Paradise Found

by Dorothy Vernon

  Her mother’s eyes had filled with soft laughter. ‘Oh, Zoe, my poor innocent. It’s like comparing the moon with a meteorite. The moon is always there, forever constant, just like the love your father and I have for one another. The brighter meteorite burns itself out, and that’s what Sandra’s mother’s affair with this man will do, and she’ll be all alone.’

  In that Zoe’s mother had been right. The lover had left Sandra’s mother, but by that time Sandra’s father had met someone else, a gentle, smiling woman who had made Sandra a good stepmother. There was no place in his life for his former wife, so Sandra’s mother had been left all alone, just as Zoe’s mother had predicted. Zoe’s mother had endeavored to explain it more fully. ‘Your father and I have never had the bright and glittery kind of love, never been dazzled out of our senses, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. If I were to leave your father, he wouldn’t last two months without me.’ Her mother had been right again, her words painfully prophetic. Within two months of her mother’s death, her father had gone to join her.

  She must stamp Matt, and all that nonsense, out of her head. Let Camille have him.

  In a quiet moment with Hannah, she couldn’t help giving way to her curiosity. ‘Hannah?’

  ‘Yes, dear?’

  ‘Monsieur Dupont’s granddaughter . . . the one he speaks of so often . . .’

  ‘Camille? What about her?’

  ‘Is anything going on between her and Matt?’

  ‘That’s something of a poser. It’s always been André’s dearest wish to unite our two families, and he has great respect for Matt. More to the point, Camille’s always been wild about Matt. She’s made no bones about that fact since she first started taking an interest in boys. Only . . . Matt isn’t a boy . . . He’s considerably older than Camille, which he might find a deterrent.’

  ‘I should have thought that Matt’s disinterest in marriage would be more of a deterrent.’

  Hannah scoffed. ‘That’s a famous bachelor chant, until some enterprising female makes him swallow his words. But how did you know that about Matt?’

  ‘I guess I must have picked it up from Tony,’ Zoe replied, hastily averting her eyes. Her brain drummed on the thought that Hannah had said that Camille had always been wild about Matt. She hadn’t said anything about Matt being wild about Camille.

  Zoe wasn’t glued to Tony’s side. She explored the old town of Les Pins and the surrounding countryside on her own. Hannah had a car in the garage, a dear and faithful friend, almost in the vintage class, but she said it needed looking at, otherwise she would have been pleased to let Zoe use it to travel further afield. Zoe thanked her for the kind thought but said she wouldn’t have dared to take it out in any case. There wasn’t a single scratch on its immaculate paintwork, and Zoe was perfectly content to accept the limits of her own legs. Several beaches within walking and busing distance beckoned tantalizingly, but Zoe resisted her preference for sunbathing within sight of the sea in order to keep Tony company, as she did one day, when they sat on adjacent loungers in Les Charmettes’ small private garden.

  ‘What do you think of Nan?’ Tony inquired. ‘You’re not finding that she talks you to death?’

  ‘Oh, no! I think she’s wonderful. She’s fascinating to listen to, although . . .’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘She’s very blunt. I often go hot under the collar.’

  ‘I know the feeling all too well,’ Tony said, with a dry laugh.

  ‘But she’s such a darling, I could forgive her anything.’ Zoe swung her legs over the side of the lounger and stood up, looking trim yet shapely in a black one-piece swimsuit which was cut high at the thighs to show off her slender and incredibly lovely legs. ‘Must make a move and get ready for dinner.’

  At all other times the atmosphere was casual, but Hannah made a point of dressing for the evening meal. As she explained to Zoe, it was so easy to get sloppy and fall into bad habits when living alone. Zoe thought it was a nice custom and was glad that she had brought suitable coordinates and one long dress, at the same time realizing that she would have been pleased to ring the changes more often and wishing she’d brought more formal clothes with her.

  ‘Give me a kiss before you go,’ Tony instructed.

  She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. When he tried to pull her down beside him, she adeptly wriggled beyond his reach.

