Christmas Reunion in Paris by Liz Fielding

Author:Liz Fielding
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-07-13T13:14:08+00:00

* * *

The entrance to the château was a couple of miles outside the village. Beyond the gate the lane became an unpaved track winding through woodland, but then they were clear of the trees and beyond a pair of majestic wrought-iron gates stood a pink and white château glowing against a slate sky.

Chloe put out a hand and grabbed James’s arm. ‘Stop!’

He pulled up between the gates and looked at her. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘Absolutely nothing.’ She looked at the wide sweep of the house, its pink walls, white stucco trim, the dormer windows in the roof and steps leading up to the front door and couldn’t stop a smile spreading from somewhere deep inside until it consumed her entire body. ‘This is the dream house I drew as a child.’

‘As in a picture stuck to the fridge door with a magnet, drew?’

She nodded. Then pulled a face. ‘Obviously not the fridge door, it was pinned to my cork board by my nanny, but yes, I drew it and coloured it in with crayons.’

‘You must have seen a picture of it in one of your mother’s magazines. They’ve been hosting weddings and events for years,’ he suggested.

‘Maybe,’ she agreed, although she knew it had to have been in her nanny’s copy of Celebrity, which featured weddings of even the marginally famous.

‘I have to admit that from here it looks even better in real life than in the online photographs, which, in the age of digital enhancement, has to be a first,’ James said. ‘Can we go now?’

She nodded. ‘But slowly.’

He continued along the drive at a snail’s pace, giving her time to look around, take in an ancient cedar on the front lawn, catch a glimpse of the orangery and, beyond the trees, a small lake gleaming leaden under the grey sky.

By the time he’d pulled up at the front of the château, one of the double doors had been thrown open and a couple of French bulldogs were followed down the steps by a slightly flustered woman.

‘Welcome to Château Bernier St-Fleury, Mr Harrington, Miss Forbes Scott. I’m Marie Bernier. Call me Marie...’ She turned to the dogs. ‘Beau, Felix—heel! I’m so sorry.’

They scampered around Chloe, sweet but clearly out of control.

‘They were my mother-in-law’s dogs,’ Marie said. ‘I’m afraid she spoiled them.’

Chloe bent to rub a silky ear and its owner immediately rolled over and presented her with his tummy. ‘I can understand why. They’re adorable.’

‘They like you, Miss Forbes Scott. Do you have dogs of your own?’

‘Chloe, please. I’d love to have a dog, Marie, but I live in a Paris flat and I’m out at work all day. It wouldn’t be kind.’

‘And you, Mr Harrington?’ she asked as one of the dogs abandoned her for James and he offered him a hand to sniff before rubbing an ear.

‘Everyone calls me Jay,’ he said, ‘and like Chloe I’m a city dweller with a job that keeps me busy for long hours. Maybe in the future,’ he said. ‘When we have a house with a garden.

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