One Summer in Paris(114)

He’d given her comfort and reassurance but hadn’t tried to take advantage of her vulnerability by addressing their own personal issues. He’d kept the focus on Sophie.

Underneath it all, he was still a kind person.

And she did believe that he loved her.

Grace noticed the woman sent David another lingering glance and felt suddenly possessive. Was that ridiculous? Yes, it probably was in the circumstances.

He used to be all hers. He could be all hers again if that was what she wanted.

But was it what she wanted?

Could she see what he’d done as human rather than unforgivable?

She sipped her coffee and listened while Sophie told them about an amazing pizza they’d eaten in Florence, and how the gelato was the best anywhere.

David was mildly amused that Sophie’s focus was on food when Florence was all about art and culture. They all reminisced about a vacation they’d had in New York where all Sophie remembered was the pizza.

They were a family again. It had been such a long time since they’d sat around a table and laughed together like this.

She’d missed it.

“Did Mimi have lunch in her room?”

“Yes. And she has gone to the bookshop to see it for herself.”

Grace put her cup down. “I was going to take her! I would have taken her today.”

“I told her that, but she insisted.”

“It’s true,” Sophie said, jumping to her father’s defense. “You know what Mimi is like. When she wants to do something, she does it. She doesn’t care what anyone thinks.”

Why had Mimi gone to the bookshop alone?

Why hadn’t she waited for Grace?

“I don’t like to think of my elderly grandmother traveling alone in a cab, that’s all.”

“She wasn’t alone,” David said. “I went with her to make sure she arrived safely and that the place was open. I waited in the cab until she went inside, then I came back here and met Sophie in the restaurant. I’m going back to pick her up in two hours.”

He’d gone with her grandmother in the cab.

That was so typical of David. Grace felt a pressure in her chest and a thickening in her throat.

“Thank you.” Her voice sounded husky. “Thank you for doing that.”

She’d been working so hard to find a way to stop loving him, and now she realized she never had. Even hurt and angry, she hadn’t stopped loving him.

But could she ever trust him again? Could she trust anyone again?

She didn’t know.





Mimi


The bookshop hadn’t changed at all. It was like stepping back in time. There was the same smell of dust and leather and the cool shade that offered respite from the relentless Paris heat.

She knew every nook and cranny.

“Bonjour.” An elegant woman stepped forward with a smile, and Mimi assumed this must be Elodie.

She introduced herself in French and explained that she used to come here when she lived in Paris and would like to look around a little.

Elodie was gracious and charming and offered to make tea, but Mimi wasn’t in the mood to chat.

She wanted to see the place that had stayed in her mind all her life.

It was time to admit that she hadn’t made this trip for David. She hadn’t even done it for Grace. She’d done it for herself.

She walked slowly from room to room, remembering.

It was where they’d met, although ironically, she hadn’t come here for the books. She’d been taking photos of Paris, trying to capture the reality of daily life.

She’d been perched on a ladder, angling her camera at one of the high shelves, trying to capture the spirit of this bookstore. It was like a time capsule, an oasis of calm in a world of chaos. She’d leaned a little too far and would have fallen if it hadn’t been for him.

He’d caught her, his hands on her waist, and lifted her down as if she’d weighed nothing.

Her bulky camera had swung and hit him in the jaw, but he’d laughed as he set her on her feet.

She’d had many affairs, but only one love affair. It had been the single most terrifying thing she’d ever experienced.

She’d had plans. So many plans, and she’d known right from the first touch of his hands that this was something that could stop all of them. If she let it continue, there would be no more adventures.

The clanging of the bell signaled another visitor and yanked her from the past.

Mimi blinked and almost lost her balance.

Why had she come here? What had she been thinking? It was like sticking a knife in a wound.

There had been so many times when she’d wondered how her life might have looked if she’d made different choices.

She turned, intending to leave. And there he was. Standing there.

For a moment she assumed her mind had conjured him up. That her memories were so vivid they seemed real.

But then he took a step toward her. “Mimi?” His voice was hoarse. “Mimi?”

Dizziness swamped her. She reached out and clutched the nearest bookshelf.

“Antoine.”

She wasn’t even sure how she got there, but somehow she was in his arms and it was as if they’d never been parted. He still hugged the same way. He even smelled the same.

Her cheeks were wet. She might have been crying, or maybe it was him.