Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Luc
S he was stunning.
Literally.
It felt like I’d been tazed as I walked in the door and took in her legs revealed under the flounce of her dress and the way it traced her curves… she could turn eyes on a normal day in her casual attire at work, so when she put in all this effort to be even more alluring? I was doomed.
And I’d nearly kissed her, which would’ve been both insane, and the worst way to break a promise. I’d told her I wouldn’t kiss her until she asked me to, but damn did I hope she’d decide she wanted to ask me before all of this was over.
Something inside me sank at the thought, but I pushed that slump away. Right now, before I got confused about what this was, we needed to discuss what she should expect. Aurelie had sent me a text this evening reminding me I needed to be honest about who our grandfather was, and I planned to do just that.
“Should we sit?” she asked, fidgeting with her fingers and turning toward the living room.
“Sure,” I said, determined to sit on the chair and not next to her on the couch. I’d want to touch her, and being knee to knee with her golden bare skin revealed by the skirt of her dress was not the right choice.
“My grandfather already?—”
“I met your sister?—”
“You what?” I asked, not sure I’d heard her correctly since we’d both spoken.
She tucked some hair behind one ear. “Your sister and her husband came to the shop today.”
Aurelie had said nothing about meeting Elise, the little snake. “And… what did you think?”
Her face split into a wide smile. “They were lovely. I mean, physically beautiful, obviously, but they were so nice and Michele is…”
I laughed. “That said it all. Michele is!” I widened my eyes. “He actually reminds me a lot of Kenny. He’s the Italian Kenny if Kenny had been raised a spoiled rich kid but found his heart when he met my sister.”
“Aw, that’s adorable. They were so sweet together. They really seem to adore each other.”
I loved that she’d seen that in what had to have been a fairly quick interaction. I had no desire for such desperate love after watching my father grieve, but I was glad Aurelie had found it. Especially since she’d wanted it. She had her head on straight and if something should happen, I wouldn’t let her lose herself like our father had. But that wouldn’t happen to her.
And it wouldn’t happen to me because I’d never put myself in the position to let it.
Because this… whatever this growing, blooming thing between me and Elise was? It was just for now. She didn’t want anything for longer, so it made us a perfect match while it lasted.
Elise’s expression turned thoughtful, but she didn’t offer anything else.
“What are you thinking? Are you concerned?” The last thing I wanted was for her to want to bow out of this tentative agreement but feel obligated.
“After meeting them, I can’t help wondering if maybe you should consider getting to know whoever your grandfather chose for you. If they’re anything like Michele, it might be worth exploring.”
“I appreciate the thought, but no.” I had nothing else to say on the matter, nor would I. I didn’t want that version of a marriage, and I couldn’t imagine wanting anyone else besides—well. I couldn’t imagine wanting anyone else.
Perhaps this was the juvenile response, but at this point, I was in it. Plus there was the matter of the trust being dangled like a carrot, the goalpost moving every time my grandfather lost his patience or disagreed with my choices. That had to stop, if nothing else changed.
She nodded ever so slightly, but didn’t speak again, so I pushed into what I needed to discuss.
“My grandfather believes we got engaged last week, so it’s new. He’ll likely be dismissive of you or even both of us, definitely of the fact that we’re engaged. He may even ignore you entirely. Please know that whatever happens, his behavior reflects poorly on him and means nothing about you.” I hoped with everything in me she knew this. “I have to warn you that he’s probably looked into your life to some degree. He may be quite pointed with how he speaks about your eligibility, to use an awful, outdated term.”
I hated the reality of those words, but they were true. Kenny was right—she needed to have some amount of notice this could be brutal.
She inhaled slowly as though steeling herself. “I hear your concern and I want you to know, I’m not worried about what some man I’ve never met thinks of me.” She laughed softly. “Easy to say, I know. But I’m mentally preparing knowing he’s not happy about us. Plus, I’ll never even see him again after this week, right?”
Her statement should’ve made me feel better, but it didn’t. It was an easy claim to make, as she said, but knowing how vicious my grandfather could be when he wasn’t getting his way, I worried. The niggling suspicion that something bigger was barreling toward me—toward us—sat heavy in my gut. Maybe I never should’ve asked her. Still, she was right. Why should she care what Gérard Devereaux thought?
“True enough. And we’ll have Aurelie and Michele there to draw his attention away from us.”
She stood and reached out a hand, which I took as I rose to face her.
“You seem very nervous, and I just want to say I’m nervous, too, but not to be next to you. I’m proud to do that. And I’ll do whatever I can to play the doting fiancée with hearts in her eyes.” She squeezed my hand.
“Thank you.” I inched closer, drawn to her. “I should end all of this, but I can’t. Even though it’s so stupid, thank you for being with me. Thank you for… letting me claim you as my own for a little while.”
As though the words became a spell once spoken, I felt them wrap around my heart and knot into a bow.
Claim you as my own.
I’d never said such a thing nor had I wanted such a thing, but the ache, the squeeze in my chest, hinted at a deeper truth I couldn’t look in the eye right now.
“It’s my honor,” she said, soft and so generous.
A buzz on my watch alerted me to the time and broke the spell. “Time to go. Ready?”
