked. ‘For what?’
‘For the rest of the summer, silly.’
‘Okay.’ Maddy spread apricot jam on a croissant, glancing at the open French windows to the living room. No sign of Erik. ‘Let me hear it.’
‘Dalmatia,’ Leanne said, gulping coffee out of a huge bowl. ‘The islands. A sailing boat. Let’s do that.’
Maddy blinked. ‘What? Could you say all that slowly and add in some more words, please?’
Leanne swallowed. ‘Okay. Carlo just called me to say that he and a group of friends are hiring a sailing boat to sail around the Dalmatian islands in about a week. He asked if we’d like to join them. If we chip in, we can hire a big comfortable boat instead of the small cramped ones. He told me all about the Dalmatian islands and how beautiful they are. They sound incredible. What do you say?’
The Road Trip_A feel-good romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud! Page 22
