Hotel Vendome (2011) by Danielle Steel

Author:Danielle Steel [Steel, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Danielle Steel
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 2011-10-12T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

FOR THE NEXT two months, their life seemed totally normal. Natalie’s brother James and his wife came to town, and she and Hugues had dinner with them, and the two men got along famously. James thought he was a great guy and perfect for his sister. The two men talked business all night, and Natalie talked to her sister-in-law about the kids and the cases she was working on.

Natalie’s business was booming, and she was still doing some things for Hugues at the hotel. In some ways it was almost as though he didn’t have a daughter, because she wasn’t part of Natalie’s life and she had no idea when she would be, if ever. She had stopped worrying about wanting to make friends with her. She was in a separate part of Hugues’s life, and they were building their relationship without her. It felt solid and strong, and their lives were blending nicely. They couldn’t move in together because he lived at the hotel, and Heloise would be coming back in December. But in every other way, their relationship was going well and the bond they shared strengthened every day.

Hugues was busy at the hotel, and he enjoyed talking to Natalie about it. She was an intelligent woman, was interested in it, and always gave him good advice. They went to the Hamptons for Memorial Day weekend, and while they were having dinner at Nick & Toni’s, she said something about an art exhibit she wanted to see at the Museum of Modern Art, and he told her he was going to Paris the following week.

“On business?” She looked surprised. It was the first time he had mentioned it, and she knew it must have come up suddenly for him not to have told her about it.

“No, to see Heloise. She’s starting her internship at the George V on the first of June. I told her I’d come over and see her before she starts work.” Natalie was quiet for a minute and then nodded. There were occasional reminders that he had a whole other part of his life that she couldn’t share. It hurt her feelings, but she tried not to think about it. It was almost as if he had a wife tucked away somewhere and she was his mistress, the woman that he loved and hid with. She would have liked to go to Paris with him, and she had the time, but there was no way that she could. Not until he told his daughter about them, and he was no longer saying that he would. They had taken the path of least resistance and were enjoying what they shared.

“That feels a little weird,” she admitted to him, and she didn’t ask him if he was going to tell her this time. She knew there would be some excuse when he didn’t, about how much it would upset her and how he couldn’t risk it. And she didn’t want to be disappointed again, and knew she would be.

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