“When will you come over again?” Sam asks me.

“In a couple of weeks.” I scoop him up and sit him on my lap at the garden table.

Uma comes out of the house carrying a tray loaded with three glasses of iced water and three bowls of ice cream—regular for her and me, and a special homemade concoction for Sam. After an hour of playing tag, this is just what we need.

“Is it normal for late October to be so warm in Paris?” she asks.

“No, this is much warmer than the norm.” I ruffle Sam’s soft curls. “Your dad and I are playing two major tournaments this season, so we’ll be away quite a bit.”

He nods, a solemn look on his face. “I know.”

Uma sits down across from us and gives Sam a wink. “I’ll arrange a bunch of playdates with your chums Evan and Mo while your dad and Noah are traveling.”

Sam’s eyes light up.

“Besides,” Uma says. “I have some outings planned for us.”

The boy’s eyes are sparkling now. “To the movies?”

“Yes, but not only.” Uma leans in. “We’re also going to the zoo and to the circus.”

Sam jumps off my lap, bounds around the table, and wraps his arms around Uma.

She kisses the top of his head. “Listen, why don’t you watch a couple of Diego episodes, while Noah and I discuss some boring grown-up stuff?”

He grabs his bowl and scoots into the house.

Uma points at the untouched water he left behind and sighs. “He’s got his priorities straight… Hang on.”

She picks up the glass and carries it into the house. Through the open window, I hear her negotiate with Sam around ice cream, water, and Diego.

When she returns, I ask her about her embroidery school. She says she’s learning a lot and loving every moment of it.

“Good.” I smile and point my chin to the house. “It looks like you’re not too unhappy about your part-time job, either.”

She beams. “Sam is the sweetest kid I’ve ever met.”

“How is it going with Zach?”

“Fine.” She looks down at her ice cream bowl.

“Uma?” I narrow my eyes. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

She shakes her head before lifting her eyes to me. “But I have a question for you.”

I lean in. “Shoot.”

“Is Sophie still in the dark about who you are?”

Not quite the question I expected. I nod.

“Why?” she asks.

“It’s complicated.”

She scowls.

I duck my head in mock panic.

She lays her hands on the table. “I get it that you don’t want to be associated with the d’Arcys, and you don’t want strangers to know your real name. I respect that. But you did tell Zach. Why not confide in Sophie, too? I’m sure your secret will be safe with her.”

This is awkward.

Uma may be an innocent, but she’s far from stupid. I’m sure she’s figured out by now that Sophie and I have become more than friends. Does it bother her? If she’s still in love with me, I don’t see how it wouldn’t. Yet, she seems to genuinely like Sophie and believes she deserves my honesty, which my girlfriend totally does.

“You’re right,” I say. “As a matter of fact, I’ve decided to come clean with her next time I see her.”

Hopefully next week, what with her father having monopolized her free time.

Uma lets out a relieved sigh. “Good decision.”

We sit in silence for a moment.

“Did you go to Raphael’s rehearsal dinner?” I ask. “Maman told me she was taking you along.”

Uma slaps her forehead. “I was going to tell you about it! Can’t believe it’s been a week already…” She shakes her head. “Time clearly moves faster here than in Nepal.”

“Definitely,” I say.

She tilts her head to the side. “Are you coming to the wedding tomorrow?”

“No.”

“You should.”

“Did Maman put you up to this?” I lean my elbows on the table and rub my face. “She keeps saying Raphael can’t be blamed for Sebastian’s choices.”

“Marguerite is right.” Uma takes a breath. “Anyway, I really enjoyed myself except for a bit of weirdness at one point.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“I overheard a conversation.” She shifts uncomfortably. “Someone called Marguerite when we were hanging out on the patio. After she asked who was calling, she just listened for a long time, and then…”

Uma falls silent, hesitating.

“What did she say?” I prompt.

“She said she was thrilled to hear their interests were aligned. She asked whoever was calling to let her think about it and she’d call him back.”

“Probably a potential donor.”

“That’s what I thought, too.” Uma gives me a funny look. “But when she phoned that person back a few minutes later, she said, ‘I’ll call you tonight to explain the details, but if my plan works, you’ll return to Florida with your daughter’.”

I gasp.

Was her caller Sophie’s dad? Have they joined forces in plotting to separate us? That would explain his sudden visit and keeping Sophie busy every evenings with various activities.

I glance at Uma. She looks like she’s about to burst into tears.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I shouldn’t’ve told you.” She wrings her wrists. “Marguerite has always been so kind to me, and I feel like I’m betraying her… It’s just that what she’s doing is wrong… and unfair to you and Sophie.”

I give her a long stare. “Uma, I must be blunt here. Aren’t your interests aligned with Maman’s and Sophie’s father’s? Don’t you want Sophie to go away?”

She blinks. “Why would I? She makes you happy—it’s obvious. And I’m your friend.”

A light bulb goes off in my head.

Uma isn’t in love with me. It’s been Maman’s wishful thinking the whole time. She saw something that wasn’t there, and she made me see it, too, through her sheer will and power of persuasion. Because she wanted her favorite son to marry her chosen protégée.

That’s just so Marguerite.

She is all about benevolence, only her benevolence comes at a price—control over the lives of those she cares for.

“Oh, my God!” Uma claps a hand to her mouth. “You think I’m in love with you.”

“I—”

She shakes her head. “Of course you would. I’m sure that’s what Marguerite has told you.”

I close my eyes for a moment, thinking. “Has Maman told you that you’re in love with me?”

“Yes, a million times. And that you’re the reason I came to France.”

“And I’m not.”

She shakes her head. “It was for the embroidery school. And to escape an arranged marriage without my parents’ losing face.”

I run my hand through my hair. “Did Maman tell you I was in love with you?”

She nods.

My jaw clenches.

“Don’t worry.” Uma smiles. “I never bought it. You do love me, I’m sure, but only as a friend. I’ve never caught you looking at me the way you look at Sophie, or the way… other men look at me.”

“For the record,” I say, “I’ve never caught you looking at me that way, either.”

She smiles.

We sit in silence for a long moment and then I stand up. “I better tell Sophie the truth before her dad does it.”

Uma nods. “And, please, come to Raphael’s wedding.”

“I will.”

If not to make up with my brothers, then to confront Maman.