Page 110 of Never Too Late
‘Yes,’ I answered, turning to meet his eyes, his face close to mine. ‘All of that was a long time ago and you’re free of it now.’ I squeezed his fingers as he’d laced them through mine. ‘That’s all that matters. It was a bit of an unexpected flashback. That’s all.’
‘I am free of it. And you’re here. Everything is perfect.’ He lifted my hand, kissed the back of it then stole another at my temple before the waiters arrived bearing puddings.
* * *
Benoit’s car rolled along in front of us, Ashok and Gabby in the back seat of Tomas’s. And here we were. Once more.
The trees that lined the drive were larger now, providing a serene, shady avenue to approach the large house. A curve in the drive and there it was, looking exactly the same as it had done years ago when the three of us, plus Gabby’s latest boyfriend, had come down for a weekend to escape the hot, stifling air of a Paris summer. Tomas’s parents were away. At the time, it had seemed perfect timing. Afterwards, I’d realised that hadn’t been a coincidence. Perhaps he’d already suspected that I wouldn’t be approved of.
‘Did you know?’ I asked, the thoughts in my head tumbling out.
‘Hmm?’ Tomas replied, his eyes flicking to me momentarily, his whole being relaxed. Ashok and Gabby were deep in conversation behind us, lost in their own very happy world.
‘Before? When we came here.’ There was no animosity in my tone. That time had passed. Now I was just curious.
Tomas shifted a little in his seat. ‘Did I know what?’
‘That I wasn’t going to be approved of. Is that why you waited until your parents were away to bring me here?’
He shook his head, the corner of his mouth tipped up. ‘That wasn’t why I wanted my parents out of the way.’
Ridiculously I felt a faint blush warm my cheeks and shook it off.
‘You did know, though,’ I persisted. ‘Didn’t you?’
Tomas let out a sigh.
‘No,’ he said as he slowed to a stop, the tyres crunching on the gravel drive that framed the front of the house. ‘I didn’t know.’ He applied the handbrake and turned to me. ‘But I did suspect.’
‘Yes.’
Ashok and Gabby exited from the car and closed the back doors. We remained in the front.
‘I should have discussed it with you.’
‘No,’ I said, my hand touching his jaw. ‘Because then it would have ended earlier.’
His eyes shone for a moment as emotion pushed up through the years. ‘Quite probably and, selfish as that was, I didn’t want that. I wanted to hold on to you for as long as possible. I’d hoped that would be forever but life had other ideas.’
‘Your mother had other ideas.’
He didn’t reply but I knew he’d heard and he knew I was right.
He looked out towards the beautiful house, his mind elsewhere. Or perhaps not. I leant over and kissed his cheek. ‘None of it matters now. Come on.’
A smile lit his face – and my heart. ‘Would you like a drink?’ The blue gaze hooked mine, lighter now in the late-afternoon sun. ‘I’ve heard this place isn’t too shabby.’ He grinned. ‘Is that the right expression?’
‘It is right,’ I replied.
‘Ah!’ He seemed pleased. ‘Sasha has introduced me to some new YouTube channels and I heard this phrase the other day. I like it.’
‘I’m so glad,’ I said, laughter in my voice as Benoit opened the door for me and offered his hand.
‘Thank you.’
I caught Tomas’s eye as he came around from the other side of the car. ‘You’ve done well with him. You should be very proud.’
Tomas looked at his godson as he returned to Sasha, who was busy filming the exterior of the mansion, her expression slightly agog. I knew the feeling. Like mother, like daughter. She’d had a lot more than I had growing up but neither of us had ever known anything like this.
