‘Great.’ Darcie felt a little awkward about asking whether he had booked one or two rooms. She studied her coffee cup as she worked out how to word the question. When she looked up, she saw Matt was smiling at her. ‘What?’
‘I’m sorry. I’ll put you out of your misery,’ he said. ‘I’ve booked two rooms so you don’t have to worry about asking me.’
‘I wasn’t even thinking about it,’ she protested. ‘It didn’t even cross my mind about the whole one or two room thing.’
‘Methinks the lady doth protest too much,’ said Matt.
‘Methinks the gentleman is far too cocky for his own good,’ retorted Darcie, but she couldn’t help laughing even though there was no way she was going to admit he was right.
They finished their coffees and walked back along the beach, where once again, Matt casually put his arm around her shoulder. ‘All good?’ he asked looking down at her.
‘All good,’ she replied. And right at that moment she felt inexplicably comfortable in Matt’s company.
Matt gave her another long-considered look, before cupping her face in his hands and kissing her. One small kiss, before he moved back slightly, so he could look her in the eyes.
She couldn’t deny she was enjoying being kissed by Matt, and if her body’s reaction was anything to go by, she wanted more. He kissed her again and this time it was longer and deeper.
Darcie felt she was melting into him. Or at least, she wished she could.
They walked on further around the lake, past the pedaloes, the windsurfing school, and the man-made beach, which was now busy with afternoon bathers and beachgoers.
They sat down on the grass at the edge of the sand for a while, just relaxing in each other’s company.
‘This is nice,’ said Darcie, closing her eyes against the glare of the mid-afternoon sun. ‘I feel so relaxed.’
‘Do you get much downtime when you’re at home?’ asked Matt.
Darcie felt herself tense up. With the mention of home, the guilt rocked up that she was here enjoying herself and had not really given Lena and Chloe much thought for most of the day.
‘Hey, Darcie, you OK?’ asked Matt, as he ran a finger down the length of her arm.
‘Yeah. I’m fine.’ She forced a smile but knew her heart wasn’t in it. She let out a sigh. ‘I was thinking about my mum and sister. More specifically, I was thinking how I hadn’t thought about them since first thing this morning until just now when you asked about getting any downtime.’
‘Ah,’ said Matt knowingly. ‘And you feel guilty, right?’
‘Yes, I do. I’m here, swanning around France, enjoying fancy food, great company, about to spend the night in a château and they’re in a little market town in England, probably having beans on toast.’
‘I’m sure they would be delighted if they knew what you were doing.’
‘They probably would, but it doesn’t make it any easier for me.’
There was a short silence before Matt spoke again. ‘Why are you so hard on yourself all the time?’
‘Honest answer?’
‘Always.’
‘Because I’m the only one I can rely on. Mum and Chloe rely on me. I can’t let either of them down.’
‘Why do they rely on you so much?’
Darcie realised she hadn’t actually explained Lena’s condition to Matt. ‘My mum is … she has mobility issues. She was in a car accident when we were kids, and as a result she lives with chronic pain.’
‘I’m really sorry to hear that,’ said Matt. He reached over and squeezed Darcie’s hand.
‘I ended up taking on most of the caring,’ explained Darcie. ‘We’re a small family. There’s only my maternal grandmother and she lives down in Cornwall. It just kind of fell to me.’ Unexpected tears filled her eyes and she swallowed hard and blinked them back. She had no right to feel sorry for herself. ‘I was glad to do it. I am glad to do it. I get pleasure from caring for my mum.’
‘I get that,’ said Matt. ‘But would I be right in thinking that because of this weight of responsibility you’ve carried around with you since you were a kid, you’re scared to go out and live your life? You feel too guilty if you’re having fun? Is it like that?’
