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

“If I admit a commitment, would that make a mess of it for good?”


“I don’t think it’d make a mess of it for good. It might reveal you to be an old fool, though. I don’t mean to, but I always disappoint people who want a commitment from me. I get bored. I get restless. I get annoyed. I don’t want to do that to you.”


Alain laughed. “If I haven’t driven you away at this point, I don’t know what I could possibly do to make it happen. There’s a reason you’re my oldest friend. I think that reason is exactly why we’d be so good together.”


Simon finished his wine and reached for the bottle, before reconsidering and pushing the bottle aside. “I…I’ve got some thinking to do, yet. I should probably turn in for the night.”


With a nod, Alain rose. “That’s probably wise for both of us. Especially if you’re going to make me get up at such an ungodly hour again.”


Simon stood and gathered the glasses. “Of course I am. We want to make the most of the festivities, don’t we?”


Chapter 20