Secrets Read online

  “I guess you’re right, Sonya agreed with a ragged breath. “Everyone pays their dues.”

  Recognizing the change in her mood, Brian decided to change the subject. “Do you want to do some sightseeing today or do you want to shop, eat or whatever?”

  “Whatever sounds good to me right now,” Sonya smiled as she reached for him.

  His heart skipping a beat at the look of desire in her eyes, and he doubted that any of the jocks that had preyed upon him as a youngster could ever claim such a beautiful woman as a part of their lives.

  Their bodies touched softly, almost in a fragile manner. Passion, which was never far from the surface exploded, as they created their own universe, one in which no one and nothing existed other than each other.

  Leading Sonya to their bed, Bryan began to make love to his love and with every touch trying to convey the depth and breadth of his love and commitment for his gift, his love, his wife. In the early light of dawn, they joined the sun in their explosion of light, love and passion.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Do you want to see some of Paris today?” Bryan asked as he pulled a sweatshirt over his newly combed hair, sending it back into its seemingly constant disarray.

  “Absolutely, there’s nothing better than seeing a city from an insider’s point of view. Where do we begin?”

  “After breakfast, why don’t we ask Madame Lalonde to pack us a lunch, and we can buy a bottle of wine somewhere, and have lunch along the river in one of the parks. We can just wander around for you to get the feel of Paris, and perhaps, go to the university where I studied. Then, tomorrow if you like, we can go to some of the tourist places – the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral or Montmartre. Le Louvre will take much more time. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds so very honeymoon like! I love the idea. We can just wander around, suck up the ambience and forget work and the rest of the world. Great idea!” Sonya replied. “I’m starved!”

  They proceeded to the kitchen, where Madame Lalonde had set out a continental breakfast and asked if they wished coffee, pouring each of them a cup. Sonya’s eyes popped wide open with her first sip. It was the strongest coffee that she had ever encountered.

  From the glitter in Bryan’s eyes, Sonya knew that he had been expecting this reaction, and decided to put this item in her little black book. She did, gradually, become accustomed to the coffee, but definitely did not require a refill. Her caffeine level was over the top with just one cup.

  After breakfast, Bryan loaded their lunch into his backpack along with a thermos of water, and then they bid adieu to Madame Lalonde, promising to be home in time for dinner.

  Sonya loved Paris. She loved the feel of it, the architecture, the sound of it and the pulsing life that it seemed to have. Bryan was a great tour leader. He seemed to know the smallest neighbourhood corners, the most unique little spots and the shortest routes to where he felt that they needed to be. It was such a bonus to have a guide that knew not only the city, but what she would enjoy.

  Eventually, they ended up at the American University of Paris, and as an alumni, Brian proudly led her around the campus that he knew so well. It was a learning experience for Sonya, given that her degree was earned in two slightly smaller universities. Bryan led her to the department in which he had studied. Some of the staff members greeted him. Others watched him with blank looks, wondering how this stranger could know their department so well.

  Finally, they stood in front of an open door. Bryan didn’t knock, he simply said, “Hey!”

  The slight man with the goatee looked up from his desk and his smile lit the room. “Hey, Man!” was his response, as he leapt from his chair and enveloped Bryan in a king sized hug. “What the hell, you’re in Paris?”

  Then, he saw Sonya and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit, is this the lady you couldn’t stop talking about? Jaysus, you weren’t braggin’, she is drop dead fuckin’ gorgeous!”

  Sonya didn’t know what to do or to say, she was that embarrassed.

  “Watch your mouth, Grégoire! The lady happens to be my wife!”

  “If I were a Frenchman, Sonya, I would have some silky words to apologize, but I’m Louisiana Cajun and ya know, all I can say is, man, you are off the scale beautiful!” And, Bryan, I apologize for thinkin’ that you were braggin’. Shit, you weren’t evin’ half right!”

  Bryan laughed out loud. “I told you so, Grégoire, she’s totally beyond belief! And, I will repeat, my wife. Your southern charm will not work with her like it does with the ladies here in Paris! You really are laying it on a bit thick,” he added seriously.

