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

‘Thank you so much! I can’t think of anything I wanted more!’ And then a thought strikes me. ‘May I meet your friend? I’d like to ask him how to plant and care for them.’

‘His name’s Serge. Of course I’ll take you to see him,’ says Fabien.

Our friendship may be getting back on its feet. This was Fabien’s idea. He wants to help me stay. He wants to help me work with Henri. I feel a huge wave of relief wash over me. I smile at him, and he smiles back.

‘De rien,’ he says, with a hint of regret. It’s clearly his way of saying sorry. I’m so grateful for it. I hated the thought of having to avoid him, knowing he was in town, looking out for him. It’s going to be fine, I think.

Tomas tugs at his hand and pulls him away to play on the grass in front of the field. Stephanie lingers in the background. ‘Come and join us!’ I say.

‘I will just make more coffee,’ she says, and I feel a little bubble of pride at how quickly she’s learning.

Carine and I watch Fabien as he plays tag with Tomas – and Ralph, who is running around barking.

‘How long have you and Fabien been together?’ I ask.

Carine lets out a long laugh, and blows cigarette smoke into the blue sky.

‘Me and Fabien? We’re not together. We’re just friends.’ She takes another drag. ‘We were together as teenagers but it didn’t last. We have very different ideas about what we want from a relationship, from the future. We are much better suited as good friends,’ she tells me.

I let the information sink in. They’re not together. I cringe as I think about him asking me to lunch and me turning him down. He was just being friendly. And then he thought I’d agreed to lunch with Henri. No wonder he gave me that look. A look that said, ‘You turned me down but then went to lunch with Henri.’ No wonder he thinks Henri and I may have something between us.

At that moment he catches my eye. My stomach does a full somersault. I look down at the lavender and breathe it in, distracting myself from his look. I focus on the lavender and the calm it brings, imagining its taste on my tongue.

‘I prefer to be organized. Everything in its place. Enjoying the moment. We were looking for different things, and Fabien is still looking.’

NINETEEN