“You’re very sweet. Raoul couldn’t help but fall in love with you.” She touched the pin. “This gift you gave me was unexpected for many reasons. It touched my heart.”
“I wanted you to have something meaningful. You raised a son who has made me so happy I can’t begin to describe how I feel about him. I plan to be the best wife I can be, but I’m going to need help from all of you. My parents are behind our marriage a hundred percent, but what do I, an American literature teacher, know about the family Raoul was born into?”
“I’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Josette. Raoul loves you and your boy very much. When I met Paul the other day, he let me know how excited he is about the baby that’s coming. He was so nice to me.”
“Much nicer than I was,” she murmured. “He told me my brother deserved a woman like you. Now that we’ve talked, I couldn’t agree with him more.”
“Thank you.”
“Will you let us make it up to you for the way we treated you?”
“You don’t have to do anything. All Raoul would love is to hear what you’ve just told me.”
“We intend to do that,” his mother asserted. “What I’d like to do is host a party to welcome you into the family. My husband—”
“Raoul has explained many things to me,” she broke in once again. “He suffers a lot of pain.”
“Yes, but he needs to demonstrate his love for Raoul, which of course he has always felt. I’m ashamed for his actions as well as the way my two sisters-in-law walked out of the salon. Here’s what I’d like to do. Raoul and Paul will be back Wednesday evening. We’ll have a family dinner in our suite on the terrasse.”
Abby got excited. “Let’s make it a surprise. Can Maurice come? I want to meet my new nephew.”
Josette broke into a genuine smile. “He’d love to be a part of things because he adores my brother.”
“Who doesn’t?” Abby quipped. “Will the grandparents be able to come?”
“If it’s too much for them, we’ll visit them after we’ve eaten dinner.”
“And Jean-Marc?”
Josette’s brows lifted. “If he can get over his jealousy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our cousin Gilles and my younger brother have a crush on you at the moment.”
“Tell Jean-Marc that I found him very charming. If I hadn’t met Raoul first...”
At that comment both women laughed. Josette nodded. “I will tell him.”
Hélène-Claire rose to her feet. “We’ve kept you long enough. We’ll set a time when we know Raoul and Paul will be back from Paris.”
“Wonderful!” Nothing sounded more perfect to Abby, who was overjoyed that the two women in Raoul’s life had come around to make peace at last. “Let’s exchange phone numbers to stay in touch.”
When they’d done that, she walked them out to the porch. As soon as they’d driven away, she went inside and checked out some Dijon toy stores. When she found a couple of addresses on the internet, she grabbed her purse and drove the Jaguar into town. What a fantastic car, once she got the hang of it!
Within an hour, she’d purchased a darling musical box called Les Papoum, and a kaleidoscope with a circus motif. You twisted both ends to make different colors. Those gifts would be fun for Maurice.
Raoul phoned just before she went to bed. “I miss you so much I’ve been no good to Paul today.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Tell me about your day.”
If he only knew. “I slept in, cleaned and drove around in the Jaguar. I promise it’s still in one piece, but you’ll have to adjust the seat.”
His laughter sounded over the line. “I’m going to work all night so we can get home earlier tomorrow.”
“What do you want to do when you get here?” she teased. Inside she was struggling to hang on to her secret.
“If you have to ask me that question, then I’ve been doing something wrong.”
Had she said something that worried him? “Darling, I was just checking to make sure you’re not tired of me yet.”
“Do you honestly think that could ever happen?”
He was upset.
“Next time you fly anywhere, I’ll go with you, but I can’t promise to behave and you’ll wish you’d left me behind.”
She’d hoped to wring a chuckle from him at least. No such luck.
“I’m never leaving you again.” His voice sounded savage. “I’ll phone you in the morning. Miss me, mon amour.”
“Raoul?”
But he’d hung up. What on earth was wrong?
Their conversation had left her restless and she didn’t sleep well. At eight the next morning he phoned her again. She picked up immediately. “Bonjour, mon mari.” She’d been practicing how to say my husband.
“Have you started your tutoring lessons already? Is that where you went in the car yesterday?”
What? “Actually I went shopping.”
“I see.”
She frowned. “I’ve been waiting for your call.”
“We’ll be back at three.”
“I’ll drive to the helipad and wait for you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“What if I want to? I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Again he hung up, leaving her worried and dissatisfied. Abby flung herself out of bed. Thank heaven he’d be home soon so she could find out what was going on with him.
For the next few hours she sent emails to relatives and friends in and out of the department letting them know that she’d gotten married and where she could be reached. She received a heartfelt congratulations from Magda.
Josette called her later and asked if she wanted to go shopping with her in Dijon while Maurice was napping. Abby had jumped at the chance to get acquainted with Raoul’s sister, who bought a becoming aqua maternity dress for the party.
Abby found a green-beaded ruched knee-length sheath dress. Josette assured her Raoul’s eyes would pop out when he saw her in it. The dinner was scheduled for six o’clock.
After their return, she put the dress in the closet and drove the Jaguar to the helipad, wearing her jeans and blouse.