  ‘You haven’t gone cold on me, have you?’ he inquired suspiciously.

  ‘No, of course not.’

  ‘I’m going to want proof of that when I get rid of these damned crutches. It seems ages since I was really close to you.

  ‘You know I’m frightened of hurting your ribs.’

  ‘I know. It’s just that you’ve got a fantastic figure. I’ve never seen as much of it before. I’m not talking about what I want to do here and now at this particular moment. I want to do more than kiss and hold you. We would have been married now, if—’

  ‘Have some patience, Tony.’

  ‘I know . . . I know. It’s just that you are so lovely. Sit here,’ he said, patting the space beside his hip. ‘I want to kiss you properly.’

  ‘All right. But just bear in mind the lack of privacy,’ she said, sitting beside him and winding her arms round his neck. Because he was in a reclining position his hands were free, and he slid them round her back, pulling her down onto his chest. Because it was unexpected, she went down harder than she would have done, and he yelped in pain. ‘See what I mean, Tony? That’s what I was afraid of.’

  ‘Yes, damn it.’

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I’m frustrated. Aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’ Not for the first time she wondered if she was as frustrated as she ought to have been. ‘I must go and get ready, otherwise I’ll run the risk of being late for dinner, and you know that for this meal Hannah is a stickler for punctuality.

  Not being able to argue with that undeniable truth, Tony reluctantly let her go.

  Zoe luxuriated in a shower. Not only did it refresh, but it got rid of the stickiness of her sun cream. To her delight she noticed that she was beginning to acquire a tan. She would never be the color of teak, because of her fair skin, but she was extremely lucky that she didn’t blister and go an unbecoming shade of red.

  She hadn’t worn the long dress yet. Because it was white, she had decided to save it until her skin began to brown. As she admired her new golden coloring, she realized that the time was now.

  It had a bra-type top and shoestring shoulder straps. The front was quite modest by some standards, but the back scooped down to her waist and because of this she couldn’t wear a strapless bra. Going bra-less made it seem quite daring. Her new and attractive coloring deepened the sapphire blue of her eyes, which she further enhanced with a smudge of sapphire eye shadow. She brushed her hair into a bright gleaming bell and let it swing freely about her shoulders. Her very high-heeled sandals were just a collection of straps. The fact that she decided to go barelegged didn’t rob her appearance of elegance. She looked cool and summery. Then she pursed her full mouth quizzically. Something else was needed—and she knew what. The pendant with the bright sapphire stone would be the perfect finishing touch. The something blue for the wedding that hadn’t taken place. She hesitated for a moment, then put it on. The cold feel of it chilled her flesh, or was it the memory of Matt’s fingers brushing against her skin as he’d put it on for her? Or merely too much sun? She had sunbathed longer than normal, feeling that by this time she ought to be more acclimatized. As if to prove that this was not so, a headache was beginning to pinch at her temple.

  Looking at her watch as she clasped it round her wrist, she saw that she was much earlier than she had anticipated being. She had time to take a gentle stroll outside, which she felt would be beneficial.

  Hannah followed the Continental trend of dining late, and the light was fast fading from the sky. A sizable chunk of the garden lay in the shadow of the house; the trees made black s
wathes across her path. They plunged her deeper still into the soft, fragrant obscurity. The day had burned the essence from the heart of each flower and the curl of every leaf to make a headier odor. Evening carried a more gentle scent that was like cologne to her throbbing senses.

  Through the arch she spied a car’s headlights as it swung to follow the curve of the drive, spotlighting her for a brief moment before going on up to the house. Visitors? She couldn’t remember Hannah mentioning that she was having guests. What kind of car could it be? The lights had seemed far brighter and positioned higher than normal. She must make sure she didn’t stay out overlong and make herself late for dinner. On the other hand, if there was going to be company and chatter, it seemed more essential than ever for her to clear her head.

  Somewhere in the house a radio was playing. A throaty baritone was pouring the tenderness of his heart out, not that she could understand the words; the only one she could make out was chérie. The voice was deep and sexy, the melody soft and hauntingly romantic; the way it played on her emotions told her that it had to be a love song.