  CHAPTER 4

  Grégoire chuckled and let go of Bryan. He held his hand out to Sonya, and like a southern gentleman, kissed her knuckles. “Grégoire Benoit, at your service. It is my supreme pleasure to meet the beautiful wife of my good friend and student,” he stated very formally. “Welcome to Paris!”

  Sonya didn’t know how to take this over the top man, but she relied on the internal radar that she could always depend upon. She couldn’t help her blush, but she realized full well a come-on when one was presented. And for a change, she used her blonde beauty to pretend that she was not nearly as intelligent as she really was, as much as she despised that ploy. And she hoped that Bryan would keep his mouth shut.

  For some reason that she couldn’t understand, despite his bon vivre good humour, she instantly disliked Grégoire. It was a visceral reaction, one she always listened to, not that it happened often. Sometimes, she decided, it was better to have someone underestimate your intelligence, and his kind did automatically. This was a man to keep at arm’s distance she decided, despite his seeming friendship with Bryan.

  “Ah, Grégoire, how very nice to meet you! Bryan has spoken of you and the university so often. I love Paris, thank you. It’s such a beautiful city for a honeymoon! I’m so looking forward to seeing the rest of its beauty. With such a wonderful tour guide, how can I go wrong!” she kissed Bryan softly on the cheek and took his arm possessively, batting her china blue eyes at Grégoire.

  Grégoire’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, as he appeared to analyze her. They remained flat brown, but his face still smiled. “Madame Mylowsky, you are so right, Paris is such a lovely lady! I hope that you have a wonderful time here. I know that Bryan will show you everything that Paris has to offer. I have a class in twenty minutes, so I must rush! It was wonderful to see you again, man, and to meet you, Sonya. Perhaps, we can meet at the Le Cavern later?”

  “Great idea!” Bryan replied before Sonya could object. “Same time as usual?”

  “Oui! We will have an opportunity to socialize then. Au revoir!” With that, he lifted his computer bag onto his shoulder and rushed out of the office and down the hall.

  Bryan put his fingers against his lips to shush Sonya from saying anything, and then led her out of the building. Then he turned to her and said, “That wasn’t exactly the way that I wanted you to meet Grégoire. He’s not quite what he appears to be. Neither were you, for the record, why the Barbie doll act?”

  “And what exactly is it that he is?” Sonya demanded. “Frankly, he struck me as a total and complete asshole!”

  Bryan blinked, and then threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, he can be,” he admitted, still laughing. “But when the chips are down, Grégoire is the guy you want in your corner. Unless,” he admitted, “there is a beautiful blonde in the mix. Then, all bets are off! He isn’t quite the Don Quixote that he’d like to pull off. If there was someone that I would choose to guard my back, however, it would be him.”

  “Why would you need someone to guard your back? And why did you shush me in the office?” Sonya queried with a furrowed brow. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “Don’t be silly, Sonya, why would I have any sort of trouble? I’m an artist, a nerd, not someone that anyone would look at sideways, unless of course, I’m walking with my gorgeous wife! The walls have ears sometimes, Sonya, so it’s best to
keep our thoughts to ourselves, while in the department, anyway.”

  “That was something that Grégoire taught me when I worked on a special project with him. It was a prestigious project, and I got some hassle from other students because it meant extra credits. Not only that, but I got paid some money. Grégoire had my back, and I appreciated it.”

  "Let’s forget about anything but you and me, Sonya, we’re on holiday. Let’s head on down to the Champs-Élysées and stroll down to the Arc de Triomphe. It’s definitely more fun to watch than to drive.”

  With that they strolled out of the university, arm in arm, lost in each other and their discovery of the City of Lights. Unbeknownst to them, there were two shadows in their wake.

  Le Cavern was noisy, loud and young and they definitely fit in. It appeared to be a hangout for university students, and Bryan led her through the crowded room to a corner already occupied by Grégoire and his groupies. Before she knew it, Sonya had a beer in one hand and was sitting next to Bryan. She had been unable to manoeuvre quickly enough and unfortunately, was seated next to Grégoire as well.

