Broken French: A widowed, billionaire, single dad romance, Natasha Boyd [e reader books .TXT] 📗

keeping his face expressionless, so I had no idea what effect his mother’s pronouncement had on him. If any.

Dauphine came back to the table from throwing some leftover bread to the seagulls over the balustrade just in time to hear Madame Pascale’s pronouncement. “You will stay with me here?” she asked me, her eyes big and round. “But why you will not come back on the boat? Now you will stay here in France and not be with me?” Her tone told me she found this incomprehensible. Her eyes grew watery, her chin wobbling. “Papa told me he likes you very much. So now you do not have to go.”

“Um, I …” I looked helplessly toward Xavier.

Say something, I wanted to yell at him.

“Perhaps we’ll share Josephine,” Madame Pascale soothed her granddaughter. “She can help me and help your papa? Besides, I will be in and out of town.” She looked at her son, and I glanced between them. Evan, of course, was biting back a grin. It was as if he found Xavier’s predicament funny.

God, this was torture. I’d started the day off feeling like I wasn’t wanted at all. It wasn’t like he’d come and knocked on my door last night. Nor even called when he’d found out I left with Evan. Talk about a knock to my ego. And now I had the distinct feeling they were fighting over me, and Xavier Pascale had suddenly been outmaneuvered by his mother, which didn’t make any sense.

He didn’t want me to stay.

Did he?

The idea of being able to stay a few weeks in this gorgeous home and explore and learn about the local architecture of the region was sorely tempting and a lovely consolation prize. Added to which it would mean I still got to see Dauphine a while longer before heading home. Madame and I had had a wonderful discussion, and she was full of information I wanted to mine. She seemed to find me equally enchanting.

Also a sad truth? If Xavier wanted me back on his boat, and in his proximity, there was about a zero percent chance I’d say no. Which made me rather pathetic.

Xavier Pascale cleared his throat and seemed to come to his senses. He turned and had a quiet conference with Evan, which left Evan looking bemused.

“Dauphine, you enjoy a few days with your grand-mère,” Xavier said, turning back to us. “I have business to attend to in Corsica tomorrow. I was going to suggest that Josephine may want to come along to view the architecture since she has a few days free, and then I’d bring her back the day after tomorrow.”

I opened my mouth then closed it.

Evan had his head cocked to the side, looking at his boss but quickly shook it off. “Yes,” he suddenly said and turned to me. “Andrea told me you had read up on Corsican architecture, and I was just coming out to tell you we can’t get you on a flight until Thursday. It seems like a good idea.”

“Well, you can rebook that flight for a few weeks’ time,” Madame Pascale said. “Better yet, just leave it open.” Then she turned to me. “I wish I could accompany you and be a tour guide. But please feel free to return here after your trip and be my guest, unless you’ll be staying on with Xavier and Dauphine.” She smiled. But it was the kind of gleeful smile that had me digging my teeth into my lip with suspicion. Go to Corsica with Xavier on the boat? Without Dauphine as a buffer? Or as a reason to even be there?

“Pouah!” said Dauphine with her nose turned up. “It takes so long to get there. I’m glad I get to stay here with Mémé.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I will miss you!”

Xavier sat next to his mother and leaned in to tell her something.

I ran my hand up Dauphine’s back and returned her embrace. “Me too, sweetheart.” When Dauphine pulled away, I looked up at Evan. “Sure. Tagging along to see Corsica sounds great. And thoughtful. I appreciate you including me.”

Evan looked awkwardly at Xavier, then smiled thinly. “No problem. Well, you should get going if you’re going to get there by dinner. Paco is all fueled and ready to go. I’m sure he wants to get ahead of the fog that’s predicted here for tomorrow.”

“We’re heading there now?”

“Xavier has an appointment in Calvi tomorrow.”

“Oh, ah, of course.” I turned to Dauphine. “You have fun, little mermaid. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“When will that be?” Madame Pascale shaded her eyes as she asked her son.

“We’ll probably spend tomorrow night there and head back the day after, and then I have business in Cannes.” I knew Cannes, where the famous film festival happened every year, was between where we were now and St Tropez. I was dying to see it.

Madame proceeded to give me a list of places to see both in Calvi and in Cannes, including the infamous Carlton Hotel. “You know it is rumored that was where Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier of Monaco? Such a romantic and tragic tale.” She placed a hand on her chest.

“Okay, Mother,” said Pascale after a bit. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

I bit my lip. “Um. Madame, would you mind terribly if we swapped contact information in case I have questions and need more advice about where to go and what to see?”

Madame Pascale beamed. “Bien sûr! Of course.”

A few minutes later after saying our goodbyes to Xavier’s mother and daughter, Evan and Xavier helped carry my bags down the cliff stairs to the tender. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being on that tiny boat with my suitcases. It seemed a bit precarious.

“Your mother is absolutely charming, I love her,” I told my ex-boss in an attempt to make conversation and keep my mind off the idea of potentially capsizing. My anxiety had spiked, and it probably wasn’t a hundred percent