CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ÉLISE SMILED AS she wound a scarf around her neck and added discreet jewelry.
It was family night, and Sean was coming home.
If anyone had told her at the beginning of summer that he’d be joining them for family night she wouldn’t have believed it, but now that he’d healed the rift with his grandfather it was a natural next step to spend a little more time at Snow Crystal.
“Et donc, even two very stubborn men can eventually be persuaded to talk to each other.” She beamed at herself in the mirror and swept lip gloss over her mouth, relieved that the O’Neil family were sailing in smoother waters. The Boathouse was a success, the resort itself wasn’t exactly booming but it was stable, Walter was relaxed, Alice was her old self and Elizabeth had a new bounce in her stride.
And as for her—
Her heart pumped a little bit faster.
It had been a week since dinner and Sean hadn’t been in touch but that didn’t worry her. She hadn’t been in touch with him, either. They didn’t have that sort of relationship. She enjoyed his company—what woman wouldn’t?—and it was true their friendship had grown over the summer into something she would never have predicted, but that was simply because they’d spent so much time together.
She was pleased for Walter’s sake that he was coming to family night. For herself, it didn’t bother her either way.
Convinced of that, she took the stairs down to the kitchen and then stopped when she saw him standing in the open doorway. His shirt was unbuttoned at the neck and his eyes were tired.
“Sean! I wasn’t expecting you. I was on my way over to the house. How was your drive?”
“Long. Hot. Can I come inside?” Without waiting for an answer, obviously tense, he walked into her kitchen and closed the door. “How are things here? Gramps all right?”
“He is doing well! And things here are good, I think. A little busier than usual. The Inn is fully booked for the next three weeks, the café is doing well, Jackson says bookings are up for the winter.” She wondered why he was standing so far away from her and then realized she was being ridiculous. He’d come home for family night, not to indulge in hot sex in the forest. “Kayla has been really happy with the media coverage and she’s negotiating for me to do a guest cookery slot on local TV.”
“That’s great.”
“Yes, I must try not to say merde on camera or Kayla says she will kill me.” She had a feeling he wasn’t listening. “Walter is so pleased with his log cutting machine. It was a good choice. You are very clever, I think. And Tom has been helping us out in the garden so that’s been a real help for Elizabeth.” She wondered how Sean would react to the news but he didn’t seem to be listening. Instead, he stared out of the window at the lake.
“That’s good.”
She studied his profile, admiring the straight sweep of his nose, the strong lines of his jaw. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Yes.” He turned and his gaze collided with hers. “Let’s go outside.”
Her gaze slid from him to the door. “I thought you wanted to be inside.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I want to do this outside.”
“Do what?”
But he was already striding through the door.
She followed him, baffled. “What’s wrong? Is this to do with family night? Are you feeling pressure? Did you have a bad day at work?”
“No and no.” He paced to the edge of the deck and locked his hands over the smooth wood of the railings. For a moment he stared down at the water and then he drew a deep breath. “I told myself this couldn’t happen to me. I’ve always believed that.”
“What couldn’t happen to you?”
“I refused to look at the truth because looking at it scared me.”
“What truth? What scared you?” Frustration mingled with exasperation and a deeper concern that his relationship with his grandfather, still fragile, was about to be shattered again. “I do not understand what you are saying. Merde, in a minute I will push you in the lake again if you do not tell me.”
“I didn’t think I wanted this.”
“What didn’t you want? You are making no sense at all and I am the foreigner here.”
“I didn’t want to fall in love. I never wanted that. I didn’t think it would happen to me.”
The air was still. The only sound was the occasional faint splash as birds skimmed the water. “You—?”
“I love you.” Everything about him was tense. Jaw. Shoulders. “Christ, before this summer I’d never said those words before in my life and suddenly I’m saying them all the time.”
“What do you mean, you are saying them all the time?”
“I said them to Gramps.”
The breath left her in a rush. “Of course you did.” Relief flooded her. “That is good. You love him. For a moment I thought you were saying the words to me.”
