Lottie perked up, getting it. “So with Danny it’s some sort of reverse psychology? Tell him no to see how he acts?”
“I like to think of it as incentive,” he replied mildly.
Which meant she had a chance with this. She smiled at Jamie. “I like it.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Rachel asked.
Jamie took her hand. “Don’t I always, love?”
Aww. Lottie smiled at the two of them. Weren’t they just so sweet?
Didier stood up. “If you’re done with me…”
“Are you going to practice?” Jamie asked. “Maybe I can come with you.”
Didier tugged his trousers into place. “Non, je vais dejeuner avec Alice.”
Lottie saw Jamie’s frown. He’d told her there was no one who was more disciplined about working out than Didier, not just for conditioning but also for pure love of soccer. She knew it bothered Jamie that Didier had seemed to leave soccer behind completely. Didier wasn’t the type of person who’d give up the routine he rigorously followed since he was a little kid. Except he had, and without explanation. That concerned Jamie—a lot. Rightfully so, because you didn’t just leave a passion like that behind.
It concerned her too. These kids were her family now.
She promised silently that she’d get to the bottom of the Didier mystery. She knew better than to bring it up directly—Didier would just brush her off. Jamie had told her the French guarded their privacy hard, even with those closest to them.
But she had an idea for how to broach it all, and she hoped to get some help for herself in the process. She was going to ask him to aid her in step two of Operation: EMPOWER—to help her update her wardrobe.
She pushed herself to standing too. Since Jamie asked her to work with them, she’d started doing yoga. She figured she needed to get back into fighting shape. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt in the romantic campaign she was planning with Otto. She’d found the perfect lady on YouTube. She started out doing ten minutes a day, and now she was up to thirty. She hadn’t felt this good in her body in years.
YouTube and direct deposit. She shook her head in wonder.What a world we live in. Next up: a cape to help her get her bold on.
“Didier,” she called out. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Mais oui, bien sûr.” He waited for her at the door, taking her arm and escorting her toward her office.
“I was wondering if maybe you’d go shopping with me,” she asked, trying not to feel silly. “I want a new look.”
“Your look is very nice,” he said diplomatically.
“Thank you.” She pulled him to a stop and looked him in the eye. “But I want to look more…”
He pursed his lips. “More…?”
“Sexy,” she said quickly. Weren’t older Frenchwomen considered the sexiest in the world?
He stared her in the eyes. Then he nodded definitively. “Then we will do it. Friday.”
She nearly collapsed with relief. “Thank you,” she said again, this time with feeling.
He smiled at her knowingly. “And we will make sure he will not be able to resist you.”
She blinked her eyes, trying to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He smirked. “I am a Frenchman. I recognize the scent of love in the wind. He is a lucky man.” He kissed her cheeks, three times again, and left her smiling in front of her office door.
Four
Jet lag and thoughts of the beautiful woman in the hallway kept him awake most of the night.
Groaning, wishing for the hundredth time that she was with him in bed, Danny reached for his cell phone from the bedside table. He cracked open his gritty eyes to look at the time.