Nine Lives - Danielle Steel Page 0,59
still wasn’t sure she would be able to endure it. But she was following him for now, with no long-term commitment. He understood the conditions and was willing to accept them to be with her.
“So you’ll come to London with me after the boat?” She nodded. It was good enough for the time being. And Aden’s spring break worked perfectly for Paul. He had some business trips planned then. He had given up the loan of the chalet in Courchevel. He wasn’t up to that yet.
They had made their plans as far ahead as they needed to. She sighed that she hadn’t brought city clothes with her for London at the end of January, and would have to go shopping again.
* * *
—
The next three weeks on the boat with him were like a honeymoon, and they both hated to leave when they met up with his plane in Antigua. They flew to London, and within hours he was tied up with conference calls and meetings with firms he invested in all over the world.
She bought just enough clothes to look respectable when she went out with him. They stayed home a lot, and he was doing deals in a dozen time zones, busy and awake at all hours.
They stayed at the Baur au Lac in Zurich when he had to go there, and she took long walks around the lake, and thought about the changes she’d made in her life in the past month, and even the past year since Brad died. Her horizons had broadened exponentially.
She called Helen when they got back to London, who said she’d been worried about her. Maggie had sent her regular texts, but they were somewhat cryptic.
“Where are you?”
“In London. I’ve been on Paul’s boat since right after Christmas.”
“Wow, how is that going?”
“Okay, so far. We’re living day to day, which is the only way I can do this. I need to see what it feels like to live with a man who risks his life for a living. It probably won’t last forever, but it works for now.”
Helen admired her courage and willingness to check it out, given her history. But Maggie did love Paul. It made it worth trying to make it work, for both of them.
“When are you coming home?”
“In a few weeks. He has a race in February. I want to leave before that. And Aden has spring break in March, so I’ll be home for a while. Maybe I’ll come to see Paul again in April. And then Aden’s school year ends in May. And he wants to stay home until he goes to Europe with friends in June.”
“Complicated life. It sounds like a balancing act between Paul and Aden.”
“It will be. And I don’t know how Aden will feel about him. He may see it as a betrayal of Brad.” She was prepared for the possibility and would face it when it happened. They talked for a few more minutes, and then hung up. Maggie promised to call her again soon. Helen missed her, but she was happy for her if Paul made her happy. Maggie still wasn’t sure, but loved being with him every day. They understood each other, and he was a kind, loving man who knew her well.
As she spent more time with him, Maggie noticed that Paul didn’t have many friends, if any. A few acquaintances on the London scene. All he had were people he did business with. The calls between Paul and his advisors developed a frantic quality in early February. She didn’t ask Paul why, and didn’t want to be intrusive, but she noticed that he often looked stressed after the calls. There was a tension in him that he didn’t always explain. He said nothing to her about his complex business dealings, and always told her everything was fine. He shielded her from anything stressful or unpleasant. She’d been through enough pain.
The race in the north of England was set for the twelfth of February, and she was planning to leave two days before that on a commercial flight to Chicago. The night before she was due to leave, Paul asked her to come with him, and be at the race.
“You know I don’t want to do that,” she said, frowning. He was crossing a line.
“I know. Just this once. You’ll bring me luck. You don’t have to do it again if you hate it.” He didn’t push her, but she could see that it meant