Page 45 of Falling for Provence

She did. Then Julien took one of Ellie standing to one side of the distant view of the village over the huge, forest-filled gully. And then someone else who had stopped to admire the view offered to take a picture of the two of them. Julien put his arm around her shoulders, and he knew she was smiling up at him rather than at the camera when the photos were being taken because he was smiling down at her. The tourist who handed back the phone was also smiling.

‘Votre copine est si belle,’ he murmured.

Julien was not about to deny that Ellie was very beautiful. But hisgirlfriend? Is that what Ellie was?

She was most certainly his lover, but could she be considered a girlfriend when it was only going to be for such a short amount of time?

What did labels matter, anyway? It was a beautiful day, and this was fun. He hadn’t had fun with an adult, let alone suchan attractive woman, since… maybe he didn’t want to remember the last time, because this was new. Different.

Better…

‘I wonder if I can remember how to roll up the roof,’ he said, taking Ellie’s hand as they ran back across the road to where Margot was parked. ‘Would you like to have the wind in your hair?’

‘I might not be able to see where I’m driving. Then we mightbothwant to catch a bus home.’

‘I could drive.’ Julien was grinning. ‘I would rather like to feel like a teenager again.’

He disconnected brackets and undid oversized domes to fold back the front flap of the soft roof and roll the fabric until he could find the leather straps at the back and secure the roll with more domes. With Ellie strapped into the passenger seat, he could put his foot down and show her what fun this little car could be, with its quirky suspension, as they bounced over any bumps in the road and rolled around corners.

Hedidfeel like a teenager again.

Out with hiscopine…

And he did like it. He liked it enough to suggest another outing when he was clipping the roof back into place. Ellie was trying to find the clip on her side of the car, but she had to push back curls of her hair that the wind had teased free of her ponytail to see what she was doing properly.

‘Ouch.’ She scrunched up her face in pained surprise as her fingers caught in knots in her hair. ‘It’s sad that there’s such a downside to having your hair blowing in the wind when it’s such fun to do.’

‘C’est la vie.’ But Julien smiled. ‘You could wear a scarf like the old-time movie stars. Brigette Bardot? Lauren Bacall?’

‘I could never be so stylish. But a scarf is a good idea for next time.’

Next time…

‘Would you like to come with me when I go up to Roquebillière to visit Theo and see how my grandmother is doing?’ Julien spoke without thinking. ‘It would be good driving practice for you, and there are some wonderful places to see. We could even take Theo up to the wolf park in the mountains. He’s been begging to go there again.’

Ellie was still trying to untangle her hair, and Julien leaned into the car to fold down the last clip to fasten the roof. Out of sight, he found himself making a face not unlike the one Ellie had made when she’d tugged her hair so sharply.

He was suggesting a family outing? That Ellie spend time with Theo by choice and not the necessity it had been on the night of his grandmother’s accident?

He could hear an echo of his son’s sleepy voice the first time he’d laid eyes on Ellie. When she’d been holding Theo in her arms, and he’d woken up and smiled at her.

‘Maman?’

Theo was already aware that something was missing in his life. How easy would it be for such a young child to get attached to someone who looked as though they could fill that space?

He remembered the way Ellie had been watching Theo as he slept that night, too. Watching him breathe? The intensity of what was in the air around her had made him catch his own breath. How overwhelming would it be for a mother who had lost her child to feel that soul-deep need to care and protect?

He could hear an echo of that heartbreaking question she’d asked about why he’d been so sure he could trust her to look after his son, and he understood the depth of her pain. He knew how he would feel if something happened to Theo. How he would choose to die himself if it could prevent that happening to his child.

So he understood why Ellie didn’t think that she deserved to be trusted with caring for a child. He just wished there was some way he could let her know that not only could she care for one, but – if she let herself – she could find that kind of love again in her life.

But not yet.

And not withhisson, when it was only for a short time and would end up causing heartache for everyone involved.

As Julien straightened, he found himself meeting Ellie’s gaze. His thoughts had, of course, been in French, but it felt like every word had been understood, and he felt a need to protect Ellie that was almost as fierce as the need to protect his son from that heartache.

‘Désolé,’ he said quietly. ‘That was thoughtless of me.’

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