Francesca eased open her kitchen door, opening it just enough to slip through and not enough to trigger the loud squeak of the rusty hinges. After two weeks of sneaking in after spending the night in Aidan’s bed, she’d become an expert at each sound to avoid. She’d shower, then come downstairs as if she’d been home all night and no one would be the wiser.
“Good morning,” Felicity greeted her, and Francesca’s eyes snapped to where her sister was sitting at the kitchen table.
Damn, she was caught. “Morning,” Francesca replied. She forced her voice to be casual, as if she’d just gone out for a morning walk instead of sneaking out of her lover’s bed. She was a grown woman. She didn’t owe her sister an explanation of where she’d been last night.
“I’d ask where you’ve been but I think I already know.”
“It’s none of your business, but I was out with a friend.”
“Since when are you and Aidan friends?” Her sister crossed her arms and glared at Francesca. “And friends don’t stay out all night together.”
“I wasn’t with Aidan,” Francesca lied, more on principle. She had no idea why Felicity would jump to that conclusion, and she didn’t need to know she was right.
“Don’t lie to me,” Felicity said, pushing her tablet across the table to land in front of Francesca. “The Daily Gossip printed a picture of you and Aidan.”
Felicity looked down and her stomach sank. “Oh my God.” Sure enough, the front page of the gossip rag prominently featured a picture of her in Aidan’s lap, kissing him. The headline read “Celebrity chef caught…again. Will he get fired this time?”
“I read the article,” Felicity said. “The reason he was between jobs is that he got fired for screwing the boss’s daughter.”
Francesca scanned the article, in which an unnamed source went into detail about how Aidan had been caught sleeping with the boss’s daughter in his kitchen. To make matters worse, there was a picture of Aidan from a few weeks ago, leaning in and whispering in Pamela Morgana’s ear. The article suggested that Aidan was juggling both women in his bed. Francesca wanted to throw up.
“I know. He told me.” Aidan must be furious. She needed to talk to him as soon as she was done with Felicity.
“He told you? And you slept with him anyway?”
Francesca pushed the tablet back towards her sister. “You know this is garbage, right? They’re just stirring up trouble for sales.”
Felicity flipped the tablet over as if she didn’t want to see the article anymore. “He’s a decade older than you, Frannie,” she said. “Now I regret offering him a permanent job.”
“What? When did you do that?” He hadn’t said anything to her. Probably because he wasn’t going to take it. Her heart sank. She knew the score going into this, yet his rejection stung.
“Last evening. I pulled him aside before service began to let him know I’d like him to consider staying permanently. He’s been getting rave reviews and we could book reservations out months if he stayed. The waiting list for a reservation is in the thousands.”
“I had no idea.”
Felicity’s brows furrowed. “He didn’t tell you, I take it?”
“No, he didn’t. Not yet at least.” She didn’t want to tell her sister that there had been precious little talking last night as their mouths had been otherwise occupied. She and Felicity did not have that kind of sisterly relationship, probably because of the seven-year age difference between them. When Francesca had been younger, Felicity hadn’t been too interested in confiding in her baby sister and when Francesca got older, Felicity was already busy with her career and her friends. At least until their parents died last year.
“That’s not a good sign this thing between you is as great as you think,” Felicity said.
Francesca’s face flushed and she balled her fists at her side. “I’m an adult. I enjoy Aidan’s company. We haven’t made any promises to each other, and I don’t intend to stop seeing him. That article doesn’t change anything. Nor does the job offer.” Except maybe it did make a difference to him. After all, he hadn’t mentioned it.
“You know I care, Frannie,” Felicity began.
“No.” Francesca was done with her sister’s well-meaning meddling. “Just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you get to boss us around. The last year has been hard for all of us, but I’m ready to move on. I found a relationship that makes me happy. Just because you refuse to move on doesn’t mean that we can’t.”
Francesca watched the hurt cross Felicity’s face for an instant, before she schooled her features into her usual impassive expression. “That’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, Felicity. We all lost our parents and had to figure out how to run the winery and grieve all at the same time. Foster found Zoe. I have Aidan. We’re all going to move on eventually. What’s going to happen to you?”
“I have to keep this place running,” Felicity said. “I have to ensure the bills are paid, ensure we have staff to run the winery, that we have a chef in the kitchen of the restaurant.” She glared at Francesca. “Everything depends on me.”
“You don’t have to do it all alone.” Francesca gentled her voice. “You deserve happiness too.”
“I’m happy when you’re all taken care of,” Felicity responded.
“Well, then, be happy because I am. I like Aidan. He understands me. We have fun. I can’t remember the last time I had fun before I met him.”
“It’s not going to last,” Felicity said, and Francesca knew she was right. She wasn’t expecting it to last.
“I know. That’s the point. He’s going back to LA in January. We’re enjoying our time while we can and then we move on.”
“Can you really do that? Move on that easily?”
Francesca never said it would be easy. The more she got to know Aidan, the more she was convinced her heart would never be the same when he left. That was their agreement, though, so she needed to stick with it. She couldn’t exactly ask him to give up his life and move to Harmony. And she never intended to leave Chateau Felicity.
“That’s the arrangement.”
She glared at her sister and Felicity seemed to consider her statement carefully. “I don’t like it, but I suppose I have to accept it. I’m not sure when you grew up, but you are an adult. You get to make your own choices.”
“Thank you,” Francesca said, stepping closer to give her sister a hug. “I’d rather have a short time with Aidan than no time at all.”
“Are you planning to invite him to Christmas?” Chateau Felicity was closed for the holiday so that staff could spend the day with their families. Except Aidan didn’t have anyone to spend the day with.
“I haven’t thought about that, but yes, I will. I’ll ask him tonight.”
“Alright. We’ll have two extra places this year. One for Aidan and one for Zoe.” Their brother, Foster, had fallen for his best friend’s sister last winter. An unexpected match, but they were deliriously happy.
Felicity brightened. “There’s mail for you. It was buried in a catalogue, or I would have given it to you yesterday.” She handed a thin envelope to Francesca.
Francesca’s breath caught. “It’s from the sommelier awards.”
Felicity bounced in her seat. “Open it, already.”
With shaking hands, Francesca carefully opened the seal and slid the single sheet out of the envelope. The paper was heavy stock with the gold emblem representing the award on the letterhead. She took a deep breath then read the letter aloud. “Dear Ms. Dupont, it is a pleasure to inform you that you are the winner of our annual Emerging Sommelier’s Award. Your work is impeccable and shows great promise. We are looking forward to seeing where your career may bring you in the future. You and a guest are cordially invited to the ceremony on January 25 in Paris, France.” The letter went on with more details, but Francesca couldn’t read them through her happy tears.
“I did it!” She held the letter out to Felicity, who read it over before carefully folding it and returning it to the envelope.
Felicity stood up and wrapped Francesca in a hug. Francesca buried her face in her sister’s blond curls just like she did as a child. She cried harder, her tears a mix of frustration at the paparazzi pictures and elation at her award.
“I’m so proud of you, Frannie,” Felicity said.
“Thank you. I’m still in shock. But I have to tell Aidan. This wouldn’t have been possible without his help.”
Felicity nudged her towards the door. “Go, share your good news. I suppose you’ll be bringing him to Paris instead of your big sis?”
Aidan in Paris? Francesca loved the idea but wasn’t sure if Aidan would want to come. After all, he’d be back in LA by then. She wasn’t sure he’d want to travel with his former hookup. For all she knew, he’d have a girlfriend by then.
She’d ask him anyway. She snagged the letter off the table on her way out the door, retracing her steps of just half an hour ago. She couldn’t wait to tell Aidan her good news.