For more than a decade, renowned chef Alain Tiessart has been married to his restaurant, driven to make it one of the finest in Paris. But time is slipping away. Lonely and ready for a change, he packs up his bags on one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year and drives into the French countryside.<br><br>Retired Brit Simon Hastings is prepared to spend Bastille Day as he always does -- quietly and alone. When his oldest friend arrives on his doorstep prepared to spend the next few days together, Simon is surprised but welcomes him in. He’s even more surprised when Alain suggests they move their relationship to a deeper one.<br><br>Unwilling to jeopardize their friendship, Simon turns him down, a decision Alain accepts gracefully. Until a friendly bet and an eager young man cast Alain in a new light. Now, Simon doesn’t know what he wants. Or who ...

Vintage

Five days. A lot could happen in just five, short days. 2


The meal was good, and the wine was excellent, but the company was better, in Simon’s opinion. Alain politely ate his entire portion and made the appropriate compliments, though they both knew Alain would have been able to work magic, and Simon was only merely competent. But that didn’t matter to Alain. For all of his accomplishments and his taste in the finer things, he wasn’t a snob. Which was why Simon liked him so much from the moment they met. Alain lacked pretension


Simon poured the last of their first bottle of wine into Alain’s glass, leaning over the table to let the dark liquid splash against the bottom. Simon frowned and set the empty bottle aside. “I could go get the other one, if you’d like.”


Alain shook his head. “Let’s save it a little bit. We can drink it under the stars instead of clearing up.” He smiled as he lifted his glass, momentarily transforming his wolfish features. “I’m on vacation, after all.”


Chapter 4