Chapter Twenty-Four

The waitress at Le Petite Café and Boulangerie served them blueberry crepes the following morning. Once again, smells of baking bread and pastries and steaming strong coffee hung in the air. Alyson inhaled the delightful aromas. “I wonder if one could bottle these fragrances.”

“None would smell as good as you.” Niko winked at her.

“You’re looking very pleased with yourself this morning.” They’d made love several times throughout the night. When he stepped into the shower behind her earlier, well, what could she say? The man was insatiable.

“I’m pleased with you, mon amour.” He motioned the waitress over.

“Problem, Monsieur?”

“We need your assistance. My wife would like to have her hair done. A cut and color. Do you know of a place she could patronize today? We have an important dinner this evening.” They talked about changing her appearance over their dinner last night. Since the terrorists knew her as a blonde and a redhead, she had to pick a different hair color.

The middle-aged waitress nodded at both Niko and Alyson. “Oui, allow me to make a call. Your name for the appointment?”

“Cally Aukland.” Would she ever get used to the name? She supposed the time to start was now. Although she wasn’t happy with the events surrounding her life, she had to adopt a positive attitude if she were ever to have a degree of happiness and contentment in her life.

By the time the waitress returned, Niko finished off his crepes and eyed Alyson’s. “Look!” He pointed. “A mouse.”

Both women gasped and looked in the direction he pointed. When Alyson glanced back at Niko in question, his cheeks were puffed out and her plate was empty. “You stole my crepes!”

He raised both hands in a surrender gesture and shook his head. The man couldn’t talk, not with his mouth full of her crepes.

“I’ll make you more, Madame Aukland.” The laughing waitress turned to Niko. “Would monsieur desire more crepes, as well?”

Too busy chewing, the crepe-thief merely nodded.

She placed a slip of paper in front of Alyson. “Here are the address and directions to Yvette’s shop. Your appointment is in two hours.”

****

“It’s too short.” Alyson picked at her hair as she preened in the reflection of the car’s sun visor mirror. “Don’t you think it’s too short?”

“I think it’s chic. I like the shade, too. What did Yvette call it?”

“Caramel mocha. Whatever that means. Oh, and don’t think I didn’t notice her flirting with you.”

“Did I flirt back? No, I did not. Because you are woman enough for any man.” He lifted her hand to his lips. Warm fluttery sensations undulated through her system.

She peered back into the mirror, turning her head from side to side. “I look like a boy.”

His gaze swept to her full breasts. “Never in a million years could you be mistaken for a boy or a man. Baby, you are all woman. I could take you back to the apartment and show you.” His eyebrows wiggled.

“You can’t possibly want me again.” They made love after breakfast, before her hair appointment. A post-breakfast-quickie, he called it. “Besides, I want to do some painting this afternoon. The sun is bright. The air is calm. We could set the easel up on the beach. You could work on your tan while I paint.”

Because the sun was exceptionally bright, Alyson wore a cotton top over her bathing suit to protect her bullet wound. This was her first day without the bandage. As she squeezed tubes of oils onto her palette, the sun’s warmth soothed the wound’s continual ache. She wore a broad-brimmed hat to shield her eyes from the sun’s glare.

“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” She gazed briefly at Niko, sitting on a towel in his black swimming trunks and rubbing on suntan lotion.

“It is, cherie. We should come back in a couple months, earlier if Marie-Clare needs us to help her move. She was right when she called this a healing place. I’ve done a lot of healing here, because of you, of course, but the quiet of this place soothes me, too.”

“Yes.” For a few seconds, she focused her attention on the waves breaking over the rocks and two sailboats near the horizon, looking as if they would topple off the edge of the earth. She blended her grays and blues for the water. “I might be working by then. If I’m to start a new life here, I’ll need to support myself.”

“There’s no hurry to tie yourself down with a job. Relax. Enjoy life for a while. Get used to living in Paris and being a Frenchwoman.”

She touched her brush to the pristine canvas. “Just how am I supposed to live? I have over a quarter of a million in my bank account. My settlement from Chaz. There are other investments I’ve made over the years, plus my retirement built up with the school system in North Carolina. It galls me to walk away from it all.”

“Don’t do anything foolish. Money is replaceable. You aren’t.” His eyes hardened and he glared at her. “Promise me, Aly. Don’t try to access those funds.”

“Aly’s dead. Remember? How can she promise you anything?”

