The True Love Travels Series Box Set

by Poppy Pennington-Smith

  “We won’t get any closer, I’m afraid.” Sebastian climbed off his scooter and helped Annie to follow him.

  “That’s alright, a walk will be nice.”

  To start with, the path was too narrow for them to walk side-by-side but as they neared the gates, it widened and Annie felt the sudden urge to slip her hand into Sebastian’s. They were walking close to one another. She could feel the warmth of his arm just a fraction away from hers, and she was certain that their fingertips were almost touching.

  As they drew closer, she felt as if she was sixteen again – nervous, shy, desperate to say the right thing and make him notice her because for so long she’d been afraid that he thought of her as a friend and not a potential girlfriend.

  “You’re quiet,” Sebastian said, looking at her with a suspicious twinkle in his eye.

  “Just taking it all in,” she replied. They could hear the music now, and people were milling about in front of the town walls with glasses of wine and cartons of food that smelled divine.

  “Are you hungry?” Sebastian noticed her staring at a nearby couple and their carton of fresh oysters.

  “Starving, but not for oysters.” Annie wrinkled her nose at the thought – slimy, smelly, salty old things. She’d never liked them.

  “Ah, but you haven’t tried Mimette’s oysters.”

  Annie rolled her eyes at him and continued to walk towards the gate. But then, to her utter disbelief, she realised that Sebastian had approached the oyster-eating couple and was talking at them – quickly – in French. As he finished speaking, all three of them laughed and looked at Annie.

  She felt a flush of embarrassment start to creep from her chest to her cheeks. “Sebastian,” she whispered, loudly. “What are you doing?”

  “Paul and Aurelia are very happy for you to try one of their fantastic Mimette oysters.”

  “Oh, no, honestly.” Annie was mortified. In her part of London, strangers didn’t even talk to one another at events like this – let alone share food on request. “Thank you,” she said, smiling and nodding and wishing she spoke more than a mere smattering of French. “Thank you, but—”

  “Oh, please,” the female of the couple beamed, speaking perfect English. “Do try. They are the best for miles around.”

  Sebastian was looking at Annie expectantly and so was the couple. So, despite the fact her stomach was churning at even the thought of eating one, Annie smiled, squeezed some lemon juice onto the raw, grey, glob-like piece of fish... and swallowed it whole.

  Even though she didn’t chew it, the slime and the salt still managed to coat her tongue and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to gag or spit it out. Gulping it down, she smiled thinly.

  “Well...?” Sebastian waved his hands excitedly at her.

  “Lovely.” She could hardly get the word out. “Best one I’ve ever had.”

  The oyster-sharing couple grinned and clapped at her. “Bravo!”

  Walking away, as soon as they were out of sight, Annie reached for the water bottle she kept in her handbag and slugged some down.

  Beside her, Sebastian was almost shaking with laughter.

  “You did that deliberately didn’t you?” She put her hands on her hips and glowered at him.

  “Ah, maybe.” Sebastian shrugged his shoulders at her. “But you did run away and break my poor fragile teenage heart. So, I thought... maybe a little pay-back?”

  For a moment, Annie was utterly speechless. Sebastian had said it. Just... said it. And now it was out there she felt like she needed to say something back.

  His face was stern and furrowed. But then he began to tremble, holding in a huge holler of a laugh. “Annie...” He pulled her to him and hugged her. “It is a joke.” He looked at her and tweaked his forefinger under her chin. “A joke, yes? I was just trying to...” Sebastian trailed off and shrugged.

  Annie shook her head at herself, but she couldn’t help smiling. “Well, joke or no joke, I’m still hungry, so can we...?”

  Sebastian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Yes, yes we can.”

  12

  Annie

  Inside Mimette’s walls, a cacophony of sights and sounds greeted them. Craft stalls lined the main street on both sides. Shops were open late, offering free samples of ice-cream, pastries, and cheeses. And from the central square, the sounds of music and laughter drifted towards them.

  When they finally reached it, the plaza was full to bursting with people, lined with trestle tables and huge up-turned barrels that had been turned into bar-height resting places for wine glasses and aperitifs.

  On three sides, in front of the restaurants and shops, stalls selling every kind of delicious French food one could imagine had been set up. There was fresh sea-food, the dreaded oyster stall, wood-fired pizza, cheese and wine sharing plates, and to their left a queue that was so long Annie couldn’t actually make out what it was for.

  “Ah, that...” Sebastian actually licked his lips. “That is the onion bhaji lady.”

  Like, Indian-style bhajis?”

  Sebastian nodded, already dragging Annie towards the queue. “Yes. But made with chickpeas. I don’t know how she does it. But she always sells out. We have to get her to come to our festival.”

  “It’s our festival now, is it?”

  “Of course.” Sebastian smiled, again seemingly unfazed by the fact that he had a day job to navigate.

  They queued for over twenty minutes. Occasionally, Sebastian would dart off and come back with a glass of wine or a small sharing platter of cheese. But by the time they reached the front of the queue, Annie’s stomach was about ready to revolt. It was growling angrily, and she was beginning to think that surely nothing could be worth this amount of waiting.

