At least there was the amazingly generous offer from David and Pauline now. They’d actually bought them an apartment in Paris. It must have cost a fortune, and she felt she hadn’t properly thanked them. But then her mind had been a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts lately, as she had experienced a welter of emotions. So much so that she needed time to unwind, and what better place than the winery where she had spent such a happy time growing up?
She idly wandered through the fields, where the grapes were proudly growing on the vines. The sun was giving of its best, covering the world in a warm glow. And as she walked along, she felt her mood lift and her mind become more tranquil. Or at least as tranquil as could be expected under the circumstances.
“Steph!” suddenly a voice rang out behind her. “Hey, Steph!”
She immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Robbie Scunner. She turned and waved at the young man, who was the same age she was.
“Hey, Robbie,” she said, happy to see him.
Robbie was the son of the winery foreman Larry Scunner, and her childhood sweetheart. They’d dated off and on for a couple of years when they were both in their teens, but nothing had ever come of it. She’d always considered Robbie more a dear friend than a boyfriend, and once she turned eighteen and left for fashion design school in Paris—her greatest wish come true—Robbie had disappeared from her orbit. And then when she met Jeff and eventually got married, Robbie had been relegated to a treasured but distant past. She still saw him when she visited her parents, of course, and she still appreciated his company, but no powerful emotions were involved—at least from her side. Robbie had seemed more reluctant to let go of the notion that they were meant to be together.
“Back so soon?” asked Robbie when he finally caught up with her. He was dressed in his customary attire of sturdy boots, jeans and a lumberjack shirt. Put a Stetson on his head and he would have the cowboy look down pat.
“I’ve come to say goodbye,” said Steph as she shielded her eyes from the sun.
“I thought you weren’t leaving for LA for another couple of weeks?”
“The LA thing fell through,” she said, but didn’t elaborate. “We’re off to Paris instead.”
His handsome face was marred by a sudden frown.“Paris again, huh?”
“Yeah, Paris again,” she said. “So what’s happening here?”
“Nothing much. Same old, same old,” he said. She could have been mistaken but he suddenly seemed a little sullen. Probably the fact that she was leaving. She often had the impression he took it as a personal affront that she had left the winery to spread her wings elsewhere. In that sense he was of the same view as her parents, who would have loved nothing more than for her to become active in the family business. Running the winery together with her brother Kevin.
But the wine business didn’t interest her. It never had. Fashion did. Even as a little girl she loved dressing up, and even though that’s probably something a lot of girls have in common, and eventually grow out of, with her it had stuck.
“So how long will you be gone for this time?” he asked as he stared into the middle distance, refusing to meet her gaze. The conversation had quickly turned awkward, the way it often did between them.
“I don’t know, Robbie. It depends.”
“I see. Well, I guess it’s goodbye, then.” He gave a curt nod and walked off.
“Robbie—don’t be like that,” she said at his retreating back. But she could see from the stiff way he moved that he was going to prove implacable again.
She sighed. Just what she needed. A quarrel with her longtime friend.
She had spoken too soon anyway. They probably weren’t going to leave for Paris for another couple of weeks. Jeff’s mom had told them that the Paris flat had to be completely remodeled, since the couple who sold it to them had lived there for more than fifty years, and were now moving into a retirement home. Pauline said the electricity and plumbing needed to be brought up to code so it could meet modern standards before Jeff and Steph could move in, and she wanted to put in a new kitchen and bathroom as well, which might take a couple of weeks.
And anyway Jeff would need to give notice at Capital First, which would also not happen overnight.
So she didn’t know why she’d told Robbie this was goodbye. Maybe because she knew how he would react, and she wanted to get the awkwardness out of the way.
But as she resumed her stroll, Robbie and his hangups soon vanished from her mind, and she enjoyed the peace and quiet of the vineyard, which stretched around her for what seemed like miles in every direction. She’d miss this place. She’d miss the vastness of it—the tranquility. But that couldn’t be helped. She would never have been happy if she stuck around—that much she knew. And now that new adventures awaited in the City of Light, her heart was at peace with her decision.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]