Page 42 of One Summer in Monte Carlo
‘Ah, supper,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘I’ll get it. I missed dinner this evening because of my business appointment,’ he explained, returning with several steaming containers, which he placed on the dining table. ‘I hope you like Chinese?’
Nanette organised the table, while Jean-Claude deftly turned out the lights, lit candles, switched on the CD player and opened a bottle of wine. A few simple actions, but Nanette realised that Jean-Claude had somehow introduced an atmosphere of intimacy into the room. Suddenly she felt shy and self-conscious, wondering what was behind his actions.
As the voice of Charles Aznavour singing a string of romantic melodies floated through the apartment, Jean-Claude turned to her.
‘Voila! Let’s eat,’ and gallantly he pulled a chair out for her.
The sweet and sour pork was delicious and Nanette was surprised to find how hungry she was.
It wasn’t until Jean-Claude was pouring some wine that he glanced over and asked, ‘Has Mathieu ever said anything to you about me and his mother?’
Startled, Nanette shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Before we talk about the future, I think I need to tell you a little about my past,’ he said, replacing the bottle in the terracotta wine cooler. ‘Amelia and I were childhood sweethearts – our birthdays were just two days apart. I was the youngest – a fact which always amused her. Neither of our families thought we were good enough for each other.’ Jean-Claude grinned ruefully. ‘However, when she became pregnant, they became united in demanding we get married. Mathieu was born on Amelia’s seventeenth birthday – thirty years ago this year.’
‘Gosh, you were both really young to become parents,’ Nanette said, mentally adding up the two figures and realising Jean-Claude was forty-seven.
Jean-Claude nodded ruefully before taking a sip of his wine. ‘At first, everything was fine, but when, a few years later, Amelia’s family decided to move to Paris, she thought we should go with them. I was busy setting up my own business here and didn’t want to move. In the end, she decided she wanted to go – with or without me – but taking Mathieu.’
‘That must have been hard for you to deal with,’ Nanette said quietly.
‘Oui. I don’t think Mathieu has ever forgiven me. Looking back, I think maybe I should have gone to Paris with them, that things could have been different.’ Jean-Claude shook his head. ‘One makes mistakes in life – particularly when one is so young.
‘I visited as often as I could and we had some good times together, but our lives were soon going in different directions.’ He sighed. ‘How could they do anything else? My business was expanding rapidly. I went to Paris and begged Amelia to return now I could afford the lifestyle she wanted here. But Amelia, well, let’s just say Amelia was enjoying her life in Paris. Her mother helped look after Mathieu – Amelia could go out and about and pretend she was single again. She had many admirers.’
There was a short silence as he swirled the wine in his glass.
‘Mathieu was thirteen when Amelia and the current man in her life were killed in a helicopter crash and he came to live with me down here. He was not a happy boy at that time. He missed his mother a lot. But slowly things settled down and we grew close again. Until all this blew up, I thought I’d made a good job of raising a good human being. A law-abiding citizen at least. We had a small problem with a car and some credit when he was a teenager, but once he was in his twenties he seemed to grow up. Meeting and marrying Vanessa, having his own family, seemed to be the making of him. He’d become a well-adjusted, caring individual and I was proud of him. We had a good relationship. I was sad for him when his marriage broke up – not that I blame Vanessa,’ Jean-Claude said, looking at Nanette. ‘Sometimes these things happen, they, too, were young when they married. And now, now I just don’t understand him at all.’ Jean-Claude shook his head.
‘JC, I’m sure things will work out for Mathieu. Like you, I don’t think he is inherently bad – he’s just got caught up in something that’s spiralled out of control.’ Nanette hesitated before asking, ‘Is there any news from your detective yet?’
‘Only the fact that Boris appears to be the one pulling all the strings. Apparently, the police, both here and Interpol, are quietly keeping tabs on him. Unofficially, the rumours are flying. There’s talk of money-laundering, a business cartel and drugs being involved.’
‘Mathieu wouldn’t do drugs,’ Nanette said instantly. ‘It has to be something else. What about Zac? Has the detective figured out where he fits into all this?’
‘Non. Other than that, he seems to be pulling some strings of his own, independent of Boris. Who, incidentally, is apparently in South America overseeing some business deal.’
‘I wonder if that’s where Mathieu is, too, this week. He didn’t say where he was going. Just said it was a business trip,’ Nanette said.
Jean-Claude shrugged. ‘Mathieu caught a flight to London, but he could have picked up a connection to literally anywhere in the world from there. He hasn’t rung to speak to the twins?’
‘He emails them most days, but only phones occasionally when he’s away. I know he’s promised to be back in time for their school play next week.’
‘Good. Somehow I feel easier when he’s in town – if anything happens to him here in the Principality, at least I’ll be around to help to sort it out.’ Jean-Claude gazed at Nanette thoughtfully. ‘Anyway, I wanted to tell you about Amelia, for you to know the truth about my past. Although it all went wrong, I did love Amelia in the beginning. And…’ he reached across and took her hand in his. ‘Until now, I’ve never even come close to loving anyone else.’
There was silence as Jean-Claude gently stroked Nanette’s hand before looking up and asking quietly, ‘Do you think you could ever look on me as more than a friend?’
Nanette’s smile was warm as she smiled at him. ‘Oh, JC, you’re more than just a friend already.’ Before she could say any more, her mobile rang. ‘I’m sorry. I’d better answer this.’
As she went to do so, Jean-Claude sighed and began to clear the table. Nanette was still talking on the phone when he finished and he took the rest of his wine out on to the balcony to wait for her.
Nanette was smiling when she joined him a few minutes later.
‘JC, I’m so sorry about that. That was Patsy and she was so excited I couldn’t stop her talking. Bryan has treated her to a flight out here – she’s coming for my birthday next week! You’re going to meet her. Isn’t that great? She wanted to know if I could meet her at Nice airport. I said yes, of course, but I don’t have a car. Could you possibly take me?’
‘Of course.’ He placed an arm around her shoulders. ‘Nanette, I need to finish our earlier conversation. I meant what I said about not loving anyone since Amelia. I know Zac hurt you very badly and I don’t want to rush you into a relationship before you’re sure, but do you think we could have any sort of future together? I realise I’m several years older than you but…’ he looked at her anxiously.
Nanette turned towards him and kissed him gently. ‘JC, I’m already very fond of you, but for the moment I can’t promise anything. Can we carry on as we are? Take things slowly, get to know each other properly – see what happens? Now my memory seems to be returning, there are a few things I’d like to sort out. I need to finally close the Zac Ewart part of my life. Once I’ve done that, I can move on.’
