Running From The Flames

Butterflies

Adelaide walked sleepily from the bedroom until she saw Pierre, then she rushed across the room and barrelled into his legs. "Hi Pear!"

"Bonjour, princesse," he greeted as he picked her up.

She was quick to steal the blue and white Alpine from his head and flopped it over hers until it swamped her dark curls to hang over her eyes with a giggle.

"You'll be lucky if you ever get that back now," I warned as I went to the kitchen and cut up some fruit for her. She had quite a collection of memorabilia from when we visited Kelly and Max but her favourite was a Mercedes cap she bribed from Lewis with a half eaten raw carrot when we went to Brackley for the day because my dad had a meeting and it had been months since we last saw him in person.

"You can have that one, I have lots of them," Pierre said as he straightened the hat and met me at the table so Addie could sit and eat.

"What do you say, sweetheart?"

She shoved a handful of mango into her mouth but it didn't stop her from turning to Pierre and saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied with a suppressed laugh.

Addie picked up a slice of apple and offered it to Pierre, pouting when he politely declined. "Share, please," she said as she lifted it closer to his lips. She laughed triumphantly as she guilt tripped him into eating the piece and I shook my head with a laugh. "Don't like apples."

"But they are good for you," I reminded her as I walked past and bent over the back of Pierre's seat so I could whisper, "She played you like a violin."

"I happen to like apples, so it was a win-win," he replied with a cheeky grin and shared a high five with Addie. "Don't eat too much, we are going out to a special dinner and I know there will be lots of desserts."

Addie pushed the plate away and scrambled away from the table to go back to the bedroom. Pierre looked a little confused by the abrupt departure but just as quick as she left she came back with her suitcase dragging behind her.

"We aren't going to dinner right now, sweetheart," I said when she unzipped the bag and started rifling through the clothes until she found a purple dress covered with butterflies.

She held the dress up to her and twirled around the room, the colour making her ice blue eyes pop brightly. "Can I wear this?"

"Yes, but find a jacket for when it gets colder." She wasn't impressed with the idea of a jacket and instead ran off to the room to get dressed.

"She's very independent," Pierre commented as I took a seat beside him at the table.

I snorted a laugh thinking he didn't know the half of it before covering my mouth at the unladylike sound. "Oh god," I mumbled as I covered my face but Pierre just grinned when he pulled my hands away.

"Don't be embarrassed," he chuckled, "it's cute."

"Just pretend you never heard it," I begged and he draped an arm over the back of my chair with an innocent look on his face.

"Heard what?"

I sighed gratefully and sent him a smile as the flames on my cheeks receded. "Thank you."

"Do you want to go for a drive before we head to the boat?" he asked after checking the time on his phone.

"Boat?" I questioned, looking down at the thin material of the dress I wore. "The team dinner is on a boat?"

"It's a big one," he confirmed, thinking I was worried it was going to be a small dinghy. I completely forgot about getting changed into something warmer when Addie came running back into the room, barely missing the doorframe in her haste.