Page 56 of A French Adventure
Olivia lay in bed the morning after she and the girls had been to Monaco, absently stroking Topsy, who was snuggled under her arm on top of the duvet, listening to Thierry in the kitchen. Thierry not only did the croissant run every morning before making the breakfast coffee they shared sitting outside at the small table, he was thoughtful and caring. Living together but not living together in one sense had worked out without any real effort on their parts. They fitted together so well. They respected each other’s space, but it was wonderful to come home to someone whose face lit up when you walked in the door.
Yesterday, because he was home all day working on his laptop, he’d taken Topsy for a long walk, prepared supper for the evening and insisted on giving her shoulders a wonderful massage when she said they were aching from the driving. And then he’d run a bath for her.
If she were to be honest, she was beginning to dread the day Leonie returned to Paris when Thierry would have no reason to stay with her any longer. His room at Maxine’s would be free once again and he would be able to return. If it wasn’t Leonie’s departure that triggered his moving out, it would be hispurchase of the farm and activity centre being completed. Olivia sighed. So, really, it was just a case of which one of those two things happened first.
Topsy fidgeted in her arms and moved up a little so that she could nudge Olivia’s cheek with her cold nose. ‘Cheeky girl,’ Olivia said. ‘I shall miss you too when you have a permanent home up on the farm. I don’t say this to everyone, but I love you both to bits, d’you know that?’ she whispered into the dog’s ear. And it was true. She did love them both.
Topsy gave her a serious look and nudged Olivia’s cheek again.
A knock on the door, and Thierry calling out, ‘Come on, lazybones, breakfast is ready’, had Topsy jumping off the bed and streaking to the door.
‘Five minutes,’ Olivia called, throwing off the duvet before standing up and stretching, the answer to her problem blindingly obvious. She’d move to the farm with him and life could continue like it had for the last few weeks, living together but not living together, and maybe, just maybe, things would develop of their own accord. Thierry had seemed disappointed when she’d told him her plan about staying and running the flower taxi from Antibes, so he was sure to be happy when she said she’d changed her mind. They were going up to Tourrettes-sur-Loup later for a meeting with Marie-France and planned to walk Topsy around the farm afterwards. She’d tell him then.
Marie-France was pleased to see Olivia again and promised to give her all the help she could with learning about the violet farm. ‘I knew nothing when we took it over and I’ve still got thebooks I read and all my notebooks. More than happy to pass them on to you if you’d find them useful.’
‘Thank you, that would be brilliant and give me a head start,’ Olivia said.
The three of them, with Topsy on the lead walking obediently to heel, walked out to the field, where a couple of women were bent over among the rows picking the leaves for the perfumery in Grasse.
‘It’s still a manual task. I have to say my knees won’t miss the squatting. It was fine when I was young like you two, but now…’ Marie-France smiled.
After Marie-France had answered some of Thierry’s questions about the activity centre, she left them to wander around by themselves, saying she was expecting a call from her daughter.
‘I’ll see you before you go,’ she said. ‘If you walk to the far end of the land in that direction, you’ll have a wonderful view of Tourrettes.’ And she left them to it.
They did as she suggested, leaving the neat rows of violet plants behind them and walking towards the uncultivated part of the field at the far end.
‘I really love it up here,’ Olivia said, holding her arms up in the air and twirling around, making Topsy bark excitedly. ‘It’s so beautiful. I’m glad I’m going to be your business partner. Talking of which, we haven’t spoken about money. I sort of feel that to be a proper partner I should invest some money and I’ve still got some of Aunt Daphne’s inheritance tucked away.’
Thierry shook his head. ‘No. It’s all organised. The bank have approved my business plan. You just have to invest yourself – and from the sound of it, your knees – in the farm.’
‘I can do that happily. And I’ve changed my mind about staying in Antibes. I will move up here with you and Topsy.’
Thierry stopped in front of her and gave her a serious look. ‘You want to move in with me and Topsy?’
‘Yes,’ Olivia said, giving him a worried look. ‘I thought you wanted me to? You said there was room.’
Thierry sighed. ‘I did, but that was before.’
‘Before what?’
‘Before we lived together but not together.’
‘But it’s worked out well,’ Olivia said, a catch in her voice.
‘That’s the problem.’
‘How?’
‘I’m glad we’re partners in the farm, but I’m not sure about living in the same house on that “not living together” basis would work for me up here.’
‘Why not?’ Olivia whispered.
‘Because I love you and want to live with you properly, even get married and have the family we talked about before.’
Speechless, Olivia stared at Thierry for several seconds as a feeling of happiness flooded through her body, before she found her voice again. ‘You love me?’
Thierry gave a slow nod as he looked at her. ‘Yes, Tuppence, I do. When you were little, I used to pretend that you were my little sister and that it was my brotherly duty to look after and protect you. But that all changed as you grew up and my feelings became less brotherly and more sensual towards you. I still want to protect you, look after you, but my feelings are not at all brotherly anymore. I’m definitely in love with you, Tuppence.’
