The Little Paris Patisserie

by Julie Caplin

  ‘I’ve got to go, Nina.’ He’d touched her hand, stroking her knuckle before he left. ‘I’m tied up in meetings tomorrow, but would you come to dinner on Friday?’

  The day had left a magical tingle and she’d hugged the feelings to herself all evening, going over every word and touch of the day and hanging onto those heartfelt whispered words from the day before. I don’t want you to go.

  All of which had made her feel worse about her deception. Her eyes felt gritty and sore after a sleepless night. The combination of guilt and anticipation was not a great bedfellow. And it was exacerbated by being in Sebastian’s apartment. At every turn there were reminders of him and the realisation that time was running out both for her and for the patisserie.

  Nina suddenly realised that Maddie and Marguerite were looking at her. She’d missed something that had been said.

  ‘Yes, and if they come and do the judging and the patisserie gets placed, there’ll be lots of publicity. Sebastian could see the patisserie is worth keeping open,’ said Marguerite.

  Nina frantically tried to catch up.

  ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘It isn’t what he wants. We’ll have to decline, besides—’ she grasped at another line of argument ‘—there’s probably not much chance of us even getting placed.’

  ‘The best newcomer category isn’t going to be that big,’ said Bill. ‘We probably stand a good chance. Especially now we’ve put up that chandelier. I bet nowhere else has got one like that.’

  Nina almost caved in. Bill and Peter had been thwarted in their desire to get the chandelier up at the weekend, realising that cleaning it would take a lot longer, but they had worked with painstaking thoroughness to clean every last bit of crystal over the last few days before finally hoisting the stunning piece into place.

  ‘It’s still a no,’ said Nina, rubbing her eyes.

  Maddie snapped her mouth shut looking like a mutinous turtle, tapping her cup with a knife.

  ‘But what about Marcel,’ Marguerite reminded, gently.

  ‘Sebastian will offer him a job,’ said Nina, casting a quick glance over at him in his usual place behind the counter. He looked up and caught her eye but his solemn expression didn’t change. ‘He’s already said that.’

  ‘But Marcel loves this place as it is.’

  ‘I know…’ said Nina miserably. Marcel almost smiled far more often these days and was positively helpful with customers. ‘But he might be happy working here when it’s changed.’ But she knew in her heart of hearts that the grumpy, idiosyncratic waiter wouldn’t adapt that well. He was far too set in his ways and used to running things the way they were.

  ‘Well, it’s too late because I’ve completed the entry and they’re coming to judge on Tuesday,’ said Maddie, pushing her cup away from her and standing up. With feet planted hip width apart, her sturdy body radiated pugnacious defiance.

  Nina sagged in her chair, feeling worn out and exhausted. She didn’t want to fight with anyone, least of all Maddie. ‘I’m sorry but you’ll have to tell them no.’

  ‘But what difference is it going to make?’ asked Maddie, throwing her hands up in the air and raising her voice. ‘Sebastian is going to be mobile again next week anyway. What were you going to do?’ She sneered. ‘He’s going to see the transformation we’ve made. It’s not just about him. What about all of us? We’ve invested a bit of ourselves in this place. It’s alright for you, pushing off home. I guess you don’t care what happens to the building once you’ve gone.’

  ‘Maddie,’ remonstrated Jane in her gentle voice.

  ‘That’s not true,’ cried Nina jumping to her feet as Maddie’s face flushed red with accusation.

  ‘Isn’t it? You’ve gone along with everything. Kept Marcel’s hopes up. Let us do all the work. And you’re going to walk away. You’re on Sebastian’s side.’

  ‘There isn’t a side. I don’t want this place to be closed. But it was always temporary.’

  ‘It doesn’t have to be if you were prepared to fight for it. Stick up to Sebastian. You’re just a coward. You’re so hung up on wanting him to like you. Get over your crush. If he really liked you, he’d have done something about it. You’re just useful to have around.’

  ‘That’s a really mean thing to say,’ said Nina, taking a sharp indrawn breath, shocked by the sudden pain as Maddie’s words struck direct hits. A wave of fear flooded over her. What if Maddie was right and she was useful to have around? She’d waited for Sebastian to notice her for years, if he felt the same why hadn’t he ever come looking for her? What if this was all convenience? What if when she went back to England, he realised he didn’t need her?

