“I was going to, and then your wife got cancer right after I found out. It didn’t seem right for me to pull on you too. And then I was going to tell you in September, at the Eiffel Tower … but you canceled and got stuck in Italy for a month with Julianne … and then …”
“Timmie, please … I’m sorry … I had no idea … I wanted to do the right thing, and the one I didn’t do the right thing for was you. Can you forgive me?”
“I don’t need to,” she said simply. “I love you. It was stupid of me not to tell you. I didn’t want you out of obligation or duty or by manipulating you. You’re always doing the right thing for everyone. I only wanted you if you loved me, not because you thought it was the right thing to do.”
“I do love you,” he said softly as they drove into the Avenue Montaigne. “I love you. Now what do we do? When is the baby due?” He could hardly think. It was a lot to absorb all at once. She loved him. She always had. She hadn’t cheated on him. There was no one else. There never had been. She had been faithful to him all along. She was having their baby. And she still loved him. She hadn’t stopped loving him, just as he had never stopped loving her. He had been devastated ever since she had ended it with him. And then he thought of something else. “Are you sure the baby is all right after your fall? Maybe we should go back to the hospital and have it checked.” He looked suddenly very concerned.
“It’s due in January, and it’s fine. It’s been kicking like crazy for the last half-hour.”
“I want you to lie down as soon as we get back to the hotel,” he said sternly.
“Yes, doctor.” She smiled.
“You’re making fun of me, Madame O’Neill,” he said with a smile. He had missed her humor and face and her arms and her kisses, her voice, and most of all her love.
“Yes, doctor, I am,” she said, smiling broadly, as they drove up to the Plaza Athénée. “Would you like to come upstairs for a glass of champagne or something?” He looked at her and smiled.
“And after that, Timmie? What do we do now?”
“What would you suggest? I don’t know if I could run my office from here, but I could try.” She wasn’t going to ask him to give up his practice and move to California, since he couldn’t practice medicine there. If anyone was going to move, it would have to be her.
“And then?” He looked at her with a broad smile.
“What are you asking?” she said, looking shy. Their dreams had suddenly been returned to them. She thought she had lost him forever. And instead, she was looking at him with love in her eyes. He had come back to her because of her broken ankle and David’s call to him. She was grateful now for that.
Jean-Charles leaned over and kissed her then. It was the kiss she had remembered and longed for, for all those long, lonely, agonizing months when he was gone. “I’m asking you to marry me,” he said softly. He had never asked her that before.
“Because you feel sorry for me?” she whispered. “Or because of the baby?” Her face was inches from his as she asked and looked at him intently.
“No, because I love you, silly girl. I always did. I’m sorry it took such a long time.”
“Then I accept,” and this time she kissed him. After she did, she sat back against the seat and looked at him with a huge, happy smile. “I guess that means I won’t be going back to the orphanage again.” The orphanage was gone forever. She knew that now.
“That’s right,” he said, as he got out and came around to her side of the car. “You’re never going back there again. You’re coming home with me, Timmie. Forever,” he said, as he picked her gently up in his arms and carried her into the lobby of the Plaza Athénée, where it all began.
To my greatly beloved children,
Beatrix, Trevor, Todd, Samantha,
Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara,
may all your loves “at first sight,” and otherwise,
turn out to be the right ones, and last forever.
I wish you joy and happiness forevermore.
With all my heart and love,
Mommy/d.s.
By Danielle Steel
FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME
Nonfiction
A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 600 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international best sellers include Until the End of Time, The Sins of the Mother, Friends Forever, Betrayal, Hotel Vendôme, Happy Birthday, 44 Charles Street, Legacy, Family Ties, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death, and A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless.
Visit the Danielle Steel website at daniellesteel.com.
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