An angry red spread across her uncle’s face. “Alessandro, you’re going to let your daughter talk to me that way?”
Maddy’s father rubbed his hands over his face roughly, then said, “Maddy has a right to voice her opinion.”
Victor turned angrily on his brother. “Do you agree with her?”
With a pained shrug, Alessandro said, “I don’t know. I’ve never lied to Maddy, and”—his face tightened a bit and a muscle in his jaw twitched—“even when she knows I don’t want to hear it, she has never lied to me. I may not like the truth, but I would rather know it.”
“I did what I thought was right.”
Alessandro went over to his brother and put a hand of support on his shoulder. “I know you did. And I’ve done a lot of thinking over the last few days. If Maddy needs to tell Stephan the truth, then that’s what she has to do. No matter what the consequences are. She must also do what she thinks is right.”
Watching her uncle shrink a bit before her father brought new tears to Maddy’s eyes. Victor said, “I hope to God we don’t lose him over this.”
Maddy reached out and took her uncle’s hand in hers. “I don’t want to cause trouble, Uncle Vic. I don’t want to hurt anyone. If you promise me you’ll tell him, I’ll honor your secret.”
Her uncle’s eyes misted over and he nodded. “You’re a good girl, Maddy.”
Her eyebrows shot up in challenge. “Even if I’m a tramp?”
He blushed at her jab.
Alessandro interjected, “About that. You’re not staying here.”
“Dad, I’m old enough to know what I’m doing.”
“Apparently not, or you wouldn’t have run away in the first place.”
Ouch.
“And you’re lucky your mother was here or your boyfriend wouldn’t be looking so pretty. He was smart to hide in the kitchen with the women.”
“He’s not hiding. He spends his life in a kitchen. He’s a chef.”
“A chef?” both men asked in unison in similar tones of disdain.
Putting her hands on her hips, Maddy said in a huff, “It’s a perfectly respectable profession, and I won’t have you looking down on him.”
As if she weren’t in the room anymore, her uncle said, “You should tell her to stay here. She’s always been a bit contrary.”
“Oh, she’s coming home with us,” her father said.
Shaking her head, Maddy said, “Where’s Mom? I can’t talk to you about this.”
***
Richard was showing Elise and Katrine how to make a traditional holiday dessert when he stopped and smiled. They were both paying close attention and shared not only his passion for good food but also a keen appreciation for the process.
After he had briefly described his restaurant to them, Elise had said something that had touched his heart. “My grandmother always said that the reason a family recipe is impossible for others to duplicate is because the most important ingredient is love. You can’t go wrong if that’s where you start.”
He’d nodded in agreement but didn’t admit the truth: He didn’t have a family recipe. Not one. He’d created his own dishes, and that had always been enough until now. His father’s house had once given him a sense of family, but after meeting Madison’s family, it would never again feel like more than a cold stone structure.
This was family. They yelled. They worried. They protected each other. Maddy might have had a reason to leave them, but there was no doubt they loved her.
As I could.
The realization shook him. He’d heard couples say they knew from the moment they met that they were meant to be together. He’d always scoffed at the idea, until Madison. He had tried to push her away, tried to fight the attraction, but in the end he admitted to himself that the more time he spent with her, the less he wanted to imagine his life without her.
As if she’d heard his thoughts, she walked into the kitchen and crossed the room to stand by him. When she saw he was cooking with her mother, she smiled. “Did you survive the grilling?”
He swept her hair over her shoulder, kissed her neck gently, and said, “Easily. Your mother and aunt are incredible.”
She jumped as her father and uncle entered the kitchen, then asked, “And my father?”
Richard put a supportive arm around her waist. “He loves you. That much is obvious. You’re lucky to have someone who cares enough to be angry with you.”
Maddy smiled up at him. “Thank you for giving us time to talk. We’ve at least come to an understanding.”
Fear seared through him. “Does that mean you’re leaving with them?” Of course she was. Why wouldn’t she? Because of one day they’d been together? Because of one romp in his bed? She’d run away to prove a point to her parents, and sleeping with him had driven that point home.
“Do you want me to?” she asked softly.
His heart clenched in his chest. “No,” he admitted huskily.
Madison straightened her shoulders with resolve and looked at her father. “Then let’s feed him and see if it softens his mood.”
Although he had no doubt that her family had house staff, none of them seemed the least bit bothered when he said he didn’t and requested that they each carry something into the dining room. Her father and uncle took plates and saucers from their wives and dutifully followed Richard. Elise handed Gino the coffee pot and he ferried it into the next room as if he’d done it a hundred times before.
When they were settled around the table, Richard said, “Had I known you would be here for Christmas Eve I would have planned le Réveillon feast. Instead, I hope you will accept la bûche de Noël. It is a chocolate and chestnut cake rolled like a log and filled with cream. Normally, I would adorn it with a bit more, but time did not allow this, you understand.”
Alessandro leaned toward his wife and said, “I can’t look at him and eat.”
“Dad, we can hear you,” Maddy said with a sigh.
