Danielle Steel - Hotel Vendome

“I won’t.” He got quiet again for a minute. “I have to go to Heloise’s graduation in Lausanne in June, and by then I hope you’ll come with us. I’d like to give her a party when we get back and combine it with her twenty-first birthday. I don’t want to steal her thunder. What about July? How does that sound to you?”

“Perfect,” she said, as she turned and kissed him. The whole evening had been perfect. Their lovemaking, the proposal, the gorgeous ring. And a life with him forever. And then she looked worried again. “What are we going to tell Heloise?”

“That we’re getting married,” he said simply. “She hates me right now anyway. How much madder can she get?”

“Maybe a lot,” Natalie said, looking nervous.

“She’ll get over it.” He still believed that. And he had told Natalie when she came back to him that it was for good. And he was true to his word. “When she calms down, I’m going to ask her to be my witness.”

“I’ll ask my brother to give me away,” Natalie said happily. “Actually Heloise might like my nephew. He’s awfully cute. We can introduce them at the wedding.” She loved the sound of it as the words rolled off her tongue… ‘“at the wedding”… It was sheer bliss.

“That might help,” Hugues said, looking equally happy. “I assume we’ll have the reception in the ballroom?” he asked her.

“Of course. We could have a minister do it there.” She wasn’t particularly religious, and he was divorced, so it sounded right to both of them. It all did. The wedding. And the life that would come afterward. He had a life again. And he was going to have a wife who loved him. And one of these days, he might even have a daughter again too.

HUGUES DECIDED TO speak to Heloise the next morning. After leaving Natalie at her apartment, he walked back to the hotel, saw Heloise at the front desk, and asked her to come into his office. He looked very official as he said it. She was standing at the desk in the navy suit that was the uniform for female desk clerks, and she came in to see him a few minutes later.

“Am I in trouble?” she asked, looking nervous, forgetting for a moment that she was angry at him. She wondered if she had done something wrong while working at the desk, or a guest had complained about her, but he shook his head and asked her to sit down.

“No, I probably am. But you’re already angry at me. I want to make it clear to you again that I love you, that no one ever could or will take your place. You’re my daughter. And there’s room for you and Natalie in my life. Those are two very different roles. We had a crazy life for a long time, and we both loved it, with only the two of us. But you’re not going to stay alone forever, and I shouldn’t have to either. That’s not fair.” She was squirming in her seat as he said it. He looked at her quietly then and went on. “But since you’re so mad at me anyway, I figure I don’t have much to lose. I want you to be the first to know that I asked Natalie to marry me last night, and she accepted. I’d like you to be part of it. I want you to be my witness, instead of a best man. And no matter how mad at me you are, I love you. And I hope you give Natalie a chance and get to know her one day. We’re going to do it in July, after your graduation, which is a very big deal to me too.”

Heloise stared at him then, with a look of silent pain as tears rolled down her cheeks. “How can you do something like that? You always said you’d never get married again.” She couldn’t believe what he had just said and what he was planning to do. It was the worst news she’d ever had. And then she wanted to hurt him too.

“She’ll probably just walk out on you like Mom did,” she said with an angry look. Hugues made an effort not to react to what she said. He spoke to her quietly from across his desk.

“She’s a very different woman than your mother. I hope our marriage works, but if it doesn’t, it’ll probably be because I screw it up, not because she runs off with a rock star or anyone else. She’s a serious woman. Give her a chance. You might even get to like her too.”

Listening to him, Heloise looked sad. She was losing her father to a woman she hardly knew. She was sorry now that she had gone away to school. She was sure that if she had stayed it never would have happened. She looked heartbroken at his exciting news.

He stood up and came around the desk then, with a loving look at her. He could see how upset she was and spoke to her in a quiet tone. He had just had an idea and hoped the timing was right and that it might help. “Please go to the front desk and get the key to five-oh-two.” They walked out of his office together, and he waited for her at the elevator while she got the key from the front desk. She hadn’t asked him why. She was too upset. The assistant manager smiled when she took it. He had been wondering when her father was going to give it to her. It had been sitting empty for two months.

