To Provence, with Love

by T A Williams

  Sarah was reaching across the desk for her coffee, but she switched direction, caught Melissa’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. ‘I’m sure you’d be the last to go, Mel. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’ She managed an encouraging smile and saw the relief on Melissa’s face. She picked up her coffee and took a mouthful, murmuring appreciatively. Melissa had obviously gone all the way to the cafeteria to get the good stuff. That was something that had definitely improved over the nine years she had been working here. When she’d first started at Hall’s, the coffee had been undrinkable. ‘Here, have a cupcake. At least they weren’t ruined.’ In spite of her resolve, she couldn’t help the note of bitterness in her voice.

  ‘Oh, Sarah …’ Luckily, Melissa was prevented from saying more as a tall figure appeared at the door, leaning casually against the frame.

  ‘Knock, knock. Hi, Sarah, welcome back.’ As he walked into the room, Sarah couldn’t miss the expression of adoration on Melissa’s face, not dissimilar to the look their old dog used to produce every time food appeared in his vicinity. This thought also helped her to adopt what she hoped would sound like a normal tone.

  ‘Hello, Paul. Long time, no see. How was Harvard, or was it Yale?’

  He came over to her desk and extended his hand, leaning towards her with a winning smile. As he did so, he shot a sideways glance at Melissa, who blushed and choked on her cupcake. He looked as if he had been working out while in the States. Sarah didn’t remember his shoulders being quite so broad.

  ‘Right first time. Harvard Business School, and it was good. What about you?’ He took a closer look at her. ‘You’ve got awfully red eyes. Are you all right?’

  ‘Hay fever, I’m afraid.’ It wasn’t very inspired, but it would have to do.

  ‘How awful for you. You’ve just been away for a week, haven’t you? I thought you were going to be off for longer. What’ve you been doing? Did you go somewhere nice?’

  ‘I just stayed around and sorted out some stuff.’

  Sarah was vaguely aware of Melissa starting to hiccup, but she avoided looking in her direction. She took a good look at Paul. She hadn’t seen him for quite a while, since he had gone off to do his MBA. He and his elder brother, Miles, were both good-looking men, but she could see why Paul’s reputation as the company heartthrob had come about. He was probably a year or two younger than her, no more than in his late twenties, had a lovely, warm smile, and his brown eyes sparkled as he looked down at her.

  He caught her eye. ‘So you didn’t go off somewhere with some lucky young man?’

  Melissa’s choking now developed into something approaching cardiac arrest and Paul was quick to offer a helping hand, turning back to assist her, patting her on the back. Whether physical contact with him was the best thing for Melissa in the circumstances was debatable. Her cheeks, which had already been flushed, were now glowing red, but her discomfort had the effect of changing the subject, about which Sarah was immensely glad. She waited until Melissa had regained the use of her lungs before addressing Paul once more, avoiding his question.

  ‘Thanks for helping out in my absence.’ Secretly she hoped he hadn’t done too much “helping out”, like he had a couple of seasons earlier. It had taken her a week to sort everything out afterwards. In those days he had been far more interested in his social life than work and she wondered whether his newly acquired MBA meant his priorities would now change. ‘So, what’s next for you, Paul, now that you’ve finished your studies?’

  ‘Back to work, but starting with two weeks on a bike. My dad seems to think Miles and I need to get down and dirty with the punters.’ He shot a glance across at Melissa, who, fortunately, had relinquished the remains of her cupcake and was looking down, wiping residual moisture from her eyes. ‘I’ll tell you all about Harvard over lunch if you’re free.’ He grinned. ‘Or over dinner if you like.’

  ‘I’ll be lucky if I have time for a sandwich today, thanks, but we’ll catch up later on in the week, I’m sure.’ Dinner with anybody was most definitely not what she wanted now – or, the way she was feeling, any time in the foreseeable future, and particularly not with a man. Even if that man was as good-looking as Paul and soon to be her boss, if the rumours were to be believed. She just wanted to forget about men for a while and try to get on with her life.

  If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it. With a parting glance at Melissa that elicited another outbreak of blushing, he headed back towards the door. ‘A bientôt.’ And he left.

  As she had predicted, Sarah didn’t even have a lunch break and she preferred it that way, so as to avoid having to meet people. After the cupcakes had done the rounds, she felt sure everybody would now know what had happened to her and she dreaded being asked to talk about it. She spent all morning and most of the afternoon working her way through her emails. She knew she had a reputation in the company as a meticulous stickler for accuracy and she was going to do her best not to let a little thing like being dumped at the altar get in the way of that. Also, the deeper she immersed herself in her job, the less time she had to think about that tall, blue-eyed, handsome bastard, James. At least, that was the plan.

  Just before four o’clock, she had a visitor. There was a tap on her door and she looked up to see that it was Paul’s brother, Miles. She hadn’t seen him for a couple of years and, although he looked a whole lot more handsome than she remembered, her first impression wasn’t promising. He was scowling.

  ‘Hi, Miles, long time no see.’

  ‘Hello, Sarah. How are you?’ His tone was polite, but she sensed he was just being very English and going through the motions before exploding with rage. What, she asked herself in genuine puzzlement, had she done to put that expression of impending Armageddon on his face? Still, she did her best to sound nonchalant.

  ‘So, Miles, do you want to come in and sit down?’

  ‘No.’ His terse answer must have struck even him as rude, so he qualified it. ‘No, thank you. I haven’t got time. Listen, there’s been an accident.’

  ‘An accident?’

  ‘It’s Lynnie Green – she’s been knocked off her bike.’

  Sarah sat bolt upright. Lynnie was a good friend and one of their very best tour leaders who had started at Hall’s round about the same time as she had. Lynnie had accompanied groups of intrepid tourists to faraway places all around the globe, into jungles, and even across the snowy wastes of the Arctic.

