Page 45 of Best Laid Plans
‘I’ll go and see who it is and tell them we’re closed,’ Lacey said, already walking towards the door.
Grabbing some dirty bowls from the table, Indigo went to stack them in the dishwasher – wanting to pre-empt the tidy-up so she could get home a bit earlier tonight and have a soothing bath – and turned back to see Lacey walk into the kitchen, closely followed by a man.
A man who was tall, with blond hair and mesmerising whisky-brown eyes.
‘Julien?’ she gasped, not wanting to trust her vision. She hadn’t been sleeping particularly well since she’d got back, her mind still whirling with thoughts about him, and she wondered for a second whether her addled brain had conjured him up to torture her a little bit more.
He walked slowly towards her, smiling in that wry way that she knew so well, making her heart beat a little faster with the comforting familiarity of it.
‘What… what are you doing here?’ she stammered.
‘I hear you offer cookery courses to men who no longer have wives,’ he said.
She blinked at him, confused by such a strange opening line. ‘To widowers usually,’ she said uncertainly. There was a beat of uncomfortable silence. ‘But I guess we could make an exception for a divorcee,’ she finished, not wanting to look rude and uncomfortable in front of her class.
‘Is this the young man you met on holiday that you’ve been avoiding telling us about?’ Margery, the lone woman in the group, piped up, her eyes twinkling with good humour.
The whole roomful of people seemed to shift at once as they all turned to look at each other, exchanging knowing glances.
Had they been talking about her behind her back whenever she left the room?
She sighed, feeling trapped and unprepared to deal with Julien’s presence here in her kitchen – a place she liked to think of as her personal sanctuary. ‘This is Julien,’ she said, gesturing vaguely towards him, ‘and yes, we met in Italy.’
There was a murmur of friendly greeting from the group.
Turning to face him now, she said with as much assertiveness as she could muster, ‘I’m afraid we’re just about to pack up for the evening, but if you’d like to come back at another time, I’m sure we can talk about finding a place in a group for you.’
There was a glint of determination in his eyes. ‘Actually, I was hoping I could walk you home tonight,’ he said, moving closer. ‘I have some things I need to say to you – and I’d rather not do it in front of all these strange people.’ He held up an apologetic hand to the group. ‘No offence.’
‘None taken,’ Margery called from the other side of the room, giving Julien a supportive grin.
‘Yes, Indigo, you go,’ Lacey, said. ‘I can supervise the tidy-up and make sure the place is locked up before I leave.’
Indigo opened her mouth to argue but, as one, the whole group shook their heads at her.
‘Go and spend some time with your friend,’ Ron said, flapping a dismissing hand at her.
Well, it seemed as if she didn’t have much of a choice. Clearly, they weren’t going to let her stay. So much for her being the one in charge here.
‘Okay then,’ she said with an exasperated smile, pulling off her apron and going to hang it up on one of the pegs on the wall. She gave her hands a quick wash, then went to fetch her bag and coat from the small office behind the kitchen, taking a moment to drag in some steadying breaths before she went back out there to face whatever was in store for her this evening. No way was she letting herself get excited about him being here. She didn’t think she could cope with more disappointment when it came to Julien.
When she returned, he was chatting comfortably with Lacey, who was leaning against the counter, looking up at him with big, friendly eyes.
Huh, trust him to charm everyone as soon as he walked in.
‘Okay, I’m ready to go,’ she told Julien as she approached the two of them, making sure to keep her voice emotion-free. ‘Thanks, Lacey.’
‘Have a good evening,’ her friend replied, giving her a covert eyebrow-waggle.
Indigo scowled back, intensely aware of Julien’s presence right there beside her.
‘See you next week, everyone,’ she called to the rest of the group, hoping to goodness her face didn’t look as flushed as it felt. They all responded with a wave and a smile and continued to watch her with interest until she put her hand on Julien’s back and ushered him towards the door. There was a gentle hubbub of noise as they walked out. No doubt tongues would be wagging once she’d gone.
Out in the damp night air, she turned to face him and crossed her arms in front of her. It felt so strange to see him here, on her patch. He was as immaculately dressed as always and her tummy tumbled as she fully took him in for the first time since he’d shown up. He looked so darn handsome, standing there as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Which she guessed he didn’t. She wondered fleetingly whether it was going to be possible to get through this without entirely losing her cool.
‘So, what’s this all about? Why are you here?’
He let out a low breath and looked around him, as if gathering himself for what he was about to say. ‘Let’s walk, shall we?’
