‘Did you tell him?’
‘No! I didn’t tell him anything, but someone must have given us away. There’s no other way he could have figured it out, I’ve been so careful, but he even knew who we were selling the finished product to in Paris.’
Hope’s breath shuddered out of her as Gus’s words sank in. ‘He knows that I’m involved?’
Gus nodded. ‘He does. I would have left you out of it but he’d already guessed, and…’
He didn’t need to finish his sentence for her to know what he was going to say. His parents hadn’t liked her anyway, and they certainly wouldn’t like her now. No matter what Gus told them, they’d more than likely think she was the one who’d corrupted him. She’d be blamed for everything they’d done, a scapegoat to explain away what their son was involved in.
‘What do we do now?’ Hope asked, protectively placing one hand over her still-flat stomach.
‘Honestly, Hope, I don’t know,’ Gus said, holding her close. ‘I need some time to think, to work out a plan, but if he finds out where our distillery is…’
Hope closed her eyes and huddled even closer to Gus.
She’d always appreciated his honesty, but just this one time, just once, she could have done with him telling her a lie to sooth her worries.
22
PRESENT DAY
When Mia woke up in Joe’s bed the next morning, she didn’t know how to feel. She tugged the sheets up a little higher as she watched him sleep, marvelling at his thick, dark lashes that just brushed his cheekbones.
She was wondering whether to slip quietly out of bed and tiptoe back to her room when he stirred and opened his eyes.
‘Morning,’ he mumbled, stretching and throwing one arm over her and making it impossible for her to leave.
‘Morning,’ she murmured, knowing that she was blushing when he pushed up on one elbow and planted a kiss straight on her lips.
‘Hey,’ he said, after kissing her a second time, his mouth brushing hers.
She smiled, inching the covers even higher, which was ridiculous given what had happened the night before, but which somehow felt necessary in the light of morning.
He reached past her for his phone, and he groaned. ‘We slept in.’
She looked at the screen he was holding and saw that it was already nine. She hadn’t slept that late in forever, but then she’d had a very nice pillow to snuggle into for the first time in a while.
‘How about I find us coffee and croissants, and you get ready?’ he said, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before throwing back the covers and walking to the bathroom.
Mia’s eyes tracked his body, very happy to admire his naked form, but the moment he disappeared behind the door she wrapped herself in the sheet, fumbled around for her clothes and key, and disappeared back to her room.
She realised that in her haste to get back to Joe, she hadn’t even locked her door, but a quick look around told her that nothing was missing.
You just spent the night with Joe, she thought, as her entire body seemed to blush at the memory of throwing herself at him in the hallway. But he’d been waiting for her, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to kiss her first. But still…
Mia stamped the thoughts away and quickly slipped into the shower. Joe would be back soon, and she didn’t want to make them late. Not to mention she could almost smell the fresh coffee he was bringing back, and she couldn’t wait to break off a piece of flaky croissant.
Forty-five minutes later, they were driving up a private shingle track towards a cluster of old buildings with thatched roofs, and Mia was trying to quell the sense of anticipation she was feeling. She’d already warned herself countless times not to get her hopes up, but it was proving an impossible task.
‘Are you okay with me introducing us and doing the talking to start with?’ Joe asked. ‘I don’t know if they’ll speak English, and there’s also the chance that they might be more receptive to another French person.’
Mia nodded. ‘Of course, that’s fine, and thank you. For coming here, for, well, for everything.’
When Joe stopped the car, he took her hand and lifted it, pressing a kiss to the back.
‘You’re welcome. Now, let’s go and find the answers to some of your questions, shall we?’
Mia stepped out and followed Joe, holding her bag close to her side. All she needed was one person to know something about the bottle she carried, or to recognise her aunt’s name. But with what little she had to go on, she knew it was more likely she was hunting for a needle in a haystack.