  Finally at the front, Sebastian asked for four bags of bhajis – two each. Annie raised her eyebrows at him, but Sebastian simply nodded with a knowing look on his face.

  The bhajis were handed to them in paper cones, a little like the way fish and chips were served at the British seaside. And they retreated to a nearby table to eat them.

  Squeezing in between two loud French families and a couple with a large white poodle – who was sitting there like a human, taking up an entire space at the table – Annie and Sebastian sat opposite one another.

  Annie looked down at her food and breathed it in. It looked incredible, and smelled even better. Closing her eyes, the way she always did when she was eating something she enjoyed, she savoured every mouthful. And when she looked up, Sebastian was watching her with a funny kind of smile on his face.

  “I forgot that you did that,” he said, softly.

  Annie laughed at herself. “I try not to, but I do it without realising.”

  “It’s cute.” Sebastian tweaked the corner of his mouth into a smile that dimpled his cheek and made his jaw look incredibly handsome.

  Annie shuffled in her seat, glancing at the people around them in case someone was listening. But, apart from the poodle who was eyeing up her remaining bhajis, no one seemed to be paying them any attention.

  Taking a deep breath in, she looked down at her second portion. “Are we really going to eat all of these?”

  Sebastian placed his hands palm-down on the table and leaned in as if he was challenging her to a hot-dog eating competition. “I’m man enough... are you?”

  ”No,” Annie replied, dusting off her hands. “But I’m certainly woman enough.”

  Sebastian grinned. “Then I shall fetch us another drink.”

  After devouring their double-portion of chickpea bhajis, Sebastian suggested ice cream but Annie simply couldn’t manage another mouthful. Instead, she glanced towards the stage.

  A blues ensemble had started to play and Annie was watching them longingly. She never had time for music back home. Occasionally, she listened to it on the way to work but more often than not she was catching up on the news or a podcast or emails. And she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a band live.
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  Despite the heat in the square, which seemed to be growing even though the sun was setting, Annie was desperate to dance. And, as if he could sense it, Sebastian suddenly rose from the table and gestured for her to follow him.

  At the same time, they clambered out from behind the close-together tables and, at the end, Sebastian held out his hand as if he was a prince and she was Cinderella. “Madamoiselle, would you care to join me on the dance floor?”

  Annie grinned. “Mai oui,” she replied. “Of course.”

  “Ah, you are working on your French, I see?” Sebastian nodded approvingly.

  Annie shrugged. “I’m picking some more up as I go along, I suppose.” She stopped beside one of the large barrels, suddenly keenly aware that no one else was really dancing.

  Sebastian walked forwards, then stopped and beckoned for her to follow him. “Come...” he said, enthusiastically.

  Annie hesitated. “Maybe we should just stand and listen for a moment.”

  But Sebastian grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her forwards. The saxophonist smiled at them. The other two people, who were really just swaying slowly rather than dancing, gave them a brief cursory glance. And, to start with, Annie just bobbed a little bit – all of a sudden completely forgetting how to move her feet.

  It had been so long since she’d been dancing, let alone to blues music, she had no idea what to do. She felt stiff and awkward and her limbs felt too long. She’d always been conscious of her gangly frame and now it felt even more pronounced than usual. She patted at her hair and looked over her shoulder, trying to think of a reason to go and sit down somewhere.

  But then Sebastian grabbed her hand and pulled her close to his chest. His hips were swaying, he slid one hand around her waist and used the other to make her twirl around. And as she looked at him, she started to forget everyone else.

  “Do you remember when we used to dance together?” he asked over the music.

  Annie laughed. “We made up some pretty terrible dance routines, I seem to recall.”

  “We certainly did.” Sebastian nodded. “But it was fun though, wasn’t it?”

  Annie looked at him, at his eyes, and smiled. When she thought of Sebastian, that was what she thought of – fun. With him, everything was easy and happy-go-lucky and possible.

  When they were teenagers, despite the fact he’d come to Saint-Sabran under such horribly sad circumstances when his parents died – or, maybe, because he’d suffered something so horrible – he had never taken life too seriously. Sebastian was the embodiment of the phrase ‘Live for the Day’. Annie, on the other hand, had taken everything far too seriously.

  Annie let herself move closer to him.

  The sun had finally set. Twinkling fairy lights had lit up all around the square and the heady scent of wine and food filled the air.

  “Annie?” Sebastian now had both hands on her waist, and he had dipped his head so that he was almost whispering in her ear.

  Annie held her breath. “Yes?”

  Sebastian took a deep breath, paused, then said, “We should definitely hire this band for our festival.”

  For a moment, Annie didn’t move. She couldn’t make herself look at him because she was afraid he might see that she’d been hoping he would ask something else. That she had been hoping he would ask to kiss her.

