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And he’d been honest with her, too. They’d talked a lot about his situation at home.
“Family is a weird, complicated thing.” She snuggled closer. “Do you think your parents will get a divorce?”
“I truly hope so. In the meantime, I feel bad for my two sisters who are still living there. Adults think that their problems don’t affect us, as if somehow their lives are separate from ours.” He spoke quietly. “They think all they have to do is close a door, or speak in a whisper, and we won’t know what’s going on. But all that does is stop us from feeling we can talk to them, because we’re not supposed to know and we’re playing along with that. And we can’t tell anyone else because that feels like a betrayal, so we’re stuck handling it by ourselves and that sucks.”
She slid her hand over his chest. “It does suck, but right now it doesn’t suck anywhere near as much as it did before because we can share it.”
“That’s true. And because of that I am going to the villa tonight, to spend two days with my mother and sisters. I want to check on them. I’ve asked Elodie, and she is going to cover afternoons at the bookstore. I’ll be back on Friday.” He shifted so that he could look at her. “I’m sorry, Audie. Are you okay with it?”
“Of course.” She’d miss him, of course, but she wasn’t going to be selfish. And she liked the fact he wanted to be there for his family. “I wish I could come with you, but there is no way Elodie would give me time off, and anyway I don’t want to leave Grace right now. What time are you leaving?”
“I’ll get the last flight out tonight. I have another two hours before I need to leave for the airport.”
“I have a good idea how we could use those two hours.”
He grinned and leaned down to kiss her. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was only a couple of days. That was nothing. And in that time maybe she’d learn some more French. Surprise him.
“Call me. Tell me how you are. All of it, not just the good stuff.”
That was what a real relationship was, wasn’t it? Sharing all of it. Good and bad.
She’d felt alone for most of her life, but now she had Etienne and also Grace.
And she knew she was lucky. Maybe that was one positive thing about going through bad stuff. You knew good stuff when you saw it.
She thought it again when she waved him off to get the last flight, and savored the good stuff as she lay down on top of the bed and listened to the sounds of Paris at night.
The bad stuff came at three in the morning when her phone rang.
It was Ron.
Grace
“Grace?”
Grace blinked and realized she hadn’t heard a word Philippe was saying. She’d been thinking about David. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
She’d met him in his apartment after the concert, and he was still wearing his white dress shirt although the sleeves were rolled back and the neck was undone. His formal black trousers skimmed his lean hips and his feet were bare.
He looked handsome and lethally sexy.
A few nights ago
she would have grabbed him and suggested they forget about food, but everything was different now.
“I was telling you about my concert tour in Budapest and Prague. I was inviting you to join me. Are you going to dress that salad or just stare at it?”
Salad?
She’d forgotten she was supposed to be dressing the salad. “Sorry. I was miles away.”
“Yes. I see that.” He studied her for a moment and then turned his attention back to the steaks. “You can come to the concerts, of course, and during the day when I’m not practicing I can show you the cities.”
Budapest. Prague.
As she made a vinaigrette dressing she tried to picture it, but David kept nudging his way into her thoughts.
She pushed him out again and instead thought about being with Philippe, strolling across the Charles Bridge.
