What?
“What did you say to him?” I ask.
“I said that my mother was very talented. He agrees.”
I nod. “I agree too.”
“Anything else?” he asks me.
“We should talk about a fee and I need to see if he’s able to do a mock-up sketch so we can agree on the layout before he spends too much time on it.”
He turns to Louis while I try to collect myself.
For the first time I wonder if the games we’ve been playing are dangerous. Not for him—he doesn’t want another relationship so there’s no chance he’ll get invested—but for me.
“Do you haveto rush back?” Étienne asks as we walk to his car after our meeting with Louis. “Because Grotte Chauvet 2 is close by.”
My face lights up. “Can we go?”
“Would you like to?”
“Would I like to put an end to my reign of being the worst tourist to have ever come to the Ardèche? Um,yeah! Isn’t there also a giant limestone arch somewhere? One that goes over the river?”
He releases a small laugh and gives me a look. “Yes, Grace.”
“Ihaveseen it,” I reply defensively. It’s one of the things the Ardèche is most famous for.
“As you’ve driven past?” he teases as we arrive at his car.
“No! We stopped and had a picnic once,” I say as I climb in. “Albert took Mellie, Jackson, and me. There’s a beach nearby.”
“There are several.”
“It was really busy.”
“You have to go very early in the morning to see it at its best, ideally from a kayak. Raphaël’s hire place is nearby. I’ll put you in touch with him if you ever decide to do it properly.”
Chauvet 2 is only a ten-minute drive away. When we reach thefront of the queue, Étienne requests two tickets and goes to get out his wallet.
“It’s a research trip; I’ll bill it to the company,” I say, trying to stay his hand.
“No, it’s all right.” He goes ahead and swipes his credit card.
“Okay then, we’ll add it to your invoice.”
He casts me a sidelong grin and then does a double take when he sees the look on my face. “Oh,” he says. “You’re not joking.”
“No. We do need to discuss a fee sooner rather than later.”
“I don’t want their money,” he snaps with a scowl.
I frown after him as he stalks over to the barriers. “But we have to pay you something,” I say anxiously as we go through.
“Absolutely not,” he replies.
“But, Étienne—”
He turns on me, his eyes flashing. “I said no.”