“I was. I am.”
She stared at him stunned, wondering if she’d misunderstood. If this was a language thing.
“You love me? No, you don’t.”
“I do.” His eyes met hers and his voice was soft. “I love you, Élise.”
“What? C’est pas vrai. You’re wrong.” Panic simmered below the surface. “Sean, you’re freaking me out.”
He gave a short laugh. “Believe me, I’ve been freaking out all week.”
“All week?”
“Since Gramps suggested it.”
“Your grandfather—?”
“He knew. He knows.”
Some of the tension left her. Finally there was an explanation for his strange behavior. “Thank goodness. It is just Walter playing his games, interfering. He has been pressuring you again and it has confused you.”
“No. Not this time. He just made me think about a few things, that’s all. And I’m not confused. I’m very clear about my feelings.”
The panic was back, this time increasing in intensity. “It is pressure, just subtle pressure. It is what he does best, you know that. You have to ignore him just as you have for the past three decades.”
“This isn’t about him. It’s about me. And you.” His gaze was steady. “I know I love you. And I think you love me.”
Oh, God. “I don’t! Of course I don’t.”
She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. That wasn’t going to happen to her ever again.
His eyes locked on hers. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I am sure! And what arrogance is this to assume I don’t know my own mind? You’re so used to being able to have your pick of women, you can’t imagine that one might not feel the same way about you as you do about her.” Her hands were shaking and she wrapped her arms around herself, wondering why she suddenly felt so cold.
Love? No way. No way was that ever going to happen to her again.
“Élise, you were so jealous when you thought I’d slept with that nurse you almost drowned me and knocked me unconscious.”
“Because I thought you’d let Sam down. I may have overreacted. Just a little. And if you’re really in love with me, which I doubt, then I’m sorry for it, but I never gave you reason to think this relationship would go anywhere.” She was talking so fast the words tumbled over each other. “For me it has only ever been a casual summer fling. I thought it was the same for you.”
“A casual summer fling? Sweetheart, we left casual behind weeks ago. In fact, if we’re honest, we left casual behind last summer when we spent the whole night together.”
“That was just sex.”
“Maybe it was, but what we have now is a hell of a lot more than that and you know it.”
“No, I don’t. To me, it isn’t more.” Her heart was pounding. Her mouth was dry.
“The best parts of this summer have been the time I spent with you.”
“Yes, because the sex is fantastic and it has blown your brain.” She backed away. “I think perhaps you should not operate for a few days. You are not yourself. Why are you saying all this? We are the same. Neither of us wanted this. It’s the reason we get on so well.”
“Has it occurred to you that the reason we get on so well is because we like each other? We make each other laugh. We can’t share the same space without wanting to rip each other’s clothes off.”
“That is just chemistry.”
“Just?” He lifted an eyebrow. “I think about you all the time.”
“That is very normal. Men think of sex every six seconds.”
“In that case I’m in trouble because I’m down to about two seconds. And I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about you. I think about you every two seconds. The way you laugh, the way you talk, the way you walk. All of it.”
“So we will go indoors and have sex and then we will go to family night and you will forget it.”
“I’m not going to forget it, Élise. This isn’t going to go away. The way I feel isn’t going to change. I love being with you. I love who you are. I love your passion. I love that you’re so loyal and that you love my family so much. I even love the side of you that would push me in the lake.” He breathed. “I love you and I really do think you love me, too.”
“I don’t! I will never fall in love again, ever. I told you that. You knew that. I can’t.”
“I know you don’t want to and I understand that you’re scared.” His voice was gentle. “I know you went through hell and your life fell apart. I understand that has left you feeling vulnerable and determined to protect yourself, but are you really going to let Pascal ruin the rest of your life?”
“Ruin? My life is happy! I have never been happier!”
“So you’d rather live on the edges of my family than in the center of your own?”
A lump wedged itself in her throat. “I love your family.”
