‘Sure. I’d be happy to if we had a phone number.’
‘There wasn’t one in the book?’
‘No. It wasn’t unusual. Not everyone had a phone in those days,’ explained Matt, which seemed logical to Darcie. Matt was busy on his phone again and she finished her coffee in silence, not wishing to disturb him. After a few minutes he put his phone down. ‘No luck with a phone number.’
‘Really? Oh, what a shame.’
‘We could go there.’
‘To Brittany?’
‘Yeah. I could drive us.’
‘You have a car?’
‘I do, although I never really use it in the city. It’s too much of a pain in the ass for parking.’
‘How far away is Brittany from here?’
‘About a four-and-a-half-hour drive.’ He looked at Darcie. ‘You up for that?’
‘What? Drive to Brittany? Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,’ she said. Not that she wouldn’t love to take him up on the offer, but it seemed too much.
‘You don’t have to ask. I’m offering.’
‘Honestly, it’s really kind of you, generous, but I couldn’t.’
Matt frowned. ‘I want to. I’m invested in the story of Nathalie Leroux and the dress now. I want to help.’
‘Why do you want to help so much?’ she asked.
Matt shrugged. ‘I guess I always like rooting for the underdog. No offence.’
She laughed. ‘None taken.’
‘I don’t like to see the big fat cats eat up the little guys,’ he said. He paused and fiddled with the teaspoon for a moment, before looking up at here. ‘There’s something I haven’t told you.’
Darcie’s heart dropped a little. She knew Matt was too good to be true. ‘What’s that?’ she asked. She might as well find out now.
‘Well, you know I told you my mom works on a magazine, well, my dad– he’s a CEO,’ said Matt.
‘Right,’ said Darcie. ‘So are you trying to tell me you’re not really a struggling photographer but the son of a businessman and, oh, I don’t know, heir to a wealthy corporate empire?’ She went to laugh but realised Matt was deadly serious. ‘Shit. You are, aren’t you?’
‘It’s not quite like that,’ said Matt. ‘I walked away from the family business because working out of an office isn’t my jam. I want to make my own way in life. I don’t want to live off my father’s name or handouts.’
‘That’s very noble of you.’
‘I’m not trying to be noble,’ said Matt, looking a little offended. ‘I like to be independent. Just like you.’
Darcie wasn’t sure what she made of Matt’s financial disclosure. ‘I didn’t choose to be poor,’ she said. ‘You have. You can do that in the knowledge that if things get tough, you can walk away from money problems back to a trust fund or a job with your father. I don’t have that luxury, so it’s not just like me.’
‘Ouch,’ said Matt. ‘That’s told me.’
Darcie realised she was probably being disingenuous. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be touchy,’ she said. ‘I’m being oversensitive.’
‘Maybe, but you have a point,’ said Matt. He blew out a long breath. ‘Look, if you don’t want anything to do with me anymore, I understand that. I’ll go, but I do genuinely want to help you find out more about this dress. It sounds an amazing story and, as I say, I’m not into the big guns dictating to the little guns.’
Darcie believed him. She didn’t know why– she barely knew him– but she always prided herself on being a good judge of character. She thought of the dress and the mysterious Nathalie Leroux. She wanted to find out more. No, make that she needed to find out more, and Matt was offering to help.
