Last Resort (37 page)

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exploring each other's pasts, sorely feeling the need for each other's futures. It was like, Penny thought, teetering on the edge of a precipice knowing that to go over was inevitable, it was just a matter of time. The first jolt of a near fall came on Sunday evening as they were driving back to the villa and he told her he would have to leave in the morning.

Penny's eyes dropped to her hands.

"Where will you be going?"

she asked.

"Not far, just up to Paris. Will you miss me?"

"Do you need to ask?"

she replied, smiling.

"How long will you be gone?"

"A few days. No more."

He glanced over at her, then returned his eyes to the road.

"Why don't you come with me?"

he said.

Penny's heart somersaulted. Should she? Could she? She knew she didn't want to be parted from him, but...

"I'll have to call the office,"

she said.

"I think they can manage without me for a few days, but I'd better square it with my deputy."

When they got home Penny played back the messages on the answerphone, while Christian stood behind her, his arms wrapped round her. The first two were from friends in London. The third was from David.

Instantly Penny felt a flare of guilt. She'd totally forgotten to call him.

"Hi, Pen,"

he said. T guess you got busy last night. Not to worry, I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"Who was that?"

Christian said.

"My boss,"

she answered, turning in his arms.

He looked down at her, studying her face and seeming as bemused as he did angry.

"Are you in love with him?"

he asked.

Penny stared at him, stunned.

"Are you?"

he repeated.

"No, of course not,"

she answered, shaking her head in disbelief. How can you even ask it when we've just

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spent the weekend we have?"

His eyes were still boring into hers. The way he spoke sounded intimate/ he said.

That's David/ Penny told him.

"He always sounds like that - with everyone. Hey, come on, there's nothing to be jealous of. I told you, he's just my boss."

Christian tightened his hold on her.

"I guess the strain is too great sometimes/ he said.

"Meeting you, falling in love with you, everything happening so quickly."

He laughed.

"You're not the only one who's afraid. I don't want to lose you, but I know I'm going to."

"No/ she said vehemently.

"You're not. You don't understand. I don't care how long it takes, I'll wait for you, Christian. I don't want anyone else, I never will, I already know that. What we have together only comes once in a lifetime - do you think I'd let it go that easily?"

"Brave words/ he smiled.

"But will you still be saying them three years, maybe ten years, from now? No/

he said, putting a finger over her lips,

"don't answer that. Just tell me you love me now."

"I love you now/ she whispered, and as she gazed up at him she very nearly told him what else was in her mind. But in the end she couldn't say it. Things had gone fast enough already; they had to spend more time together, be even more sure of each other than they were now, before they started thinking about dispensing with the condoms. So far they hadn't made love once without one, not even yesterday morning in the bathroom, and in truth she could hardly believe she was considering such a move.

Could she really be wishing that upon herself? she was wondering as they walked into the kitchen. A life of single parenthood as she waited for him to come out of jail? What on earth had got into her to make her think of such things? Did she really love him that much or was she just losing sight of reality?

It was around midnight when Penny woke to find the 285

bed empty beside her. Trying to swallow the fear that he had slipped away quietly, she started to reach out for the lamp, then stopped as she saw him, silhouetted in the moonlit window, staring out at the garden.

"Christian?"

she said hoarsely, turning on the lamp.

Immediately he turned.

"Shh!"

he said. Tut out the light and come over here."

Obediently Penny killed the light and padded across the room to stand in the circle of his arm.

"Did you know you were being watched?"

he asked in

a whisper.

Penny's sleepy eyes flew open as an icy tremor coasted through her.

"What do you mean?"

she asked.

"Who would want to watch me?"

"I don't know,"

he answered,

"but someone is. Look, down there in the trees. Do you see him?"

Penny craned her neck to see, but everything looked perfectly still and as it should be.

"I don't understand/ she said.

"Surely if someone was watching here, they'd . .. well, they'd be looking for you."

He laughed softly.

"Do you think if they wanted me they'd still be out there?"

he said.

"And this isn't the first time I've noticed someone. We were followed over to E/e today."

"But how do you know?"

He smiled.

"After two years of living the way I have I don't have too much trouble spotting these things. Have you any idea why someone would be having you watched?"

"No,"

she answered, feeling faintly light-headed at the prospect.

"None."

Sensing her fear, he drew her closer to him.

"Maybe I've got it wrong,"

he said.

"Maybe it's just a prowler out there. Is the place alarmed?"

"Fully,"

she answered.

"I've even got a portable panic button I can carry around with me."

"Is it connected to the police?"

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'No, a security company. They're pretty good/ she went on, as though to reassure herself. They can be here within a few minutes. Oh God, this is so scary/ she groaned.

"Shh/ he said, touching her forehead with his lips. 1 shouldn't have said anything, and nothing's going to happen to you while I'm here."

As he started to lead her back to the bed Penny cast one last, lingering glance out of the window. Still there was no movement other than the gentle sway of the trees and within minutes of lying in his arms all her fears were forgotten.

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Chapter 15

Getting away to Paris proved no problem. Marielle was only too ready to cover

- in fact she was insistent that Penny should stay away as long as she liked.

Both Penny and Christian laughed about that since she'd already told him how keen Marielle was to usurp her position. They caught a mid-morning flight from Nice airport, where Penny noticed that the name on his passport was Jacques Marchand. She teased him about it during the flight, making him recite his many aliases.

When they arrived in Paris just over an hour later it was to find the Delaneys"

counterparts waiting to drive them into the city. They stayed in a quaint, cosy little hotel not far from the Pompidou Centre and fought like crazy over who was going to pay for it.

