Page 31 of The Light Within

“Oh, and for my final condition—Cinn has to makela bûchefor dessert.”

At Cinn’s blank look, Darcy supplied, “It’s only a chocolate log. They’re obsessed with them in France.”

“I’m no baker,” Cinn said. “I’ll do the potatoes for everyone, but that’s as far as it goes.”

Julien pouted at him, eyes pleading. “S’il te plaît?For me?”

Cinn opened his mouth, quite possibly to give in and agree, but Elliot saved him by whacking Julien on the arm. “That won’t work on Cinn. He’s immune to your bullshit.”

If Cinn was immune, his brain certainly didn’t know that.

“You’re coming, right mate?” Cinn asked Elliot.

“There’s family stuff happening back in the states. But I haven’t been personally invited to anything, so I guess you guys win.”

Darcy beamed at him.

The festive twinkle in everyone’s eyes was infectious. Cinn’s mouth pulled up into a smile. The conversation had drifted miles from his initial statement of needing to see his mother. But that was okay—getting lost in the warmth of the moment was exactly the distraction he needed. He couldn’t quite believe his luck in getting to spend Christmas with the three of them, but he’d certainly take it.

seven

Julien

It was the morning of the twenty-third, otherwise known as Christmas Eve Eve, according to Cinn. But his childish obsession with Christmas wasnotgoing to rub off on Julien.

Their flights—business class, naturally—were booked for late that evening.

But first, Julien had lunch plans.

Lunch plans with his father.

When he had informed his father of his holiday plans, the telephone line had fallen deathly silent. Julien had almost felt a shred of remorse for abandoning his only living relative at such late notice—he usually dropped in to his father’s estate in Paris around Christmas for a couple of hours at least—but the tone of his father’s ‘I see’ knocked those feelings right out of his mind.

Then the tragedy occurred—his father announced that he was ‘making a flying visit’ to Auri for business purposes and would have to ‘somehow slot Julien in’ to his busy schedule.How inconvenient for him. When Julien questioned why on earth he was having meetings during the holiday, his father laughed, and said, “Holidays are for those who can afford to take time off, not for those who run the world, my son.”

Julien had covered the mouthpiece with his hand to hide his exasperated sigh.

His father wanted to go to any of the fine dining restaurants in Talwacht. Julien insisted that Auri’s Curio Café Collectivewould do nicely. Not only were many businesses still repairing structural damage since the quake, he wanted to make the lunch as short as possible. Perhaps it would turn into simply coffee. Perhaps he could throw back a double espresso at the bar then immediately call it a day.

The image put a smile on his face, one that was snuffed out like a candle flame when he saw his father in the distance, hovering outside the Solstice Atrium. He was wearing his standard—a tailored dark suit with a crisp white shirt, and a hideous silk paisley cravat. Since marrying his second wife Carrie, his fashion sense had steadily worsened.

Standing with him were two other grey-haired men, and the probable candidates for his business meeting: Jonathan Steele, Julien’s boss who’dstillnot accepted his application for a promotion, and the Auri bigwig himself, Viktor Sturmhart.

Julien slowed his footsteps as he approached the trio of decrepit relics. He was supposed to meet his father at the café—was it too late to change paths?

The decision was removed from his hands as soon as his father clocked him.

“Julien!” he called out. With an internal eye roll, Julien made an elaborate show of pretending he’d just noticed them.

He dragged himself over to the three men. Jonathan gave him a friendly nod, whereas Viktor looked right through him, before checking his watch.

“We’ll have to call it a day, Lucien.” Viktor’s thick German accent rumbled through the air. At events, Viktor usually insisted on talking to Julien and his father in butchered French. Today he spoke English, perhaps for Jonathan’s benefit. “But we must meet again right after Christmas. Time is very important.”

Without waiting for a reply, Viktor pressed stern lips together, turned away, and marched off.

What had put a bee in his beret that morning?

Jonathan Steele clapped Julien on the back, then said some waffle about what the following year had in store for MEET. Julien politely smiled along until Jonathan left him and his father to walk to the café. Julien resisted asking what their meeting was about—he didn’t want to give his father the satisfaction of his curiosity. So instead, they discussed how busy the Displacement Baths were, and of course, the cold weather. Riveting stuff.

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