Summer at the Little French Guesthouse: A feel good novel to read in the sun (La Cour des Roses Book 3) by Helen Pollard

Author:Helen Pollard [Pollard, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786812292
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2017-07-11T18:30:00+00:00

What I wouldn’t have given for a quiet evening at Alain’s. But no – we went out to a restaurant to celebrate my family’s arrival. It seemed that Alain might have been right about us not getting a moment alone once my parents arrived. We probably wouldn’t until after the wedding, now. For a brief moment, it occurred to me that I couldn’t wait till it was all over … and then I felt terrible for even thinking that, with such a lovely day planned.

Rupert ducked out of the meal, playing the ‘I’m not strictly family’ card. Coward. He had plans with Ellie, to go over the paperwork for the Mallorcan property.

‘What time will Nick arrive tomorrow?’ Alain asked my parents.

‘Late,’ Mum said sniffily. ‘He’s working all day. ‘I don’t know why he couldn’t have finished on Friday and travelled over with us.’

Because he didn’t fancy spending hours in a car with his parents and aunt, surrounded by wrapped china and being asphyxiated by dried lavender?

Alain suppressed a smile. ‘He wouldn’t have fitted in your car with all those boxes,’ he pointed out more tactfully than I would have.

‘That’s true,’ Mum mused. ‘I was hoping he’d bring someone with him, but he never sees one girl for more than a few weeks. He’ll never settle down at this rate.’ She tapped a finger against her wine glass. ‘Although, when he sees how lovely your wedding is, Emmy, you never know. It might give him ideas of his own, mightn’t it?’

Alain made the mistake of catching my dad’s eye, and they both cracked up laughing.

‘What’s so funny?’ Mum demanded.

But they were laughing too much to reply, exchanging glances to sober each other up but only ending up in further fits of merriment.

It was left to Aunt Jeanie to voice everybody’s thoughts. ‘The only ideas this wedding is likely to give Nick, Flo, is that living in sin or a swift elopement are both excellent options!’

The evening was pleasant enough. My mother managed not to discuss the wedding arrangements for the gazillionth time – Dad must have had a quiet word – and Alain managed not to choke when my parents told him their plans to buy a holiday house on his home turf. I hadn’t had the chance to pre-warn him, but it was good fun, seeing his reaction.

I went home with Alain, and when he’d come up for air from a heartfelt kiss, I discovered that his feelings about my parents’ latest news were much the same as mine. I knew we were soulmates.

‘It’ll be good for them, having a holiday home here,’ he said diplomatically. ‘And it means we won’t have to travel to Birmingham to visit, if we don’t want to. It’ll be nice, seeing them more often.’

My lips twitched. ‘But not too often?’

He gave me a sheepish smile. ‘Exactement.’

I blew out a sigh. ‘I’m pretty worried about it, Alain. Mum doesn’t have the same boundaries as me. Just because I’m living in France doesn’t mean I’m not working hard.

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