Barbara McMahon – French Escape: From Daredevil to Devoted Daddy / One Week with the French Tycoon / It Happened in Paris... (страница 9)
“Your mother knows best,” Matt said. The little boy looked so earnest. He resumed walking up the stairs.
“She would let me go with a grown-up. Can you be the grown-up? Please?”
Matt hesitated. Children required so little to make their worlds happy. What would Etienne have done had the situation been reversed and Matt had lost his life, leaving his son behind? Who would have spared some time for his son?
“I’ll be good and not go into the water unless you tell me I can,” Alexandre said, running up three more steps.
Matt looked at the beseeching face and considered the possibility. He’d want someone to be there for his son. A swim in the sea sounded good. He could shower afterward.
“I’ll take a quick swim and then if it’s okay with your mother, you can come on the sand with me,” he said.
Alexandre beamed his smile and raced down the stairs to go ask his mother.
Matt continued to his room wondering if he were losing it. He was here to forget the constant pain; now he was subjecting himself to more? Seeing Alexandre play on the sand would remind him of Etienne. Yet, oddly enough, the ache he normally felt when thinking of his son was not as strong. He was convinced Etienne was in a better place. Another man’s son needed some attention. How odd Alexandre had chosen him.
Matt entered his room and quickly exchanged climbing clothes for swimming attire, pulled on a T-shirt and grabbed one of the large fluffy bath towels from the rack before heading back outside. He could hear the women as he descended the stairs but they hadn’t heard his bare feet on the wooden steps.
“Honestly, Jeanne-Marie, if you don’t explore possibilities, I’ll disown you.”
“He’s just a guest.” Matt recognized his hostess’s voice.
“If he’s taking Alexandre for a swim, I’d say he was looking to make points,” the second woman said.
“No, he’s only a guest being polite. You know I don’t socialize with my guests,” Jeanne-Marie protested.
He continued walking closer, unabashedly eavesdropping. So she didn’t socialize with her guests. He wondered why. Some might demand more, like dinner in the evening, he thought. Seems as if he had been lucky she’d spent time with him last evening, even though her son was there as well.
Sidestepping around the children, Matt walked out to the veranda. Alexandre spotted him immediately and rushed over. “Mama says I’m not to bother you. I won’t be a bother, will I?”
“No. I would not have agreed if I hadn’t meant it,” he told Jeanne-Marie. Glancing at the other two women, he saw them look first at him and then at their friend, smiles showing.
Feeling like he was on some kind of stage, he walked out to the sand and to the water’s edge. He wished he’d heard more about Jeanne-Marie. What was she to do lest her friend disown her?
He pulled off the T-shirt, dropping it and his towel near the water, and plunged into the sea, trying to drive away the thoughts that were coming to mind. He had been happily married. Then torn by tragedy. Less involvement in everything would keep further pain at bay. He went to work, avoiding the long evening walks in the vineyards that reminded him of the times Marabelle and Etienne had accompanied him.
He dutifully checked in with his aunt and uncle and cousins. More to keep them from driving over to check in on him than because he wanted to keep in contact. It was easier to cocoon himself in work and ignore the rest. He would not willingly give his heart as hostage to fate again.
The water was cool and buoyant. He swam some distance from the shore. When he paused to tread water, he studied the village from his vantage point. Fishing boats bobbed in the marina to his far right. There were several establishments that had patios dotted with tables facing the sea, with tourists enjoying the afternoon sun.
It was good to swim after the climb. Later he’d eat in the village and see what activities were planned for
Refreshed by his swim, Matt headed for the shore. He had no sooner stepped from the water than Alexandre raced across the sand to join him. Toweling off, he was touched by the child’s trust and desire to spend time with him. His cousin candidly told him he was a bear to be around.
If anyone had told him a week ago that he’d be entertained by a small boy at the side of the sea, he’d have called the person crazy. But sitting beside Alexandre listening to him talk was as enjoyable as anything he’d done lately. The child didn’t need encouragement; his running monologue continued with only an occasional hmm from Matt.