“And they love you. But every night you go home to your own house and sleep alone. You deserve to live life to the full, experience everything it has to offer, not hide away here so that you don’t get hurt.”
She couldn’t breathe.
She felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the air.
“To tell you this is the hardest thing because I do not want to hurt you, and I know how hard it must have been to say those things to me, but I don’t love you. I don’t love you and I won’t lie to you about that.”
“What about lying to yourself?” His voice was raw. “Are you willing to do that?”
“I am not lying! I have been honest about my feelings. You are the one who has changed.”
“Yeah, I’ve changed. But I recognize that and I’m trying to deal with it. What you’re doing is hiding. When you’re ready to admit that, come and find me.” He turned to walk away and she took a step toward him.
“Wait! You can’t just— Where are you going? It’s family night.” She couldn’t believe that an evening she’d been looking forward to had ended before it had even started.
“Suddenly I’m not in the mood for family night.”
“But Alice is looking forward to it. Everyone will be there—your grandfather, Tyler, Jess, your mother and—I’ll be there, too.”
There was a brief pause and then he turned his head and looked at her. “Do you think this was easy for me? That it meant nothing? Do you really think I can tell you I love you and then sit across the kitchen table and act as if nothing happened?”
“I wish it hadn’t happened. I didn’t want it to happen.” Tears wedged in her throat and stung her eyes. “I didn’t ask you to say that. I didn’t want you to say that. We had an agreement—”
“Yeah.” He gave a crooked smile. “And I broke it.”
“Please don’t leave. You just arrived and—” her voice broke “—you can’t leave. Everyone is expecting to see you. Alice is so excited. Your mother—even Walter. They’ve talked of nothing else all week. The whole family is together for the first time in ages.”
“I hope they have a nice evening.” He turned and strode away from her, leaving Élise standing staring after him feeling as if she’d been run over by a truck.
For the first time in months he’d been intending to join them for family night, and now she’d ruined it. And he’d ruined it. He’d ruined everything.
Her phone buzzed and she saw a text from Kayla.
Where are you? Put your clothes on and get over here :)
Kayla thought she and Sean were—
Feeling sick, she slumped on the chair on her deck.
She didn’t want to go to family night now, either, but someone had to tell them that Sean wasn’t coming.
They’d be so disappointed.
And it was her fault. All her fault.
Knowing she had to get it over with, she stood up and walked slowly toward the house. There was a roar of an engine and she saw a flash of red as Sean’s sports car sped out of Snow Crystal toward Boston.
Gone.
Part of her wanted to chase after him, wave her arms and yell at him to turn around but her feet were welded to the ground and her mouth was too dry to make a sound.
How could he love her?
Sean didn’t fall in love. He didn’t want that. And he knew she didn’t want that.
Shaken, she opened the door to the kitchen and was engulfed by laughter and delicious smells of cooking. Walter was in his usual place at the head of the table, Alice was knitting, Tyler was arguing with Jackson and Kayla was checking her emails under the table. Jess was helping Elizabeth with the cooking.
Maple jumped up and down like a spring, barking a welcome.
They were all there, the whole O’Neil family around the table. Only one member was missing and that was her fault. She was the reason he wasn’t here.
Her legs trembled. She felt sick.
“Come in, dear, we were wondering where you were.” Elizabeth placed a large blue casserole dish in the center of the table. “Sean is late, but I suppose that’s not a surprise to anyone.”
Élise tried to speak but her voice wouldn’t work. She stooped and picked Maple up, needing the comfort. Then she tried again.
“I— He isn’t coming.” It was such a faint croak that for a moment she thought no one had heard, but then Alice patted the chair next to her.
“Of course he’s coming, honey. He promised he’d be here. We saw his car just half an hour ago. We’re all so excited. It’s the first time Sean has been here for family night since Christmas. I just love having the whole family together.”
Elizabeth tipped crisp roast potatoes into a dish. “He’s probably taking a phone call from the hospital. You know what he’s like. Jess, I need another mat for the table, sweetheart. And some napkins.”
