SAFEHOUSE

As I made my beeline towards the delicious smelling food, someone tapped me on my shoulder. I spun around and was taken aback as a young woman stood in front of me, one hand on her hip, smiling at me.

"Bree, right? Hi! I'm Veronique! Or rather, Julien's younger cousin. It's very nice to meet you, finally!" she exclaimed, pulling me into a surprisingly tight hug, given her petite size. I must've had the goofiest look on my face, because when she pulled back she frowned at me.

"I’m sorry, I’m just so excited to meet you… We’re pretty much cousins now. Oh my gosh, you know I heard you were beautiful… but really!"

"It’s nice to meet you, too. I'm sorry that I don't really know much about you, Julien rarely talks about his family,” I replied, smiling.

"He doesn't like us. Not that I can really blame him, because we’re kind of crazy. Not me, of course, but everyone else. Anyway, Julien is practically my older brother so it's really cool to finally meet you," she said, nearly out of breath when she finished.

Her grin quickly turned into a frown.

“So, have you had a chance to meet the monster-in-law?” she asked.

I looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction. “Yeah… I did. She actually seemed very nice...”

Veronique laughed, patting my elbow gently. “It's okay,” she replied, looking all around us before she continued. “I know our family’s not exactly the Brady Bunch, so it's okay. I totally understand if you are freaking out right now. You got a lot going on, right? At least that's what I've heard.”

“What do you mean exactly?” I asked. What all did everyone know about me?

“Well . . . you know they made us all sign this crazy long non-disclosure thing before we all agreed to attend, right? I mean it was nuts! I wouldn't have suspected that it was going to be that crazy, but it really was. There were all these lines about possible incrimination . . . but I guess it was for the best. So what’s your secret? You some kind of spy? Seriously!”

She seemed out of breath again. This girl could talk. No non-disclosure agreement was going to stop that. I was pretty sure she’d tell half of France all about me…

I smiled, almost wishing she could read my mind. “You have no idea.”

“Ok, I get it. You’re not going to tell me… Did Julien give you introductions to everyone else besides his mom? I doubt you've met my lovely parents. I haven't seen them yet, myself,” she muttered, her voice dropping lower at the last and of her sentence. “Not that I’m complaining.”

I raised a brow at her. “Do you and your parents not get along, then?” I asked.

Even as she looked like she was wanting to avoid the subject, she clearly brought it up for reason.

“Oh, well you know. I'm at that point in my life where I would rather have a little space... And they don't exactly agree with my life choices. I'm engaged to be married, actually. And they hate that.”

“How come?”

“He’s an artist. A good one. David Bowie bought a couple of his paintings, and he has some really good taste, if you ask me. The guy’s like a walking canvas, so he knows art when he sees it. Anyway . . . Marco is a very established painter at this point, but my mother wants me chasing after old money... But that's beside the point,” Veronique replied, sounding defeated.

“Well, I'm sure they'll eventually get to know him and like him. He sounds like a pretty cool guy.”

She smiled at me, showing off the small gap between her two front teeth. "That's very sweet of you. I think he is, too."

We sat there and chatted for a few more minutes, while I tried to delicately stuff my face with the delicious food Gervaise had made for the party. It seemed like Veronique knew a lot about the family, and definitely all about the gossip. When she finally ran out of things to say, I was halfway through a masters course on Julien family history.

"You know, I should really let you go meet everyone… It was nice talking… I'll catch up with you later. And if you need to be saved at any point,” she whispered, sounding conspiratorial. "— just let me know. Just say the word and I'll find you and get you the hell out of here. Good luck!"

And with that, Veronique was gone, skipping away to another part of the ballroom. I slouched against the back wall, wondering what I should do next.

(Back to Table of Contents)

Chapter 35

I practically flopped back on our bed, completely exhausted from the evening’s events. I hadn’t realized that baby showers could turn into an all-day affair, and apparently neither had Julien. We were only too happy to see everyone leave, although I had to admit it was a rather nice party after all. I had gotten so nervous over nothing.

Julien rolled over to his side to face me, snuggling up against my chest. “You did great today,” he murmured into my already bountiful cleavage, as his hand traced a soft line against my hipbone.

I scoffed. “I love you and all . . . but I’m way too tired for all that. My feet. Are. Killing. Me.”

He chuckled, his warm breath tickling my skin. “I apologize, then. It’s just so damn hard to keep my hands to myself when I’m around you, ma chérie.”