by Serena Janes
She must have looked ill because Luc’s face grew grave. “Joanna! What’s happened to you? Are you alright?”
A concerned waiter appeared and asked if there was a problem with the salads.
“No, no. It’s fine. I’m just feeling a little unwell,” she said to both men. Then she looked at Luc. “I think I should go home.”
Instantly Luc got up to arrange for a taxi and settle the bill for their uneaten food.
Then he helped her negotiate the stairs and the short ride home. Once they were inside the apartment Jo took off her shoes and went to brush her teeth.
When she came out into the living room, Luc was standing with his back to her, staring out over the waters of English Bay. It was a calm evening, and the skies were a clear, dark blue. The room seemed abnormally quiet. She was holding herself so rigidly she thought she would shatter.
“I can guess what you’re thinking,” he said as she walked up behind him, encircled his waist with her arms and lay her cheek against his broad back.
“You can?”
“I’m going home tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“And I haven’t asked you to come with me.”
Her heart froze.
“No. You haven’t.”
“I want you to.” He turned around and put his hands on her shoulders, peering down into her eyes.
“You do?”
He took something out of the inside pocket of his jacket.
“Yes. I want you to come with me. As my wife.”
He opened a little hinged box and held it out to her.
“I saw this yesterday and I thought it would look perfect on your hand.”
Jo saw a delicately beautiful ring—small colored stones and seed pearls in an intricate Art Nouveau design. Her mouth was hanging open, she knew, as she looked from the ring into Luc’s shining eyes. Her own eyes brimmed with tears, and she made a sobbing sound as she practically jumped into his arms.
* * * *
The Departures Lounge at the YVR was one of the best he’d ever seen, Luc thought as he found himself a comfortable nook and put his feet up. He’d already checked out the extensive native art exhibit, and then he spent some time studying the huge aquarium stocked with salmon and other local sea life.
He opened his laptop and fired off one last email to his son, saying he’d be back by the time the boy got home from school the next day.
Then he sent one to Joanna. He couldn’t help telling her that he missed her already. He knew she was probably just getting home herself.
She was going to be a busy girl. He wondered what she’d do first. Of course she’d have to give Brenda notice immediately. Then she’d have to break the lease on her apartment. Move her things back to Seattle. Sell her condo. Get her dog back and prepare to have him exported.
And plan a wedding.
But those were all long-term tasks. In the short-term she had to get ready for another trip. This time to Paris for a week. Then he would bring her back to Cahors, where he was going to line up some rental properties for her to inspect.
They’d spent the morning booking her flights and discussing a million and one things they planned to do once he picked her up at Charles de Gaulle. First off, he wanted to show her Paris. His Paris. He hoped it would be like a honeymoon before the wedding.
Then he wanted to show off his hometown. Maybe Cahors wasn’t as cosmopolitan as Seattle or Vancouver, but it was a great place to live. And raise children.
They would find a house to rent, at first, until they found the perfect property to buy. It might take time to find something that was just right, but that was fine with both of them.
It also would take Joanna time to find something that she wanted to do besides keep house. She said that was fine with her, too. She’d laughed and said she wasn’t going to miss working so much that she had to rush right back into another job. He was glad.
After her two weeks in France, he promised he would fly back to Seattle with her to meet her family and help her pack up and move her things. When her affairs were settled, they would return to France to start the rest of their lives together.
The smell of food caught his attention. He looked up at the kiosks and thought he might grab some sushi before he had to board the plane.
Then he could sleep all the way home.
To be continued…
About the Author
Serena Janes is proud to say she was born in Vancouver, Canada. She now lives about 100 miles from that beautiful city, on a beautiful island, in a house called “Ocean Glimpses.”
Serena holds both a Bachelors and Masters degree in English, and has been teaching university-level courses in literature and composition for many years. She loves to travel and her goal is to write a story or novel set in every one of the foreign countries she’s ever visited. This should keep her busy for the rest of her life, she figures.
When she’s not reading, writing, gardening, beach-combing, swimming, cooking, walking, sewing and collecting stamps and postcards from around the world, Serena enjoys her husband and Mr. Bates, a tabby cat named after a character in Downton Abbey.
If you enjoyed Revenge of the Black Virgin, look for its sequel, Gift of the Black Virgin, and its prequel, Cult of the Black Virgin.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen