The Summer Seekers

Perhaps all that was wrong with their marriage was that they’d stopped creating time for themselves as a couple.

“You’d miss me?”

“Of course.” Sean, who had obviously decided that nothing but coffee was going to get him through the weekend, was pouring a third cup. “How would we manage without you? I don’t even know where we get the keys for the place. You always deal with the scary Madame Laroux. You’re the best French speaker. And then there’s the food. We’d probably starve if you weren’t there.”

The excitement oozed out of Liza.

He wanted her there because she made his life easy? That was it?

Did he even love her? Not her organizational abilities, but her, Liza, the woman he’d married?

“I’m sure you’re capable of booking a restaurant.” And now she was even more determined to go with her mother. It would bring them closer and also give Sean and the girls the opportunity to see how much she did for them.

“Don’t panic, Sean,” her mother said. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want Liza to drive me. She would be the wrong person for this kind of trip.”

The rejection tore open an old scar. She’d been eight years old and clinging as her mother had walked out the door. Take me with you! On one occasion she’d even sneaked her own packing into her mother’s case and then howled when it was gently removed.

“Why would I be the wrong person?”

“Apart from the fact you love your annual trip to France and you’d resent not being there, you like everything to be in your control, and on a trip like this nothing is going to be in your control. You would worry about your family constantly and spend half your time phoning home. And you’d nag me to eat the right things and be careful. It would be stressful for both of us.” Kathleen smoothed the map flat on the table. “This is one trip I’m doing alone.”

She’d done every trip alone, Liza thought, absorbing the pain while outwardly keeping herself composed. She should be used to rejection by now, so why did it hurt so much?

She had to accept that they’d never be close, no matter how much she wanted it to happen. She needed to stop hoping for that.

She’d go to France, even though that felt tainted now.

She was processing the fact that Sean saw her as a tour operator when she heard the sound of a car engine through the open window.

Kathleen straightened, one hand on the map. “That’s her. Martha. My driver. Why don’t you and Sean go and breathe in the sea air?”

Her mother didn’t want her around.

Only her sense of responsibility forced her to stay put and meet the girl. “Have you checked her credentials? How do you know she’s a safe driver?”

“The roads that lead to this house are narrow and twisty. If she managed it without having an accident, then she’s a good driver. I’ll meet her,” Kathleen said. “I don’t want you scaring her off or sending her away.” She left the kitchen and Liza stood there feeling unappreciated, alone and misunderstood.

Sean gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Narrow escape there, Liza. She might have said yes and then where would w

e have been?”

She would have been driving across America spending quality time with her mother.

But Kathleen didn’t want that. She’d rather spend weeks with a stranger than her own daughter. Liza wasn’t adventurous enough.

“Is that all I am to you? Someone to organize your holiday?”

“No.” Sean finished his coffee. “Although you are good at that. Thanks to you, life runs smoothly.”

The holiday, which she’d been looking forward to for so long, no longer seemed as shiny. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she couldn’t do that with a stranger about to join them in the kitchen.

Grabbing Sean’s mug, she refilled it.

She needed to stop overthinking everything, particularly her marriage. Sean had made an insensitive comment. So what? People said the wrong thing all the time. She said the wrong thing. It was important not to overreact. She was going to throw that stupid article away.

She heard laughter from the hallway and then her mother came back into the room, accompanied by a girl who looked barely older than Caitlin.

Her curls bounced around her shoulders and her jeans and her top clung to her curves. She had a dusting of freckles on her nose and a friendly smile that made you want to smile back.