Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Nicolette
It was a risk, taking the talisman. I knew that it was.
I also knew that if Fabien had had the chance, that’s exactly what he would have done.
Instead, he chose me.
I may never fully understand why I’m so special to him. Why I matter to him the way that I do. But sometimes, we don’t need to fully understand something to accept it as truth. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Fabien loves me.
I knew then, when he tossed me over his shoulder like the caveman he is and ran with me, that he’d given up what mattered to him… for me.
Bringing Savannah to me… means the world to me. I never dreamed he would do something like that.
Fabien looks at me and reaches for my hand as we head inside a nearby hotel to meet up with Savannah.
“Do you know what the Emperor Napoleon used to say?”
“I’m told he said lots of things,” I say teasingly. It seems he hero-worships Napoleon, which is kind of cute… in a hot guy mafia sort of way. Even tough guys like him have their boyish moments.
He opens the door. “Impossible n’est pas francais.”
“Impossible isn’t French?”
“Right. It doesn’t mean that nothing is impossible for the French people. It means that impossible isn’t in the French language.”
“Ah. So a general statement indicating we can do whatever we set our minds to, like a sort of old-fashioned motivational wall poster, with a touch of patriotism.”
Fabien snorts. “Exactly.”
I open my mouth to say something witty or intellectual that will spark his eyes with that light that makes my heart beat faster—when I see her.
My sister, pacing the sprawling, well-furnished lobby of this luxury hotel while gesturing with her hands, talking to a man in a suit. My heart turns over. She’s so beautiful and precious, and I love her so.
Taller than I am by a few inches, Savannah’s willowy and delicate.
Her mane of wild, formerly strawberry-blonde curls, now a shocking shade of highlighter pink, is piled on the top of her head in a precarious bun.
And what happened to her glasses? She stares at me with wide, brilliant hazel eyes, for about two seconds before she squeals.
“Oh my God! Oh, I missed you so so so much!”
I brace myself so she doesn’t knock me over when she runs at me full force and slams into me with a hug so big she takes my breath away.
“Savannah,” I manage to croak while Fabien looks on with concern, likely trying to decide if he needs to extricate me so I can breathe again. “I missed you, too.”
When she releases me, we both talk at once.
“What happened to your hair?”
“I just got here! Did you see the free mints in the bowl up there? And the appetizer tray? And the champagne?”
“It’s pink! Your hair is pink! And no, I just got here.”
“It is, my roommate dyed it before I left! I’m done, I did all my classes as fast as I could, and it took some serious pulling of strings and almost killed me but I survived.”
“What happened to your glasses?”
“Contacts!”
Fabien clears his throat. We finally both stop chattering and look over at him. It isn’t until then that I realize people are staring, not just at me and Savannah but him.
“Can I suggest a more private place to catch up?”
Savannah stares at him for a few seconds, before she looks back at me and says in a whisper obviously loud enough for everyone to hear, “Is this your mafia guy? You did not tell me he looked like that.”
“Savannah!” I hiss. “Hush.”
Fabien’s lips twitch. The man she was talking to, apparently someone who works for him, stands as still as a statue and doesn’t say a thing. Fabien walks over to him and they speak in hushed tones before he turns to her.
“Fabien, meet Savannah. Savannah, Fabien. Savannah, Fabien’s the one responsible for flying you out here.”
She lets me go long enough to throw herself bodily at him and give him a huge hug. He looks a bit bewildered before he finally pats her back awkwardly. “Nice to meet you.”
I laugh out loud and take a moment to appreciate this—the two people I care about most in the entire world, right here, where I can reach out and touch them.
Safe. Secure. No more pressure of a job to complete or a bill to pay or anything other than the peaceful knowledge that for now… all is well. My heart swells.
Fabien hasn’t gotten to the bottom of the attacks on his family, but I get the feeling that it’s pretty normal for him. And while I have mixed feelings about who he is, and what his family does, I’ve learned enough through my own experiences to know—life is very rarely a picture-perfect postcard.
We eat a luxurious dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Savannah doesn’t miss the way waitstaff hovers, prepared to meet Fabien’s every demand. When Fabien excuses himself to take a call, she leans in and whispers in my ear, “Is there something I should know? He really is mafia?”
“Yeah, but maybe let’s not talk about it here?”
I have a lot to tell her. I don’t know if I ever want her to know what I did for work at La Maison or how I earned the money I did, but I’ll see where we take it from here.
“I have something to show you,” I whisper.
I pull out my phone and open my banking app.
