“Would that be so bad?”
“Yes. I hate being gossiped about. I’m still officially in mourning. It would look bad if I was—”
“Out on the town with a hot, young Grammy nominee.”
“You’re not younger than me! You’re a year older. But yes. And there are my children to think of. I need to keep a low profile.”
“I understand.” He spoke slowly, and she could almost hear wheels turning in his brain. “I know of a quiet place just outside the city. No people to recognize you. Total privacy. I’ll pick you up at seven. I’ll call your room and you can come right out to the car. Secrecy in all things.”
“Uh…” warring factions in her brain staged a mock battle. It didn’t last long. “Okay. See you then.”
As soon as she’d hung up she realized she’d planned an entire day without consulting Callista, who she was purportedly there to visit. Still, her body tingled with rash excitement at the prospect of seeing Amadou again.
As long as no one knew about their crazy reunion romance, her eventual pain at being ditched by him would be private and she would handle it the way she’d handled all the trauma and upheaval of the past year. As long as no one found out about them she’d be fine.
“Oh, my goodness.” Liesel flounced into the chic café and slammed her bag down on the table. “The problem with Paris is that it’s full of bloody French people.”
“It’s known for that.” Lina sipped her coffee. It was utterly pointless trying to school Liesel on any subject. Her mind had been closed for decades.
“Shame they have the most beautiful leatherwork. I’m forced to come here whenever I need new boots.”
“Custom?”
“Of course, darling. I have this little man on Faubourg Saint-Honoré. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
Lina wondered where Amadou bought his boots. Did he have them custom-made?
Focus! “Callista is loving her new job. They’re on the brink of some big new discovery.”
“Riveting. Just make sure she doesn’t marry anyone unsuitable. Paris is full of all sorts of unsavory types. And your children are showing a rebellious streak. I still can’t believe Darias—the king of Altaleone—married a nobody whom he’d hired as a stand-in bride.”
“We all love her. It was very fortuitous. And he only made the arrangement with her because he was under so much pressure to produce a wife. I hope that the rest of my children can follow their heart and take the time to find someone they truly love.”
“Nonsense. Aunt Friedl masterminded your marriage to Emil and look how well that turned out.”
“True.” She forced a smile. True, they’d enjoyed a comfortable life and raised ten wonderful children, but since running into Amadou again she had a distinct sense that she’d missed out on something else.
Passion.
“It’s your job as their mother to strategize, plan and execute their future unions in order to avoid disaster.” Liesel waved rudely at a waiter and ordered two coffees in terrible French. “It’s simply your royal duty.”
“Uh, I hate to point this out…” Lina found herself feeling reckless. “But you’ve never married.”
Liesel sniffed the air. “I never found anyone adequate. Far better to remain single than to lower oneself.”
Lina sighed. “Don’t you get lonely?”
“Not at all. I find men rather tiresome even in small doses. Really—who doesn’t? I suppose this is why women encourage them to shoot and play golf and other time-consuming pursuits.”
Lina laughed. “I suspect my daughters will be marrying men with demanding careers, not nineteenth-century aristocrats with time on their hands. But I have no intention of interfering in any way.”
“What if they all decide to marry Americans?” Liesel lifted a penciled brow. “Or worse?”
“I will welcome whoever they choose. And for the record I’d be delighted for any of them to choose to have a partner of the same gender.”
“My goodness.” Liesel looked appropriately scandalized. “What would Emil say?”
Now that Lina had a better idea of what Emil got up to in his spare time—with the kinky Cross of Blood society—she didn’t think much would have shocked him. Or that he’d have a right to show any kind of disapproval. “Sometimes people can surprise you.”
They ordered lunch and had a dull but harmless conversation about summer hats. All the while Lina’s mind kept straying to Amadou and their plans for that night. She wouldn’t be able to go back to his hotel this whole trip, not with Liesel staying right there in the same building. She’d never hear the end of it if her sister got wind of her affair. Or even found out that she’d been rash enough to have sex outside of a carefully arranged marriage.
“You do seem distracted today,” probed Liesel, snapping a crab leg with manicured fingertips. “Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Of course,” she answered, too quickly. She didn’t want her sister to know that she’d tossed and turned last night, thinking of her lover. “I’m just out of my element here in Paris. There’s so much to do and so little time.”
“Indeed. When are you leaving?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure yet. I…I…it will depend on Callista’s schedule.” She didn’t want to state a definite plan, then find herself needing to backtrack. “There’s some big party next week she wants me to attend.”
“Callista doesn’t strike me as a party girl.”
“It’s just one of those things that everyone is going to. A charity fundraiser. I accepted my invitation months ago. If I’m back in Altaleone I’ll just send regrets. I don’t like those big dos, but if I’m here anyway I suppose I’ll go.”
“You really should be back home, making sure Darias fully understands his royal duties.”
“Darias is fine.” Lina lifted a brow. “You don’t need to concern yourself with the management of Altaleone.”
“Of course not, darling. I’m just concerned about you.”
“I’m also fine.”
“It’s just that you look a little…flushed.” Liesel’s eyes narrowed.