Tyler pulled a face. “I never understood the point of napkins.”
They weren’t listening to her. They were all so excited at the prospect of Sean’s arrival, they weren’t paying any attention.
She tried again, and this time her voice was louder. “He isn’t coming. He’s driving back to Boston.” She sank into the vacant chair, still holding Maple. The dog licked her palm and gazed up at her with warm caramel eyes, sensing her misery.
“But that just doesn’t make sense.” Alice looked puzzled. “Why would he come home and then drive back again?”
Because of her.
She was the reason.
But what was she supposed to say? He told me he loved me, but I don’t love him?
“I’m sorry.”
There was a disappointed silence and then Elizabeth forced a smile. “Well, I don’t know why you’re apologizing. It’s not your fault.”
It was her fault.
This time it was all her fault.
She was the reason he wasn’t here with his family.
She’d driven a wedge between them and she’d never, ever intended for that to happen. She should have stopped him from walking away. Instead of allowing him to leave, she should have left. She should have made an excuse about being too busy in the restaurant, and encouraged him to spend the time with his family.
She’d ruined everything.
“Do you think something bad has happened?” Alice was looking troubled. “Perhaps Jackson should call him. He said he was going to be here. He doesn’t normally say that. We were all looking forward to it. Jackson, you should definitely call him. Something might be wrong.”
Something was wrong, Élise thought. She’d hurt him.
Jackson pulled out his phone, dialed and then shrugged. “It’s going to voice mail.”
She felt like sliding under the table. Guilt showered her. This summer had finally mended the rift between Sean and his family. He should be here. He would have been here if it hadn’t been for what had happened between them. He deserved the support of his family and instead she was the one sitting here, soaking up the O’Neil warmth in her hour of misery.
“Stop fussing.” It was Walter who spoke, his voice firm. “He’s probably just been called back to the hospital, and didn’t have time to tell us. We all need to get on and eat. I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” Tyler reached for a plate. “I’m glad he’s not here. I’ll eat his portion. Just don’t expect me to use two napkins.”
Élise sat there, watching them all, these people who had taken her in and treated her like a member of the family. None of them had any idea that she was the reason Sean wasn’t here.
Jackson handed Tyler a beer. “Did you take that family out on the mountain bike trail? How did they get on?”
“They were good and the whole party returned alive with their limbs attached which is good since our resident surgeon has left us.” Tyler was about to put his feet up on the table when he caught his mother’s eye and rethought it. “Jess came, too, didn’t you, angel?”
Elizabeth’s eyes softened as she glanced at her granddaughter. “How was it, sweetheart?”
“It was fun.” Jess helped serve the food. “Except the mom couldn’t stop looking at my dad. That was pretty gross.”
“Understandable, not gross.” Tyler heaped potatoes onto his plate. “Sooner or later you’re going to have to get used to the fact that your dad is a sex symbol.”
Alice sent him a disapproving look but Jess snorted with laughter.
“Dad, that is even more gross.”
“Women just can’t help themselves around me.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “Did you rebook them for next week?”
Jess was still giggling. “The mom rebooked. For two more sessions.”
They chatted, shared news and stories, and Élise sat quietly, her hand resting on Maple’s soft head.
Maybe they’d get through tonight, but what would happen next time? Not just family night but Christmas, celebrations, birthdays and anniversaries. Would he stay away then, too?
While she was here, he’d never be able to come home, would he?
She’d stolen this from him.
She’d stolen his family.
She looked at Jackson who was laughing at something Tyler had said. Dear Jackson, who had saved her when her life had hit rock bottom. From the first day she’d arrived at Snow Crystal, she’d known she wanted to live here forever, but how could she stay when staying meant sending an earthquake through the family?
She looked at Walter who was smiling at Alice and heaping his plate with vegetables grown in his own garden. He was improving by the day and with the winter ahead he’d be looking forward to skiing with his three grandsons.
