Page 64 of One Summer in Monte Carlo
‘Goodbye, Zac,’ she said. Trembling, she moved away from him towards the gangway, desperate to put as much space between her and Zac Ewart as possible.
Blinded by the tears that had started to run down her cheeks, she didn’t see Jean-Claude standing on the quay until it was too late and she’d run into him.
‘Doucement, ma chérie,’ he said, gently enveloping her in his arms. ‘Doucement. I’m here now to take care of you.’
The gentle kiss he placed on her forehead wasn’t enough for Nanette. She turned and looked at him before hesitantly kissing him on the lips. As she surrendered herself to Jean-Claude’s passionate embrace, she was conscious of a statue-like Zac watching them with an unfathomable look on his face.
* * *
It was the swish of the curtains that woke Nanette and she blinked as sunlight flooded the bedroom. Jean-Claude had entered the room quietly and placed a tray of coffee and croissants on the bedside table before crossing to the window to open the curtains.
Nanette smiled sleepily to herself as she watched him. He’d been insistent she go to bed after he’d brought her back to the apartment early that morning.
‘I’ll take the twins to school if Mathieu hasn’t returned. You get some sleep. Afterwards, you can explain exactly why you went alone to the yacht,’ he’d said.
Nanette had done as she was told and gone to bed. To her surprise, within minutes she’d fallen into a deep dreamless sleep.
‘What’s the time?’ she asked, sitting up as Jean-Claude placed the tray on her lap.
‘One o’clock. How do you feel?’
‘Fine.’
‘Are you ready to tell me why you went alone toPole Position?’
Nanette, about to answer flippantly, ‘It seemed a good idea at the time’, looked at his concerned expression and said quietly, ‘I’m sorry, JC.’ She stretched out a hand to gently touch his face. ‘At least he didn’t push me overboard as I thought he might do at one stage,’ she said quietly.
Jean-Claude looked at her, horrified. ‘Mon Dieu. I kill him if he hurt you.’
‘Any hurt Zac inflicted on me is now in the past. I have no intention of going anywhere near him in the future,’ Nanette said, wearily. ‘I’ll tell you all about last night, but first I must get up. Give me ten minutes to shower and dress.’
‘I wait for you in the sitting room,’ Jean-Claude said, kissing her gently on the cheek as he took the tray. ‘Take your time.’
Half an hour later, Nanette joined him on the balcony, where he was reading a newspaper.
‘The charges against Takyanov are getting longer by the day,’ he said, folding the newspaper. ‘With more people being drawn into the net.’
‘Is Mathieu around?’ Nanette asked.
‘No,’ Jean-Claude shook his head. ‘No idea where he’s gone. Vanessa phoned while you were sleeping. She and Ralph arrive back in the UK at the end of the month. She wants you to take the twins over. She said something about her and Ralph taking them on holiday. Anyway, she’s going to phone you this evening to discuss it.’
Nanette looked at Jean-Claude in dismay. She’d forgotten Vanessa’s return would signal the end of her stay in Monaco.
Jean-Claude caught hold of her hands. ‘You leave the twins with Vanessa and come back to me, yes? You will have some holiday due?’
‘Patsy’s baby is due soon. If I’m in England, I’ll have to be there for that. Maybe afterwards? Where would I stay? Mathieu won’t need me in the apartment without the twins.’
‘With me, of course, at the villa, no question. Anneka will prepare the guest suite, and look after us.’ Jean-Claude took her in his arms. ‘It will be wonderful,chérie. Just you and me. Getting to know each other properly. We’ll swim, relax, go to Italy.’
Nanette smiled at him. ‘Sounds wonderful. Maybe by the time I get back, all this business with Mathieu and Takyanov will be resolved. Has Mathieu accepted your offer of help?’
Jean-Claude gave a shrug. ‘Apparently there is not a lot I can do – simply wait in the shadows and be ready to make a move when he asks –ifhe asks.’
‘Maybe that’s for the best,’ Nanette said. ‘He’s always said you must trust him; he knows what he’s doing.’
‘Which is more than you did last night,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘I couldn’t believe it when Mathieu rang to say that Zac had told him you were spending the night with him.’
‘I couldn’t sleep and it seemed like an ideal opportunity to get rid of the package,’ Nanette said. ‘If I’d known Zac was on board, I certainly wouldn’t have gone.’ She looked anxiously at Jean-Claude. ‘You didn’t believe the implication behind those words, did you?’
