‘Yes, Felix happens to be a boy. So, their lesson is at ten but you need to be there for half nine,’ I said.
Rue went inside and tried to slam the door shut but hadn’t pushed it hard enough, so it swung open on its hinges, ruining the effect of her sulk.
I walked in after her and knocked gently on her open bedroom door, and found her lying on her bed.
‘You OK?’ I asked.
‘I’m not talking to you,’ she said.
‘Why not?’
‘You promised to spend time with us this holiday,’ she said sulkily.
‘I am. And I have been. Didn’t I set you up with the lessons in the first place?’ I asked. ‘And haven’t I been to them so far?’ I risked sitting on the edge of her bed, aware that her foot was in kicking distance of me.
‘Yes, but I was going to show you how good I was today,’ Rue said, and my heart sank at how sad she sounded.
‘But listen, think how much more special it will be when you’ve been practising without me and then I see all the improvement?’ I offered, and she sat up like she was considering it.
‘You’ll come tomorrow?’
‘I promise,’ I replied.
‘You better,’ she said, narrowing her eyes, then she launched herself at me for a hug, and I let myself breathe in the smell of her curls. Strawberry. That kid shampoo that transported me back to childhood.
‘Ugh, you smell like the sea,’ she said and wrenched herself away.
‘You will too soon.’ I stuck out my tongue and went to have a shower and get ready to see Felix again. I took my time, planning my outfit. Denim shorts, strappy white top, grey cardigan. I liked how the grey looked with my blonde hair and blue eyes. I played some cards with Wren and Rue, who had almost forgiven me until I beat her at Jack Change It, then was angry at me all over again. And soon it was time for the girls to go for their lesson. I waved them off, ate a leftover breakfast croissant, and looked in the mirror again before I walked towards the Brasserie.
When I got there, he was already waiting for me, sitting at the edge of the restaurant, scanning the pathway that led to my mobile home.
‘Margot.’ He stood up to take me in. ‘You looktrès jolie,’ he said before kissing both of my cheeks.
‘Thank you. You too,’ I replied, thinking thatjoliewas the perfect word for him. Hewaspretty. His cheekbones sat highon his face and his jawline was defined without being too prominent. And his hair! The fair waves had the kind of shine that I’d been coveting for years. He was wearing loose denim jeans that were ripped at the knees and a khaki T-shirt that made his skin look even more tanned than it was.
‘Come on!’
We walked to the Vespa where he handed me a helmet, put on his, then took my hand and pulled me on behind him.
I knotted my fingers round him and felt the warm, hard muscle of his chest again as we drove through the French countryside, vineyards blurring as we passed and the sun blazing on our skin.
He drove us through a town then stopped beside a harbour. I took off my helmet and smelled fish in the air as multicoloured boats bobbed up and down in the port.
‘We are here!’ Felix said.
I walked across cobblestones to look at the town. The white buildings with coloured shutters against the impossibly blue sky looked like something from a movie.
‘It’s beautiful here,’ I said.
‘Youare beautiful here,’ Felix said smoothly. ‘But you are beautiful everywhere.’
I laughed and took the hand he offered to me and threaded my fingers through his.
‘Do you mind if we go to the market before we go for lunch? I need to speak to my mother for a moment.’ Felix looked at me as if he really was asking for my permission, that if I said I was too hungry, he’d just abandon the market altogether.
‘Of course,’ I said, trying to hide the fact that nervous butterflies were attacking each other in my stomach.
The market was in a building that looked kind of like a barn. A barn that was packed with tables and colours and so many people. And thenoise! French voices everywhere. I let Felix lead me through the crowd.