  ‘She didn’t mean it like that,’ said Jane, putting out an arm to touch Nina’s.

  ‘Yes I did,’ said Maddie, her arms on her hips. ‘You’re being a selfish baby. This isn’t about you. It’s about Marcel and Marguerite. And all of us. We’ve worked hard and helped you. You could at least give this place a fighting chance.’

  Marcel, hearing his name, looked over at them, his face impassive as always but Nina remembered the anguish in them when he’d told her about his wife. The drawn pinched look around his mouth had been rubbed away and although smiles from him were still few and far between, when they happened it was as if a light had been turned back on.

  Selfish baby. Nina drew herself up to face Maddie, her fists clenched tightly and her eyes narrowing. The last person that had called her the baby had been Dan and she’d left him with a split lip, although Mum had sent her to bed without any tea that night. And no one called her selfish.

  ‘Fine,’ she spat. ‘I’ll do it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got cakes to make.’ She stormed back to the kitchen, tears stinging her eyes.

  The choux pastry was in danger of being beaten to death. It probably wouldn’t rise at this rate. Nina still her hand and lifted the beaters out of the mixture.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Jane’s soft voice penetrated her thoughts.

  ‘Yes,’ said Nina in a small voice. ‘I hate arguing with people.’

  ‘Me too. I don’t think Maddie meant to upset you. She’s just one of those people who talks before she thinks.’

  ‘Unfortunately, she was probably right. I have been a coward. I should have told Sebastian what we were doing, but I knew he’d put a stop to it. I let everyone keep going because it was good for Marcel and now I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Do what you think is best. Do what you think is the right thing to do, not what anyone else wants you do. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Follow your heart. Listen to me!’ Her soft brown eyes twinkled. ‘Before I met Peter, I was never this fanciful.’

  ‘You two really love each other. It’s lovely to see.’ Nina pushed down the spike of envy. Would Sebastian ever feel like that about her? It was pathetic really, loving someone from the sidelines for so long. Now it was almost too difficult to believe he might feel a fraction of the same way.

  ‘Second time around, it’s that bit more precious because you know how bad it can be when it goes horribly wrong. You take better care of each other.’ Jane gave her a quick hug. ‘Don’t worry about Maddie. I’m sure she’s probably just as upset with herself as you are. Now do you want a hand?’

  Nina smiled at her. ‘I wouldn’t say no, and you are quite a dab hand at caramel now.’

  ‘That’s because I enjoy eating it so much. Honestly I’m going to be the size of an elephant before long. It’s a good job we’re going home soon.’

  ‘You’ve decided to go back to England?’

  ‘Yes.’ Jane gave a rueful laugh. ‘It’s wonderful living in Paris, but it’s not home. And, absence seems to have made our families forget how cross they were that we got married.’

  ‘Did you always intend to go home?’ asked Nina, with sudden insight.

  ‘Yes, but don’t tell Peter,’ she winked. ‘It’s better that he thinks it was his idea.’

  Nina, with Jane’s help, worked solidly until three when Jane
and Peter left. Despite feeling absolutely knackered, Nina decided to whip a final batch of cake mixture to make her miniature coffee and walnut cakes. Thank goodness the wholesaler delivered as she’d got through a whole kilo of walnuts this week, not to mention the vast quantities of chocolate. She smiled to herself as she thought of that first trip with Doris. Gosh, hadn’t she come a long way since then. Her éclairs could rival any patisserie in looks these days, and the customers seemed to love her flavour variations.

  ‘Nina.’ Maddie’s voice made her start. Her heart bumped uncomfortably but before she could say a word, Maddie had thrown her arms around her. ‘Please, please, please, please forgive meeee. Sorry for being such a bitch and a horrible bossy, mouthy cow. I didn’t mean what I said. You’ve been amazing and no one has worked harder than you and you did keep telling us that Sebastian wouldn’t approve and now you’re in an impossible situation. And I think he really does like you because he never takes his eyes off you and I think I’m probably a tiny bit jealous. Actually a bit more jealous than that.’