  Most of the conversation took place in French, as would have been expected, but she understood the gist of most of it and spent her time analyzing the small group around Grégoire. She reflected that her sarcastic analysis of ‘Grégoire’s groupies’ was right on the money. Obviously, most were students gravitating towards his authority.

  One woman, however, appeared to be his age and status, and Sonya found her interesting to watch. She didn’t miss anything that Grégoire said, but instead of hanging onto his every word like the students, she simply assimilated the information that he seemed to have a compunction to divulge.

  The woman fit in, Sonya decided. She was petite, fashionable and very pretty. Her shining hair was styled in a very short bob and her thickly lashed, luminous hazel eyes didn’t seem to miss anything. Sonya noticed a particularly intriguing ring on the hand that held her beer glass. It was big, silver and held a cabochon of dark red. What was her name again, Sonya pondered. Lulu, no, that wasn’t it. It did have two syllables, and it was French sounding. Ah, it was Mimi! She would ask Bryan later about her.

  “I do hope we haven’t bored you too terribly,” Grégoire stated as they prepared to leave.

  “Not at all,” Sonya was pleasant. “My high school French recognized the odd word here and there. Good day,” she said and moved away as Grégoire seemed to be zeroing in for an embrace.

  She couldn’t escape and he whispered, “What’s wrong, darlin’? Louisiana Hot Sauce too sizzlin’ for ya, Crusader?”

  Her stomach heaved at his even being this close. “Not at all,” she replied quietly. “However, I do prefer the subtlety and sophistication of Béchamel, personally.”

  Grégoire threw his head back and laughed, making a show of putting his finger tips to his lips and made a sizzling sound as he shook them as if to cool them. “I am tha wizard!” he declared as he joined the group once again.

  And then she did move away, hoping that Bryan was doing the same, because she was getting the hell away from that asshole, pronto! She sensed him behind her as his hand touched her elbow, and they wound their way out of the bar and onto the street, where Sonya virtually sucked in the fresh air.

  “He’s not that bad, really,” Bryan began, and one look at his wife’s face stopped him dead. “Well, okay, he was somewhat out of line in there.”

  “I’d like to talk to you about him, but let’s wait till later, okay? I’ve had him up to here, right now,” Sonya exclaimed, chopping her hand over her head for effect.

  Bryan hailed a taxi and they climbed into it in silence. A car slid away from the curb as the taxi left and from the doorway of the bar, Mimi quietly watched and then pulled out a cell phone.

  CHAPTER 5

  By the time they returned to Madame Lalonde’s, Sonya was famished, over her irritation at Grégoire, and pleasantly tired. Sylvain was anxiously awaiting their arrival and his English practice. Dinner was another happy, chatty and enjoyable time. Sylvain was sent to attend to his homework and after enjoying a nice conversation with Madame Lalonde for a while, Sonya and Bryan decided to retire to their room. They had barely closed their door when noise and voices caused them to quickly return to the living room. What they saw surprised them.

  Standing in the middle of the room was a tall, dark haired man, surrounded by both Madame Lalonde and Sylvain, engulfing him in a bear hug.

  The man looked up at their appearance and his smile began to grow bigger. “Bryan! J’entendu dire que vous est à Paris. Bienvenue, mon ami! (I heard that you were in Paris. Welcome, my friend)”

  With that, he threw his arms around Bryan in welcome. “Ah, la belle fille! (Ah, the pretty girl!) You must be Sonya. It is my pleasure to meet you,” he declared with a kiss on each cheek. “Bryan is a very lucky man to have such a beautiful woman for his wife.”

  Bryan was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Sonya, meet Lucien Lalonde!”

  So, this was the missing Lucien! There was no doubt at all that he was Sylvain’s father. His glossy black hair and dark brown eyes showed Sonya a glimpse of Sylvain as a mature man, and a very handsome man at that.

  Sonya snapped out of her analysis of Lucien and smiled brightly. “It is a pleasure to meet Sylvain’s father. He looks so very much like you.”