T don't care if you're a multimillionaire,"

she shouted at him.

"You paid for everything all weekend, you even paid for the flights up here, so it's my turn now."

"But you don't get a turn,"

he said, laughing.

"No! Penny, put your purse away, you're'

Take it!"

she cried, thrusting a handful of 200-franc notes at him.

"Please!'

"No! Keep it. You never know when you might need it."

There was nothing Penny could do to persuade him, so in the end she gave up trying. Instead, while he was seeing the people he'd come here to see, she shopped

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and bought him some decent clothes.

"What is all this?"

he cried, holding up the shirts and trousers and jackets from Giorgio Armani.

"It's called style - something you're not big on/ she told him bluntly.

He gave a her a pained look, saying,

"But I live on the sea. I don't know about clothes for life ashore. Did I really look so terrible?"

Tes/ she answered, smiling at him.

"You looked like you'd been thrown together by a bankrupt charity. But now you're going to look devastating."

Which he did. The clothes fitted him well, since she'd taken some of his old ones along with her to match them for size. The only trouble was, now that she had spent so much money on him he was insisting he do the same for her.

Tou know what,"

she told him as they wandered, laden with parcels and carrier bags, into the Galeries Lafayettes.

"I feel a bit like Bonnie and Clyde doing this."

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

he remarked.

Tes, it was actually,"

she answered. T mean, don't you think so too? Us out here spending all your ill-gotten gains!'

"Shh,"

he said sharply.

No, that wasn't very tactful, Penny, she told herself, wishing she could bite out her tongue, until she saw him watching her from the corner of his eye and trying not to laugh.

"We've been invited to dinner with some friends of mine this evening/ he told her on the way back to the hotel.

"Would you like to go? Or would you prefer it was just the two of us?"

Penny put her head thoughtfully to one side.

"I don't know/ she said in the end. T'd like to meet your friends . .."

"But they aren't very interesting/ he finished for her,

"and personally I would prefer to have you all to myself."

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'Then you shall/ she told him.

They went to Le Tour d''Argent that evening, not because he particularly liked it, but because Penny had never been. It was while they were there, gazing down at Notre-Dame in the wintry moonlight, that he told her he wanted her to return to the South since things were getting a little complicated here.

Immediately Penny panicked.

"What are you saying?"

she asked.

"Are you about to be'

"No,"

he said, holding up a hand for her to stop.

"It's nothing like that. It's just that I'm not going to be able to spend much time with you over the next few days and I don't like to think of you wandering Paris alone."

T wouldn't mind/ she objected.

He grinned.

"Don't you have a business to run?"

"Yes, I suppose I do/ she said wryly.

"I'd almost forgotten. And you're right: I should be getting back. But when will I see you again? How can I get in touch with you?"

"Don't worry about that/ he said.

"I'll be in touch with you. And I'll be in Italy at the weekend, over at Lake Garda. Do you think you can get away?"

"Yes/ she answered blithely. In truth she wasn't particularly proud of the way she was shirking her responsibilities, though she'd called the office several times to make sure there was no crisis going on in her absence. Of course there wasn't, Marielle was perfectly in control, though what David was making of her sudden disappearance she hadn't stopped to find out. Besides, what did Nuance matter when weighed against what little time she and Christian might have left

together?

"Are you sure you want to come?"

Christian asked.

"Yes. Yes, of course I do/ Penny answered brightly.

"Then why do I get the impression you're not sure?"

T don't know/ she said, not wanting to tell him how guilty she felt about David and the way she was letting

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him down after all he'd done for her. Actually, the more she thought about David, the worse she felt, and though it pained her to admit it she was almost afraid to face him.

Christian drove her out to Orly himself the next morning, assuring her all the way that he was crazy about her, that he was going to miss her more than he could bear and couldn't wait for the weekend when they'd meet up in Italy.

He'd already given her the name and address of the hotel, telling her that one of the Delaneys would drive her there and he would take her back himself.

When she arrived at Nice she took a taxi straight to the office, to find Marielle and Mario engaged in battle.

Situation normal, Penny remarked to herself as, virtually unnoticed, she sailed past them into her office, where she discovered Brigitte sitting at the computer because, she explained, hers had gone down.

"So what's new?"

Penny asked, taking off her coat.

"Where's David?"

"I don't know. He hasn't been in today."

"Pierre?"

"No, he isn't here either, but he called to say he'd be in this afternoon.

There's a message there for you to call back the owner of that restaurant in Valbonne we gave a bad review to. He's been calling since Monday, but Marielle said to leave it to you. She thought you'd prefer to handle it yourself, since you approved the write-up."

Penny picked up the message. There was nothing more than a name and telephone number.

"OK, I'll call him,"

she said as the evening she had spent there with Celine, the restaurant critic, came back to her.

"But I hope he doesn't think he's getting a retraction after the bloody awful service we got. Did I tell you what he said when I asked where the food was after we'd been waiting over forty minutes for the starter?"

She knew she was

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gabbling, trying to hide her embarrassment at taking off the way she had. Had Marielle told them it was because of a man?

"He said/ she went on, "

"If you don't like it you can always go somewhere else." Which of course we did. And which, of course/ she laughed,

"Celine reported in the piece! Anyway, it might keep him on his toes a bit and make him realize that not every Englishspeaker down here is a tourist and even if they were that's no way to run a restaurant."

"I'd love to have seen his face when he picked up your card from the table/

Brigitte giggled.

"So would I/ Penny commented,

"but, alas, we'd already left by then. Anyway, what else has been happening?