Jean-Pierre dragged over a few pots of watercolors for her while the rest of the family went back to painting and talking, or singing along to the music that someone had turned back up. Adelaide rose from her seat on the other side of Tatiana to grab a bottle of water from a cooler, leaving Jean-Pierre and Tatiana in a bubble of privacy.
"I'm sorry about last night." He sketched his label letters in pencil, using a ruler to be sure of the spacing. "I wish I'd had the presence of mind to talk things through with you then, but I hope we can correct that later today."
Surprised, she picked up her first blank label and thought about what she would create. What would her patterns and colors say about her? She knew one thing. She was done coloring in the lines and making safe choices to please the people around her. Now that she was a mother, she understood that she didn't want her child to have a role model who played it safe all the time. She dipped a brush into a pot of bright orange paint.
"A discussion would probably be wise." She knew without question that he wanted what was best for César. Jean-Pierre's love for his child had been evident almost immediately in the tender way he held him. After seeing the way he behaved with his son, she wondered how she could have doubted him during her pregnancy. But she'd had her reasons at the time. She could only move forward now. "My father called this morning to alert me to the media's renewed interest in the Caruthers case. I didn't realize it had come back to life, but I do want to think about how to deflect interest away from that if at all possible."
"Good." Setting aside his pencil, he watched her for a long moment as she painted a starburst border on her first label. "I want to do whatever it takes to find some common ground this week. I am fully committed."
Something in his tone made her pause. She moved the brush away from the label so as not to spoil her work.
One look into Jean-Pierre's dark eyes told her he meant it. There was a depth of sincerity there that she would guess he didn't let many people see. She herself hadn't seen it in years. But she remembered that expression from long, long ago.
And it had much the same effect on her now that it'd had then. Her heart fluttered. Sped up. Made her breathless.
"That sounds..." Her voice hitched and she cleared her throat, trying to banish runaway thoughts of what it might be like to have this man fully committed to her. Even just for the rest of the week. Even for just one more night. "That is, I agree."
She licked her lips and went back to the label, blinking away the chemistry that had always hit her so hard with him.
"Need some cold water?" Adelaide asked her, suddenly appearing beside her with an extra bottle from the cooler.
You have no idea, she thought.
"Thank you." She took it gratefully, hoping that she could turn down the temperature of her heated skin with a drink. But no such luck.
His low chuckle suggested he hadn't missed her reaction.
Having Jean-Pierre working silently beside her called to her senses, making her wish she could climb into his lap the way Fiona did with Henri. Or that he would steal a kiss when he thought no one was looking, the way she'd seen Dempsey do with Adelaide.
But the most she could hope for-and all that Jean-Pierre really wanted-was to find some kind of mental common ground where they could agree on how to raise César together in a way that would help their son to thrive.
She wanted that, too. And yet...how nice it would have been to have something more. Some sense that he would throw logic and caution to the wind and take a chance on a deeper connection than carefully agreed on terms for parenting.
"Before I forget," Gervais said suddenly, turning down the music again. "I've chartered two flights on Saturday for wedding guests who arrive here thinking the wedding is still taking place in Louisiana. But the family will relocate to the island early to settle in before the ceremony. Leon and his nurse will leave in the morning, so he'll meet us there. Can everyone else be ready to depart tomorrow evening?"
While the group fine-tuned travel arrangements, Jean-Pierre's gaze connected with hers. Perhaps he sensed her apprehension at seeing Leon again. The Reynaud family patriarch had been the one to fire her father and turn her life upside down, effectively ending the young romance she'd apparently never gotten over.
"Will your grandfather keep César a secret from the press?" she ventured aloud to Jean-Pierre, unsure how much longer they would be able to keep their son out of the media storm swirling around the Reynauds lately.
"We should probably talk about that." He slid a hand onto her knee beneath the pillow on her lap. But his expression was serious. He seemed to be touching her to steady her more than anything. "Leon has Alzheimer's and can't keep a secret of any kind. He's been blurting out information from the past and nothing's sacred with him because he can't remember what to keep quiet about."
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said quickly, genuinely saddened to learn of his health problems. She couldn't stop herself from touching Jean-Pierre's hand lightly. "I know this must hurt you. I wish César could have the chance to know him better before...well. It's just such a tragic disease. I'm not sure what to say or how to handle things. It could complicate the announcement about César."
"I know." Jean-Pierre's thumb shifted on the inside of her knee, a tiny movement that sent a bolt of awareness through her whole body. "All the more reason we need a plan for how to reveal him to the press so we control the story."
"Right." She agreed wholeheartedly.
The problem was, neither of them seemed to have any idea what that story might be. Because the only thing she understood for certain about her relationship with Jean-Pierre right now was that she couldn't go on denying the chemistry that all but set her on fire every time he was near.
Besides, she'd been to see a local doctor this morning and obtained her official six-week clearance for intimacy. Just thinking about it made her stomach flutter with nerves-and excitement. She couldn't deny she still wanted Jean-Pierre.
Even thinking about his grandfather's illness made her realize what a short window of time she had here to make some life-altering decisions. This could well be her last chance to indulge in this tenacious attraction.
Maybe, in this frustrating search for common ground, they needed to revisit the one place they'd always found it-in each other's arms.
Nine
Jean-Pierre checked his watch at seven o'clock the next evening as the limo dropped him and Tatiana, as well as César and his nanny, off at the private airport close to the family compound. The party of four had arrived early to give Tatiana a little extra time to settle the baby. She had delayed the morning feeding so he could nurse during takeoff. She hoped to ease César's transition into the air since small children often felt the effects of the change in air pressure as pain in the ears. Apparently, the act of suckling relieved that pressure. That she'd researched this before the flight impressed Jean-Pierre, giving him yet another reason to admire her parenting.
He'd begun to think that the best way to convince her to say yes to his marriage proposal was to demonstrate his value to her as a father. But beyond naming the child heir to a fortune, he was still looking for ways to make his potential contributions more apparent.
Now, he passed a fussing César into Lucinda's arms while he helped Tatiana from the vehicle. Their driver had already taken charge of the luggage, so they were able to board after an exchange of pleasantries with the pilot, a man who'd flown Jean-Pierre back and forth to New York on numerous occasions.
He hoped the man proved as trustworthy as he'd always thought him to be because allowing him to observe Tatiana and César in Jean-Pierre's company amounted to giving him one hell of a valuable headline. But after considerable discussion the day before, he and Tatiana had agreed it would be best to bring César to Texas with them. She was breast-feeding almost exclusively, for one thing. And for another, Jean-Pierre found he didn't want to lose any time with his son after missing those early weeks of the child's life. Besides, if he was going to prove his value to Tatiana as a father, it would help to keep his son close at hand and learn more about this little life they'd made together.