Lina felt her skin heat. She might well look flushed after the excitement of last night. Every cell of her body had come alive in Amadou’s arms. “I’m fine.” She toyed with her quiche. “Just a lot on my mind.”
“It’s never easy getting another year older at our age,” simpered Liesel. “I need to find you a gift, don’t I?”
“Nonsense. I don’t know why everyone feels the need to buy me something for my birthday. I can buy whatever I want.”
“Don’t rub it in, dear. I’m not impoverished myself.”
“I wasn’t trying to say…” Never mind. Whatever you said to Liesel was the wrong thing. “I need to do some shopping this afternoon.” She wanted to buy something new to wear tonight. Something elegant and tasteful, but possibly a bit less…royal than her usual attire.
“Fine. I’ll come with you. It’s important to have someone honest with you once you’re past a certain age.”
Great. Lina’s heart sank. “I think I’m just going to hit Galleries Lafayette and Printemps. Nowhere too fancy.”
“Ugh, there are so many people there.”
“I like people,” she said brightly.
“You’re on your own then. I’m going to my equestrian tailor. Let me call him and have him fit me in. I believe I’ve lost an inch off my waist since I gave up carbohydrates.” She pulled out her phone, and Lina heaved a sigh of relief as Liesel browbeat him into rearranging his afternoon for her.
I’m looking forward to tonight.
The sound of the text made her jump, and Amadou’s name on the text made her startle. She really should put something more cryptic in her phone’s address book, so anyone peeking would think a florist or caterer was calling.
She wanted to reply, just to be polite, but she didn’t want to encourage him too much with Liesel still sitting here.
Me too. She typed it quick
ly, then tucked her phone into her bag.
“What was that?”
“Oh, nothing.” How guilty did that sound?
And she’d be guilty of even more after tonight.
Chapter 10
Amadou felt as nervous as a boy on his first date when he pulled up to Lina’s hotel. Usually he maintained an easy-come, easy-go attitude to relationships—which went nicely with his nomadic existence—but the way he felt tonight you’d think he was planning to propose or something.
He wasn’t.
But he did have another plan that rather surprised him and would probably surprise her, too
He texted her that he was outside. It felt rude not to go in to get her, but he knew how privacy conscious she was and the press was extra interested in his movements with the surprise Grammy nomination for his latest release. He’d concentrated on touring and hadn’t been nominated for one in years. Some people probably thought he was dead.
He laughed.
Normally this was when his driver and confidant would turn to him and ask what was so funny. But he’d given him the night off, to assure total confidentiality for Lina.
She didn’t respond to his text and he was beginning to wonder if maybe she’d got cold feet when suddenly the porter opened the doors and a glow emerged, sheltered from the light drizzle by a large hotel umbrella. The glow, of course, was Lina, her hair arranged in an updo and a pale raincoat drawn about her.
He felt a smile spreading across his face. She really did shine like a light wherever she went. It wasn’t just her outer beauty, it came from within, from her warm personality and the love she shared so readily with others.
He leaped out to open the door for her, hoping that no one would recognize him in the dark and the rain.
Her shy smile stirred his heart. “Good evening,” he said softly, not wanting to draw the porter’s suspicion.
“Good evening to you, too.”
He wanted to kiss her but restrained himself. There’d be time for that later.
She congratulated him again on his Grammy nomination, and they talked for a while about the ups and downs of his career and how gratifying it was to keep finding fresh audiences for his unusual music.
Then she frowned. “Where are we going?”
She’d noticed that they were leaving central Paris and heading out to the suburbs.
He braced himself slightly. “My mother’s house.”
He turned to catch her wide-eyed stare. “Oh.”
“I wanted to find somewhere away from all the cameras. And your supposedly terrible sister. And my mom is a fan of yours. She reads those silly royal magazines.”
“Does she know that we…know each other?”
“Of course.” He smiled cryptically. He hadn’t told her anything other than that they were old friends, but she wasn’t born yesterday.
“Well, I can’t wait to meet her.” Lina’s diplomatic response, delivered with a warm smile, was no less than he’d expect of her. “I really should bring her a gift. Can we stop for some flowers?”
He laughed. “At this time of night? Don’t worry. She won’t be expecting anything. And she has a cook so we’re not causing her any work.”
“Tell me about her. What does she do? Is she retired?” Lina’s own parents were long dead, since they’d both been almost middle aged when they had her.
“She was a schoolteacher for nearly twenty years, teaching French to immigrant children in the suburbs, but now she’s retired and spends most of her time in her garden.”
“We have something in common, then. I love my garden. It’s a shame it will be too dark to see hers.”
The drive was filled with relaxing conversation and reassuring glances, and he arrived at his mom’s gates with a sense of heightened anticipation. He didn’t start to get really nervous until the gates opened, and they pulled up the long gravel driveway.
Would his mom assume he was bringing Lina to visit because he intended to propose to her? Would she think such an aspiration—marrying a royal—outlandish and arrogant? Would she welcome Lina or would she be—as sometimes happened—suspicious and prickly with his guest?