  ‘Oh Maddie,’ Nina hugged her back, tears pricking her eyes at the sight of the vulnerability in Maddie’s admission. ‘I’m sorry too. You’re right. I’ve been a complete coward.’

  ‘No, you have not. Don’t you dare say things like that about my friend.’

  Nina half-laughed and took in a gasping breath, dashing away a tear.

  ‘I’m sorry, Nina. We can cancel the judges’ visit, if you want us to.’

  ‘But I’ve been thinking about it. It’s the right thing to do. We’ve worked so hard and if I didn’t believe in the patisserie, I should have said so before. We have to give it every last chance, to show Sebastian it is viable. Although I should have said something to him before.’ She gulped. ‘And now it’s too late. He’s going to be furious.’

  ‘And is that going to matter?’ asked Maddie her eyes searching Nina’s.

  Nina nodded, swallowing. ‘I still … love him. Stupid I know but I want him to like me. Like what I’ve done. I’m still trying to impress him and this … he’s not going to be impressed.’

  ‘Why ever not? Look at how this place has been transformed. It looks fabulous—’

  ‘That’s all down to all of you.’

  Maddie ignored her with a quick shrug. ‘And it’s busy. People love your cakes. Sebastian should be bloody kissing your feet and have the socks impressed off him. You’re brilliant. This place is brilliant. It’s not as if you’ve done anything wrong. And as you said, this doesn’t really stop him from closing the patisserie if he really wants to. Although he’d be bloody stupid to. People queue for your patisserie. No harm has been done.’ She giggled. ‘No one has been harmed in the making of this patisserie and all those in her.’

  Nina gave a reluctant smile. ‘I guess you’re right.’

  Maddie hugged her again. ‘Listen to big sis. If he seriously throws a hissy fit he’s mad. When he sees how brilliant it is, he’ll come round.’

  Her finger hovered over the screen. With a sigh, she gnawed at her lip and put the phone down. Two seconds later she picked it up again. And then she put it down on the table, pushing it out of reach. Instead she stood up and wandered around the apartment. Tempting as it was, this was her mess. She was not going to phone her mum.

  Everything in the room looked so familiar now, she’d stopped seeing things. For a second she looked around trying to see the room with fresh eyes. She’d felt like an intruder when she’d first arrived but now she felt at home and she’d got used to living with Sebastian’s things, got used to seeing how he lived. She ran a finger down the spine of one of his collection of recipe books, shelved by theme – Chinese, Thai, Meat, Vegan – in an unruly zigzag height order. It amused her to see the way that his sharp Sabatier knives in the kitchen were closeted in reverential splendour in one drawer, while the cutlery was left in abandoned disarray in the next drawer, forks, spoons and knives not even separated out. Tidiness was related to priorities, tea towels were neatly folded in a cupboard, coffee decanted into separate Alessi containers while the teabags were left in a torn foil packet and paracetamol, throat sweets and anti-histamine tablets in battered boxes were dumped in a jumble in a china bowl on the crockery shelf.

  She paused over a picture of Sebastian, stiff in chef whites shaking the hand of a man in a suit, receiving a large framed certificate. The first chef competition he’d won. Just looking at the picture brought back the smell of pork belly, the dish he’d cooked over and over, until he thought it was perfect. Even Nick had got fed up with it towards the end.

  With a heavy sigh, she pushed her hair off her face. She didn’t need to phone her mother to hear it, she already knew what she needed to do. Sebastian was a perfectionist. He liked order. He liked being prepared. He liked having a plan. She was going to have to come clean and tell him about the patisserie’s transformation.

  Chapter 30

  Every step through the hotel lobby felt like those of a condemned man. But it was the right thing to do. Honesty was the best policy and all that. And she wasn’t just going to blurt it out, she’d build up to it. Soften him up? suggested a cynical voice in her head.

  With a deep breath, she pushed the key card in the slot. It would be alright. He’d be cross but then he’d come around. Of course, he’d be cross and she’d agree with him but she’d done it for good reasons.

  ‘Hi!’

  There was no answering call back. The corridor was ominously quiet. She padded down to the door and pushed it open.

  ‘Surprise!’

  There was a blur of movement and a kerfuffle of noise. Through it all Nina’s eyes zeroed in on Sebastian sitting on the sofa with a resigned expression on his face.

