Broken French: A widowed, billionaire, single dad romance by Natasha Boyd (books like beach read txt) 📕

get to Xavier. Michello would be a natural choice given the massive chip on his shoulder. And I knew where to look for him. We think access to where Dauphine might be was his part of the bargain. That he might use her to extort money from Xavier was always a probability.”

“God. Where is Michello now?” I asked, wondering about the details of how Dauphine had been found and whether Michello had put up a fight. She could have been hurt.

“In jail, arrested on kidnapping and extortion charges,” Evan said.

“Mais, what do you possess, Xavier, that would make this evil man Morosto risk certain jail time for a chance at it?” Madame asked. “And put my granddaughter in danger?”

Xavier shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s everything,” Evan said, rolling his eyes at Xavier. “Madame, your son has invented something that almost every government and every company will need in order to secure their place in a dystopian future. Which is looking more likely every day, but that’s a different story. Let’s put it this way. Even Bill Gates will want to use it.” He chuckled. “Especially Bill Gates.”

Xavier glared. “Tais-toi,” he muttered to Evan.

“To be honest,” Evan blithely went on, “that plebian, Morosto wouldn’t know what to do with the information even if he’d found it.”

Madame nodded approvingly. “Xavier. You know I’m always so proud of you.”

“Merci,” he said uncomfortably and shot an annoyed glance at Evan before rolling his eyes.

“Mais maintenant,” Madame went on with a short and decisive clap. “It is very late. Tomorrow everything will be clearer.”

I wasn’t sure I was ready to deal with everything between Xavier and me, not after such a frightening day. Of course, I’d be ready for his apology any time, the sooner the better, but he and I needed to talk about a whole lot more than that. And I was shattered.

Madame stood, and I followed suit.

Evan nodded at me. “I’ll arrange to have your belongings delivered here tomorrow,” he said as he headed toward the door. “Good night, Josie.”

I wanted to follow Evan out and ask him about my flight home. Looking toward Xavier, I was about to tell him goodnight too.

“Josephine, please stay a moment?” He nodded at both his mother and Evan, and they left us alone.

Chapter Forty-Five

Xavier and I stared at each other in the dim light of the library sitting room. He seemed so far away, and so exhausted, harrowing lines of the panic he’d faced earlier today etched around his eyes and bracketing his mouth. In any other situation where someone so dear to me had been through what Xavier had been through, I’d have been up and in his arms to hold him and comfort him.

Screw it.

I seemed to fly across the room, giving in to a decision I hadn’t even known I’d made, and wrapped my arms around his torso.

He stumbled as he caught me.

Maybe if I held him tight enough, all those cracks and fissures in his heart would heal back up. I sniffed his shirt. The scent of him, tired, warm skin, only a hint left of his woodsy aroma swam through my limbs like a drug.

Beneath my arms, his muscles were tense and hard and I longed to slip my hands under his shirt.

It took a moment to realize how stiff his body was, and then he was setting me away from him.

The loss of him was like a chill wind.

He opened his mouth, then closed it and swallowed heavily, his eyes flicking away for a moment.

A rock dropped in my stomach. “Um,” I began, “I’m so very relieved Dauphine is home. Glad you are both home. I know you’re tired.” Not knowing what to do with my arms, I folded them across my chest. “We can talk tomorrow. You need to sleep.”

And I wish I could curl around you in your bed, I mentally added, or you would curl around me and take whatever comfort you need.

He nodded, mute.

The loud sound of ticking filled the silence, and my eyes sought out the antique clock sitting on a bookcase filled with hardback books. He didn’t make a move to leave so I sat back down stiffly, my hands pressed between my knees.

He turned, the low light playing with the planes of his face highlighting his exhaustion.

I didn’t want to be another problem he had to solve before he slept tonight.

“Xavier.”

He scrubbed his hand down his face, and then his looming form skirted the coffee table and came toward me.

Sitting back, I leaned away to look up at his face.

“I know you need my apology,” he said, lowering on to the coffee table in front of me, legs spread.

I nodded. “I do.”

“And you are angry.”

“I was. And I was hurt.” I licked my lips to find moisture, and my eyes stung with the remembered ache of his distrust.

“I’m sorry, Josephine. You will never know how much. I am normally better at controlling myself, but of course I have never faced a nightmare like someone taking my daughter.”

“Of course, I know that,” I said. I wasn’t a parent, but even I had felt the horror of learning Dauphine was missing. With that as the touchstone emotion of the day, it now had me feeling silly for being hurt. But then the accusing words he’d hurled at me echoed in my memory, making me annoyed for letting him off the hook. “Even though I understand.” I paused, trying to find the right words. “You found it so easy to blame me. Even knowing how much I love Dauphine. Even after what you and I shared. Why?”

He drew his bottom lip between his teeth. “Evan had told me about Morosto … then when I saw the card … I, took a jump, what is the expression?”

“Jumped to conclusions?”

“Oui. C’est ça. Jumped to conclusions.”

“That doesn’t tell me why you thought I was capable of something so horrific.”

His eyes stared into mine, weary. Conflicted. Fighting, and tired of fighting. He reached his hand up and pinched