“Anything,” I assured him.
Men were hunters. Women were gatherers. And I was achampiongatherer.
“Theater is about illusions,” he pointed out.
“Tell that to the actor I had suspended from the ceiling on wires.”
“It’s one thing to put onPeter Pan. It’s another to meet road safety standards.”
“Try me,” I said flatly.
His look suggested I was wasting his time. I countered by pointing to the overhead display that said we were stuck on the train for another forty minutes.
Roux checked that against his watch — one of those massive devices that could double as a dive watch, if it didn’t drag him to the bottom of the ocean first.
With a sigh, he finally indulged me. “I need pistons, for starters. From1936.”
I made a note. “What else?”
“I’ve been trying to track down a Wrigley carburetor for weeks. I’m telling you, it’s impossible.”
I shook my head. “If I can track down a vintage jack-in-the-box or parts to make a flying elephant, I can find a Wiggly carburetor.”
“Wrigley,” he muttered.
I handed him the notepad.
“One of the best directors I ever worked with had a saying. You want to hear it?” I asked as he noted the correct spelling.
“No.”
I plowed ahead. “Can-do energy is more productive than can’t-do energy.”
He gave me a hard look and underlined1936on the notepad.
“What about the chapel? The ballroom? Oh, and the honeymoon suite?” he challenged.
“What about them?”
“You can’t promise things that aren’t ready.”
“They’ll be ready. I know I’ve been busting my ass. How about you?”
“We’ve all been busting our asses,” he growled.
I glanced down at the body part in question. It was hard to appreciate from this angle, but I knew his to be magnificent. On par with Clem’s, not that I’d gotten up close and personal with either.
My body warmed at the thought, so much that I couldn’t help conducting a quick reassessment when we filed off the train at our destination. And when I did…
Trulymagnifique.
The car was parked what seemed like miles away. Given that walk and the ensuing drive, it was pitch-dark when we approached Auberre. My phone beeped with an incoming text, and I motioned for Roux to read it to me.
“It’s from Lily.”
I rolled my hand impatiently. “What does it say?”
He scowled. “Heart emoji, heart emoji, heart emoji. Thumbs-up.”
