She laughed in sympathy. “So, sorry. That’s one mistake you make only once.”
“Fortunately, the store still had a few meters left and now the chair arms are all the same color. And I am grateful to the salesperson who explained you need more fabric for the matching of plaid before I purchased thirty meters.”
“Excellent advice. I’ll have to visit that store.”
He raised his glass. “I am happy to take you.”
A current of warmth tingled with excitement moved through Claire. She’d never discussed fabrics or design with David. She and Gilbert shared an enthusiasm and interest for both.
Gilbert’s smile waned. “If my wines are not as good as Sophie’s, I will sell the grapes to other wineries. I will have to turn the château and vineyard into an event space and wedding venue, and all the rooms will need to be redecorated.”
“Are you worried your wines won’t sell?
He shrugged. “I think I make a fine wine, but Sophie’s were—” he kissed his fingertips, “exquisite!”
“In America we say, ‘She’s a hard act to follow.’” Claire dug into the ruby-red fruit tarte. “Mmm…This is exquisite!” She was stalling. “I’m afraid I am at a disadvantage here. I hoped to meet Sophie so she could explain how David is Luca’s father. Perhaps I’m being a bit stupid, but I’d like to know the truth if you know it—if you don’t mind.” Her voice squeaked. She took another huge bite of the tarte, as if it might give her courage to hear the truth.
“I apologize for my rudeness the other day. I suspected you were David’s wife the moment I saw you. He spoke often of you, about how beautiful and intelligent and funny you are and how proud he was of your determination to invent a…life-saving swimsuit?”
She smiled through sadness.
“After not hearing from him after Sophie’s diagnosis, and we’d not seen or heard from him in more than a year, I feared he had learned of Sophie’s death and sent you to investigate so he could take Luca away. After all, he was Luca’s birth father, but I panicked and behaved badly. I apologize.”
“I get your point.”
“I have legally adopted Luca in France, which I hope is respected in the United States.”
“I would never take anyone’s child.” Her words rushed. Although she didn’t know the truth about how Luca came to be, she did know her husband was honorable. “And if David made a promise, he would never go back on his word.”
“I know what you say about David is true. He was a very good friend to me and Sophie. We would not have enjoyed the success we’ve had without him. He had a good and kind heart. I’m terribly sorry he has passed.” He inhaled deeply, his eyes reddening. “The news was a shock to me, and I am deeply sorry for my own loss of a very dear friend. And the loss to Luca and you.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed against tears. “Can you please explain from the beginning? Were—” she swallowed a hard lump. “Were David and Sophie…?”
He downed his brandy. “David bought our wines for a popular boutique wine store outside of New York City. They kept ordering more of our wines, and David continued to taste and order new ones for them, twice a year. He was very curious about my winemaking methods, and I enjoyed demonstrating them. We had, what you call, a camaraderie?”
She nodded.
“One day I was cooking a cassoulet, and he’d said it was his favorite French dish, so I invited him to stay. Sophie joined us for dinner and, perhaps because we all had much to drink, Sophie complained that all the men she dated were not to her liking, and she just wanted to have a child. She had investigated using a donor, but she lamented that the most important quality she wanted in the father of her child was to have a good heart and that quality could not be determined in a profile.”
The realization that Sophie’s desire for a child was opposite of Claire’s spurred a squirming in Claire’s stomach. David found a woman who wanted the same thing he did. “She deeply desired a child.”
Gilbert nodded, poured himself more brandy, and offered Claire another pour.
She shook her head, thinking there was no man as good hearted as her David, even if it was his damaged heart that killed him.
Gilbert stared at the brandy. “I said, ‘You mean a good heart, like David’s?’ I was joking, but Sophie’s look was serious.” He crossed his arms. “David’s face grew serious also, and when Sophie saw it, she made a joke and said she’d continue to interview men. Maybe she would run an advertisement. She did not want the man in the child’s life. Surely some man would find that package attractive.”
“One would think.” Claire held very still, fortifying herself for the blade of truth.
Gilbert broke off a piece of tarte. “The next morning, David visited us in the cave. He told Sophie that he would agree to be a donor if she wanted. She should think it through and if agreeable, let him know when he returned. But Sophie didn’t need any thinking-time, she immediately agreed. She also promised she’d hire an attorney to draw up an agreement and make an appointment for David at the fertility clinic to make a donation—only for her—during his next business trip.”
Claire’s heart squeezed as she closed her eyes, memories of David’s kind eyes and dimpled smile warming her. Why hadn’t David told her? He’d not had a physical affair—but wasn’tnottelling her about his son almost as much of a betrayal? She didn’t want to be angry with him, but heat pulsed up her back.
Gilbert pulled a large envelope from his jacket pocket. “Both David and Sophie wrote letters to Luca for him to read on his eighteenth birthday. I made copies for you.”
She stopped chewing, the tangy fruit stinging her tongue. The thought of touching the envelope made her hands grow cold.
He pushed the envelope across the table. “A copy of their agreement is also in there.”