  A much nearer voice, even deeper and with seductive vibrations that squeezed her throat unbearably dry, said, ‘Good evening, Zoe.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘Matt!’ she gasped. In his dark clothes he merged with the shadows. She couldn’t see his face, but surely that was Matt’s voice? For a brief moment she contested this thought, wondering if her mind was playing tricks and it was Tony. But no! Tony’s approach was always heralded by the thump of his crutches. ‘Matt,’ she repeated weakly, and her heart began to thud. ‘You . . .you startled me.’

  ‘Sorry. My intention was to surprise, not startle. I spotted you in my headlights as I pulled into the drive.’

  ‘It was you in that car?’

  ‘Yes. Except that it isn’t a car. It’s a truck. I had a delivery to make in Marseilles. Mother is having a room prepared for me. You looked inviting standing there in your white dress. I thought I’d join you. What are you doing out here, all by yourself?’

  ‘I have a bit of a headache. I was hoping the fresh air would clear it.’

  ‘Been overdoing the sun?’ he queried, taking a step forward, his hands going up to her neck. His thumbs rested in the hollows at her throat; his strong fingers curved to her neck and gently massaged, lifting the tight knots and taking the tension into his own fingertips. Then one hand went to the back of her neck and the other captured her chin, twisting it gently from side to side. Her neck gave a small protesting creak, then moved freely. ‘That better?’

  ‘Yes, thank you. It feels . . .wonderful.’

  ‘You know I’m going to kiss you, don’t you?’

  ‘Please don’t, Matt.’

  ‘You don’t really mean that.’

  ‘I do. This isn’t fair to Tony.’

  ‘Are you still persisting in that nonsense?’

  ‘If you mean am I still going to marry him, the answer is yes, as soon as it’s possible. You only got the wedding delayed. You haven’t put it off permanently.’

  ‘I? I had nothing to do with getting Tony drunk, so drunk he was incapable of looking after himself and behaved like an irresponsible fool.’

  ‘No? I know you didn’t intend him to fall down those stairs, but you had a hand in the other. You encouraged him to drink more than was good for him. That’s one accusation I will not withdraw. Because you did! The smirk on your face when I came round to see Tony and you told me that when you’d left him he looked as if he’d take a week to sober up is something I’ll never forget. I’ll never forgive you.’

  ‘You have a vivid imagination.’

  ‘I know you, Matt.’

  ‘And I know you, apparently better than you know yourself. You idiot, you wouldn’t be happy if you married Tony.’

  ‘When I find out, I’ll let you know.’

  ‘Why you goading little . . .’ The fingers still clutching her chin tightened their hold. Her chin wasn’t released until his mouth was firmly planted on hers, forcing her head back with such ferocity that she thought her neck would have snapped but for the hand supporting it.

  Even in the height of her indignation, she exhilarated in the sweet brutality of that kiss. No one could move her like this. She came alive for him.

  When he finally released her, he said, ‘You wanted that as much as I did.’

  To her deep chagrin and shame, that was the undeniable truth.

  ‘I think we’d better go in now,’ he said. ‘I still have to change. But first, for what it’s worth, this doesn’t suit me any more than it does you. You’re my weakness, Zoe. I don’t like it.’

  ‘You found the strength to stay away from me for five years.’

  ‘That’s not strictly true. I tried to look you up. I drew a blank. I discovered that you’d changed your address and your job.’

  ‘You didn’t look very hard. You could have found me if your wanted to badly enough.’

  ‘Fair comment. It would be untrue to say I’ve spent all that time pining for you. But I’ve thought of you. That last time—well, you don’t need me to tell you that things got steamy between us. I would have come back if circumstances had permitted. I admit that before that night I’d looked on you as a bit of a kid.’

  ‘Whose head was turned by the money you flung around,’ she spat angrily.

  ‘I’m not used to people liking me for myself. I’ve often wondered if I would have got that far with you if I got my hands dirty by filling someone else’s pocket.

