Page 68 of Signed, Sealed, Married

She inclined her head. ‘I didn’t want him to realise what I was doing. He would have told me to walk away, but I couldn’t do that. He supported me through the toughest times. I was determined to do the same for him. You don’t know him yet but when you do, you’ll discover Fontaine’s is his life. His passion. I thought it would kill him to lose the company and every connection with it.’

Adam felt her shiver and drew her close. ‘So you’d have done anything to ensure he stayed in the company.’

Even marry a stranger.

His mouth filled with the taste of metal filings. So much for believing Gisèle could have walked away from the deal if she’d really wanted. That secretly she’d wanted him from the first too.

Nor had their deal been about money for her. Her focus had been on family and fear for her brother. Pain sheared through him as the enormity of her sacrifice for Julien hit.

How blithely he’d taken from this woman and how generously she’d acted.

You don’t deserve her.

But he wasn’t letting go. Incredibly she snuggled close, burrowing against him, her head on his chest. As ifheweren’t the man who’d threatened to rip the firm from their grasp and who’d initially intended to sack them both.

As if she drew comfort from him.

It was remarkable. Adam drew in a shuddering breath and held her to his thudding heart. Things had changed so much between them. It gave him hope for the future.

He vowed to make it up to her. All the stress and worry. He’d do whatever it took to make her happy.

‘It’s all right,’ he murmured, rocking her gently. ‘Julien’s doing well. He’s going to be fine.’

Adam couldn’t countenance the alternative, knowing it would tear Gisèle apart. It was clear how much she loved her brother. What she’d done for Julien humbled him.

‘I know. Things really are looking up. But sometimes I still worry.’

Adam realised how little opportunity she’d had to be with her brother these past weeks, because he’d insisted on keeping her with him. ‘Do you want to visit him? Or have him stay here?’

Gisèle tipped her head back, eyes wide. ‘Really? You’d have him here? On our honeymoon?’

Adam had already planned to extend their honeymoon. A week was nowhere near long enough. But he could adapt. His wife needed his support. ‘We can have time alone in the future whenever we like. If I’d known the situation with Julien I wouldn’t have monopolised your time so much.’

‘It’s okay, Adam. We have regular video chats. He didn’t want me fussing over him in person. He prefers to recover in private.’

Much like Gisèle. Both siblings valued their privacy. How much of that was due to the blare of public interest that they’d faced from birth?

‘Nevertheless, I’m sure he’d love to spend time with you. He’s based outside Paris, isn’t he?’ She nodded. ‘Why not call him today?’

They stayed on at the château for another ten days. Gisèle had regularly visited her brother, insisting on the third visit that Adam accompany her. He guessed it was to reassure Julien about the man she’d married. Adam hadn’t missed the muted but definitely negative vibes from his brother-in-law on the day of the wedding.

The visit had gone well. Even in the time since the wedding, Julien seemed stronger, a better colour in his complexion. After some initial stiffness he and Adam had achieved a level of ease, talking over Fontaine’s, finding a surprising amount of common ground.

Gisèle had been right, her brother knew the business and had a quick, insightful mind. He’d be an asset when he returned to work in the executive team.

That visit had also been interesting for the presence of Julien’s friend, Noemie, a pretty, kind-hearted woman who clearly thought the world of him. They’d met when he’d been in hospital receiving treatment as had Noemie’s daughter, who was now well enough to spend the day with a friend.

Was it Noemie’s presence that had made the visit so easy?

Or the fact Gisèle no longer wore the slightly strained look she had prior to the wedding? Presumably Julien had noticed it too, the sparkle in her eyes and her ready smile.

Adam knew that, if Angela wanted to marry, he’d consider no man good enough until he was assured he was decent, honest and intent on making his sister happy.

He didn’t begrudge Julien that assurance. In fact he went out of his way to make it clear how much he valued and cared for his bride.

That compulsion he’d felt the first time he’d seen her hadn’t dimmed. It had grown, morphing into not just need, but appreciation, caring and a desire to make her happy.

Marrying Gisèle Fontaine had been the savviest move of his career. Not for business reasons but because she made him happy in so many ways.

---