The corners of my mouth twitch. “She won’t be back for another hour.”
Johann settles his hand on the curve of my spine and guides me to my room.
After a quick peek at the sleeping form of our daughter, we remove our clothing and slip under the covers. I’m not healed enough to make love to Johann, so we hold each other, kiss, and whisper, “I love you,” over and over. The words brush softly over our lips in a sweet caress, and we fall deeper in love.
His mouth moves on mine, languid, passionate, and I pretend this never has to end. But Anna has different plans. A small rustle from her cradle signals she’s stirring awake. I climb out from under the covers, gather her up, and return to the bed where Johann is now sitting propped against the pillows.
I put her to my breast, and she hungrily nurses at what little milk my body is able to produce. Fortunately, it’s been enough so far to keep her alive. Anna peers at me through alert eyes.
“Would you like your papa to hold you again?” I ask her once she’s finished nursing. “I know he would like that very much.” I pass her to Johann.
He strokes her cheek and sings a song I recognize—a French lullaby. He has a beautiful voice, but that hardly comes as a surprise. Everything about this man is beautiful.
We stay like this for an hour or so, relishing what little time we have together, telling Anna stories of magic and wonder. Of a world so different than the one we currently live in.
“I have something for you,” Johann says as the door to the flat clicks open. Lise’s voice comes from the other room. She speaks quietly, and I cannot make out what she is saying to Gaston.
Johann climbs off the bed and pulls from his coat pocket a gold chain, the sunlight catching on the heart-shaped charm. “It belonged to my grandmother. I went to her sister’s home after I got rid of the car like I promised I would. She used to live near where I was. She died a long time ago, but her daughter was living in the house, and I told her about you. Told her as much as I could without putting us all at risk. She gave me the necklace to give to the woman I love and whom I plan to marry as soon as the war is over.”
He undoes the chain and fastens it around my neck. “Now you have a piece of me next to your heart.” He slips the warm metal under the neck of my blouse, hiding it from those who would happily steal it.
I tenderly stroke our daughter’s head and smile at him. “I already have something of yours close to my heart.”
Time used to frustrate me when I was a child. When I wanted something to last forever, it would be over in the blink of an eye. When I wanted something to end quickly, time stretched endlessly.
I greedily soak in every second I have with Johann, as if it were my last, but eventually he and Gaston have to leave. He reluctantly hands his daughter to the man to hold and then kisses me. Every ounce of love he feels for me and our daughter is poured into that kiss. Every ounce is returned by me in equal measure.
He pulls away and rests his brow on mine. “I’ll see you again one day soon, Angelique. But promise me, if an opportunity arises for you and Anna to return to your country, you won’t refuse it. Just send word so I know you’re both safe. I need you both to be safe.”
“I promise,” I say, even though I plan to break my word and wait for him. I cannot leave France without him by my side.
“As soon as this war is over, you will be my wife.” He kisses me one last time, and I do my best to bottle up my emotions. He needs to see me strong and not weeping.
Needs me to be brave and fierce like I was before our daughter came into the world.
“I love you.” My breath mists his lips with an endless promise.
“I love you too.”
44
TROY
August, Present Day
Maple Ridge
Monday evening,Jess’s doorbell rings. I walk over to answer it.
Garrett is standing on the front stoop with Noah, Lucas, and Kellan. Each of them has either a toolbox or a can of paint or an electric hammer in their hand. The usual verses ofConvicts not welcome,Go back where you belong, andProtect our childrenplay in an endless loop in the background. The chants clash with each other since no one today has thought to coordinate things better. It’s all an unruly noise with a few new protesters joining the dozen or so lingerers.
“God, where’s their kill button?” Garrett grumbles.
Lucas glares at the group standing on the sidewalk. He’s still pissed after hearing about the callous comment a woman shouted at Simone almost two weeks ago.
“Finally, a cop with common sense to lock that bitch away,” a man yells, ignoring how Noah is wearing jeans and a T-shirt and not his uniform.
Kellan doesn’t say anything. His murderous scowl says it all. He’s barely holding himself back from decking the man. I can tell from the tightness of his exposed arm muscles. He met resistance when he returned to Maple Ridge after his three-year stint in prison, but it was never anything like what Jess has been forced to endure.