“Don’t be facetious. I want to make sure you’re aware of the dangers in contacting any financial institution. If you want a job, you could continue Marie-Clare’s business downstairs or close that business and start another one. There’s also volunteer work to occupy your days. It doesn’t matter to me if you have an income or not. I plan to support you.” He pushed on his Ray-Bans and lay back.

Other than her father, no man had ever supported her. She had money and investments back home. How could she just pretend they didn’t exist? “I could use that money to start a new life.”

“You won’t need it. You have me.” He sounded bored with the conversation, and why not? In his arrogant French mind, he’d already solved her problems.

She applied paint with flowing wrist movements. A thought flitted into her mind and did a sensuous dance step or two. She fought the urge to smile and thus give herself away. “I could get a job in an all-male club. Bet I could make lots of tips there. I used to take belly dancing classes.” His head swiveled in her direction. “Hmm. On a crazy whim, Gwen and I once took pole dancing classes, too. Maybe I could combine the two. You know, bump and grind against the pole and then shake my hips and derriere in some guy’s face. I could get a red-sequined thong…” Poor gullible fool must have gotten a visual. He had an instant erection.

“Are you going sailing, Niko? I see your mast is up.”

A few hours later, when Alyson stepped into the shower to wash off sweat and sea mist, Niko soon joined her. “What are you doing in here?”

He wore that appealing little-boy expression. “I have sand on my feet. I need to wash them off.”

“Uh-hunh.” She handed him her pouf and turned her back to him. “While you’re here invading my space, you might as well make yourself useful and wash my back. How’s my wound look?”

Niko bent to kiss it. “Looks good. No signs of infection. Pink with healing. Adds character to an otherwise perfect body.” He patted her bottom. “Which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about that belly dancing idea you had.” His erection poked her, and she smiled. He was certainly an ardent lover. “Any belly dancing you do will be only for me.”

“Oh? You think so, do you?”

His arms banded around her waist, drawing her back to the hardness of his body and his erection. “I told you before I’m a jealous lover. You’re mine. Mine only.” One of his hands slid to her abdomen. “I might share you with a child one day, but no one else.”

Her spirits sank; he wanted children. He mentioned it briefly before as if he thought it could be a possibility, but his desire hadn’t fully registered. Until now.

“I can’t give you a child, Niko.” She turned, wanting to make him see the futility of the situation. “Look, you almost have me convinced the difference in our ages doesn’t matter, but this issue of children has to be faced. I haven’t been able to conceive. My doctor said part of the problem was endometriosis. I had surgery to correct that. Although the doctor claimed conception could happen, I…” A heartfelt sob escaped. “I hold no hope. If you want a child, you should find another woman.”

Niko kissed away her tears. “I don’t want another woman. I want you. We haven’t used birth control and we won’t. If a baby results, fine. If it doesn’t, fine also. Giving you up is not an option. You are part of my soul now. The best part. Don’t cry, mon amour. We belong together, child or no child.” He kissed the tender spot behind her ear and grazed the column of her neck with his teeth. A chill skittered across her skin while heat flamed inside; this man could make her feel contrasting sensations with a touch, a kiss or a look.

His fingers plucked at her nipples, and desire pooled. “Now, about this belly dancing…”

****

The next morning, Niko and Aly lay entwined in bed. He was slowly waking, enjoying the luxury of no alarm clock, no schedule and a naked Aly snuggled against him. His cell rang and he crawled out of bed to answer it, taking care not to waken her.

“Hold on,” he whispered into the phone. He grabbed a pair of shorts and pulled them on before stepping into the hallway and heading for the balcony. “Okay, I’m back. What’s up?”

“Problem.” Niko smiled. Jean-Luc had a succinct way of speaking sometimes.

“Oh yeah? What?” Niko leaned against the wrought iron railing and glanced at the sky, wondering what kind of day he and Aly would have.

“Her father and sister are here.”

“Whose father and sister? Aly’s?”

“Bingo!”

“In Paris?” What were they doing here? This wasn’t the way he had things planned. What the hell?

“Got in this morning. The father came in on an airplane. The sister rode her broom.”

Niko pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let me guess, they want to see Aly.”

“Oh, yeah. The father’s mad as hell. Did you know he’s a retired cop? Threatened to take, and I quote, my ‘steroid-induced muscled ass down.’”

Niko snorted. “Keep them away from Henri. Don’t let anyone hear them talking about coming to see Aly. They’ll blow our story.” All of his well-laid plans would crumble, and Aly would again be in danger.