They rode up in the elevator together in silence and got out on five, and he took the key from her as they walked down the hall. She had no idea why he wanted her there. He unlocked it, pushed open the door, switched on a light, and waved her inside. She walked in and glanced around the room. She could tell that it had been recently decorated. The living room was all done in oatmeal and sand colors. And the bedroom was a delicate shade of pale pink. The fabrics were beautiful. She liked the paintings, and the rooms still smelled of paint. It had an open airy feel to it, and the sun was streaming through the windows.

“It’s very nice,” she said in a flat tone, “and I like the paintings. Am I supposed to be admiring Natalie’s decorating, or is there something you want me to do?” As she asked him, he handed her the key.

“I’ve been waiting to show this to you for two months.”

“Why?”

“Because I had it done for you. It’s yours, whenever you want it. You can stay upstairs in the apartment if you like, but I thought you might like some privacy too. You led a pretty independent life in Paris, and if you want to do the same here, I thought you might like your own place. I’m not pushing you out of the apartment, but whenever you want this, it’s yours. Keep the key.” He could see her face slowly come to life and the excitement in her eyes when he said it, and she didn’t know what to say, and then a worried look crossed her eyes.

“Is this a bribe because you’re getting married?”

“No, Natalie started working on this for you in October. I only decided to marry her two weeks ago.”

“I wish you hadn’t,” she said sadly, and he pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug.

“I promise you, it will be all right. And you’re never going to lose me, no matter what.” He stood there holding her, as tears slid down her cheeks. He hated causing her pain, but he knew that marrying Natalie was right. “You can move into this apartment whenever you want. Or if you prefer, you can stay upstairs with us. And maybe you just want to entertain your friends here. But if you stay upstairs, I expect you to be polite to Natalie.” He was making it very clear to her. She didn’t say a word for a long moment and then she stopped crying and smiled at him. She was touched by what he’d done for her.

“Thank you, Papa. It’s a beautiful apartment, and I love it.” She gave him a hug then and a kiss on the cheek. She was obviously torn between being devastated and being excited about her new apartment. Her emotions had been on a roller coaster since she got home. She couldn’t wait to invite her friends over to see her new rooms, and she hated to leave now and go back to work. She walked around again and loved everything she saw. She was trying to forget that he was going to marry Natalie and to enjoy the gift. “I really like the paintings,” she said finally. They were great: contemporary, bright, and young.

“I picked them all for you,” he said gently. “I’m glad you like it. I would have been really disappointed if you didn’t,” he told her honestly.

“I’m still mad at you for marrying Natalie,” she said, equally honest with him, but the fire had gone out of her. She was in shock. She had never expected him to marry again.

“I know you are. I hope you get over it one day. Will you be my witness?” he asked her with a serious look.

“Maybe.” She looked sad again then, glancing around her new apartment. “She’s a very good decorator. But you don’t need a wife. You have me.”

“And I always will. A daughter can’t be replaced. But you’re not going to stick around forever. It’s nice for me to have companionship in my old age. And I love her. But I love you too and always will.” Heloise nodded as she listened and slipped the key to her apartment in her uniform pocket, as though she were afraid he would take it away because she had been so angry at him for the past many weeks.

“Thank you. I love the apartment.”

“Good,” her father said as he put an arm around her shoulders. “And I love you. Now get back to work.” She smiled as he said it, and they went back downstairs. Everyone at the desk was smiling. They knew where they had been, from the moment she took the key.

“What do you think?” the assistant manager asked Heloise, and she smiled broadly.

“It’s very cool.” She glanced at her father, and he smiled as he walked away. And he called Natalie to tell her all about it after that.

“Did she like it?”

“Are you kidding? She loved it. I told her we’re getting married, and I wanted her to know that she doesn’t have to live with us if she doesn’t want to. She can move downstairs to her own place if she prefers. And she won’t feel as displaced. She can do whatever she wants.”

“Was she furious that we’re getting married?” Natalie asked, still sounding nervous. She didn’t want the stepdaughter from hell living with her for the rest of her life, or even the next six months.