Page 72 of You Had Me at Chateau
I can see Henri, still struggling to keep his balance on the chairs – and without a blanket – and I feel a pang of guilt.
‘Henri, you can’t sleep like that,’ I tell him. ‘Just share the bed with me. I don’t mind.’
He looks at me with a playful glint in his eye.
‘You just want my body heat,’ he says.
I laugh, despite the cold.
‘I mean that won’t hurt, come on, I’m sure we can both fit,’ I tell him.
It’s one of those beds that is a little bit bigger than a single, but a little bit smaller than a double.
Henri hesitates for a moment before climbing into the small bed beside me. The lack of space forces him to spoon me but I can’t complain because his body heat almost instantly calms my shivers. As his arms wrap around me, suddenly I don’t feel so scared any more.
‘I am actually much warmer,’ I murmur, snuggling closer. ‘God, I can’t believe we’re stuck here.’
Henri chuckles softly.
‘You know, there are rumours of a yeti in these mountains,’ he says, his voice like he’s telling a ghost story around a campfire.
I roll around to face him, playfully swatting his chest.
‘Stop trying to scare me!’ I tick him off – although it does lighten the mood. Obviously I’m not worried about a yeti.
His laughter rumbles in his chest, and our faces are so close that I can feel his warm breath. Things are playful for a second or two until there’s a shift. It’s like the air changes as his eyes lock on to mine, and slowly but surely I notice his lips heading for mine.
I don’t know what to do, other than hold my breath, and freeze (it’s oh-so easy to freeze right now). Our lips brush together, very lightly, for a split second, before a loud knock on the door makes us both jump.
Henri bolts from the bed, rushing to the door. He speaks in rapid French with the person outside. After a moment, he turns back to me.
‘It’s okay, it’s my colleague,’ he says, relief evident in his voice. ‘He’s come looking for me. He says he’ll take us back to the château.’
It’s only now that I can exhale. Henri helps me up, and we gather our things quickly, and in awkward silence. As we step outside into the cold night, loading our things into Henri’s colleague’s car, I can’t help but glance back at the cabin. I’mso, so glad that I didn’t have to spend the night there, not just because it was cold, or because of the potential yeti outside, but because things with Henri were heating up, and I’m not exactly sure it’s what I wanted.
36
Waking up in my bed, at the château, I think about how different things could have been, if I were waking up with Henri, in his cabin.
He was going to kiss me – he practically did – but why? Was it just to keep warm? To pass the time? Or… because he likes me? I don’t want to sound like a teenage girl but… does he like me? I mean obviously he likes me, or he wouldn’t be hanging out with me, but I meanlikes-me-likes-me and, yep, I definitely sound like a teenage girl.
I certainly wouldn’t be waking up as comfortably, that’s for sure, because this bed is everything.
I think my best move today might be to give Henri a bit of space, and to absolutely avoid the ladies, just in case they noticed I was missing, because I’m not quite sure how I would explain that one.
I roll over and grab my phone from the bedside table, noticing several missed calls from Caleb. I feel a pang of guilt and quickly call him back.
‘Amber? Are you okay?’ Caleb’s voice is filled with concern as he answers the phone. ‘I was so worried when I didn’t hear from you last night.’
‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ I assure him, though my voice sounds unconvincing, even to my own ears. ‘I’m at the château – I slept in.’
‘I’m outside, in the front garden,’ he tells me. ‘I didn’t know what else do to, so I came looking for you. Is everything okay?’
He’s outside? Shit. What if someone sees him?
I jump out of bed and run to the window and, yep, sure enough, there he is, for everyone to see.
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