And Elizabeth—dear Elizabeth who was like a mother to her.
They’d been so good to her.
“I wanted to thank you all.” The words blurted out and she saw their surprise. “I just— I don’t know if I have said this before but you are wonderful people and you have given me a home and a job and a life when I needed it and I will always love you very much. I just wanted to say that while we are all together here because, well, it is important to sometimes say these things.”
Elizabeth’s expression softened. “We love you, too, dear. We’re so lucky to have you.”
“I’d have to agree with that.” Walter grunted and gave her a wink. “Even if your idea of what makes a good pancake differs from mine.”
“I love her pancakes,” Alice said happily. “I’m knitting you a new scarf for Christmas, Élise. This one will be green. And I’m knitting you a sweater, Tyler.”
Tyler’s expression switched to one of alarm. “You don’t have to do that, Grams. That’s way too much work for you. You just knit Élise a scarf and I’ll enjoy looking at it.”
Alice beamed. “It’s no trouble. And with winter coming I’ll have plenty of time to knit.”
Élise looked at the wool and thought of the previous Christmas when Alice had knitted everyone a red scarf. She’d been careful to wear it every time she’d visited them.
“Are you all right?” It was Jackson who asked her the question. Jackson who noticed that she wasn’t herself.
“Me? I am fine.” She switched on her most exaggerated smile. “But it’s important sometimes to say these things so people know they are loved and appreciated.” She hadn’t done it with her mother and because of that she had to live with the fact that her mother had died not knowing how much she was loved. “You are all very special to me. The most important thing in my life.”
“Are they all like you in France?” Tyler finished his beer. “Because I don’t have a problem being loved and appreciated. Maybe I should move there.”
Everyone laughed and the attention moved away from Élise. She stroked Maple gently, drinking in their faces and their voices. And when Jackson asked her once again if she was sure she was all right, she smiled and nodded.
She was fine. She was going to be fine.
* * *
“DR. O’NEIL? Your brother wants to speak to you. He says it’s an emergency.”
Sean looked up from the MRI scan he was studying. Emergency? Was it his grandfather? His heart lurched. He hadn’t been in touch all week. Not since the conversation with Élise. There had been a missed call from Jackson but no message and he hadn’t returned the call. “Which phone?”
“He’s not on the phone. He’s waiting outside.” She looked dazed. “I didn’t know you had a twin brother.”
“He’s here?” Sean straightened. “I’ll be back in a moment.” Wondering what could possibly have brought Jackson to Boston without warning, he pushed through the doors. One glance at his normally calm brother’s tense shoulders told him this wasn’t a social call. “What’s wrong? Is it Gramps?”
Jackson’s mouth was tight. “Gramps is fine. But we need to talk. Is there somewhere we can go?”
Worried, Sean gestured toward the end of the corridor. “There’s an office we can use just along here. So what’s going on? You’ve never come to the hospital before.”
As soon as the door closed, giving them privacy, Jackson rounded on him. “Damn you, I warned you not to mess with her.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Élise. She’s gone. And it’s your fault.”
“Gone?” Sean felt his mouth go dry. “Gone where?”
“Back to Paris.”
“Paris?” He thought about what she’d told him. Thought about what the place meant to her. “No. She wouldn’t have done that.”
Jackson thrust a piece of paper at him. “Read that.”
Sean unfolded it and saw it was a printed copy of an email. Élise’s name was on the top. “It’s addressed to you.”
“Read it.”