“Let it go, Madison, it’s okay,” Richard reassured. He took her hand in full view of everyone. “He won’t like me until he knows me, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Elise touched her husband’s arm and said, “It’s been a stressful day for all of us. Alessandro’s tired. We’re all tired. But thank you for welcoming us, Richard.” She rested her head on her husband’s shoulder and said, “Do you realize that this is the first Christmas Eve that I’m not cooking?”
Alessandro kissed his wife’s forehead and said, “You sound sad about that.”
“I’ll miss your mother’s meatballs. And the chocolate tortellis your grandmother taught me to make. I’m happy we found Maddy, but it’s strange to not be with the rest of the family.”
Some of Alessandro’s earlier softening disappeared when he looked across the table at his daughter. “This is the first Christmas since Maddy was born that we aren’t all together.”
Victor interjected, “We can rectify that if we leave soon. I don’t sleep well on planes, but at least we’ll be home.”
Raising her chin, Maddy announced, “I won’t be going with you.”
Feeling her hand go cold beneath his, Richard knew what her declaration had cost her, and he said, “You can, Madison. I’m not going anywhere, except to follow you if you don’t eventually return.”
She met his eyes and what he saw there hit him like a punch to the gut. “I’m not leaving you, Richard.”
Standing up, Alessandro threw his napkin on his empty plate and said, “Enough. I have been more than understanding. I am sick to here”—he raised a hand to the top of his head—“with understanding. No more. Maddy, we are going home now, and you are coming with us.”
Madison stood, her chin set proudly and at the same angle as her father’s stubborn one. Richard wondered if Alessandro knew how alike he and his daughter were. “No, I am not. I want to stay in France. Maybe study French at the university. I’m not leaving Sablet until I’m ready to.”
She’s not leaving. His heart thudded
joyfully in his chest. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked down at him and he nodded. Yes. Stay with me.
“Don’t push me, Maddy. You are . . .” her father boomed.
Elise stood beside her husband and lightly touched his shoulder. “Alessandro, sit down. Sit down before you lose your daughter.”
He glared at his wife. “She’s coming home with us.”
Elise looked at her daughter, then up at her husband, and shook her head. “If you push her, she’ll choose him.”
“She doesn’t even know him,” Alessandro stormed.
Taking one of his hands in hers, Elise chided, “How long did it take you to decide that you wanted to marry me?”
His expression softened with the memory. “I knew the first time you said my name.”
With tears in her eyes, Elise smiled up at him. “It was the same for me. And we were younger. What would we have done if my father had tried to separate us?”
He shook his head in resignation. “Anything and everything it took to stay together. And he would have failed.” Alessandro pulled his wife to his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. He closed his eyes and said, “What is a man to do when his daughter is as stubborn as her mother?”
“Me?” Elise squealed. “You think she takes after me?”
A deep laugh rumbled out of Alessandro and the tension of the moment dissolved. In that exchange, Richard had seen more love and loyalty than he’d witnessed in his life, and it inspired him to take a leap of faith and trust what he felt for Maddy. He gently pulled her down to sit beside him. Her father and mother returned to their seats.
The short silence that followed was broken by Victor’s exclaiming, “Oh, my God, this has to be the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted.”
Katrine laughed and chastised him, “Victor, how can you eat a time like this?”
Victor shrugged and dug into the cake with his fork again. “I thought we might be going and it seemed a shame not to at least taste it.” He offered the next bite to her. “Try it.”
The tall blonde shook her head. “You know I have to watch my diet. It’s too easy to put on weight at our age.”
Wiggling his eyebrows at his wife, Victor said, “We could burn it off later at the hotel.”
Maddy buried her face in Richard’s chest and said, “You can still back out if you want to. This is my life.”
Richard eased her back a bit so he could look into her eyes. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you or them. Did you mean what you said about staying and studying here?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her lightly on the lips, then looked at her parents. “I don’t want to be the reason your family is apart this year. There are several unused bedrooms in this house and enough hotels nearby if needed. It would be an honor if your family celebrated Christmas in my home. I’ll cook.”
Elise hopped with excitement beside her husband. “Christmas in Provence. Let’s do it, Alessandro.” He didn’t stand a chance against his wife’s plea. She looked down at her watch. “It’s almost seven. We have time to charter something big enough to bring them all over.”
Maddy asked, “Do you think Stephan will come?”
Katrine looked sadly at her husband and said, “He works so much right now, it’s hard to say. All he thinks about is competing with Dominic Corisi. I worry about him.”
Maddy appeared to want to say more on the subject. She and her uncle exchanged a meaningful look, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
Alessandro announced, “I’ll bring the family here, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with Maddy living with a man no one knows.”
Madison stood and walked around the table to her father. “I can find a place in town. I would like to take French language classes. I know you’re not happy with my decision, but I do want to stay here.”
Alessandro stood and hugged his daughter. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Find two apartments, because Gino will need a place to stay, too.” When Maddy would have said something, Alessandro addressed Richard instead. “It looks like the Andrades are having a Joyeux Noël this year. Are you sure you’re ready to meet the whole family?”
