He meant the business, the château, stepping into Albert’s shoes. The whole reason Sandrine had started bringing him back to France was so that he could build a relationship with his grandfather and the town she’d more or less turned her back on when she married a rich American. She wanted Jackson to inherit everything, but that put an almost unbearable amount of pressure on his shoulders.
“I think that you are,” I said, and his eyes glinted back at me in the starlight as he waited for me to continue. “You’re one of the most capable people I know, but it’s more than that. You take after Albert.”
“In what way?”
I sensed that he needed my reassurance. “You know when Albert talks about his dad? How strict he was?”
He nodded.
“Albert has such a gentle disposition. He must have found it daunting to take over from his father, but he did it—look at everything he’s achieved. He runs that factory like clockwork and none of his workers ever strike. He’s so well-liked. He’s kind. And you are too. I think you’d do an incredible job. You just need to find the right person to stand at your side, someone who believes in you and everything that you could achieve.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a slow breath, and when he looked at me again, it was with such warmth and affection. “I like who I am when I’m with you,” he said quietly.
My stomach flipped. “I like who you are too,” I whispered.
“You’vealways believed in me.”
I nodded. “I always will.”
His expression grew serious. I felt as though I was suspended in time as the breath caught in my throat. We stared at each other, and then his hand came up to cup my face and I knew with absolute certainty that he was going to kiss me, and that I would kiss him back.
My blood hummed, the air sparked, and he bowed his head…
…and then Sandrine called from inside and we both leaped out of our skin.
He backed up and dropped his hand immediately, shoving it into his pocket. His eyes were wide as he shook his head at me, stunned. We knew that we had almost crossed a line.
I wasn’t proud of that moment. I had almost cheated on Nick and I was shocked at myself. I went home, told him everything, and we broke up. It was messy and awful, but at the same time that close call on the balcony filled me with hope. Jackson wanted me. I couldn’t wait to see him again.
And then a few weeks later, I found out he’d got back together with Chloe.
I wasn’t just hurt: I was angry. I’d given up Nick for him and Jacksonknewit. My pride was in tatters.
I was determined to leave him behind after that, but I guess a small part of me had always held on to hope that things could be different. The pain I felt when he asked Chloe to marry him was indescribable.
I want to keep my cards much closer to my chest this time around. I won’t let myself fall at his feet and risk having the rug pulled out from under me again.
3
“Found one,” Jackson says onhis return, brandishing a tennis ball.
He flicks on the outdoor lights before sitting down at one end of the balcony, his back against the wall.
I stare at him. “You think I’m going to sit on the dirty ground when I’m wearing this dress?”
“Of course you will. You’re Gracie: you don’t give a shit about things like that.”
I roll my eyes and he chuckles as I mirror his position at the other end of the balcony.
“Did you ever do this with Chloe?” I ask.
“You’re kidding, right?” He pulls a face at me and bounces the tennis ball. I snap my hand out to catch it, but I’m too late and it ricochets off the wall and rebounds to his side of the balcony.
“Oi! I wasn’t ready!” I chastise.
He grins. “You’re out of practice.”
“No shit. This is the first time in years that we’ve done this.”
