One Summer in Paris(93)

“No one has ever dragged me anywhere in my life.” Mimi shifted on the bed. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she didn’t want to be in the middle. “I’m here because I wanted to come.”

She’d thought she might be able to support Grace, but her granddaughter didn’t look like a woman who needed support. Where was the woman who had sobbed into her lap a few months before?

Grace took her hand, ignoring David. “Are you feeling unwell? Should I fetch you a doctor?”

“I don’t need a doctor. I just need a little time to recover from the flight, that’s all. If you could order me some tea, I’ll drink it here while you two have a chat.”

“I’m not leaving you, Mimi. Whatever it is David wants to say can wait.” The strength in her made Mimi both relieved and scared. Relieved for Grace. Scared for David.

Mimi didn’t know this version of Grace.

She had a feeling David didn’t know her, either, which could only mean trouble ahead.





Grace


Grace stared at David across the hotel room, derailed by her emotions. She hadn’t expected to feel like this. She didn’t want to feel like this.

She’d missed him. She’d missed him so much.

Hearing him on the end of the phone had been a shock. Seeing him in person was an even greater shock. She’d managed to push him out of her mind, or at least shrink him, and now here he was, broad shouldered and solid, legs spread as he watched her across the calm, neutral decor of his hotel room.

Seeing him brought everything rushing back, and she braced herself against it, determined not to be swept away. It was like navigating in rough seas only to find yourself being dragged toward the rocks. Her feelings for him were the rocks. She didn’t dare go there again.

She opened her mouth to ask how he was feeling and whether he was remembering to go to his doctor appointments, but then remembered it wasn’t her place anymore.

For her own sake she needed to keep this as brief and clinical as possible.

“You look—” His gaze slid over her. “Different. Stunning.”

Did he think she’d done it for him? Maybe, and that irritated her, but still she was glad that she’d taken the time to sweep her new lipstick over her lips and slip on the cool white dress Audrey had picked out from a trendy boutique near her salon. “What did you want to say, David?”

The atmosphere crackled with tension. Being in a room with him felt awkward. If someone had told her a year before that she’d feel awkward with David, she would have laughed. You couldn’t feel awkward with someone who knew you as well as you knew yourself. Someone who knew all your secrets. Except he no longer knew all her secrets. There were things, intimate things, that he didn’t know.

Philippe.

Guilt tapped her on the shoulder, and she brushed it away. David was the one who had ended their marriage, not her. She was simply rebuilding her life.

“I’m sorry to call without warning.” He thrust his hands into his pockets awkwardly. “I’ve probably ruined your plans for the day.”

“I have no plans today.” She could tell he didn’t believe her. And why would he? The version of Grace that he knew planned every second of every day. He’d never met the version who lounged in bed watching the sun rise over Paris or wandered to the market on impulse.

She only checked the time when she was working in the bookshop or meeting Philippe.

“So you moved into an apartment. You didn’t like the hotel you chose for us?”

“The hotel was fine.” She wasn’t in the mood for small talk. She’d figured out why he was here. He wanted a divorce. It was typical of David to want to do it face-to-face. Ironic, really. He probably thought this was the most painless, decent way of hurting her. For once, she wished he’d taken the easy option and said what needed to be said in a phone call or even an email.

Seeing him was unsettling, and she didn’t want to be unsettled.

“I spent the last month and every moment of the flight trying to figure out how to say this.” He breathed out. “I’ve tried a million different ways and it never comes out right.”

There it was again, the kindness. Once, she’d loved that about him but now it seemed like torture.

“Don’t waste time trying to find a tactful way to say what you came here to say. I agree we should get a divorce. Go ahead and put it all in motion. I’ll sign whatever it is you need me to sign.” She was proud of how brisk and unemotional she sounded even though her insides were churning. This was an aftershock, that was all. The earthquake in her life had happened months before. “I’ll instruct a lawyer when I’m back. Or I suppose I could do it from here if you want to move quickly.”

“Instruct a lawyer?” His head jerked back as if she’d slapped him. “You want a divorce?”

“So do you. That’s why you’re here.”

“No! Why would you think I’d want a divorce?” He looked panicked and confused, and she felt equally confused.

“Er—because generally speaking when the woman you’re living with isn’t your wife, it indicates that the marriage is over. Is Lissa here with you?”

“Of course not. I would never— How can you even think I’d do that?”