Honeymoon in Paris Read Online Free

and on top of that, she has a cold heart. But she is a good actress, and she made me believe she was different. You cannot trust the things she says, Charlotte.”
    “I’m sorry, Luc. Of course I trust you. I only wish you would’ve trusted me enough to tell me the whole story.”
    As we stopped at the crosswalk, Luc reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ears, then ran his finger along the curves of my face. “It is not that I didn’t trust you; I just wanted to leave my past in the past. I promise you that I will not allow Brigitte to mess anything up for us. I will do what I have to do to handle her, but you and Adeline will always be my first priority. You must believe me, Charlotte.”
    “What about this Vincent Boucher character? Is he a threat?” I asked. “If this man was close with your family, aren’t you creeped out that he’s dating your ex? He must be at least twice her age, if not more.”
    As soon as the light turned, we headed through the crosswalk, passing by a group of American tourists, their loud voices grating on my already frazzled nerves. Normally I loved meandering down the Champs-Élysées, but today, I couldn’t wait to get as far away from hereas possible. The crowds, the cigarette smoke, and the excessive amount of dog poo muddying up the sidewalks were really getting to me.
    “Brigitte’s choices are none of my concern,” Luc said. “Except if they have to do with Adeline. And Vincent Boucher was never
close
with my family. He knew my father, that is all. I haven’t spoken with Vincent or his sons in years.”
    “Does he have something to do with why you don’t speak to your father anymore?” Luc hadn’t even invited his father to our wedding, and every time I’d asked him what the story was, he’d been evasive.
    “No, that is a decision I have made for other reasons. But today isn’t the day to talk about these things.”
    “When
will
be the day, Luc? When were you planning on telling me that the tiny blond bombshell splashed across the Metro billboards is your ex-wife? Were you going to wait until your four-year-old daughter pointed to her and said
maman
?”
    “
Calme-toi, chérie
.”
    “Please don’t tell me to calm down right now. I just feel like there’s so much you haven’t told me. Like with the finances, for example. If you’re not getting money from Brigitte, where
is
all this money coming from? I mean, you spent the past year as a full-time student putting yourself through grad school, you just went through a horrific divorce and custody battle that couldn’t have been cheap, and now you’re starting a job as a college professor. How are you paying for all of this if you’re not putting it on credit?”
    “I used to be in finance, remember? I am very smart with money, Charlotte. We are not in debt, I promise you. You will never have to worry about that. I will always take care of you.”
    “You’re missing the point. I don’t want to be taken care of. I just want you to be honest with me.”
    Just as Luc opened his mouth to respond, a piercing ring emanated from his jeans pocket. His eyebrows furrowed when he glanced at the caller ID on his phone. “
Merde.
It’s Brigitte.”
    “Didn’t she do enough damage for one day? She’s already calling you?”
    Luc sighed as the sharp ringing continued. “With her threats about Adeline, I am just worried—”
    “I understand,” I said. “Take the call.”
    “I’m sorry, Charlotte.”
    I squeezed his shoulder letting him know it was okay. But as my feet skimmed over the yellow leaves in the tree-lined park lining the Champs-Élysées, nothing about this situation felt okay. I needed to get some air, some space. And I didn’t want to hear whatever Luc and his ex were going to be arguing about on the last day of
our
honeymoon.
    Why couldn’t she have just stayed in Australia? And why couldn’t Luc have told me the truth about who she was? I felt like such a colossal idiot. Planning to go