It’s winter at The Vineyard in Alsace, and wedding bells are in the air How do you know when you’re ready for love? Ellie Robinson has spent her life running from commitment following the breakdown of her parents’ marriage when she was young. She doesn’t believe in happy ever afters and the last thing she wants is to settle down in one place when she could be travelling the world.
Having moved from place to place throughout his childhood, Henri Weiss now calls the vineyard in Alsace home, and he loves the stability the vineyard and the people on it give him . While he enjoys travelling, it’s always good to come home again.
Following an extended travelling trip together, Ellie and Henri find their differences more marked than before, despite their love for each other being even stronger. Then a series of shocks in Ellie’s personal life throws things into turmoil, leaving Ellie unsure as to how to get everything she wants. And Henri facing the loss of the future he has dreamed of.
Can Ellie and Henri reconcile their very different desires and take a leap of faith on their love for each other? Will they get the happy ever after they’ve both been longing for? Escape to The Vineyard in Alsace once again for this uplifting, romantic read and enjoy Christmas at Domaine des Montagnes.
This extract is from the end of Chapter 3 of A Leap of Faith at the Vineyard in Alsace. Henri and Ellie are still settling back in at the vineyard after being on their travels for five months. While Henri couldn’t wait to return, Ellie was less keen and he’s been struggling to find something for her to do. He goes to see Sylvie , who has been like a mother to him since he settled on the vineyard after the death of his parents.
Henri
Sylvie had called that afternoon to ask Henri to come over after work so she could hear all about his travels . He was looking forward to catching up with his old friend. Having known Sylvie for a large part of his adult life, since she’d taken him in with her husband when his parents had died, he’d missed seeing her while they were away.
It was a bit of a walk to Sylvie’s new place, but he relished the thought of some fresh air after being in the office all afternoon. It had grown chilly as he left the office and was starting to get dark, but he was wrapped up against it. He tucked his chin down into his woollen scarf as he walked back through the village. He nodded hello to several people he knew on the way, enjoying being back in the community he had lived in for so long. After all the years he’d spent moving around from place to place as a child, it had been such a relief to call somewhere home, and he was experiencing the same strength of feeling now. This community was where he belonged, and though he’d enjoyed travelling with Ellie, he couldn’t deny how much happier he felt to be back again.
But her sense of adventure had been good for him while they’d been travelling, and despite his fears, he’d enjoyed himself. If only he could do the same for her and show her that the things that were important to him could be good for her as well.
‘Ah, Henri, mon cher. Que c’est bon de te revoir .’ Sylvie pulled him into her arms and kissed him three times to emphasise how much she’d missed him.
‘It’s good to see you, too , Sylvie,’ he replied, hugging her back.
He followed her down the hallway to the kitchen where they always seemed to settle.
‘How’s everything with you and Frédéric?’ he asked, taking a seat at the kitchen counter while Sylvie bustled about, making drinks and taking a couple of sweet tarts from the oven, which she’d bought from the boulangerie. ‘Things are good, Henri. I’m enjoying sharing my life with someone else again even though I thought I’d miss my old cottage and all the things I did there.’ She smiled at him and he was glad to see her so happy. ‘He’s out meeting a friend so we can have a good old chat. I’ve missed you while you’ve been away. Ellie said you had a wonderful time though.’ ‘It was amazing,’ Henri said. ‘I didn’t ever expect to enjoy it so much, but the places we saw, and all the experiences that Ellie introduced me to, were so different to my normal life that I couldn’t help but have a good time. Still, I’m happy to be back . I missed home and all of you, too.’
Sylvie reached out and patted his hand. ‘It’s great to have you back, my boy, but you’ve had an experience you will never forget, thanks to Ellie. She seemed really well when I saw her earlier.’
Henri hesitated, not knowing what to say to that, but when Sylvie looked worried, he plunged in. ‘She’s fine now she’s got something to focus on, but she’s not as happy as I am to be back here.’
Sylvie put a cup of coffee down in front of him and took a seat opposite. ‘She did mention that to me, but she didn’t dwell on it. This blog will help her to get out and about in the village and to see why we all love it here so much.’‘I hope so, but it’s going to take time for her to fit back in and to stop feeling so restless.’ ‘Ellie’s a free spirit, Henri . I have no doubt she loves you, though, and wants to be with you.’
‘And that’s part of the problem . We do love each other, but we want different things. She’s already started talking about where she’d like to travel to next.’ ‘Try not to worry about it too much, Henri. She’s just different to you and she’s going to need time to get used to being here again after the freedom she’s had for the last five months. She’ll get there eventually.’
Henri sighed. ‘I know you’re right, and that’s what I’ve said to her myself, but you know me, I can’t help worrying about everything.’ He paused, unsure whether to talk to Sylvie about the estate’s finances, but she sensed his concern anyway. ‘Have you looked through the books since you’ve been back?’ she asked quietly. ‘I have, and I can’t tell you how upset I was when I realised the full extent of the situation. I’m so sorry, Sylvie, that things have come to this.‘We haven’t had such a bad harvest for many years.
It’s devastating when it happens both for cash flow and for morale. But we’ve come back from such disasters before and we’ll do so again.’ Sylvie’s wise, old face had taken on a determined look that Henri had seen many times before.
AUTHOR BIO
Julie Stock writes contemporary feel-good romance from around the world: novels, novellas and short stories. She published her debut novel, From Here to Nashville, in 2015, after starting to write as an escape from the demands of her day job as a teacher. A Leap of Faith at the Vineyard in Alsace is her eleventh book, and the third in the Domaine des Montagnes series set on a vineyard.
Julie is now a full-time author, and loves every minute of her writing life. When not writing, she can be found reading, her favourite past-time, running, a new hobby, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen, glass of wine in hand.
Julie is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and The Society of Authors. She is married and lives with her family in Cambridgeshire in the UK.
Social Media Links –
Website - https://julie-stock.co.uk/
Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/wood_beez48
Purchase Links
A Leap of Faith - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09BZTLDPY?geniuslink=true
The 3 book series page https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089QQM6J3?ref_=dbs_p_mng_rwt_ser_shvlr&geniuslink=true
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Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog today, Nicki. I really appreciate it :)
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