* * *
It was a succession of one delight after another. They’d indulged in hot chocolate and wickedly delicious pastries, then walked back to the chateau together. They explored the downstairs rooms and then sat on the terrace at the back for a while. Chloe had asked for dinner on the roof, and they’d chosen what they wanted from the menu, then gone back to their rooms to change.
She chose a summer dress with a matching lace woollen shawl, glad to find that they hadn’t creased too much in her bag. A little make-up seemed only right, and she brushed her hair carefully, catching it back in a loose arrangement at the back of her neck. As a compromise between wanting to look her best and wanting it to seem that she hadn’t spent too much time on her appearance, it would do.
When she ventured up the spiral staircase she saw that the door to Jon’s room was open. He turned from the window, his face breaking into a smile.
‘You look beautiful.’
A lump lodged in the back of her throat. He was wearing a simple dark blue shirt, open at the neck, with dark blue trousers. Jon looked even more effortlessly gorgeous than usual, slim-hipped and broad-shouldered, the strong set of his jaw giving a delicious sense of purpose to the softness of his eyes.
‘Thank you.’ Telling him that he looked beautiful might be misconstrued. But he did.
‘What do we do to let them know we’re ready for dinner? Or do we just wait and see what happens next?’
‘Oh. No, we phone. I have the number.’ Chloe pulled her phone from the pocket of her dress and dialled.
He helped her up the steps to the roof. Perhaps he knew that her knees were shaking. The evening was warm enough to leave her shawl on the back of the chair, and when the waitress arrived with their meals and lit the candles on the table, the shelter of the stone ramparts stopped them from blowing out immediately. She wished them a smiling ‘Bon appétit!’ and left them alone, flipping a switch at the top of the stairs, which lit a string of fairy lights that ran all the way around the edge of the tower’s roof.
It was a shame, really. Jon had ordered a very good wine, and the meal was well worthy of more attention than Chloe could give it. But the spectacular view and the fairy lights, which seemed brighter and more magical as the sun went down, were also entrancing. And Jon...every move he made, every gesture and every smile made her forget about everything apart from him.
‘Would you like a dessert?’ They’d taken their time over the meal, talking as darkness fell.
‘Just coffee for me.’ It was a little cooler now, and Chloe wrapped her shawl around her shoulders.
‘I think even I can manage that.’ He grinned, reaching for her phone and asking for two coffees in halting French.
The waitress appeared again, bringing coffee and clearing the table, leaving their glasses and the bottle of wine behind. Chloe sipped her coffee and then reached for the bottle. Jon hadn’t refilled her glass while they ate, and it was still more than half-full.
‘Not yet.’ He laid his fingers on the back of her hand. ‘I want you stone cold sober.’
‘What for?’
He smiled. ‘A turn around the roof? Don’t want you falling over the edge.’
That was hardly likely. She’d have to ask him for a leg up if she was going to climb across the wide stones that protected them. All the same, Chloe left the wine where it was and stood up, taking his arm.
Two steps, three... They got almost halfway round before he kissed her, and when he did she was almost trembling with anticipation. The breeze tugged at her senses, making her shiver as he drew her into the warmth of his body.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, staring up into his eyes. ‘I didn’t mean...for this to happen...’
‘You don’t want it to?’ His hands were spread possessively across her back, and he made a show of moving them so she could step away if she wanted to. He didn’t need to, the kiss had told them both exactly what they wanted.
‘No, I...’ Chloe thought hard. Now wasn’t the time to be at all unclear about what she wanted. ‘I love that it’s happened. I just didn’t plan for it...’
‘Ah. So you didn’t lure me here to have your way with me? I’m afraid that I didn’t lure you either.’
‘You didn’t? I think the least you can do is pretend you planned it all.’ She stretched up, brushing her lips against his mouth.
‘You’d be very disappointed in me.’ He leaned towards her, whispering in her ear, ‘I don’t have any condoms but that doesn’t mean we can’t just...improvise a little.’
His fingers moved on her back and Chloe shivered at the thought. She’d take a bet that Jon improvised very, very well. But he didn’t need to.
‘Actually, you know that I packed a travel kit to give to Hannah? Things she might need, that she probably didn’t think to take with her when she left.’
He chuckled quietly. ‘You thought she’d need condoms?’
‘Well, you never know. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to cover all the possibilities, particularly after last time...’ She didn’t want to talk about that now. She wanted to kiss him again.