Page 63 of Her Inconvenient Groom (French Conquests 4)

The next step would be finding a taxi during rush hour in downtown Aix.

Then he spotted them, standing on the sidewalk, both men tall and strong, one dark-haired, the other with the tawny—albeit tamed—mane of a lion. Alex and William.

He felt weak with relief, and almost teared up when they came to him and embraced him like he was their brother. He understood then that these men not only liked him enough to pull out their wallets on his behalf, but they also trusted him enough. Surely they knew he would never hurt Chantelle.

“Come, come, frère,” Liam said a bit too brightly, “let’s get you home and get some decent food into you.”

Dustin was grateful for the invitation, but hesitated. “Is Chantelle still in hospital?”

“She is,” Alex said gravely.

“Please,” Dustin begged, “may I see her?”

The brothers shared a glance, and then Liam shook his head. “I’m sorry, but given the circumstances, with your case still open—”

“I didn’t—!”

“We know,” Alex placated him. “We can clearly see that you love her. But legally, it is not allowed. You cannot have any contact with her. It is a condition of your bail.”

“Is there no way?”

The brothers shook their heads. Dustin felt his heart sink. He’d been so hopeful when those cell doors had been opened. Now this.

“But,” Alex said, “at the very least, my brother and I are opening up our home to you. You are welcome to stay as long as you wish. And we will make some calls in the morning, to ensure that we have the full legal power of our team behind you. We’ll fight this, my friend.”

Dustin wanted to hug them again, so overwhelmed was he by their generosity. He was nothing to them, and yet here they were, offering help when he needed it most. “Thank you,” he said humbly. “And thank you for posting my bail.”

More surprised glances were exchanged. Liam said, “We received a message that you were being released. This is why we are here. But neither my brother nor I posted your bail. Although in retrospect, that’s a bit embarrassing. I wish we had thought sooner to alleviate your suffering in that way.”

Dustin was perplexed. “You didn’t? Then who?”

Alex made light of it. “Perhaps you have a fairy godfather. But don’t puzzle over it too much. Why don’t we take you home? I have already called the château to ask Hassan to go out and buy you some fresh clothes.” He looked him up and down. “Although I hope the size that I suggested to him will still fit you. It is possible you might have lost some weight during this ordeal,oui?”

“Oui,”Dustin agreed. Between the bland food and his unceasing worry, he’d barely been able to get anything past his lips.

He was grateful that the brothers didn’t try to engage him in unnecessary conversation, and left him to his thoughts on the drive out to the country, to their château. As he entered through the main doorway, he remembered the last time he’d been there. How happy they had all been sharing a meal and good wine.

Now even this beautiful mansion felt cold and imposing, as if reflecting the dull empty ache of his heart back at him.

He took a way-too-long shower, scrubbing away all the grime of his cell—both real and imagined, and returned to the spacious guest bedroom to find several choices of clothing neatly laid out on the bed. And although, yeah, the waistband of the pants was a bit looser than it would have been a couple of weeks ago, it was good to wear something clean that wasn’t cheap, itchy, state-supplied crap.

He felt like a new man.

Picking up the phone handset next to his bed, he dialed the number of the one person he knew would always be in his corner. Kim, his stepmom. She picked it up almost immediately.

“Dustin!”

Dustin imagined that the French area code appearing on the caller ID would have alerted her that it was him. “Hey, Kim,” he said softly.

“Oh my sweet heaven! Dustin!” Her voice was choked with emotion. “Where are you? How are you?”

Why does she sound so worried, he wondered? He hadn’t even had the chance to explain his predicament. And much as he hated the idea of worrying her, he knew he had to.

“Have you been arraigned? Have you been charged? Are you still in jail?”

She knew?“How did you—” he began.

“It was all over the news. People are saying such terrible things about you.”

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