  ‘We’ve just heard from her. She was knocked off her bike this morning and she’s in hospital with a broken leg. Fortunately, it’s not too bad, but she’ll be on crutches for a few months.’ He paused so that Sarah could realise the ramifications of this development as far as the company was concerned. The penny dropped just as Miles spelt it out. ‘Yes, that’s right. She was all set to lead the charity cycle ride in Italy starting on Sunday, the one I’m going on.’

  Sarah didn’t reply immediately, her brain desperately turning over alternative reps for the job. Apart from being such a good, friendly, sociable leader, Lynnie was also an excellent cyclist and, indeed, one of Sarah’s regular companions on longer rides outside London. Finding a replacement wasn’t going to be easy, and the trip was scheduled to start at the weekend, only four and a half days away. It soon became clear that Miles had already worked out a solution.

  ‘I don’t see any alternative, Sarah; I’m afraid it’ll have to be you.’ His tone brooked no dissent and she felt her hackles rise. ‘There just isn’t anybody else available at such short notice. I’m coming along and I’ll do my best to lend a hand, but I’ve got a million other things to do over the next few weeks so I can’t commit to playing the leading role. You spent a good few years as a tour leader and your results speak for themselves. You were one of the best we’ve ever had.’ Somehow, he even managed to make this compliment sound grudging and Sarah cleared her throat, ready to retort. ‘It has to be you.’

  ‘Thank you for those kind words, Miles.’ Her tone was dripping with irony. She
took a deep breath, reminding herself she was talking to the future head of the company. No good would come of making an enemy of him. ‘But surely there’s somebody else we can call. There must be.’ Her heart sank as she thought it through. He was right; it wasn’t going to be easy to find a replacement at such short notice. Lynnie hadn’t just been a helper on the ride; she had been the leader. Although, as Miles had said, Sarah hadn’t been out on the road with tourists for some years now, she had done a lot in her time and didn’t need Miles to tell her she had been good at her job. Under normal circumstances, particularly as this trip involved cycling, her favourite sport and hobby, and Italy, one of her favourite countries, she would have leapt at it but, the way she was feeling right now, the idea of two weeks of unrelenting cheerfulness and sunny smiles really didn’t appeal. She opened her mouth to tell Miles she just couldn’t do it, but then closed it again. He really was right. She was the only logical choice. With a very heavy heart, she nodded and replied.

  ‘Of course, you’re right, Miles. I suppose it’ll have to be me.’

  ‘That’s very good news.’ For a moment, a look of what might almost have been gratitude crossed his face and he even gave Sarah a little smile. ‘Anyway, you never know, you might enjoy yourself. Some fresh air, some exercise and all those lovely little endorphins flooding through your body may be just what you need.’ To her surprise, he added a personal observation. ‘You’re looking a bit pale and wan today. I remembered you as more active, more of an outdoor sort.’

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she was still an active, outdoor sort, when she had the time away from the office. It had been James – miserable, selfish, bloody James – objecting over and over again to her going off for weeks at a time that had made her transfer to a desk job. For the first time since Miles’s arrival at her door, she felt a glimmer of optimism. If she and James had still been together, this situation would have caused a God-Almighty row. At least now, without him whining offstage, she could make her own decisions again. With far less difficulty than she had expected, she found herself smiling back at Miles.

  ‘You might well be right. The idea of a couple of weeks in sunny Italy is really rather appealing.’ Then she had a thought. ‘But, hang on, I gather your brother’s coming along as well. Couldn’t the two of you manage it without me? Surely he could be of help?’

  The smile on Miles’s face disappeared in an instant. ‘Don’t count on Paul for anything. I certainly don’t.’

  Sarah had to restrain herself from querying this assertion. Certainly, it didn’t sound very brotherly. Her momentary burst of optimism at the idea of going on this bike ride was suddenly extinguished as she realised it sounded as though she was going to find herself in the middle of a family feud.

  She gave a sigh and then changed the subject as another thought occurred to her.

  ‘Are you and Paul going to be up for the cycling? It’s a thousand kilometres and it’s going to be pretty hilly, isn’t it?’

  Miles nodded. ‘I’ll be okay, thanks.’ He didn’t go into detail so Sarah hoped he was right. It would be embarrassing if the future head of the company wasn’t up to the challenge and had to be carted round in the back-up wagon. Mind you, she admitted to herself, he certainly did look fit. There wasn’t an ounce of excess fat on him. ‘As for Paul, he spends more time on his bike than he does in the office.’

  ‘Office? I thought he’d been doing an MBA.’

  For the first time Miles sounded slightly shifty. ‘Yes, well, anyway, now that he’s supposed to be coming into the company, he’ll need to get his priorities right.’ Sarah couldn’t help noticing how he emphasised the word supposed. Clearly, the notion of being joined by Paul didn’t appeal to Miles in the slightest. Once again, Sarah had to bite her tongue. Thankfully, Miles now turned the subject away from his younger brother. ‘And what about you, Sarah? Are you fit enough?’

  ‘Fitness is the least of my worries. Did you realise that almost all the people on this ride are going to be from the travel trade, mostly our competitors? You can bet your life they’ll be rubbing their hands with glee if I screw up.’

  ‘You won’t screw up, Sarah.’ For the first time, Miles sounded encouraging. ‘Besides, you’ll have Polly driving the van and a former pro cyclist as a guide on the road. His name’s Gianluca and we haven’t used him before. Let’s hope he works out all right.’

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  Copyright

  An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

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  First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2017

  Copyright © T. A. Williams 2017

  T. A. Williams asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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  E-book Edition © July 2017 ISBN: 978-0-00-823695-3