BooksBarbecue
Back Escape to the French Farmhouse
Chapters (79)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Jo Thomas
  4. DEDICATION
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. RECIPES
  70. Lavender shortbread
  71. Apricot jam sponge cake
  72. Lavender lamb
  73. READ MORE
  74. Prologue
  75. ONE
  76. TWO
  77. THREE
  78. FOUR
  79. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

‘No, no!’ He waves a hand. ‘Go and enjoy your holiday. You deserve it.’

Jasper grins at me. ‘I’ll take care of it. Have a great break.’ Something about the way he says it makes me nervous, as if I’m leaving my children with a babysitter for the first time. Not that I have children. I never managed to fit it in alongside my work as a business lawyer with one of the biggest firms in Cardiff and London, dividing my time between the two.

‘Go, go!’ Anthony waves his hands at me. ‘Enjoy!’

‘Enjoy!’ Jasper repeats.

Suddenly I want to turn around, sit down at my desk and turn the computer on again.

‘Luce’ – the receptionist appears from the front desk – ‘your taxi driver says he has another job to go to if you’re not coming.’

‘She’s coming!’ Jasper jumps up from his desk, takes my case from me and leads me to the door, holding it open for me, then into the cloudy August afternoon. Maybe he’s not so bad after all. I’m tired. I need time off. I’ve been working too hard, getting everything finished in time to take my break.

‘Now, do as you’re told by the boss. Go and have a good time!’ he instructs, as I get into the back of the cab. ‘Thanks, Driver. Quick as you can, yeah? She’ll tip you heavily!’

I’m prickly again. I can speak to my own taxi driver!

‘The airport, yeah?’ the driver says, listening to Jasper’s command.

‘Please,’ I say. ‘And as quick as you can,’ I add, but my words have lost their impact as we pull out into the rush-hour traffic.

I tip him heavily, yank my case from the back seat next to me, run up the escalator, stripping my bracelets from my wrists and whipping my iPad out of its case. As I reach the security conveyor belt, I toss my shoes into the plastic box with the rest of my belongings, reclaim them on the other side, then sprint towards the departures gate. As usual, I wish I was made for sprinting and that my boobs didn’t feel like balls bouncing in a net shopping bag as I run.

I make it to the end of the queue just in time. Red, hot and out of breath. I slip my shoes back on and straighten.

The air stewardess smiles at me. ‘Just made it!’ she says, as I flash my boarding card on my phone and try to recover my composure.