Secrets Read Online Free Page 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