  A look of pride flashed across Lucien’s handsome face. “My son is très joli, is he not?”

  Embarrassment burned Sylvain’s face red, but his father simply curled his arm around his son’s neck and kissed the top of his head. “You will consider this a very good thing when the pretty girls line up to date you, my son!” he smiled.

  “Bedtime,” Madame Lalonde announced to Sylvain. “You may visit tomorrow. Tonight is a school night!”

  Neither Sylvain nor Lucien seemed to even consider arguing with Madame Lalonde. Lucien acquiesced with a shrug of his shoulders to his son. “Sleep well,” he smiled, “We talk tomorrow.” Sighing, Sylvain turned and trudged towards his bedroom, shoulders drooping and in a definite pout.

  “It is difficult to be young, is it not?” Lucien remarked to no one in particular.

  “We will leave you to your reunion,” Bryan said with a smile. “Good night!”

  With that, Sonya and Bryan returned to their room. “You seem to know Lucien quite well,” Sonya remarked as they readied for bed. “I thought that he worked in the Middle East for months at a time.”

  Bryan hesitated for a fraction of a second. “He was home for an extended vacation while I was here,” he replied in a somewhat nonchalant manner. “Actually, I met him through Grégoire, but I didn’t want to mention it because you dislike him so much.”

  “I really don’t like him –not at all! But Lucien strikes me as a decent sort. He obviously loves his son.”

  Changing the subject, Sonya asked, “So you know where we are meeting Mike and Steve for lunch tomorrow?”

  “Absolutely,” he replied immediately. “You will really enjoy this place, it’s very Paris!”

  “About today,” Sonya began.

  “I know, I know, Grégoire was an absolute asshole, you were right. I apologize for him. I had no idea that he was such a jerk to women,” Bryan stated. “He was even starting to piss me off.”

  His apology took the wind out of Sonya’s sails. She had been prepared to go into a long tirade about all of Grégoire’s indiscretions. “Yeah he was! What does crusade mean? And why is he a wizard? And what about Mimi? Does she teach at the university as well?”

  If her questions surprised Bryan, he didn’t indicate so. Taking a deep breath, he began, “Crusade was a word that he used to describe our project. It was a series of oil paintings, contemporary in style, a bit subdued for my taste, but I was paid for them, and the extra credits were a major bonus. Yeah, I heard the wizard part too! I have no idea, unless of course, he considers himself magical and mythical now. He does have a somewhat over inflated ego! It didn’t seem so at the time, but now
that I’ve been away, he is, as you so eloquently put it, an asshole!”

  “I’ve seen Mimi before, but I don’t think that she teaches at the Department, at least she didn’t when I was there. She could be in another faculty, though.”

  “At first I thought that she was Grégoire’s girlfriend, but at one of the parties, he was all tanked up and crossed way over the line with her. She calmly pulled some slick judo move on him and faster than he could blink, he was flat on his back. After that, she usually showed up with some big, dark haired guy on her arm. Could have been her boyfriend for all I know, but Grégoire kept his hands to himself after that.” They turned out the bedside lamp and called it a night.

  Dawn coughed out a weak light around the edge of the window covering. As Sonya pulled back the curtains, she was greeted by grey, mist-laden skies. Surprised to find Bryan already gone, she hurriedly cleaned up, dressed and rushed to the kitchen, interrupting what appeared to be a very intense conversation between Lucien and Bryan.

  Lucien immediately stood to refill his coffee, and Bryan’s smile seemed to light the room when he spied her.

  “Morning,” he grinned as he got up to kiss his wife. “Coffee?” he challenged with a little snicker.

  “I’d love one!” Sonya met his challenge with a lift of her eyebrows and nodded her thanks as Bryan handed her a cup of Madame Lalonde’s strong coffee.

  “So,” Sonya began, “what were you two discussing when I came in? It looked pretty intense.”

  “Soccer, what else?” Lucien shrugged and lifted his hands in a very Gallic gesture.

  While she wasn’t about to argue with Lucien, Sony knew very well that Bryan didn’t follow soccer. Her radar was fully engaged. Something was off.