Page 77 of You Had Me at Chateau
Caleb turns to me, still smiling.
‘Your dad is great,’ he tells me.
‘Is he?’ I reply, almost suspiciously. ‘I feel like the two of you were talking for ages, while I was dying of shame in the bathroom. Historically, the longer people chat with my dad, the less likely they are to refer to him as great…’
Caleb just laughs this off.
‘We were just chatting,’ he tells me again. ‘And he really does seem great. You’re lucky to have him.’
I don’t think he was trying to make me feel bad with that comment, I think he genuinely meant it, but it does give me a reality check. I’ll bet Caleb would love to have a dad like mine and, jokes aside, I know that I’m lucky to have him really. Even if he is stressing me out lately.
‘Thanks for smoothing the awkward situation over with him,’ I tell him. ‘I don’t know what I would have said.’
‘Oh, it’s fine,’ he replies. ‘He really was chill about it and, look, we don’t need to take any underwear photos. To be honest, we’ve taken plenty of photos, we don’t need to do any more. I know you’ve only got a couple of days left so I thought I would take you out for the day tomorrow, what do you say?’
‘Oh, you don’t have to do that,’ I reply.
‘I’ve got it all planned out,’ he insists. ‘Plus, it might be good for book inspiration – bad or good. What do you reckon?’
He smiles at his little joke and I can’t help but smile back.
‘Okay, yeah, sure,’ I say, my excitement building. ‘Sounds great. Just when I think I’ve seen everything the resort has to offer…’
‘Well, I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but I’m taking you out of the resort,’ he tells me. ‘But that’s all I’m saying.’
Oh wow, outside the resort. This place has so much going on, I hadn’t even considered the idea of leaving. Then again, I am supposed to be on a writers’ retreat, but also, it turns out it’s a writers’ retreat where no one actually writes, they just drink wine and try to bang the staff.
I wonder where Caleb could be taking me, and I can’t wait to find out, but first it’s time for pancakes. This day just keeps getting better and better.
39
I arrive back at the château to – surprise, surprise – find Mandy, Bette, and Gina lounging on the sofas, glasses of wine in hand.
‘Here she is,’ Mandy says, and I can’t quite place her tone but have you ever had that feeling that everyone was in on a joke apart from you? ‘Henri’s been looking for you,’ she tells me. ‘He said he’d be in the study before bed, and that we should tell you to see him there.’
I raise an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued.
‘Did he say why?’ I ask.
Mandy shrugs, swirling her wine.
‘He didn’t. Just that he was looking for you,’ she tells me. ‘You know, we were only having a bit of fun with the wager, but you’ve clearly taken it too far.’
‘What do you mean?’ I dare to ask.
‘We know you spent the night with him,’ she replies. ‘We saw the two of you head out together.’
‘He was just showing me his private cabin in the woods,’ I say innocently – as though that’s a normal-sounding thing to say.
Gina remains silent, her eyes darting between me and Mandy.
‘Come on, Amber,’ Bette says, in a knowing tone. ‘We’re all adults here.’
Mandy leans back, a smirk playing on her lips.
‘We know you were both missing last night,’ she says. ‘Come on, Amber, just admit it.’
‘His car broke down,’ I explain. ‘Honestly, it’s not what it looks like.’
