Serena entered the Carlton Restaurant and saw her mother sitting at a table on the balcony. Her cheeks were pale but she looked lovely in a pink Chanel suit and beige Ferragamo pumps. Her strawberry-blond hair was brushed into a pageboy and a diamond tennis bracelet dangled from her wrist.
“Serena, I’ve missed you!” Kate exclaimed, glancing at Serena’s floral Ella Moss sundress and white espadrilles. “You look beautiful, what a gorgeous dress.”
“Where’s Dad?” Serena asked.
“He thought we might want some time alone,” Kate said, hesitating.
Kate picked up the menu and studied it carefully. She signaled the waiter and ordered a cup of tomato gazpacho and a watercress salad. She took a baguette from the basket and tore it in half.
“The roasted turbot fish fillet with spring vegetables sounds delicious,” Kate said as she buttered the baguette. “But I lost my appetite somewhere over Greenland; we had a bumpy flight.”
Kate poured English breakfast tea into a porcelain cup and added a cube of sugar.
“Chase came to see your father before we left,” she continued. “They spent a long time in the study.”
“How could you live with Dad after what he did?” Serena exploded. “And how could you never tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Kate sighed. “What would be the point?”
“Dad had a whole secret life! I have a half sister,” Serena spluttered.
“But you don’t.” Kate’s voice was firm. “Because your father promised to never have contact with them again.”
“How could you possibly stay with him when he lied to you for fourteen years?” Serena’s hands shook and her teeth chattered. She tried to sip her cup of tea but it was too hot and scalded her tongue.
“I wanted to take the train back to Paris and cut your father’s suits into little pieces. I wanted to rip the pages from his books and shatter his glasses.” Kate stopped, looking at Serena. “But what good would it have done? We had you, we were married.”
“People get divorced all the time.” Serena’s eyes flickered. “Would you want me to stay with a cheating husband?”
The waiter set down two plates of watercress salad with round cherry tomatoes and sliced avocado.
“I imagined life without Charles and it was like cutting out my own heart. I told him what I needed and he agreed.” Kate speared a tomato with her fork.
“I don’t think I could love someone who did that to me,” Serena replied.
“If we all behaved sanely in love there’d be no great literature,” Kate said slowly. “It was a long time ago.”
“What are you and Dad going to do?” Serena asked. Her eyes were watery and she had a sharp pain in her chest.
“We’re going to Africa.”
“Africa!” Serena dropped her fork.
“We’ve always wanted to go,” Kate said, and smiled. “And it’s the one place we won’t be followed.”
* * *
After lunch they browsed in Yves Saint Laurent and Fendi. Kate picked out a sleeveless cotton dress and a large straw hat. She added ribbed sweaters, two pairs of capris, and loafers in three different colors.
“I’ve never shopped for a safari, I feel like Meryl Streep in Out of Africa.” Kate glanced at Serena and paused. “Your father has done great things—helped pass a bill to promote alternative energy, increased funding for schools in California—but he always said you were his greatest achievement.” Kate squeezed Serena’s hand. “That’s all you need to know, let me worry about the rest. You might think I’m weak or old-fashioned, but he’s my best friend.”
* * *
Serena put her mother in a taxi and lingered in front of the Carlton-InterContinental. She didn’t feel like walking through the lobby with its gold inlaid floors and uniformed doormen. She didn’t want to rub shoulders with women carrying Louis Vuitton bags and men wearing white linen slacks.
She crossed the street and ran down the boulevard. She kept running until she reached the dock. Then she unstrapped her sandals and jumped onto the sand.
Serena hadn’t known she wanted to see Nick until she stood in front of the Carlton. Then she pictured him showing her the aquarium in Monte Carlo. She remembered dinner in the Cary Grant Suite and the kiss on the balcony.
“Were you looking for me?” Nick stepped onto the dock. He wore a navy T-shirt and beige shorts.
“I was running on the beach,” Serena said.
“In a designer dress?” Nick raised his eyebrow.
Serena glanced at her silk dress and white espadrilles. “How do you know it’s designer?”
“I live in Cannes,” Nick said, grinning. “Why don’t we go somewhere more suitable, like the bar at Bâoli?”
Serena hesitated. “I’m not thirsty.”
“You can watch me drink,” Nick said, taking her arm. “I’ve been working on the boat all day.”
* * *
They sat at a round table close to the sand and Serena watched Jet Skiers jump over the waves. The beach was filled with couples lounging on white beach chairs and children playing with plastic buckets.
Nick ordered two strawberry martinis and a bowl of tiramisu and turned to Serena.
“Let me guess, you were chasing jewel thieves down the beach and they escaped onto a luxury yacht.”
“I had lunch with my mother; my parents are in Cannes.”
“I thought they were staying at a villa in Napa.”
“They came to see me,” Serena replied. “Tomorrow they’re leaving for Africa.”
“I’m guessing they didn’t say anything you wanted to hear.” Nick frowned.
Serena sipped the smooth vodka and told Nick about her father meeting the salesgirl at the Carlton boutique years ago, letting her stay in the villa, his indiscretion. She told him how her mother had discovered her father’s secret and decided to stay with him.
“While other children were at summer camp I was fishing with the governor of Montana.” Serena ran her fingers over her glass. “We hiked the Great Wall of China and sailed down the Nile. I wrote my sixth-grade world history report on my father and I cut out photos of my mother in Vogue and put them in a scrapbook.”
“None of that has changed,” Nick said.
“I always thought we were a team, but my father had another life.” Serena’s eyes filled with tears. “How could he still love us and keep a secret family?”
“You’re beautiful and smart and have a job you love,” Nick said. “And you’re sitting on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world crying into your tiramisu.”
Serena glanced at the sterling silver bowl.
Nick signaled the waiter and grinned. “It’s all right, we can order another.”
* * *
They strolled down the Boulevard de la Croisette and Nick told stories of huge storms off the coast of Africa and great white sharks in Australia.
“It’s going to be pretty tame cruising around the Bay of Cannes.” Serena smiled, stopping in front of the revolving glass doors of the Carlton-InterContinental.
Nick stood so close she could smell the strawberry martini. She gazed at his tan cheeks and suddenly she wanted to feel his lips on hers, his hand pressed against the small of her back.
“Would you like to come in? The pianist in the bar plays Cole Porter.”
Nick glanced at his watch and shook his head. “I have an appointment, I have to go.”
* * *
Serena entered the Cary Grant Suite and walked into the bedroom. She hung up her dress and slipped on a cotton robe. She curled up in a blue-and-white satin armchair and pictured Nick’s dark wavy hair and blue eyes. Maybe she had rejected him too many times and scared him off.
She heard her phone buzz and grabbed her purse.
She read the text: Would you like to have dinner at Le Maurice tomorrow night? Maurice is making his famous fish soup.
Serena felt a pinprick of excitement. She picked up her phone and typed: Yes.