Mon cher Jackson, I am so very sorry to let you down but I can no longer stay at Snow Crystal. It is very sad for me because I thought I would be here forever, but I see now that is not possible. I hope you will forgive me. I will never do anything to harm your family and staying will make it awkward for Sean to come home. Do not try and argue with me or come after me because I know I am right. I am supposed to give you notice, but I have trained Elizabeth and Poppy and they are both very good, and all the other staff, they are good, too. Snow Crystal has a strong team. Me, I shall go back to Paris. I should have done it a long time ago but I am a great big coward and it was easier to hide here with you where it was safe. I will miss you and Kayla, Brenna, Tyler, Jess, Elizabeth and dear Alice, and of course, Walter, more than I can say, but perhaps one day when you have forgiven me you will visit me and I will show you Paris. The nice parts, not the tourist parts. You saved me when my life was so very terrible and I will never forget that. Do not worry about me, I will be fine. And do not be angry with Sean. The fault is mine, not his. I didn’t mean to steal his family. Again, I am so very sorry to let you down. Élise.
Sean scanned the email again. “I don’t believe this. She wouldn’t walk out on you. She just wouldn’t.”
“That’s what I thought. Seems we were both wrong.”
“She hero worships you.”
“Which just goes to prove how bad she must be feeling to do this.”
Sean swore under his breath. “I can’t believe she’d choose to go back to Paris.” He thought of her, alone and anxious in a city she’d vowed never to return to, and something knotted in his gut. “Why the hell would she do that?” He barely had time to finish the sentence before he was slammed back against the door and Jackson’s fist was locked in the front of his shirt.
“Damn it, you know why she’s doing that! She’s doing it because of you! She says so in the email. I warned you to stay away from her but you just couldn’t do it, could you?”
Staring into the furious eyes of his normally even-tempered brother, it took Sean a moment to gather himself. “Let go of me, you’re wrinkling my shirt. And you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“She was happy at Snow Crystal. She had a home. We’re family to her. And now you’ve gone and trampled the whole of that just so that you could burn up the sheets with her for five minutes.”
“It was more than five minutes,” Sean snapped, “and she was hiding with you because she was too afraid to live her life.”
“So you thought you’d help her live it?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Pushing his brother away, he paced to the center of the office.
Why would she do this, when Paris held nothing but bad memories for her? Why?
“You’ve got no end of women to pick from, but you just had to have Élise.”
“I’ve told you, it wasn’t like that.”
“So you’re going to pretend you didn’t get involved with her?”
“No, I’m not!” Struggling with his own feelings, Sean backed away. Where would she have gone? Not to him, surely. Maybe this was his fault. He’d accused her of hiding, hadn’t he? “She still owns an apartment in Paris. It belonged to her mother.”
“She told you that?”
“She told me a lot of things. She hasn’t been back there since she left. What if Pascal finds out she’s back? Will he hurt her? What if he hasn’t moved on?”
Jackson’s eyes narrowed warily. “She told you about that, too?”
“Yeah, she told me.”
“She’s never told anyone else that. Not even Kayla and Brenna.”
“Well, she told me. And she also told me she’d never go back to Paris. She was scared.” And guilty that she’d let her mother down. Lonely. Frightened. Sweat pricked the back of his neck. “Do you have an address? Do you know where that apartment is?”
“No, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. Seems like you didn’t just rip up the sheets with her, you let her get close to you. You encouraged her to spill her secrets, something she has never done before by the way, and then you did your usual thing and told her you didn’t love her.” Jackson stood, legs spread, glaring at him. “You broke her heart.”
Sean felt the ache in his chest throb. It was the same ache that had been there every day for a week. “That is not what happened.”
“Really? Then why don’t you tell me your version, and tell me fast because right now I feel like putting a few dents in you. If you didn’t break her heart, why isn’t she still at Snow Crystal?”
“Because she broke mine!” His tone raw, Sean paced to the other side of the room. “She broke mine, all right? And it fucking hurts, so don’t come here and lecture me about causing her pain.”
There was a stunned silence. “She broke yours?”
“Yeah. And now if you don’t mind I need to be on my own to think this through.”
“I drove here to find out what’s going on and I’m not leaving until I find out.”