  ‘I feel sorry for you. It must be horrible to have such a jaundiced outlook.’

  ‘Keep your sympathy. That’s something I’d no intention of having then, and I won’t tolerate it now.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘I fight fair. That’s what,’ he said bitterly, taking her elbow and turning her in the direction of the house.

  He would have guided her straight into the room from which the sound of Hannah’s and Tony’s voices were coming had she not drawn away at the bottom of the stairs. ‘I’d better go up and check on my lipstick before going in. I’ll be like lightning.’

  She was true to her word and didn’t dawdle. She merely ran a comb through her hair and a lip gloss across her mouth.

  Her predinner sherry was waiting for her when she got back down. She saw with relief that Hannah and Tony had only just started theirs.

  ‘I hope I’m not holding things up?’ she inquired stupidly. Obviously she wasn’t. Matt wouldn’t have had time to get back after changing into something more formal than the clothes he’d traveled in. Because what had happened out there in the garden was burning in her brain, she wondered how Hannah and Tony could not know. Which was equally ridiculous.

  ‘Not at all. We’re waiting for Matt. Even though I half expected it, it was still a wonderful surprise when he walked in, unannounced—just as I said it would be.’ Hannah’s quizzical eyes lifted briefly from Zoe’s to look beyond her head, lighting up with affection as they did so. ‘Here he is now.’

  Casting Matt a cool look, Zoe crossed the room to sit by Tony’s side. Somehow she had to establish her allegiance.

  ‘Did you have a good trip down?’ Tony asked. Although it was a civil enough inquiry, Zoe detected a slight edge to his voice.

  ‘He had company,’ Hannah supplied.

  ‘That’s right,’ Matt verified. He seemed to be looking straight at Zoe, but she supposed that he could have been looking at Tony. ‘I brought Camille with me. When I mentioned that I was coming, she asked me if I’d give her a lift.’

  Zoe registered that. So he was seeing Camille.

  ‘In the cab of the truck, mind,’ Hannah said with a laugh. ‘That crazy girl would ride on a shovel for Matt.’

  What girl wouldn’t? Zoe speculated, looking unhappily down at her hands, but not before she’d seen the amused lift of Matt’s mouth, which cruelly mocked her.

  As the evening progressed she wondered if either Hannah or Tony knew of the
beneath-the-surface crosscurrents. The tide of feeling between her and Matt was such that it pulled her eyes until they ached in their sockets; she couldn’t seem to drag her gaze from his face for any reasonable length of time. She hoped the others weren’t aware of that. Hannah was full of joy at having her son there. Tony was back in top garrulous form. Strange, she had never noticed before that he talked a lot but said little. Not like Matt, who used words economically, so that when he opened his mouth everyone listened.

  For what it was worth, she saw that the thing between her and Matt wasn’t one way. She was conscious of Matt’s eyes shifting back to her again and again. She didn’t like the concentration on her lips, as if to remind her of that recent forbidden kiss. She wanted to scrub her hand across her mouth to rub out the torrid memory. It didn’t help her to know that his mocking amusement increased on a par with her discomfort.

  It was Hannah who said, ‘You’re unusually quiet this evening, Zoe. Are you not feeling well?’

  ‘Truthfully, I’m not my normal self. I think I’m paying the price of vanity.’

  ‘You?’ her hostess queried in disbelief.

  ‘I wanted to quicken up the tanning process, so I might have sunbathed too long.’

  ‘Ah, most unwise. You must be more careful in future.’

  ‘One learns by one’s mistakes. I intend to be.’ She averted her gaze from Hannah’s face to meet those compelling black eyes again. ‘Will anyone mind if I break up the party? I think I’ll go to bed.’

  ‘Of course not, Zoe. I don’t intend to wait too long before I turn in myself. Run along, child,’ Hannah said.

  ‘Goodnight, Hannah. Goodnight, Matt.’ Zoe bent to kiss Tony. He let her and then grinned impishly as he said, ‘An early night wouldn’t come amiss for me, either.’ He scooped up his crutches and accompanied her out of the room.