Because she’d experienced massive unpredictability as a child, and wanted a stable life for her sisters and for herself, she’d made a religion of being rigid, of putting her sisters’ needs before hers. She was so scared of letting them down—thinking that, in never allowing them to feel insecure and disappointed, she’d heal the wounds her mother and childhood had inflicted on her—that she never allowed any unpredictability to creep into her life.
But life was unpredictable and the ability to deal with change made people resilient and stronger. She wasn’t doing the girls, and herself, any favours by being so protective of their hearts and feelings. She wanted Nixi and Snow to live, to gulp down life, but to do that they had to have an example to follow. From Addi they were learning a solid work ethic. Maybe she could teach them to be brave.
She could go with him or spend the weekend in her house binge watching box sets. That sounded so...sad. She didn’t want to live a small, sad life any more.
She took a deep breath. ‘I’d like to, thank you.’
‘Great. Do you have a passport?’
She had a UK passport so there would be no visa issues, which she told him.
Cole squeezed her hand. ‘That makes it easier.’ He thought for a moment before speaking. ‘I need to fly to Mauritius to look at some assets and businesses.’
Seriously, how many businesses did Thorpe Industries own?
‘Okay, then I’ll arrange for my jet to meet us when we reach Bloemfontein. And, if I leave Cape Town tonight and hit the ground running first thing in the morning, I should be able to complete my business in four days and fly back Thursday morning. We could fly out Thursday evening, spend Friday in Paris and head for Burgundy on Saturday morning.’
He was offering to show her Paris as well.Oh, wow.‘Won’t you be tired of flying?’ she asked.
‘Honey, I’m not the one flying the plane,’ he pointed out, amused, and laughed when she blushed. ‘And I employ two flight crews because I’m always in the air.
‘Would taking an extra-long weekend work for you?’ he asked.
Uh...yes.
Cole grinned when she gave him her answer and she thought how much younger he looked when his smile hit his eyes, when he looked truly happy.
As for her, Lex felt as though he’d lifted her and swung her around, setting her back on her feet when she was off-balance and giddy. She was going to Paris. She could talk French and test her proficiency in the language. She could see the Eiffel Tower and visit the Louvre. Then she’d hop over to London. She felt breathless, as if her heart was trying to escape, and adrenalin coursed through her system.
Best of all, she’d be with Cole.
But underneath the excitement...oh, so faint but still there...lurked fear, warning her not to become too excited because there was always a chance that he’d disappoint her. Because that was what people did, what she’d experienced over and over again.
But sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes people did what they said they would. Cole was too straightforward and too in-your-face honest to play games, to mess with her emotions.
She was going to Europe, and she was allowed to feel excited and thrilled about her first overseas visit.
And about spending more time with Cole.
‘You are going to have such a wonderful time and I’m so happy for you, Lex.’
Addi placed her hands on Lex’s shoulders and Lex looked at their reflections, so different. For the first time in for ever she didn’t compare herself to her gorgeous sister. She looked...well, pretty damn amazing herself.
Earlier in the week, Cole had called and told her he’d managed to complete his business early and that they could fly out mid-Thursday morning if she could meet him at the airport. He’d made a late-night reservation at Mathieu, a three-Michelin-star restaurant on the Boulevard St-Germain. She’d looked up the restaurant online, and it was fancy with a capital F.
Panicking because she had nothing to wear to an exclusive Michelin-star restaurant, or a garden party at a French chateau, she’d called Addi, who’d immediately flown into action.
In a second-hand clothing store off Adderley Street, they found all she needed. She was now the proud owner of a designer little black dress she’d wear to Mathieu tonight, and a couple of classic dresses that were suitable for the French countryside. She was travelling in a long pink pleated skirt with a fitted turtleneck in the same colour.Pink—it was a colour she never wore because everyone knew that redheads couldn’t wear pink. Or red. Or orange.
Her outfit wasn’t blush-pink, or salmon-pink—no, it was flaming pink, a hot pink, the colour of printed sunsets on tourist T-shirts. It was a pink that screamedlook at me!and stamped its foot if you didn’t. To someone who routinely wore black, this shade was a shock to her senses.
But, damn, it looked good on her.
She looked stunning, like herself but not. Bella—a stylist Addi knew from who knew where—had arrived early and spent a long time making her curls straight, then used a flat iron on them until her hair fell past her shoulders. Then she pulled her hair back into a tight, sleek tail, wrapping strands over one another to conceal the band.
Addi watched, fascinated, as she placed a light foundation over her face, evening out the colour of her freckles but not hiding them. Bella showed her how to apply smoky eye-shadow and painted her lips with a natural-coloured lipstick she assured her would last all day.
‘You look sophisticated and lovely,’ Addi told her. She picked up her phone and snapped a couple of pictures. ‘These are going on the family message group. The girls will be beside themselves.’