Darcie smiled and as they walked back to the car, she felt Matt’s arm rest on her shoulder. She moved into him, enjoying the feeling of closeness.
Matt, ever the gentleman, opened the car door for her and Darcie climbed in.
He walked around the front of the car and Darcie tracked him. He glanced through the windscreen at her, winking before sliding into the driver’s seat.
‘All good?’ he asked softly.
She nodded. ‘All good.’
They pulled out onto the motorway and drove on in a comfortable silence.
The further away they were from Paris, and the closer they got to their destination, the more green and lush the passing fields and wooded areas became. Brittany had always been a popular tourist spot for Parisians, with many owning second homes in the area. With the roads so much clearer than those in the UK, the journey felt effortless and rapid.
‘Thanks so much for driving,’ said Darcie. ‘I really appreciate it.’
‘I enjoy driving. I don’t often get the chance in Paris. Not much call for it,’ said Matt. ‘I did think about the train, but then we’re restricted to timetables and reliant on the train running on time.’
‘Oh, look. A sign for Ploërmel,’ said Darcie sitting more upright in her seat. She remembered Matt saying that the Grandis farm was near there.
‘Just a few kilometres away,’ said Matt.
‘Are we going straight to the Grandis address?’
‘I was planning on doing that, but if you’d rather not or you’ve changed your mind, that’s OK.’
‘I feel nervous all of a sudden,’ confessed Darcie as her stomach fluttered.
‘Nervous as in fear or nervous as in excited?’
‘Both.’
Matt smiled at her. ‘And that is perfectly normal. I feel excited too.’
‘You’ll have to do most of the speaking,’ said Darcie hurriedly, her nerves definitely getting the better of her.
‘Sure.’ He reached across and squeezed her hand. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got this.’
Darcie appreciated the reassurance and wasn’t ungrateful for the handhold either. In fact, it wasn’t until he needed to change gear that he moved his hand away and she definitely felt disappointed by that.
Darcie wasn’t quite sure what was going on between them but did know that she liked Matt’s company. Correction. She liked Matt. A lot.
‘Hey, don’t look so worried,’ said Matt.
‘Sorry, I’m not really. Only a little.’ No way was she going to tell him what she’d just been thinking. Not yet, anyway.
The satnav guided them through the centre of Ploërmel, where an array of shops lined each side of the road as it twisted around the buildings, past the cobbled square of the church and over several mini roundabouts, before dropping down and passing a retail park on the outskirts of the town. The directions guided them out on the road that wrapped itself around the lake, Lac au Duc.
‘That looks a nice place to stop. Maybe we can call in there on the way back?’ said Matt.
Darcie craned her neck to see over the wall and down to the lake. ‘It’s massive,’ she said. ‘There are boats and all sorts down there. And a beach. Oh, we should definitely stop if we have time.’
Matt took the directions from the satnav, leaving the lake in their rear-view mirror. ‘Just down this road and we should be there,’ said Matt, taking a right turn.
They travelled down the narrow road, with fields of maize on either side. As they turned a bend, a farmhouse came into view about fifty metres on the left.
‘Is that it?’ whispered Darcie.
‘Yep.’
