Suspects(67)

She thanked the caretaker and wrote down the number of the realtor, to call him on Monday. She thought about the house all the way back to Paris. The rooms had been sunny and just needed a fresh coat of paint in light colors. It was a house to fill with friends or children or to spend time in alone. It was the perfect counterpoint to a city existence, where you could get away from all the pressures of a fast-moving urban life. The house she had seen was a place to slow down, look at the ocean, and smell the sea air.

She was still thinking about it on Monday when she got to her office, and called the realtor. The price was absurdly low, given the area and how popular Normandy was. It needed work but she had the feeling it could be turned into a magical place, and the stone cottage at the gate could house all the bodyguards she needed.



* * *



—

Mike called her that night. He had just seen the doctor and he was cleared to travel in two weeks. He couldn’t wait to see her, and he had another month off from work to recuperate if he needed it, which he said he didn’t. He felt fine.

“You sound dangerous,” she said and laughed. She knew what he had in mind the minute he got there. They hadn’t made love in almost two months, since his last trip to Paris. Spring was in the air, and she couldn’t wait to see him.





Chapter 17


Theo tried to catch up on all her work before Mike arrived. She was buying for fall and winter for Theo.com, and trying to solve a problem with one of Matthieu’s brands. It was what she always did, and had done for a long time, but she was feeling excited about it these days, and wanted to put new life into their brands.

She finished the last of her big projects the night before he arrived. She felt liberated, and he had told her he wanted to go back to Deauville and walk along the ocean with her. He was feeling a rebirth too. After almost dying from his gunshot wound, every day seemed more precious, everything looked beautiful and vibrant to him, and he couldn’t wait to do things with Theo that he had put off for too long. Venice, Rome, or wherever she wanted to go. There was so much they could do together, and she said she wanted to too.

He had lunch with Fiona before he left, and she was carrying the purse Theo had given her. She loved it, and told him what a fantastic person Theo was. He told her the story of how she had lost Matthieu and Axel. Fiona was sobered by it and felt deep compassion for her.

“How do you live past something like that? How do you wake up every day and keep going, and find meaning in life?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “but somehow she does. She’s a powerhouse, always full of new ideas and things she wants to create. She has an amazing head for business, and a vision of things. She can make something out of nothing. I’ve seen her take empty spaces and turn them into magic with a roll of fabric and a staple gun. She’s an inspiration.”

Fiona talked about her own relationship with Ian. “I don’t even know why it works. He drives me nuts some of the time, but the rest of the time I think he’s fantastic. He’s a terrific artist, and he thinks I am too. We’ve been thinking about going to city hall one of these days and getting married, but I’m afraid it’ll ruin everything.”

“Why? Because Mom and Dad were such a mess? That was them. This is you. Don’t let that stop you from leading a life, Fi. Marry him if you want to. You’ve been together for fifteen years.”

“I know. Isn’t that ridiculous?” she laughed. “It shows an epic lack of imagination on both our parts. We’ve never even cheated on each other. That’s pathetic.”

He laughed at his sister’s view of things, but he loved her, as funny and odd as she was.

“Don’t get married until I can give you away,” he called down the subway steps after her and she turned back and laughed.

“Yeah, count on it. I wouldn’t do it without you.” But she would have, one day on the spur of the moment, and they both knew it. Their mutual acceptance of each other’s foibles had always made the relationship work, and he loved that she and Theo got along. It was important, and one more point in Theo’s favor, because she accepted her too, and even enjoyed her, and saw the beauty and talent in her, pink hair, paint-splattered clothes and all.

It reminded him of the red purse he wanted to give back to Theo so she could use it, and he put it in his suitcase to take with him.



* * *



—

Theo was waiting for him at the airport when he arrived. She was standing with Daniel when Mike came out of baggage claim, and Daniel took the suitcase from him and walked away as Mike pulled Theo into his arms and kissed her.

“I thought I’d never get back here. All I could think of was coming home to you.” She loved that he felt that way about her and coming to Paris. He appreciated the beauty of it and the home she had there.

They talked nonstop all the way into the city, laughing together, with his arm around her in the back seat, holding her close to him. The driver and bodyguard talked to each other in low voices in the front seat, kept their eyes forward, and paid no attention to them.

Mike walked straight into her office when they got home, and from there straight into her bedroom. He closed the door behind her and didn’t wait another minute to start peeling her clothes off. She saw the scars from his surgery when he took off his shirt. They looked angry and raw, and she touched them gently.