The Affair - Danielle Steel Page 0,41

By the time she joined them in the kitchen in white jeans and a T-shirt and white Hermès sandals, the others were chatting animatedly and having breakfast. She sat down and entered the conversation with a smile, after she hugged each of them, delighted to see her daughters all in one place for a change. The long weekend together had been a great idea and was going well. After their initial discussions about him, Nicolas hadn’t been mentioned again and Nadia was relieved. She wasn’t going to be making any big decisions over the weekend. It was a family reunion, and a vacation, for all of them, Rose as well. She didn’t even mention the September issue, which was a sensitive subject. This was family time, a sacred time for all of them.

They spent the day at the pool, reading magazines and dozing, exchanging sun creams and sunscreens, while Rose sat under an umbrella on a lounge chair. Athena made a big, healthy salad for lunch, which was perfect, and at the end of the day, they all compared how tan they were, except Venetia, who, with her fair skin, had been happy to lie in the shade under the enormous umbrella with her mother.

Dinner that night was going to be their last big meal together, and their mother’s only evening meal with them. The others were flying home the next day, and Rose was going to Paris for a day of work and meetings before she went back on Monday night. She made use of the time while she was there. Nadia had gone all out and ordered lobsters and écrevisse for all of them. There was a tin of caviar on the table. Nadia had chilled some of their best white wine and champagne, Athena made another very creative salad, and after the meal they put three flavors of gelato on the table: peach, lemon, and chocolate. The combination of flavors was exquisite after a sumptuous meal. They sat back in their chairs, happy and sated, as Athena poured another round of champagne.

“Oh God, I’m going to get drunk in front of Mom,” Olivia said, and they all laughed, including Rose.

“I’ll be asleep on the table before you can do anything outrageous,” Rose assured her, and accepted another glass of Cristal herself. Every aspect of the meal had been perfect. The girls went to bed on their own, tired from a day in the sun and the pool.

As they relaxed, the conversation turned to their children, what their talents were likely to be, and what their hopes were for them.

“Will is going to be just like Harley and you,” Venetia said, smiling at her sister, “serious, hardworking, ethical, successful.”

Olivia looked at her for a minute, and with the benefit of the champagne, she looked pensive. “He won’t be like Harley,” she said, sounding certain.

“Why shouldn’t he? You both have the same values,” Venetia proceeded innocently, and sipped the champagne.

“He’s not Harley’s.” The words fell into their midst like an unexploded bomb that lay on the table, ticking loudly.

“What do you mean?” Athena questioned her, confused by what she’d said.

“Will is not Harley’s,” Olivia repeated, as her sisters and mother stared at her. “I made a terrible mistake right after we were married. I was in my first job after I’d passed the bar. I got sent as low man on the totem pole on a big case. We had associated with a firm in San Francisco. The case settled, and we all got drunk to celebrate. The associate they had me working with looked like some kind of god. We had fun working together, and I don’t know how it happened or how I could have been so stupid, but we wound up in bed on the last night. I tried to forget about it afterwards, to just erase it from my mind, I felt so guilty about Harley. I wasn’t in love with the guy. We just got drunk and went crazy for a night. Then I found out I was pregnant, and I didn’t know if it was Harley’s or the associate’s. Bernie, his name was Bernie. I didn’t want to have an abortion in case it was Harley’s. I told Harley there was a problem, and I needed an amnio, and had them do a DNA test. I was five months pregnant when I got the results, and found out he wasn’t Harley’s. I really didn’t want an abortion by then. I never