I log in and click on the little icon that shows me my balance.
I get a little choked up looking at the numbers.
I never imagined I would own this much money.
I never let myself dream I’d be able to make our dreams come true with ease.
I show the phone to Savannah.
I watch as she stares, unblinking. Eyes widening. Her hand covers her mouth to stifle a gasp before she looks at me.
My own eyes well with tears at the sight of hers.
“Do I want to know what you did to earn that money?”
I laugh out loud.
“Do I want to know how you pulled strings to graduate early?”
“Well… hmm. Maybe it’s okay to not reveal everything sometimes, isn’t it?”
Oh, thank God. I grin at her. “I would agree. Now what do you want to buy first?”
“Well, obviously le gateau au chocolat. I don’t know much French, but something tells me that has chocolate and I’ll be learning a lot more French soon.”
“No, no, I don’t mean from the menu.” The waiter takes our dessert order and quietly leaves as Fabien joins us. “I mean… like, bigger than that.”
“Well, that depends,” she says softly, sitting up straighter. Fabien sits next to me. “What do you two have planned?”
We look at each other. Ever the gentleman, Fabien leans in and kisses my cheek. “Tell her.”
“We’re getting married,” I say gently.
I don’t know what to expect—shock? Hurt? But no. Her smile broadens in approval. Joy bubbles in her laugh as she shakes her head and stares at me in wonder.
“Of course you are. I’ve never seen you so happy.”
Me… happy? She’s right.
Happy.
Savannah leans in, whispering, “Does that make you a mafia princess or something?”
“Ugh,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m not the princess type.”
Fabien sips his wine. “We’ll see about that.”
For some reason, that strikes Savannah as outrageously funny. She hoots with laughter, drawing the attention of several nearby tables. “Oh, and I am so happy I will be around to see that!”
My cheeks warm, before her words catch up to me. “Do you mean… are you saying…”
I look to Fabien. Placing his glass on the table, he folds his hands in front of him. “I’ll go where you go,” he says.
“But Fabien, your family—”
“Are there not planes? Trains?”
“And automobiles?” Savannah supplies. “Not to mention, teleconferences and smartphones? Hmm?” Her eyes dance at me.
I think about it. We have to discuss it, of course, but I can’t help but wonder…
“We have no home in America,” I tell Fabien. “Savannah’s done with school, so… I mean, we have no place to go home to.”
“We could live in Paris,” he says thoughtfully, stroking his chin. He blows out a breath. “We might… want a little break from Corsica.”
I definitely want a break from Corsica.
Savannah pauses, a forkful of chocolate cake halfway to her mouth. “Did you say Paris?” she whispers.
“Yes, Paris,” I say on a laugh. “You know, north of here? The capital of France?”
“Would you… could you… Oh my God, we could!”
“We could. We could travel the world. We could… well, we could do damn near anything.”
I don’t tell Savannah and may never, but my mind immediately conjures up that closet full of passports and disguises… I’m not exactly sure I want to take up a life of crime, but we could definitely have some fun.
I smile and sigh with contentment. “We’ll have fun discussing our options.” I look to Fabien. “Could we show her your family home in Paris?”
Fabien reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Mon amour,” he says. “Of course. Our home is your home. Your sister is welcome, of course.”
Savannah blinks. “Alright, then.”
“What?” I ask her.
“I can see why you fell for him, crime and all.”
I shake my head. Fabien chuckles. “Have I mentioned she has no filter?”
He shrugs. “Filters are a waste of time.”
Savannah nods. “Yup, I like this guy. And as much as I’m enjoying the hell out of seeing you again, I have to admit I’m exhausted. I think I just need a nap.”
Jet lag will catch up to her, and if I know her, she was probably not sleeping regularly before she came here.
“You’re staying here?”
“I am,” she says in a singsong voice. “And it’s literally like a movie set, so excuse me while I take a shower in something the size of a small country, tinkle, and use the bidet.”
“Savannah,” I groan. Fabien hasn’t stopped smiling.
When she takes her leave, we rise from the table.
“Take a walk with me?” he asks.
“I’d like that.” I have questions and concerns and a host of things on my mind I want to talk to him about.
It fills me with a joyful expectancy to know… there’s no time limit.
It’s just me and him and a lifetime ahead of us.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“Thought we’d take a little trip to the bookstore. You know. Where it all began.”
We walk hand in hand down the streets of Corsica. On our way back to where we had our first conversation.
Where my heart first began to beat in time with his.
Where it all began.