She smiled and reached for a small clutch and the keys sitting atop it.
“ Allons-y.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were escorted into a private room at the Silver Ridge Resort’s finest restaurant. It was the only truly fine dining place in town, but most people preferred the more casual options sprinkled around Silverton. We entered the small room to find a round table set for five and my grandfather, Aurelie, and Michele already seated.
“There you are,” Aurelie said and instantly stood to greet us. She kissed my cheeks, then Elise’s, and Michele did the same.
I approached my grandfather, who’d risen to his feet and stood quietly after buttoning his suit jacket with one hand.
“Good evening, Grand-père. This is my fiancée, Elise.” I settled my palm against her back in a gesture I hoped she would read as one of support as she held out her hand.
I held my breath, waiting to see how he’d respond. It wouldn’t have been altogether shocking if he had simply looked past her, but instead, he took her hand and bowed deeply over it to press a kiss there. “Lovely to meet you, Elise.”
“Thank you. I’m so glad to meet you, too, Mr. Devereaux.”
Grand-père released her hand, and she gracefully sat in the chair I pulled out for her. I would’ve preferred to have her next to Aurelie, or even Michele, but after that almost effusive greeting, I had hopes he might be on his best behavior.
I wasn’t giving him the benefit of the doubt here, but I hadn’t been able to do that in so long. Since my mother passed, at least. He’d grown harder, and of course our relationship had gone from loving to strained to nearly nonexistent in the years since then.
That could all change.
It could. But first, we’d have to get through this dinner.
Once we were all seated, a waiter arrived with menus and we all talked with him while looking at it. He returned with a bottle of red wine he opened tableside and poured a splash for my grandfather who tasted it, sloshing it around and letting it roll over the sides of his tongue like a true connoisseur, and then nodded. The waiter poured the wine into pre-set glasses and we ordered.
Aurelie and Michele dominated the conversation, blessedly chatting about all manner of things happening in their lives. They were redoing a wing of the historic home they lived in now, each finding the process grueling. My grandfather spoke up to add his memory of renovating while my grandmother had been pregnant with my father, and how he could still smell the way the paint had permeated everything and made my grandmother sick.
I hadn’t heard him speak about her, let alone any fond familiar memories, in years. Had he gone through some major life event in the last eighteen hours and decided not to invite Odette here? It seemed so at odds with the way he was almost jovially talking with Aurelie and Michele and occasionally sending winks to Elise.
“What did your parents do, Elise?” Grand-père asked.
And here it came. I’d thought it too soon.
Elise finished chewing a bite and dabbed the corner of her mouth with her napkin before smiling. The expression would likely seem lovely to anyone who didn’t know her well, but there was no ignoring the strain around her eyes.
“I never knew my father, and my mother has primarily been a homemaker.”
She gently cleared her throat and shifted in her seat—just enough to send my pulse up a notch. We hadn’t talked much about her family, and I was kicking myself for that. Of course my grandfather would want to know her lineage, almost like a collector would demand the provenance of a painting. It was a sick thought, but accurate, and I had no doubt he’d done the same thing with my mother. I’d warned her he’d look into her past, but somehow asking her here at dinner, as though he didn’t know, seemed particularly awful.
I had asked her—we’d broached the topic of family during our dinner at Guac, and it’d been obvious she didn’t like talking about this. I hadn’t wanted to be a mercenary jerk and push too much at the time. It wasn’t the wrong move, but only my grandfather would make me pay for trying to be a gentleman.
“Interesting. And how did she engineer such a lifestyle for herself without your father?” He nudged a little slide of wagyu filet mignon onto his fork and raised it to his mouth.
Aurelie saved me from throttling him right there.
“Grand-père, what are you saying? How rude!” She set her fork down and the genuine outrage on her face would’ve cowed a lesser man.
He, however, flicked a wrist. “It is a question worth asking, is it not?”
I felt paralyzed with a slimy sensation of disbelief, disappointment, and regret. I should never have done this. I should’ve been man enough to say no to my grandfather, or to play his games while he visited and let the woman down privately. Whatever the case, it shouldn’t have been this—putting Elise on the spot.
“I understand why you’d ask. I hope you’ll respect my choice not to elucidate my mother’s choices when they are not my own.”
My head snapped to Elise, and she set her napkin at the side of her plate.
“If you’ll excuse me for a moment,” she said and rose.
Michele, Grand-père, and I all stood. I tried to catch her eye, but she wouldn’t look at me. She walked with confidence out the door of the small room, and I whirled on my grandfather.
“How dare you ask such a thing? Why would that matter? How is that appropriate for a first meeting?” I wanted to take him by the collar of his bespoke suit and shake him.
No charming affect slipped into place now that she was gone.
“I voiced what I needed to. She’s a gold-digger and I could see it a mile away. I’m shocked you couldn’t, but maybe it’s because you’re being led around by your?—”
“I’ll go check on her,” Aurelie said, cutting off Grand-père’s crass words.
“Thank you.” I watched Aurelie exit and turned to the man who felt so much like a stranger. “You’ll apologize for being rude when she gets back.”
Only a slight head shake, as though he couldn’t be bothered to execute the full gesture. “ Non . I will not, Jean-Luc. It is time you come to terms with reality.”