  ‘Nick! Dan! Gail! What are you doing here?’

  ‘We thought we’d come and surprise you,’ said Nick, enveloping her in a big hug.

  ‘You’ve done that, alright,’ said Nina squeezing her brother back.

  ‘I hope you don’t mind,’ said Gail apologetically. ‘But these two had decided they were coming—’ her face broke into a wide grin ‘—and there was no way I was missing out. This oaf has been promising me a weekend in Paris for years.’

  ‘Is that any way to talk about your beloved husband?’ said Dan scooping her up and nuzzling at her neck.

  ‘Enough, you two.’ Nick rolled his eyes. ‘I thought Sebastian might fancy some company and I suddenly had a free couple of days, the only ones I’ll get now until the autumn, so I just booked a Eurostar ticket … and the oaf decided to come too. Luckily his saving grace is that he has a lovely wife.’

  ‘Why would I mind?’ asked Nina, ignoring her brothers, as she crossed the room to give her sister-in-law a quick hug. ‘It’s lovely to see you. Shame you had to bring both oafs with you.’ Despite her words with a sudden pang, she realised how much she’d missed them all.

  ‘I know,’ said Gail, hooking her arm through Nina’s, ‘but you have to let them out occasionally. And how are you? You look great.’ She gave her a quick assessing study and raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. The look she gave Nina said, you can tell me all later. Gail looked at Sebastian and then back at her. Nina pursed her mouth – her sister-in-law didn’t miss a trick, but she knew she wouldn’t say a word.

  Nina risked shooting Sebastian a quick glance. He was laughing at something Nick was saying but he looked up caught her eye and smiled and quickly turned his attention back to whatever Nick was saying.

  ‘So, Nina you’re just in time for dinner. We thought we’d go out. Dan’s found a place on TripAdvisor.’

  Nina laughed. ‘Of course he has.’

  ‘And we’re staying just around the corner. Can’t afford a fancy place like this.’ Nick knuckled the top of Sebastian’s head.

  ‘Oy,’ said Sebastian, pushing Nick’s hand away, laughing as he did, his handsome face relaxed and carefree, his eyes crinkled up with amusement.

  Nina’s heart turned over. He was gorgeous and suddenly she was eig
hteen again, Nick’s little sister and Sebastian as unattainable as ever.

  ‘There’s a table booked for half seven. We’ve just got time to change.’ Nick looked at the time on his phone. ‘Aw Nina, have you got a phone charger I can borrow, forgot mine and Dan’s one of those Apple junkies.’

  ‘Sure.’ She rummaged in her bag. ‘Here you go but I want it back.’

  ‘Yeah, no probs.’ He looked at his phone again. ‘Actually guys we’d better get a wiggle on. See you downstairs in half an hour, Bas?’

  ‘Sure.’

  Dan and Gail were already at the door, Nick following when he turned around. ‘Coming Nina?’

  ‘Actually, I need to go over a couple of things for the course this Wednesday,’ said Sebastian smoothly. ‘I’d asked Nina here for a quick meeting.’

  ‘Saved you, sis,’ said Nick. ‘You now get dinner thrown in.’

  Nina kept her face as expressionless as possible.

  ‘Bonus.’

  ‘You guys can talk business over dinner,’ declared Nick, waiting by the door for Nina to join him. ‘See you downstairs, if you can manage with those bad boys.’ He mimed using crutches, with a hunchback of Notre Dame lurch contorting his face.

  Nina opened her mouth but Sebastian beat her to it.

  ‘If you don’t mind, it’ll be easier to go through a few things quickly on the laptop.’

  There was the briefest moment of silence as Nick stared at Sebastian and then at Nina. Of course, she blushed. Of course she flaming well did. Nick’s jaw tensed.

  ‘Anything I need to know?’ he asked, his body suddenly predator still and poised, ready to pounce.

  Nina swallowed at the unfamiliar and ridiculous sudden turn of Mafia menace in his voice.

  ‘No,’ she said rounding on him, with her hands on her hips, ‘And even if there was it has nothing to do with you.’

  ‘Nina.’ He stepped up to her.

  ‘You have nothing to worry about,’ said Sebastian grimly. ‘Your sister is safe with me.’