The self-imposed exile from all things familiar meant he had more time to think than he normally had. Spending time with Alexandre kept thoughts away—except about the child’s mother. He looked back, but the women were gone from the veranda. It surprised him she trusted a stranger with her son. Then she stepped out and looked toward them, waving once. So she was keeping an eye on them.
Matt turned back to face the sea. This was a one-off deal. Tomorrow he’d make sure not to return to the inn until too late to be beguiled by a little boy.
“About ready to head back?” Matt asked the boy as the afternoon waned. A quick shower and he’d be back downstairs seeking a good restaurant for dinner.
“Do we have to?” Alexandre asked, looking up at Matt. “This is fun.”
“I need to shower and get ready for dinner,” he said, pulling his T-shirt back on. He wanted to rinse off the salt water and get into clean clothes. Standing, he looked out at the sea. This trip had been a good idea. While he’d hoped the intense concentration required for climbing would cause his focus to change, being with this boy surprisingly also helped. How unexpected!
Alexandre rose and trotted along beside Matt as they headed back to the inn. When they drew closer, Matt saw Jeanne-Marie with an older couple on the veranda. The woman had brown hair and wore expensive slacks. The older man was dressed casually.
Alexandre stopped when he saw them and grinned. “It’s my grand-mère and grand-père! Come on.” He began running toward the veranda.
Jeanne-Marie glanced over her mother-in-law’s shoulder and saw Matt walking toward them, Alexandre racing ahead. The unexpected arrival of Adrienne and Antoine Rousseau surprised her. They hadn’t called, just driven over from Marseilles. Her son had seen them and was running to greet them. Every time she saw them together reaffirmed the wisdom of her staying in France even when her parents urged her to return home.
Adrienne saw her glance for she turned. Spotting Alexandre she smiled, then faltered when she saw a stranger.
“Who’s that man?” she asked.
Antoine turned, frowning.
Jeanne-Marie waited a moment until the two were closer. “This is one of my guests, Matthieu Sommer. He graciously agreed to watch Alexandre play by the water.”
“Hi,” Alexandre said, reaching the older couple. Both reached out to hug him.
By the time Matt stepped on the cool tiles of the veranda, he was close enough for introductions.
“Matthieu Sommer, my in-laws, Adrienne and Antoine Rousseau.”
Antoine offered his hand.
Matt shook it, greeted Madame Rousseau and then headed into the inn.
Jeanne-Marie knew she would be questioned by Adrienne. Turning, she smiled brightly.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” she asked.
“I’ll take us all out to dinner,” Antoine said, “so you don’t have to cook. We wanted to talk about summer plans. We hope Alexandre can come visit sometimes, and give you a break.”
“The summer months are always so busy. I remember from when I was a girl and lived here,” Adrienne said.
“I’ll clean up Alexandre and we’d be delighted to join you. Perhaps you’d like a glass of lemonade while you wait?”
“We’ll be fine. We’ll sit here on the veranda. Hurry, Alexandre,” Adrienne said. “We want to hear all about what you’ve been doing.”
He grinned and raced into the lounge. Jeanne-Marie caught up with him when they entered their private quarters.
“Can Matt eat with us?” he asked when she took him into the bathroom to give him a quick wash.
“We don’t eat with guests as a rule,” she murmured. She hoped he wouldn’t mention the meal she’d given Matt last night. She also hoped Adrienne and Antoine didn’t read more into Matt’s watching Alexandre than was there. There was nothing to talk about, and she didn’t want her in-laws to get the wrong impression.
Forty minutes later Jeanne-Marie and the Rousseaus entered the town’s most elegant restaurant, Les Trois Filles en Pierre. They were soon seated at a round table with a view of the sea. When Jeanne-Marie looked up from her menu, her gaze was caught by Matthieu Sommer sitting directly in her line of sight. She blinked. How had he chosen the same restaurant as they? And beat them here to boot?