Somehow everything mattered far more than it should.
Lina managed to clamber out of the car before Amadou could rush around to help her. “I’m fine, really. People act like I’m helpless, but I’m not. I should open your door for you. Did you know I have a fitness trainer three times a week back in Altaleone?”
“I’m not at all surprised.” His eyes roamed daringly up and down her body, making her feel like he could see right through her thin raincoat and the brand-new silky top and skirt beneath.
She would have worn something quite different if she had known she was meeting his mother. His mother! It was hard to even remember that someone like Amadou—a kind of living rock god—had been born to a human mother. Which was silly because he’d mentioned her before. Still, she didn’t ever really think she’d get to meet her.
That seemed so…serious.
The front door of the large house opened, an archway of light in the rain-damp darkness, and a small female form appeared in silhouette.
“Hello, Mama. I want you to meet Carolina. She’s one of my oldest and dearest friends.”
Lina found his words—hey, she’d been friend-zoned—both reassuring and a little depressing. She climbed the steps and extended her hand, which was embraced in his mother’s two soft palms. The older woman’s dark eyes met hers, and she could feel them boring into her, asking questions. All kinds of questions.
“It’s so nice to meet you…” What should she call her?
“Please call me Aurelie.”
“Please call me Lina.” She smiled her warmest, professional smile. Amadou’s told me so much about you. Have you lived here long? My, what weather we’re having! All her usual lines seemed embarrassing and inappropriate under the circumstances.
“Do come inside.” Amadou’s mother moved slowly. She must be in her seventies, a delicately built woman, very elegant in a black sweater and patterned cigarette pants, her silver hair cut quite short. She led them into a beautiful, dimly lit living room. “You’re not the first royal person to visit this house.” She turned with a shy smile. “Marie Antoinette used it as a summer house from time to time.”
“It’s gorgeous. Amadou tells me you have a lovely garden…” The conversation went smoothly and easily. For some reason she’d pictured his mother being some painfully shy immigrant with barely any English. Maybe she had been once, but that was a long time ago. They talked about places they liked to visit, Amadou’s alternately endearing and infuriating nomadic tendencies and—at last—his mother lamented about his refusal to create a family.
“I would have loved him to give me grandchildren.” She shot him a scolding look.
“I bought you Napoleon.” He glanced at the sweet black-and-white dog curled up on the sofa next to her.
She tutted. “And he is my heart, but it’s hardly the same thing.” She sighed. “You have children, don’t you?”
“Ten of them. Only five pregnancies, though. Twins run in my husband’s family.”
Aurelie looked shocked. “I would never have guessed.”
This was where Lina often thought she should admit to the tummy tuck she’d been talked into ten years ago, as well as the personal trainer, but as usually she just shrugged and smiled.
“I would have loved to have more children, but it wasn’t meant to be,” Aurelie added.
“Amadou could still marry a young woman and give you grandchildren.” Lina said the words through gritted teeth.
Aurelie laughed and looked lovingly at her son. “Unfortunately he’s far too sensible for that.”
Now Amadou laughed. “Are we ever going to eat? This conversation is embarrassing me.”
Dinner was as stylish as her host and their surroundings, catered by two adorable young aspiring actors who couldn’t help joining in their conversation and gushing over Amadou’s
Grammy nomination. After dinner they shared strong, rather bitter coffee and handmade chocolates, then his mom excused herself, saying that she needed to get her beauty sleep but that they should stay as long as they wanted.
The caterers had packed up and left, little Napoleon tottered off after his owner, and suddenly they were all alone in the quiet living room.
Lina didn’t realize until that moment just how much tension—sexual and otherwise—had built up in her during the hours of proximity and polite conversation.
Amadou’s mouth crushed over hers with urgency that showed he felt the same. Relief flooded her veins at the sensation of his arms around her. She kissed him back with uninhibited passion. It was amazing to feel so much for this man and to express it.
They must have kissed for several mindless minutes before she remembered their surroundings. “What would your mom think?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“She’s amazing.”
“She is. I’m glad you got a chance to meet her.” He looked pleased at her praise.
“You never told me she was a teacher.” He’d told her she was a maid or cleaner or something like that.
“She wasn’t, back when we first knew each other. That came later. After I started making money I pushed her to try out some evening classes and she took it from there.” He cocked his head. “She’s living proof that you can reinvent yourself in midlife and go on to have a full career doing something different.”
Lina exhaled slowly. “I’m not sure I’m up for a new career. Have I ever really had one? I’m not sure that royal wife actually counts.”
He laughed, a truly amused giggle. “I’m sure you were a lot more than that. Diplomat, hostess and of course a mother. I bet no one ever believes you had ten children.” He gave a steamy glance down at her body. “What’s your secret?”
It was her turn to shrug and smile mysteriously. “It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you, would it?”
He stared at her for a moment, let his gaze drift to her lips, then kissed her again. It felt okay to have secrets with Amadou. Everyone had them. Her husband certainly had. No one ever knew everything about anybody.
Hot Silver Nights: Silver Fox Romance Collection Page 36