Sean gritted his teeth. “I told her I loved her. She told me she didn’t love me. Do you need more detail than that? And you’re welcome to tell me I deserved it and that I finally got what was coming to me but I’d rather you waited until I’ve sorted this out.” He saw the astonishment in his brother’s face and gave a humorless laugh. “You’re thinking this is justice. Well deserved for all those women who cried on your shirt because I wouldn’t tell them I loved them. The first time I actually say those words to a woman it’s to one who doesn’t want to hear them.”
“You actually told her you loved her? And she left?” Jackson’s brows rose. “I’m confused.”
“Then you don’t know her as well as you think you do.”
“I assumed she’d fallen in love with you and it wasn’t mutual. I assumed she’d left so it wouldn’t be awkward. If you’re in love with her, why did she leave? That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. We’re her family. Or rather, you are.” Sean gave a grim smile. “Family is the most important thing to her. She’s spent the whole summer trying to get me to fix the damage with Gramps. Pushing me to talk to him, to heal things.”
“And you did. So why would she leave?”
“Because she thinks if she’s there, it will keep me away. She thinks I’ll come home less. That the family will see me less.”
“Because you didn’t show up to family night?”
“That was probably what put the thought in her head. Having just been rejected I wasn’t in the mood for family togetherness.”
“And you’re sure you said those words? You didn’t just imply it, or assume she knew or—”
“I said those words! Those three words I never thought I’d say. First time ever, well apart from Gramps but I don’t count that.”
“Gramps?”
“Never mind. For the record, I said them more than once to Élise, just so that there could be no misunderstanding. And no, she didn’t say them back, she didn’t run into my arms and no, we’re not going to live happily ever after. Can we stop talking about it now? Living through it the first time was hard enough. Reliving it isn’t much fun, either.”
Jackson ignored him. “I’m surprised, because I actually thought—” He shook his head. “Never mind. It explains why she was so quiet at family night. And why she kept saying it was her fault that you hadn’t turned up.”
“It wasn’t her fault. It was mine. I wasn’t in the mood for company, but I didn’t for a moment think she’d blame herself for the fact I wasn’t there, or that she’d decide she was a threat to our family.”
“She was behaving very oddly. She told us all how much she loved us.”
“Why is that odd? She tells everyone she loves them all the time. Everyone except me. Have you tried calling her?”
“Her phone is switched off.”
“Why would she switch her phone off?” His concern deepened. He thought of her going back to a place she hadn’t returned to since she’d left with Jackson. A place that held nothing for her except memories of violence and loss. The thought of her facing that alone made his chest ache. “I’ll fly to Paris.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“The same way everyone does it. I’m going to get on a plane.”
“But you have work.”
“This is more important. Élise hasn’t been back there for—how long is it? Eight years? Someone should be with her.” He pulled his phone out and searched for flights while Jackson gaped at him.
“You’re going to take time off?”
“I did it when Gramps collapsed.”
“Gramps is family.”
“So is Élise. People will have to cover for me.” Again. He already owed more favors than he could ever repay. “There’s a direct flight to Paris leaving tonight. All I need is the address.”
“I don’t have an address. She’s worked for me for the past eight years.”
“But you went to her apartment the night you rescued her. What do you remember about it?”
“It was eight years ago and I was dealing with an abusive husband and a terrified woman. I wasn’t exactly looking at the neighborhood.”
Sean reined in his impatience. “Think!”
“All I remember is getting her out of there and trying not to break every bone in that man’s body.” Jackson spread his hands, clearly frustrated. “She lived near the river, I know that. We were in her apartment for less than half an hour. She just stuffed a few things in a case while I kept watch in case he showed up. I could just see the Louvre from her bathroom window. Rue de Lille, yes that’s it. She lived on the Rue de Lille.”
“Apartment number?”
“No idea.”
Rolling his eyes, Sean booked himself a flight out of Boston. “Let’s just hope it isn’t a long street.”
“You’re just going to turn up there and hope you can find her?”
“If you don’t have her address, I don’t have much choice.”
“How do you know she’s going to want to see you?”
“I don’t. But I know that if she’s back in that place she’s going to need a friend.”