“They’re riding along in a second car,” the driver said, turning back to face them. He was bald, with dark brown eyes and a deeply lined forehead. “They’ll meet you there.”
Birdie nodded. Alexis did not.
The engine started, and Birdie took it as an opportunity to whisper, “About last night.” But her voice was clearly not soft enough because Alexis whipped her head in her direction. Her eyes were so wide Birdie could’ve sworn they were about to crash into the vineyards.
“Can we have some music, please?” Alexis asked, leaning forward.
The driver tilted his head but didn’t answer. A second later, French music floated through the speakers. An accordion, brushed strings and the smooth voice of a woman echoed through the vehicle.
“I don’t want to talk about last night,” Alexis said, facing forward, her lips thin as a line. She wasn’t whispering, but the music was loud enough to keep their conversation relativelyprivate. Which was another surprise. Birdie would’ve expected every encounter to be filmed.
“Why not?” she asked, staring at Alexis even though Alexis seemed to be doing everything in her power to look elsewhere. “Why can’t we just talk about the fact that we had sex, great sex, and you kicked me out right after? It’s basically Portland all over again, except you forcedmeto leave this time.”
“It was a mistake.”
Birdie blinked. She had expected Alexis to say something like that, but she hadn’t expected her to act so detached. But then again, Alexis had the ability to shock her over and over again. “Are we seriously back to square one?” Birdie asked, feeling bitterly disappointed. She really thought last night was a bridge they’d crossed. Weren’t they at the moment where things shifted and walls fell? But guess not.
“Depends on what you consider square one,” Alexis said.
“So, you’re voting me off tonight?”
“This isn’t Survivor.”
“Well, it feels like it is.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Alexis said plainly, still not looking at her.
“Well, I don’t think you are sorry,” Birdie said, becoming progressively hot behind the ears. The air conditioner was blasting, but even that couldn’t cool her down. “You know, you’re so confusing. I’m surprised you don’t give yourself whiplash from all the back and forth. It’s like a damn tennis match with you.”
“I don’t play tennis.” Alexis’s eyes flicked briefly toward her.
“Good,” Birdie said because she didn’t know what else to say. “You’d probably be terrible at it anyway.”
The car came to a brief stop on a narrow cobblestone path. Brightly painted houses surrounded them on all sides, andsuddenly Birdie couldn’t wait to get back to the villa and away from Alexis. Which was quite the conundrum since she had to spend the next three hours with her. And on top of that, she had to act nice because the cameras were watching.
Ugh!
Chapter Thirteen
Alexis stared at the line of horses roped off beneath the shade of a cypress windbreak. Their tails swished lazily in the sunshine. She felt sick, not because of the omelet stuffed with spinach and mushrooms she’d inhaled for breakfast, and not even because Birdie was standing beside her when she’d hoped to avoid her until tonight’s ceremony where she fully intended to send her home. Alexis felt sick because she had never, ever ridden a horse.
And frankly, she could’ve gone a lifetime without ever climbing onto one of these monstrous beasts. But apparently, karma had a jacked-up sense of humor.
The corral belonged toFerme des Ocres, a family-run stable pressed right up against the rust-colored cliffs. From where she stood, Alexis could see the trail curling away into the hills that were framed by scarlet and gold rock faces which made it look like the earth had been set on fire.
A woman emerged from the barn. She had grey hair pulled into a ponytail, golden eyes, and skin bronzed and weathered, creased from years outdoors. “Bienvenue àFerme des Ocres,” she said, her French accent curling around each syllable. “My name is Marie. This is my family farm. I’ll guide you as we ride through Les Sentiers des Ocres. It is a very famous natural site.”
Alexis forced a polite smile even though her stomach was doing backflips.
“You will see cliffs, the quarries, and the forest,” Marie went on, facing the camera a little too directly. “It is like walking on Mars, but better.”
“Then surely we could just walk,” Alexis said, lifting a brow. It was worth a shot, wasn’t it? Walking sounded calming, and it sounded safe. And right now, safe was all Alexis wanted.
Marie laughed. “Non-negotiable. We ride.” She pointed toward a dark bay horse. “That’s yours. His name is Magnum. He is very friendly.”
Magnum gave her a snort that rattled in his wide chest. He didn’t look friendly. On the contrary, Alexis was sure he had already deemed her unworthy of being on his back. And maybe she was. Maybe Magnum could smell her past mistakes and didn’t care that she was trying to make up for them. In fact, he could probably see that she was failing miserably at the moment.
“Don’t look so stressed,” Birdie said, nudging Alexis with her elbow.
