instincts had been sucked straight out of her, in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to see my mother’s face, tell her everything that had happened today, and ask her what I should do.
In a rational state of mind, I would’ve walked right back into our honeymoon suite and demanded answers. I would’ve insisted that Luc spill all of his dirty family secrets and tell me who he was just speaking with so we could move on with our lives.
But with my key in the lock, Luc’s mysterious words ricocheted through my jumbled brain once more. And I realized that being
rational
had never been my strong suit.
SIX
“
Chérie,
where were you? I thought you came back up to the room.”
I smiled at Luc, revealing no trace of the panic that coursed through my body. “I just took a little stroll around the block. I needed some air. Is everything okay? You seem a little stressed.”
“The talk with Brigitte didn’t go so well. To be expected, I suppose… but still, this is not how I wanted to end our honeymoon.”
Suppressing the urgent questions hanging on the tip of my tongue, I walked over to my husband and ran a suggestive finger down his chest. “Our honeymoon isn’t over
yet
… we still have tonight.”
Luc pressed my hand to his heart and sighed. “
Mon amour,
you are not going to be happy about this, but I have to take the train back to Lyon. Tonight.”
My hand dropped from Luc’s chest, my heart deflated.
“What’s going on, Luc? Why do you have to leave?”
He paused for a split second before taking my hand once more. “It’s Adeline. She has a really high fever and needs to go to the doctor. I just spoke with my mother, and it sounds rather serious. I need to get home right away.”
He was
not
just speaking with his mother—
was he?
“Of course. I’ll come with you,” I said, before he could read the doubt in my eyes.
“No,
chérie
. Stay and enjoy the suite. After all, we are all paid up for one more night. You could invite Lexi over and order room service. I’m sure you’ll miss her once we’re back in Lyon and it could benice to have one more girls’ night before you officially start your new, domesticated married life.” He grinned and kissed me on the cheek. “I will see you first thing in the morning.”
I needed to hear the truth out of Luc’s mouth before he left this hotel. We were
married
after all. We should tell each other everything. But my new husband was already grabbing his packed suitcase and heading for the door.
“Luc, we really need to talk. A lot has happened today.”
“In the morning. I promise. I can’t keep Adeline waiting any longer. I’m sorry.” He kissed me once more on the forehead, then zipped out of our luxury honeymoon suite, leaving me alone, confused, and in desperate need of wine.
After conducting my second raid of the minibar, I pondered what Lexi had said earlier about keeping my voice and my independence… and about never becoming my mother.
As much as I hadn’t wanted to admit it at the time, Lexi was right—I needed an outlet. During my year in Paris, my blog posts had provided just that. But as I’d learned the hard way, publishing details about my personal life online—even though the blog was anonymous—wasn’t such a hot idea. Well, especially when I took away the anonymity by publishing an article under my own name in
Bella Magazine.
Now that Luc and I were married, I had no intention of airing our clean
or
dirty laundry to perfect strangers, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still reach out to women just like me who were navigating the tricky ins and outs of French marriage.
I’d only been married to a Frenchman for five days, and already I had loads of topics to explore: ex-wives, in-law drama, family secrets, and finances. Of course I couldn’t forget about the good parts either: romantic dinners in the City of Lights, outrageouslyincredible lovemaking, chocolate croissants in bed—and the list could go on.
I
In a rational state of mind, I would’ve walked right back into our honeymoon suite and demanded answers. I would’ve insisted that Luc spill all of his dirty family secrets and tell me who he was just speaking with so we could move on with our lives.
But with my key in the lock, Luc’s mysterious words ricocheted through my jumbled brain once more. And I realized that being
rational
had never been my strong suit.
SIX
“
Chérie,
where were you? I thought you came back up to the room.”
I smiled at Luc, revealing no trace of the panic that coursed through my body. “I just took a little stroll around the block. I needed some air. Is everything okay? You seem a little stressed.”
“The talk with Brigitte didn’t go so well. To be expected, I suppose… but still, this is not how I wanted to end our honeymoon.”
Suppressing the urgent questions hanging on the tip of my tongue, I walked over to my husband and ran a suggestive finger down his chest. “Our honeymoon isn’t over
yet
… we still have tonight.”
Luc pressed my hand to his heart and sighed. “
Mon amour,
you are not going to be happy about this, but I have to take the train back to Lyon. Tonight.”
My hand dropped from Luc’s chest, my heart deflated.
“What’s going on, Luc? Why do you have to leave?”
He paused for a split second before taking my hand once more. “It’s Adeline. She has a really high fever and needs to go to the doctor. I just spoke with my mother, and it sounds rather serious. I need to get home right away.”
He was
not
just speaking with his mother—
was he?
“Of course. I’ll come with you,” I said, before he could read the doubt in my eyes.
“No,
chérie
. Stay and enjoy the suite. After all, we are all paid up for one more night. You could invite Lexi over and order room service. I’m sure you’ll miss her once we’re back in Lyon and it could benice to have one more girls’ night before you officially start your new, domesticated married life.” He grinned and kissed me on the cheek. “I will see you first thing in the morning.”
I needed to hear the truth out of Luc’s mouth before he left this hotel. We were
married
after all. We should tell each other everything. But my new husband was already grabbing his packed suitcase and heading for the door.
“Luc, we really need to talk. A lot has happened today.”
“In the morning. I promise. I can’t keep Adeline waiting any longer. I’m sorry.” He kissed me once more on the forehead, then zipped out of our luxury honeymoon suite, leaving me alone, confused, and in desperate need of wine.
After conducting my second raid of the minibar, I pondered what Lexi had said earlier about keeping my voice and my independence… and about never becoming my mother.
As much as I hadn’t wanted to admit it at the time, Lexi was right—I needed an outlet. During my year in Paris, my blog posts had provided just that. But as I’d learned the hard way, publishing details about my personal life online—even though the blog was anonymous—wasn’t such a hot idea. Well, especially when I took away the anonymity by publishing an article under my own name in
Bella Magazine.
Now that Luc and I were married, I had no intention of airing our clean
or
dirty laundry to perfect strangers, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still reach out to women just like me who were navigating the tricky ins and outs of French marriage.
I’d only been married to a Frenchman for five days, and already I had loads of topics to explore: ex-wives, in-law drama, family secrets, and finances. Of course I couldn’t forget about the good parts either: romantic dinners in the City of Lights, outrageouslyincredible lovemaking, chocolate croissants in bed—and the list could go on.
I
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