“I am.” She looks amused. “Did you have a nice time?”
“We always do. It’s my favorite restaurant in Sainte-Églantine.”
“I’ll tell the owner,” she says with a grin.
“Liseis the owner,” Étienne chips in dryly.
“Part owner,” Lise corrects him. “I’ve been running it for the last few years.” She leans forward and peers into Jackson’s cup. “What are you drinking?”
“Rum and Coke,” he replies. “We brought a bottle.”
“That sounds good.”
“You want me to get you one?” he asks after a loaded pause.
“I’ll come with you,” she prompts.
Jackson glances at me, slightly disconcerted as he asks, “Another?”
“Sure.” I knock back what’s left of my drink and hand him the cup. He gives Étienne a wary look and then sets off with Lise toward the stairs.
Étienne’s lips tilt into the smallest of smiles as we look at each other.
“Hello again,” I say.
“Salut,”he replies, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Now that he’s out from behind the bar, I can see him better. He’s around the same height as he was when we were younger—over six foot, though still a couple of inches shy of Jackson—but his chest has widened out and his shoulders are broader. He looks lean and strong.
“So it worked,” he says. “At the bar. His face was priceless.”
I laugh. “Yeah, it did. I owe you one.”
“It wasn’t a hardship for me.” He brings his bottle to his lips and drinks. When he lowers his beer, he’s still looking at me. His expression softens. “How’s your grandmother?”
“She’s well. Still makes pottery.”
“And how are her donkeys?”
“She only has two left, but they’re happy.” She used to have four—they were all rescues.
“I see her at the market sometimes.”
“How do you know who she is?”
“You told me about her stall.”
“Have you ever said hi to her?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t think she’d know who I was.”
My brow furrows. “I don’t understand why you never hunted me out to say hi before this summer. I’ve often thought about you and your mum.”
His gaze drops to the floor, his body language confirming what I’d already suspected.
“I’m so sorry,” I say gently. “When did you lose her?”
“February, after we met.”