How many could there be? Richard shrugged. “Certainly.”
Maddy put her hands on her hips and said, “Dad, you can’t invite them all.”
Looking far too pleased with himself, Alessandro sat back in his chair and cut himself a slice of chocolate cake. “You heard your boyfriend. He wants to meet them.”
Maddy returned to sit beside Richard. “I hope you like chaos, Richard, because that is what will be flying over—multiple generations of it.”
Richard looked around the table and said, “I have had a—how do you say—an epiphany this week. In my work, I require order and control. In my home life, I am beginning to see the benefits of a little crazy.”
Quick smiles faded as everyone pondered if his revelation was an insult or a compliment, then returned as they got his dry sense of humor.
He gave them his most handsome, toothy grin.
Different as they were from him, Richard had found what he’d yearned for when he’d purchased his father’s house—a place to belong. With Maddy and, with any luck, her family.
“How many should I prepare for?” Richard asked.
“At least thirty,” Maddy said.
Thirty. Holy Hell. “I should start cooking soon then.”
Katrine offered, “Would you like us to stay and help?”
“Only if you will teach me how to make a good Italian sauce.”
Elise raised her hands and face heavenward and said, “You hear that, Nonna?” She paused as if receiving an answer. “I know. I like him, too.”
Chapter Six
Sometime on Christmas night, Richard and Maddy snuck out the back door of his house. The laughter and boisterous voices that filtered outside became fainter the deeper they walked into the garden. They stopped at a stone bench and sat side by side.
Maddy said, “You did it. You survived an Andrade Christmas.”
“Your family is not as bad as you think.”
“You can say that even after they dressed you up as Santa and had all the young cousins sit on your lap and pull your beard?”
Richard laughed and hugged Maddy to his side. “Your father is still testing me and that’s okay. He wants only the best for you.”
“What does your sister think of my family?”
“She’s still here, isn’t she? Usually she stays for an hour and goes back to her friends in town. Maybe because your male cousins are flocking around her?”
“Tell her to watch out for those Italian men. They’re trouble, just like the French.” Maddy laid her head on Richard’s shoulder. “Hey, I thought you should know I apologized to her for not being honest about why I was on the run. I felt like an idiot, but she took it well.”
“She doesn’t hold grudges, not even when she should.” Maddy knew instantly who he was referencing.
“Did you call your mother? It’s Christmas.”
“Birthing a child does not make a woman a mother,” Richard said coldly.
“You should call her.”
“Not everyone has the family you have. I won’t push you to tell me what made you run, but I have to say I can’t understand it. I want to understand, though.”
Maddy slid a hand beneath Richard’s jacket and laid it on his heart. “I am not a good secret keeper, Richard. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in trying to help people that I share things I shouldn’t. But this is different. I discovered something that could unravel the very fabric of my family. You want to know why I ran? Because I didn’t want to keep a secret I didn’t agree with and I couldn’t live with being the one to expose it. I can’t tell you what it is. Honestly, I want to forget that I know it.”
“So, what will you do?”
“I’ll find an apartment in Sablet and study French.” She looked at him from beneath her lashes and added, “And if you’d like, we
could see each other often.”
“I like,” Richard growled and claimed her mouth with a passionate kiss. He continued to whisper in her ear in French. Maddy couldn’t understand much of what he said, but the way his hands possessively ran over her made translation unnecessary.
“Maddy,” her father’s voice called from the door into the darkness, “are you out there?”
Maddy broke off the kiss and buried her face in Richard’s chest. “Don’t answer.”
Breathing as raggedly as she was, Richard hugged her close and chuckled. “If we say nothing, he’ll likely send Gino out to find us.”
Maddy arched upward and murmured against Richard’s lips, “Just a few more minutes.”
“You challenge my good sense, Maddy. But I can’t say no to you,” Richard answered and kissed her deeply again.
***
A few days later, Richard pulled into his driveway after leaving his restaurant and noticed a light on in one of the windows. His sister had a key and there was no evidence of a forced entry, so he called out in French as he entered, “Hello? Who is here?”
His eyes caught a movement, and he dropped the plate of food he’d brought home as he realized who it was. There, halfway up the stairs, stood a perfectly naked Maddy leaning seductively against the railing.
A huge smile spread across her face and she bent over laughing. “I am so happy that you’re alone. I did not think about how embarrassing this would be if you brought a friend home for dinner.”
She walked down the steps as she spoke and Richard could not find the faculties to speak. They hadn’t been alone since their first night together. He finally swallowed hard and asked, “Where’s Gino?”
Maddy continued her slow-motion decent toward him. Those beautiful pert breasts bounced with each step. She wore her hair down, and one of her nipples played peekaboo from behind it each time she moved. She stopped barely a foot in front of him and smiled up at him, a combination of innocence and siren. “Circling the neighborhood. I convinced him the only way he would know where I was at all times was if he let me go where I wanted. And I want to be with you.” She looked behind him with humor in her eyes. “But only if you close the door, because I’m fucking freezing.”