“Step ahead of you, buddy. Soon as they walked in here, I took them to your house. No one else saw them. Which reminds me, the codes for the gates and your building are changed. I practically had to threaten the concierge with imprisonment to get her to do it. Got a pen?”

Niko stepped back inside to get pen and paper. “Okay, give them to me.” Once he jotted them down, he went back onto the balcony so his end of the conversation wouldn’t wake Aly.

“Look, you need to come back to Paris. Your mother’s doing her best to charm the old man, but he’s not having any of it. As for the sister, hell, I had to lock myself in the bathroom just to get away from her.”

Niko laughed.

“This ain’t funny, Reynard. You get your ass back here and deal with these two—especially Horney Hortense. I’m tellin’ you that woman is in major heat and she’s got her eyes locked on my crotch. Damn you for laughing. Damn all you sonsabitches!” The call ended.

Niko turned his cell over and over in his hand. So, her family came to see for themselves Aly was alive and well. Guess he couldn’t blame them for that. He’d do the same thing for a family member. Odd Jean-Luc had such a strong reaction to Gwen. When he held that brief conversation with her over the phone several days ago, he found her very personable, nosy maybe, in a sisterly way, but nice all the same.

Still, the arrival of Aly’s father and sister was something he hadn’t expected. No doubt Aly would want to return to Paris right away. His gaze took in the English Channel and the beach. He wasn’t ready to leave Villerville. Marie-Clare was right. This was a healing place. Aly had a measure of healing here, and so had he. For the first time in two years, he felt at peace about Hae-Won and his part in her death. All because of the American woman he loved.

Aly wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back. “What’s up? I missed your body heat in bed.”

He turned and drew her into his arms. “Good morning, mon amour. How are you feeling?” He kissed her several times, wishing he could take her back to bed and make sweet love. Once she knew her family was in Paris, she’d want to see them.

“Jean-Luc called. Your father and sister arrived in Paris this morning.”

“Dad? Gwen? In Paris?”

“Yeah, looks like our vacation is over. Let’s shower and pack. We’ll eat breakfast at Le Petite Café and then drive back to the city. I’m sure you’re eager to see them.” Dread slipped into his heart, stealthy and ominous. Would the progress he made in winning her heart be undone once she was under the influence of her family?

Their ride back to Paris was quiet. Aly seemed lost in her thoughts. Niko wanted to escape his. What if her family convinced her to leave France and him for her return to the States? No doubt that’s why they were here; to take Aly back to Asheville. Would he be able to convince them how dangerous that could be? He glanced at her, sitting there with her eyes facing straight ahead and her hands clasped primly in her lap. He could almost hear the gears grinding in her head.

If she left him, what would he do? Now that he knew her, had gotten a taste of her and watched her eyes glaze over with passion, could he live without her? Their relationship was more than sex, much more. He needed her strength and her way of looking at the heart of things. Being with her made him happy; she completed him. Simply put, he needed her in every way.

Yet, sometimes love wasn’t enough to keep people together. Sometimes things or some other person tore them apart. How would he live without the sound of her laughter? The warmth of her touch. Her strength and softness he loved so much. How?

“I hope Dad’s not being his usual rude self to your maman. He can be rather acerbic at times.” She shifted in her seat and looked at him. “You’re worried, aren’t you? You’re afraid I’ll go back home with them.”

Once more she zinged to the heart of the matter. “You’ll need a passport to leave France.”

“Can I get one with my new French I.D.?”

Cold fear bungee jumped from his heart. “Would you leave me? After all that’s happened between us, would you leave me, mon amour?”

“Would it matter if I did?”

Niko yanked the car off the highway and jerked the gearshift into Park. He stared straight ahead for a few heartbeats, willing himself to calm. “I could shake you. I’ve told you how I feel. Told you over and over how much I love you. I’m buying an apartment for you, a business. I’ve asked you to stay with me forever. Shared things with you I couldn’t or wouldn’t share with anyone else. Why do you think I did that?” He turned and grabbed her shoulders. “Why?”

He hauled her to him and kissed her, roughly at first and then gentling. Pulling away, he sighed in resignation. “I can’t force you to stay with me if you don’t want to. We both know that.” He shrugged and began shutting down. “Do what your heart tells you.” He put the car in gear and checked his mirrors. “You already know what’s in my heart.” He pulled the car out into the stream of traffic.