The Consequences of That Night

look. “ Adieu, ma chérie. Be happy.”
    Climbing into his small boat, Alain Bouchard turned on the engine and drove back across the lake.
    Cesare turned to face Emma. As he looked down at her beautiful stricken face, so haunted and young beneath the long white veil as she held his child, her eyes were green and shadowed as the forest around them. His heart was pounding.
    “You left me at the altar,” he said.
    She swallowed. “Yes. I guess I did.”
    “You said you saw something in my face that drove you away,” he said in a low voice. “What did you see?”
    Moonlight caressed her beautiful face. She took a deep breath.
    “Dread,” she whispered. “I saw dread.” Her voice caught. “I couldn’t marry a man with a face like that. No matter how much I was in love with you. I couldn’t trap you into a loveless marriage for the rest of your life. And pretend not to notice as you—cheated on me, again and again.”
    “Cheated on you?” he demanded.
    The baby started to whimper. Comforting him, she nodded miserably. “I assumed—”
    “No.” Going to her, he grabbed her shoulders and looked down at her. “Now you know the story, you have to know I would never betray you.”
    “I thought you still loved your wife,” she whispered. “That I had no chance of holding your heart—”
    “I was too proud to tell you the truth. I never wanted to appear vulnerable, or feel weak like that ever again. I did love her. I loved my parents, too. And all I learned was that when you love anyone—they leave.”
    “Oh, Cesare.” Her eyes glimmered in the moonlight as she shook her head. “I’m so sorry...”
    “I swore I’d never let anyone that close to me again.” His lips lifted at the edges as he looked down at her. “Then I met you. And it was like coming home.”
    “You never said...”
    “I told myself you meant nothing to me. That I’d only brought you from the hotel to be my housekeeper. But I think it was for you that I bought that house. Even then, some part of me wanted to settle down with you. With you, I lowered my guard as I never did with anyone else. And when I found you crying that night in the kitchen, it broke through me,” he said hoarsely. “When I finally took you in my arms, I took everything I’d ever wanted and more....” He looked at Sam, then back at her fiercely. “Do you think it was an accident that I took such a risk? I’ve long since realized that my body and my heart must have known what my brain spent years trying to deny.”
    “What?” she whispered.
    He looked down at her. “That you are for me. My true love. My only love.”
    She was crying openly now. “I never stopped loving you—”
    He stopped her with a finger to her lips.
    “I nearly died when I saw you leave with him,” he said in a low voice. “It was like all my worst fears coming true.”
    “I’m sorry,” she choked out. “When he broke into our wedding, I thought it was a sign, the only way to save us both from a life of misery—”
    “Won’t you shut up, even for a minute?” Since his finger wasn’t working, he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his own. He felt her intake of breath, felt her surprise. He kissed her in the moonlight, embracing her with deep tenderness and adoration. Her lips were sweet and soft like heaven. When he finally pulled away, his voice was hoarse.
    “All this time, I was afraid of loving anyone again. Because I didn’t think I could handle the devastation of losing them. But I think I’ve always been in love with you, Emma.” Reaching out, he cupped her face. “From the day we first met. And I told you that you looked smart. And that I was glad you came into my life.”
    A little squeak came out of her lips.
    “Do you think I really came to Paris for some deal over a hotel? No.” He searched her gaze. “I was looking for you. When I found out about the baby, I asked you to marry me. Then I slept with you. I did all the things I swore I’d never do. I kept breaking my own rules again and again. Over you.”
    “What are you saying?” she whispered.
    He looked down at her in the moonlight, caressing her cheeks, running the pads of his thumbs over her pink full lips.
    “Where you are concerned, from now on there is only one rule.” He smiled, and her image seemed to shimmer as he said hoarsely, “I’m going to love you for the rest of my life.”
    “You—you really love me,” she breathed.
    He saw the incredulity in her eyes, the