hand shoved into the pocket of his tan pants and his linen shirt tails carelessly rumpled. Against the backdrop of the Mediterranean, he still looked like a million dollars. He nodded in my direction.
“Have a good time?” Evan asked, and I tore my gaze away. Luckily, I was wearing sunglasses.
I shrugged and followed him toward the tender. “It was all right. There’s not much to do here. But it was nice to stretch my legs and walk more than fifty feet in one direction.”
He grinned and stepped into the shallow boat, turning to help me in. “I’ll bet.”
“I was disappointed not to see the museum though. It was closed. I read they have an exhibit of the Huguenot expulsion since Marseille was one of the ports many fled from.”
“Do you know where your father’s ancestors left from?” Xavier suddenly asked from behind me, clearly having caught up with us and our conversation.
“Um.” I shifted over on the bench to give him room. “The south, probably Marseille. But I’m not sure.”
“I apologize. I should have told you there is a Huguenot Memorial on Ile Saint Marguerite.”
“Where we just were a few days ago?” I asked, dismay lacing my tone. I quickly schooled my features and hoped I hadn’t come off as annoyed. This was not my vacation after all. But I was annoyed. I couldn’t help it. Suddenly I asked myself why I was still working for a man who didn’t even like me half the time. But then I thought of Dauphine. She’d told me she loved me when I was putting her to bed the other night. And I surprised myself my returning the sentiment.
“What was all that Huguenot stuff about anyway?” asked Evan. “Wasn’t much for history in school.”
“People being persecuted for being protestant, so hundreds of thousands fled the country,” I supplied as he steered the vessel past the quay and toward our huge floating home.
“So you’re technically protestant,” Evan mused, eyeing me. “And Xavier here is Catholic. Interesting. Destined to be at odds.”
I kicked Evan’s shin, acting like I was being playful, while inside I was asking what the hell? “And what are you?” I asked Evan, trying to brush over the weird vibe.
“Thirsty. Hey, the crew is all going out when we get to St Tropez. You should come with us.”
I glanced at my employer, who was staring very hard at his phone. “Sure,” I said. “That’d be fun. As long as Dauphine doesn’t need me.”
“She’ll be seeing her grandmother for a bit,” Xavier responded, letting us know he had, indeed, been listening.
“Oh,” I responded. Surprised. “How long for?” What was I supposed to do when I wasn’t watching Dauphine?
“I’m not sure yet. Evan?” He turned his head toward his bodyguard. “When are we due in St. Tropez?”
“Day after next. Why?”
He switched to French, and they spoke so rapidly that between that and the sound of the tender motor, I let their conversation go and drifted into feeling the sun and wind on my face. Turning toward the elements, I breathed in deeply.
I didn’t understand why my mere presence had suddenly made Xavier act so damn uptight. He’d so very thoughtfully bought me sketchbooks and even gave me a book he thought I’d be interested in. But then in the same breath, he’d acted like I was to be avoided at all costs. Days ago at the beach, we’d talked, and I felt as though we were actually starting to become friends, but today he’d leave the room if I walked into it rather than be alone with me. Up on the deck in the middle of the night he’d shared intimate parts of his past. I had too. Then suddenly he’d barked at me to get lost. A pervasive feeling of discomfort plagued me as if I’d misstepped, but not sure how to fix it. And I couldn’t forget the touch that night in Dauphine’s room. Maybe it had been by accident, and now he felt awkward about it. Though I was now beginning to think I’d imagined it.
Having a few hours to myself when we got back, I decided to head down to my cabin.
I dialed Meredith’s number. I had to talk to someone about what was going on. I felt like I was going crazy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Meredith answered on the third ring. “Is everything all right?” Her voice was sleep-infused.
“Yes, yeah,” I responded to Meredith’s sleepy greeting. “Wait, Why? What time is it there?”