Page 58 of The Saint

“No,” she said with a smile. “He did this all on his own.”

“This has to be twenty-four carats,” Mom said as she continued to examine the ring like a jeweler. “The clarity is truly remarkable.” She finally let go of Fleur’s hand and looked into her face. “So happy for you. I can’t believe there will be another Dupont soon. And little Duponts running around, carrying on the family name and legacy.”

Any children we may or may not have wouldn’t be included in the Dupont legacy. They would do something better with their lives than what Godric and I had chosen. Something respectable, commendable.

“This calls for a celebration,” Mom said. “Champagne and caviar in the drawing room.” She stepped into the other room to speak to her butler and tell him all the details.

“I’m glad your mother is excited,” Fleur said. “I wasn’t sure how she’d react.”

“She loves you.”

“I was afraid she would say it’s too fast, that we’re in a rush.”

“She trusts my judgment. You’re the only woman of mine she’s ever met, let alone heard of.”

That seemed to make her feel warm because she smiled and looked down at her ring again, lightly grazing her finger over the large diamond in the center. After a long gaze, she looked at me again, her eyes so bright they were like moons. “I love you.”

I savored the look on her face, the way she wore her heart on her sleeve and it beat just for me. So caught up in the stare, I almost didn’t say it back. “I love you too.”

I sat in the warehouse with a cigar in my mouth. It was pouring rain outside, the drops like a stampede of cats on the roof. I’d spent the last few days in bed with Fleur, fucking like rabbits in spring, but unfortunately, I had to go back to work.

My phone vibrated with a text.Can we meet?

It was Godric.

He was the last person I expected to hear from. I wanted to fire off questions about his intentions and the purpose of the meeting, but that could scare him off.When?

Now.

I’ll be in the city in 15 mins. I left the warehouse without a word, having driven myself, and returned to Paris. By the time I was surrounded by the buildings and lights of the glorious city, he texted me a location, a bar that he must own because nothing was open at four in the morning.

I parked on the empty street then entered the dimly lit bar, seeing Godric alone at a table in the center of the room. There was no bartender, so he must have made his own drink. None of his men appeared to be with him, a gesture of peace.

I helped myself to the bar and made a drink before I sat across from him.

His drink looked to have been sitting there awhile, because most of the ice had melted and diluted the scotch in his glass. Condensation was on the outside, and there was a noticeable ring on the table around the base. He wore an expensive black jacket with an Omega watch on his wrist. He’d always cared about nice things—clothes, cars, jewelry.

The only thing I cared about was women. And now, I had a woman worth more than all the cars in my garage and all the watches in Godric’s closet.

He stared at me as he relaxed in the chair, his guard dropped, unlike how it’d been at the wedding. He opened his coat to reveal the stash of cigars before he grabbed one and extended it to me.

“Can’t say no to that.” I took it and lit up.

He did the same.

Soon, we were surrounded by a cloud of smoke. The two of us sitting there in comfortable silence like we hadn’t been enemies these last few years. With our blond hair and blue eyes, ourrelation was impossible to miss. He was lean and toned like he ran on a treadmill instead of lifted weights, like a fucking pussy. He put his faith in guns rather than himself. I had a different philosophy, because an enemy could take away your guns and knives, but they could never take your strength.

Minutes passed, and neither one of us spoke, just smoked and drank, the large window that faced the street coated with rivulets of rain that continued to fall.

I knew Fleur was dead asleep right now in my bed in my t-shirt. I wondered if Godric went home to anyone. When I got tired of the silence, I broke it. “Thank you for the warning.” I didn’t want to show appreciation to him for anything, but I knew it would be poor taste if I didn’t.

He swirled his glass, even though there was barely any ice left. “I expected you to make a deal, not call for war.”

“I did make a deal, and then I changed my mind.”

He took a drink then returned the glass to the table. “For your fiancée’s ex-husband.”

“Mom told you.”

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