  But Sebastian didn’t ask, he just stepped away from her, held up his hand and declared, “I am going to speak to them. Wait right there.” And, although she was stinging with disappointment, she watched proudly as he charmed the saxophonist into giving him a business card in the middle of their set.

  By the time they arrived back at the chateau, it was pitch dark and the moon was shining brightly in the sky. Annie had always marvelled at how clearly the stars could be seen when sitting on the chateau’s terrace, and as they paused at the bottom of the front steps she found herself saying nervously, “Would you like to come in and sit out back for a while?”

  Sebastian smiled at her. Annie thought he was going to say, Yes, of course. But then he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his shoes.

  “Annie,” he said. “I...” He looked up at her and held her gaze for what felt like forever. “I have an early start tomorrow. I should go get some sleep.”

  Annie instantly straightened herself up and brushed down her dress, flustered and unsure what to say in response – that was the second time in one evening that her feelings had gotten the better of her.

  Sebastian leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Then waved and used the torch on his phone to light the way to the stable.

  Annie watched him go. For a moment, just one brief flash of a moment, she contemplated running after him, grabbing his arm and saying, There’s still something between us, isn’t there? Do you feel it too?

  But, of course, she didn’t.

  13

  Sebastian

  Walking away from Annie, Sebastian’s heart was thundering so loudly in his chest he was almost certain she could hear it.

  He almost stopped. He almost turned around, ran back to her, and scooped her up in his arms.

  But he didn’t.

  14

  Annie

  The staff at the print shop GiGi had visited to discuss posters did not speak English. Annie had woken early and called them but had struggled to make them understand her, so she’d decided to walk from the chateau to the village. She had thought about knocking for Sebastian at the stable, but after last night she decided that perhaps some time alone might be beneficial.

  In just a few short days, Annie had found herself remembering all of the reasons why she’d fallen for Sebastian when they were teenagers. But last night, as she tossed and turned and failed to fall asleep, she had been utterly unable to figure out whether she was remembering how she used to feel… or whether those same feelings were coming back all over again.

  If they were – if she was falling for Sebastian the way she had when she was sixteen – then she needed to find a way to stop it happening. Her life was in London and Sebastian’s was in France. Nothing had changed.

  In fact, if anything, it would be even more impossible for her to extricate herself from her life in England than it had been back then. Or for Sebastian to give up his carpentry practice and leave Provence.

  In a month’s time, just after the festival, she’d be returning to England. So, to avoid being heartbroken again, she needed to put some distance between the two of them. Because, if she was falling for him again – falling for his humour and his warmth and his brightness. If she really could feel her body wanting to be close to him. Then she could also feel that it would all end in disaster. Just like the last time.

  No. Annie couldn’t allow history to repeat itself. She needed to be sensible and take control of the situation. She needed to create some space between herself and Sebastian. Starting now.

  It was a long walk into Saint-Sabran, and it was already smoulderingly hot. By the time Annie reached the river and the bridge that led into the village, her sandals had rubbed a series of uncomfortable blisters into the skin on her heels and she was desperate for both water and coffee.

  It had been a long time since Annie had done something by herself for herself. Since she and Jeremy had started the agency, she’d spent most of her ‘free’ time working or courting clients… which, despite often being in lovely locations like spas or fancy restaurants, was still essentially work.

  Before braving the print shop – she hoped she could get them to understand her with the help of Google Translate – Annie stopped by the river and purchased a coffee from one of the small cafes nearby.

  She drank it at a table overlooking the water, and the mere fact that she was alone and that she wasn’t having to talk to anyone or impress anyone was remarkably freeing. She wasn’t wearing makeup, she wasn’t dressed to impress, and she wasn’t trying to make herself appear funny or confident or powerful. She was just Annie. Sitting there with her own thoughts, smiling at th
e way the clouds were reflected on the surface of the river.

  She was about to get up and try to finally locate the printer’s, when she felt someone’s presence behind her. Looking up, of course, it was Sebastian.

  “You left very early,” he said, with a note of surprise in his voice.

  “I called the printer’s and they couldn’t understand me, so I thought I’d come and try to make myself understood in person.”

  Sebastian chuckled. “Oh yes, and how will you do that?”

  Annie waved her phone at him. “The wonders of technology.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Sebastian sat down opposite her and motioned for the waitress to bring another coffee. “Just as soon as I’ve had my caffeine.”

  “You’re not working?” Annie shuffled in her chair.

  “I have some jobs this afternoon. Nothing much.”

  Annie couldn’t tell whether Sebastian was telling the truth of not, and he quickly changed the subject.

  “Did you email the band from last night?”

  “Yes,” Annie replied, glancing down at her phone and wrinkling her nose. “They haven’t replied yet, though.”

  Sebastian laughed and placed his hands palm-down on the table, reaching them towards her as if he might be about to entwine his fingers with hers.

  Annie leaned back and tucked her hands into her lap.

  “Give them a chance, Annie. It has been less than twenty-four hours. I know things move quickly in London but here in the South of France we are a little more… relaxed.”

  Annie smiled knowingly. “Well, that’s certainly true.”