Follow Your Star by Jennifer Bohnet (best value ebook reader .TXT) 📗

few simple actions but Nanette realized that Jean-Claude had somehow introduced an atmosphere of intimacy into the room. Suddenly she felt shy and self-conscious. What was he expecting from her?

As the voice of Charles Aznavour singing a string of romantic melodies floated through the apartment, Jean-Claude turned to her.

‘Voilà! 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 his mother? Or about me for that matter?’

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. ‘But when she became pregnant they became united in demanding we get married. Mathieu was born on Amelia’s seventeenth birthday.’

He took a sip of his wine.

‘At first everything was fine but when Amelia’s family decided to move to Paris she thought we should go with them. I was all set to work in the family business and didn’t want to move. In the end she decided she wanted to go with them – 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 it do anything else? I was taking more and more responsibility for the family business and Amelia, well, let’s just say Amelia was enjoying her life in Paris.’

There was a short silence as he swirled the wine in his glass.

‘Mathieu was thirteen when Amelia was killed in a car crash and he came to live with me down here. Until all this blew up I thought I’d made a good job of raising him. We had a small problem with a car and some credit when he was a teenager, but on the whole he seemed to have become a well-adjusted, caring individual and I was proud of him. We had a good relationship. But 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.’ She hesitated before asking, ‘Has your detective uncovered anything?’

‘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 currently 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 e-mails 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 here in the Principality at least I’ll be around to help to sort it out.’

Jean-Claude gazed at Nanette thoughtfully. ‘I wanted you to understand that, although it all went wrong, I did love Amelia.’ He reached across and took her hand in his. ‘And until now, I’ve never 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 the telephone rang. As she went to answer it, he 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.

‘That was Patsy. Bryan has treated her to a flight out here – she’s coming for my birthday! 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 meant what I said earlier 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?’

Nanette turned and kissed him gently. ‘JC, I can’t promise anything. Could 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