Page 43 of The Magic of Provence

‘We thought it would never happen,’ Maria said quietly. ‘Me and my mamma. We thought that his heart had been so badly broken by Marcella that he would never find the woman he could trust enough to finally get his dream of a big family.’

A big family? Babies? The reminder of his love for children and babies was enough to douse any internal sparks. Fi was not going to be creating a big family with Christophe Brabant. Or anyone else, for that matter. It might be a dream of her own to become a mother but… she’d had that chance already, hadn’t she? And she’d destroyed it.

She wanted to change the subject. But she was also curious.

‘Marcella? Is she the girl he nearly married when he was eighteen?’

‘Sì…Pfft!’ There was disgust in that sound. ‘Until she met someone older with a job and a better car and a lot more money. Then Christophe was gone.’ She clicked her fingers. ‘Just like that. He thought his life was over. We thought he would never be happy again.’

‘Ohh…’ Fi’s breath came out in a sympathetic sigh. ‘He must have loved Marcella very much.’

‘He made a bad choice,’ Maria said. ‘So bad, I think he believed that he could never trust himself to make a better choice. Or perhaps he decided he would never repeat the disaster of letting himself fall in love. The girls came along again but never for long. His nonna would tell him he needed to hurry up and find a wife, but he would always say there was plenty of time. Maybe one day…’

Maria’s words faded and she caught Fi’s gaze again.

‘I hope this is one day,’ she said softly. ‘But I think he’s still afraid. Deep down, where nobody is allowed to see. Be patient with him,cara, won’t you?’

Fi smiled. She nodded. She didn’t want Maria to know that she’d got this one wrong. That if anything had been going to happen between her and Christophe it would have to be him who would need the patience. Maria nodded back and then hugged her – an embrace that was swift but sincere. It was warm and tight and motherly but so incredibly soft at the same time.

Hugs from her own mother had never felt like this, but Jeannie Gilchrist was a tough, wiry Scotswoman. Jeannie was self-disciplined and kept her life as tidy as her garden and her kitchen. She kept secrets. She loved her children with all her heart but there had always been rules to follow. Standards to be met.

There was nothing wiry about Maria Brabant and her kitchen was ample evidence of her enjoyment of life, and food. She adored her son and she seemed to truly believe that Fi was the person he should be spending the rest of his life with. If secrets needed to be shared or rules broken to achieve that, it was no problem.

Their number was called and they went to pick up the paper coffee cups. And then they were back in the busy corridors with the noise of people and crying babies and announcements happening over the overhead paging system, so the private conversation was over.

Enough had been said already, however.

More than enough to give Fi something to think about.

She wasn’t the only one hiding behind walls, was she?

In the end, Maria and Flora were going to be disappointed that Christophe hadn’t found his bride and the mother of the big family he dreamed of, but… maybe she could help him rebuild the trust he’d lost in women and that could open up the possibility of finding the one who would be that wife and mother.

Friends were the people who could help build that kind of confidence. Perhaps Julien hadn’t been able to persuade Christophe that he could get past his walls, but maybe she could – because she was a woman?

And he trusted her, Fi was sure of that.

As sure as she was that nothing was broken between herself and Christophe in the wake of that kiss. That whatever it was that made it so easy to be in each other’s company was, in fact, stronger than ever.

* * *

Nonna had no more than a tiny bite of each of the treats that Christophe had brought.

Fi ate one of lobster-tail pastries and it was delicious. Maria ate a cannolo but then folded the tops of the bags and put them out of sight in the bedside cabinet.

‘She’s hiding them,’ Christophe whispered to Fi. ‘Until after the doctor has been for his ward round.’ He raised his voice. ‘Let me know everything the doctor says after the tests this morning, Mamma. And when Nonna will be allowed home. I will come and stay for the first night.’

‘You could talk to the doctor yourself later today.’

‘I need to take Fiona home. I need to go into work and make sure there are arrangements in place for me to take some more time off.’

‘Right now? Can’t you take a little time and show her Menton? Then you can talk to the doctor yourself and you’ll know how much time you need to arrange for.’

Christophe glanced at Fi. ‘I would like to talk to the doctors later. Are you in a hurry to get back?’

Fi knew she should be. She couldn’t avoid the minefield of what was going to happen when her father was released from hospital, and that could be happening today for all she knew. If nothing else, coming here with Christophe had been a reminder of how important family was, and she’d failed to support her own family for too long now.

But Maria and Flora had made her feel like an honorary member oftheirfamily and she’d felt as if she belonged. Nonna was adorable and Maria had treated her like an equal. A friend. The hope that she would genuinely become a part of the family had been totally sincere and Fi admired how open Maria had been with her. Christophe was lucky that he hadn’t grown up in a family that kept things hidden or ran away from them. The love in this small family was unconditional. There was nothing that could be said or done that could dent it.

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