Page 52 of Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky
‘He’s had to return to the UK for two days,’ Francine said. ‘Zazz is out with a certain Dominic,’ she raised her eyebrow quizzically at Piers who simply smiled at her. ‘Which is why I’ve had to bribe you with food to keep me company and to stop me feeling alone like Billy No-Mates.’
Piers looked at her, puzzled.
‘Strange English expression,’ Francine said.
‘You don’t have to bribe me with food to keep you company,’ Piers said quietly. ‘I like your company but I suspect Edwin is a little wary of our friendship.’
‘I’ve already told him how close we were in the past but now we’re older and just good friends with a long friendship history.’
‘Good friends with history,’ Piers repeated slowly, looking at her.
‘Yes,’ Francine said firmly. ‘We’ll keep in touch now we’ve connected again.’ She hesitated. ‘We’ll always have a special friendship.’
‘D’accord, a special friendship,’ Piers said slowly. ‘More wine?’
Francine held her glass out. ‘Thanks. Oscar’s house has sold,’ she said, realising they were treading on dangerous ground and wanting to change the subject. ‘So that’s one problem being sorted. You know I told you about the possibility of this Serge Cortez being my half-brother? Well, it turns out that he is. I have met him, I took your advice and relaxed and when we met, we got on. He was surprise number one in my life. Having to share the inheritance with him is a bit of a blow, particularly for Maman, but it is what it is. At least Maman is finally getting some money from Oscar.’
Piers nodded thoughtfully. ‘That’s good. Surprise number two is? Please don’t tell me you have more half-brothers, or even sisters, arriving in your life?’ Piers said.
‘No. Surprise number two was Maman’s long-lost sister, Denice, turning up.’ And she quickly explained how that had come about. ‘I’m just waiting for surprise number three now,’ she said, laughing. ‘Everything always comes in threes, doesn’t it?’
‘Peut-êtresurprise number three will be my Dominic and your Zazz getting together,’ Piers said.
‘Aren’t they together already?’ Francine said before realising what he meant. ‘Rings being exchanged you mean? Making it official.’
Piers nodded. ‘It would be ironic, wouldn’t it?’
‘It would be rather nice,’ Francine said. ‘But if it happens, it won’t happen soon. Zazz is determined to make a success of being a “social media influencer”.’ She pushed away the unbidden, unexpected thought of what might have happened between herself and Piers years ago. It was far too late for those ‘what-if’ kind of thoughts.
The town hall clock could be heard striking the hour and with a start Francine realised it was eleven o’clock. ‘I’d better get back to the house. Otherwise there is a good possibility my daughter will lock me out.’
‘I’ll walk you back,’ Piers said, standing up. ‘No argument,’ he said as she went to protest. ‘It’s late.’
Walking back, Francine was glad of Piers at her side. Saturday night revellers were out in force and she knew she could have attracted the wrong sort of attention if she’d been alone.
At the house door, Piers gave her a rueful smile. ‘It’s a long time since you and I were here saying goodnight.’ He gave her a gentle kiss on both cheeks. ‘Bonne nuit, mon amie spéciale.’ And he was gone.
Glancing up the stairs as she went in, Francine saw the light from Zazz’s room shining down the spiral staircase. Impulsively she called out. ‘Fancy a hot chocolate nightcap?’
‘Please. Give me five minutes and I’ll be down.’
‘Stay where you are. I’ll bring it up when it’s ready,’ Francine said.
When she carried the two mugs of hot chocolate up to the attic room, Zazz was just closing down her laptop.
‘I thought you were out with Dominic this evening?’ Francine said, as she handed Zazz her drink.
‘I got back about an hour ago and decided to do some content preparation for next week,’ Zazz said. ‘You, on the other hand, were out late?’
‘Pizza and frites with Piers on his boat,’ Francine said. ‘I was feeling a bit low and needed some company. You were out, I didn’t want to interrupt Maman and Theo, so…’ She shrugged. ‘Piers is an old friend. We’ve still got lots of catching up to do.’
‘Mum, you know I’m moving in with Mel in September?’
Francine nodded as she drank her drink.
‘This place has sold so quickly that even if I wanted to stay here on my own, which I don’t honestly fancy doing, it would only be a week or two before I’d have to get out. Granny added her voice to Theo’s in insisting it made more sense for me to live down there for the rest of summer, so, when you and Dad go back home I’m going to move in with Theo for a few months.’
‘Good idea,’ Francine said. ‘Granny will come home with us, I expect, so Theo will be glad of your company. And I’ll be happier knowing he’s keeping…’ Her voice trailed away as Zazz gave her a look and shook her head. ‘Sorry. Habit. I know you don’t need anyone keeping an eye on you.’
