THE days ran into each other, each one seeming more poignant than the last.
Sebastian rescheduled his work pattern from mid-morning to seven in the evening. Dinner was extended by an hour, and the nights were something else as their lovemaking took on a new dimension.
Anneke told herself she was happy, happier than she’d ever been. And she was. Except the dawn of each new day brought her one day closer to the time she’d have to bid Sebastian goodbye.
Wednesday they drove into Byron Bay township and consigned Sebastian’s manuscript to his American agent via courier. Then they celebrated with champagne and dinner at the town’s finest restaurant.
‘Tomorrow we’ll fly down to Sydney.’
Anneke heard the words, but didn’t absorb them. ‘What did you say?’
Sebastian’s smile held a combination of humour and sensual warmth as he repeated the words.
Her heart flipped, then raced to a painful beat. ‘We?’
‘We,’ he gently mocked. ‘That will give you time to gather some clothes together, do any necessary shopping, and pack.’
‘You’re coming with me to Paris.’
Her mind whirled at the implication, and her stomach began to compete with the erratic beat of her heart. ‘What about a passport, visa—’
‘Your passport is valid.’ His eyes gleamed with humour as her mouth opened, then shut again. ‘Vivienne,’ he revealed succinctly.
‘You’ve spoken to Aunt Vivienne?’
‘I needed to check on your passport, make arrangements for both cottages, Shaef.’ He paused for a second. ‘And tell her you wouldn’t be spending Christmas with her in Cairns.’
Christmas. She’d need to get gifts for his family; she couldn’t possibly go empty-handed…
A strangled laugh rose and died in her throat with the realisation she didn’t know any details at all, with the exception of his grandmother.
Sebastian caught each fleeting expression and accurately defined every one of them. He reached across the table and caught hold of her hand. ‘It’ll be fine,’ he reassured her. ‘Trust me.’
They arrived in Paris mid-morning on a cold, wet, typically grey mid-winter day, tired after a long international flight.
Sebastian collected their hire car, and drove to the gracious old home on Ile Saint-Louis where his grandmother had resided since the day she was born.
A very beautiful home, with exquisite carpets, antique furniture, and objets d’art worth a small fortune.
Anneke wasn’t sure what she’d expected. Certainly it hadn’t been a very stylish and sprightly woman who could easily pass for fifteen years younger than her eighty years, and whose command of the English language was more than impressive.
‘Your rooms are ready. I know you must want to shower, then change and rest.’
‘Room, Grandmère,’ Sebastian corrected. ‘We share.’
‘So.’
Anneke couldn’t imagine such a little word could convey such meaning.
‘Are you not going to introduce me to this young woman you have brought to meet me?’
‘Grandmère…Anneke Sorrel.’ His arm remained at Anneke’s waist. ‘Anneke…my grandmother, Madeleine Lanier.’
‘Come here and let me look at you.’
‘You will frighten her,’ Sebastian declared with amusement.
‘Indeed.’ Madeleine Lanier drew herself up to her full height and glared at her grandson. ‘I frighten no one. And if she belongs to you, she belongs to this family.’
A faint smile teased Anneke’s lips. ‘So you get to pass judgement.’
‘She speaks.’ Madeleine placed a hand to her heart.
‘Indeed she does.’ Sebastian leaned forward and gently brushed first one paper-thin cheek, then the other. ‘And be warned, she also speaks passable French.’
‘I think,’ Madeleine declared, ‘we should go into the conservatory and take coffee.’
‘Tea,’ Anneke said gently. ‘Earl Grey, if you have it.’
‘Has a mind of her own, hmm?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Good. I could not have borne it if Sebastian had brought me an airhead with designs on his money.’
‘I do not think Sebastian would have dared do such a thing.’
That earned a quick glance from sharp brown eyes, and the beginnings of a musing smile. ‘He has dared many things in his short lifetime. But crossing me is not one of them.’ She moved forward and batted her grandson’s arm away from Anneke’s waist. ‘Let her go. We shall get along very well, she and I.’
Madeleine Lanier was a pussycat. An aged, very fiercely loyal lady, who guarded her family with her life. But a pussycat, nonetheless.
Anneke spared Sebastian a mischievous smile, and met his gleaming gaze, saw the faint shrug of resignation that accompanied it.
‘You are going to marry her, of course.’
‘Of course, Grandmère. I just haven’t got around to asking her yet.’
Madeleine stopped in her tracks, turned and directed her grandson a baleful glare. ‘And why not?’
Anneke didn’t know whether to smile or cry, for there was a very strong possibility jet lag had caused her to imagine the entire conversation.
The glare shifted to Anneke. ‘You do want to marry Sebastian?’
This was the craziest discourse she’d ever entered into! ‘If he asks me, I’ll give it some thought.’
‘Indeed!’
They took coffee in the conservatory. And tea. With tiny petits fours and dainty sandwiches. Then Madeleine shooed them upstairs.
‘Your luggage will be in your usual suite, Sebastian. Breakfast,’ she declared regally, ‘is served at eight. Don’t be late.’
The staircase was wide and curved gently upwards in a sweeping arc to the upper floor central landing, from which a wide corridor stretched in both directions.
Sebastian turned to the right and traversed the corridor to its end, then opened the door to an elegant suite with views out over the Seine.
Anneke slipped out of her shoes and crossed to the window. It was drizzling, and what she could see of the city was shrouded in damp mist.
In spring, in summer, it would be clear, the skies a delicate blue, and there would be colour instead of the grey of winter.
Hard, masculine arms closed round her waist and linked together over her stomach, and she leaned back against him.
She felt weary almost beyond belief. She wanted nothing more than a long, hot shower, and a comfortable bed.
‘I love you,’ Sebastian said gently. ‘I planned to ask you to marry me over a candlelit dinner on Christmas Eve, with champagne, a single red rose, the gift of my mother’s ring. To introduce you to the family on the day we present and open gifts. Noël.’
His lips touched the vulnerable spot just beneath her ear, and she turned to meet his mouth.
‘Yes,’ she said simply.
It had been that easy. His arms tightened fractionally. ‘No qualifications?’
‘Two. We do the Christmas Eve thing, and you bring me back to Paris in the spring.’
His smile stole her heart. ‘You’re beautiful, mon ange. My life.’
Anneke reached up and brought his mouth down to hers.’ Je t’aime, mon amour. Je t’aime.’
Family, Anneke reflected as she stood within the circle of Sebastian’s arms after breakfast on Christmas morning.
The elegant lounge was filled with various aunts and uncles, cousins. And children. Madeleine Lanier’s great-grandchildren. Beautifully dressed, exquisitely groomed, and extremely well behaved. Madeleine would not have tolerated it otherwise.
She glanced across the room and met the eyes of the gracious old lady, and smiled.
Everyone together in peace and harmony. Sharing, caring. Hopes and dreams. Gifts and giving.
For Madeleine Lanier, this house, her family, represented a lifetime of memories.
And Anneke had gifted and been given the greatest gift of all.
Love.