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

Simon wasn’t worried about losing the wager—not that the terms of the bet were necessarily unpleasant—because he didn’t think he would give in to temptation. For one thing, Simon had already checked out and dismissed most of the young men in the village. For another thing, he had long ago learned how to control his desires so they served him instead of the other way around. He had seen too many men lose their homes, or families, or jobs, simply because they were slaves to their more base impulses.


Chapter 9