Page 65 of The Riviera House Swap

She took a quick selfie of her smiling face, with the restaurant in the background, then slipped her phone back in her pocket as she noticed Pierre leaving the restaurant holding his phone triumphantly. She’d read any responses later. For now, she had better things to do.

34

THEN

Dear Nina,

I am sorry for my English! But I want to write to you in your own language, because it makes me feel close to you.

I am so sad that you are going. I did not sleep last night after the party. All I could think about was you!

I hope you can write to me. I hope you feel the same way that I do!

Perhaps we can find a way for you to come back, if you want? So we can spend more time together. Maybe forever…

Until then, bisous,

Pierre x

35

NOW

The first thing Nina did when she woke the next morning was reach for her phone, set on the bedside table. Had Pierre sent her a message? And there it was –sleep well, ma belle– a little text he must have sent when he’d arrived home.

Their walk on the beach had been fairly short-lived. Although it was beautiful and indeed not raining as Pierre had said, a strong sea breeze cooled the air, making it feel chilly. But just as she’d wondered what they were doing there, standing in a secluded spot on the beach, Pierre had reached a hand around her back and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. She’d practically melted into him. Before, she’d never understood exactly what that expression meant. But now she knew the feeling of completely surrendering to a kiss – leaning into him and feeling the softness of his lips against hers, the firm grip of his arms behind her waist.

She’d wondered whether he might invite her back to his and had spent the rest of their short walk trying to decide how she’d respond if he did. But in the end, he’d been quite the gentleman – ordering her a taxi and arranging another date. She’d driven away feeling a little disappointed, but relieved all atonce. It would probably have been too much if they’d gone home together tonight – and potentially they had the rest of their lives, so there was no rush to jump into bed together.

He’s such a gentleman!she’d told Bess and Sal on WhatsApp.

She scrolled onto her social media and looked at a couple of updates. Sal had posted a picture of her tour of St Albans with Jean-Luc and another of them eating dinner together. Jean-Luc, she saw, had the look of his brother, yet his face was wider, less attractive than Antoine’s. A few people had commented underneath –Who’s the hot guy?and, Great place for a date. But Sal had corrected them.Just a friend, but added a smiling emoji for good measure.

Nina hoped that Sal wasn’t rushing into anything – the last thing she wanted was to be responsible for her friend’s heartache.

Then opening her email inbox, she had a heart-sinking moment. She hadn’t checked in for a few days and of course her inbox was full of the usual spam: adverts for websites she’d never signed up to receive information from, an email to confirm some theatre tickets she’d booked in a few months’ time. And, there nestling between the junk was another message from Jemima.

She’d had a couple over the almost-fortnight since she’d arrived – one to tell her (once again) to have a great holiday but with a note asking how to refill her office stapler – and one with details of the long-distant Christmas ‘do’ that had been sent to everyone. So she assumed it would be a message in a similar vein when she clicked to open.

But, no.

Hi Nina,

I hope your extended holiday is going well. I’m afraid things have been a little difficult in the office in your absence. It has been hard for the temp we’ve employed to pick up the reins, so to speak, and I must talk to you on your return about noting down procedures in order that any leave can be covered more effectively in future.

With this in mind, I am writing to see whether you might wish to cut your holiday a little short. While the additional leave was given in good grace, it has been clear to me that the efficiency of the firm has been affected greatly by your absence.

Knowing your commitment to the firm and your usual high performance, I’d like to suggest you consider taking one more week and then return to work. We can negotiate some further unpaid leave later in the year should you still feel the need.

I trust that you have had time to rest, and look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,

Jemima

Nina threw the phone face-down on the bed. But it was too late, the damage was done. Her boss had reached into the bubble that she’d created for herself on this holiday and pierced it – and now her work brain had been activated. She started wondering what Jemima meant about ‘noting procedures.’ Was this a dig at her for not writing down, step by step, every aspect of her job for someone who needed to cover? Because in all honesty, it wasn’t really her place to do that. When she’d arrived, it had been Jemima herself who’d shown her the ropes and those ropes had remained more or less intact for fifteen years.

On the face of it, the email was polite – Jemima was always professional in that way. But when Nina read between the lines, there were accusations there. That it was Nina’s fault the temp couldn’t cope. That the company was struggling without her.That she ought really to have had enough holiday by now and get back to the real world.

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