“And what happens when some young girl comes along in two or ten or twenty years, and you fall in love with her?”
“You’re the only woman I want. Now and in twenty years. Fifty years. I didn’t come back for the baby I didn’t even know about. I came back for you.” She didn’t answer him, and he kissed her again, and she could feel all the hurt of the past four months slipping away from her and disappearing into the mist. He pulled her to her feet then and put his arms around her. “I love you. I will always love you. No matter how old you are.” What he was saying was what she had wanted to hear, what she had hoped he would come back to say, even when she told him to leave. It was what she had wanted from Andrew, and Harry before that. And Simon was the only man who had ever said it, and been there for the right reasons. He was there for her, not the trappings, or the stardom, or her job. He only wanted her.
“You know we’re crazy if we do this. I’m fifteen years older than you are. When I’m fifty, you’ll be thirty-five. When I’m sixty, you’ll be forty-five and still gorgeous.”
“It’s okay, I may have been an idiot for the past four months, but I can count. And I don’t give a damn about what anyone thinks or says, except you and Salima. To hell with everyone else. I’ve never found anyone like you, and I know I never will again. I’m not willing to give that up.”
“Neither am I,” she said softly, as she looked up at him and smiled. They were there because they loved each other truly and profoundly, and she knew that now, and so did he. There were no doubts, no questions that needed to be answered. There were just the two of them, solidly on their path. He was smiling at her, and he had never been so sure of anything in his life, and so was she.
Chapter 18
SIMON, BLAISE, AND Salima went to Bordeaux to visit his uncle and cousins in July. They had a wonderful time and they stopped in Paris on the way back. Salima had never been there before, and they took her everywhere, and she loved it. They walked all over Paris, went to Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, Versailles, ate lunch in bistros and walked through the Tuileries Gardens and Bois de Boulogne and went shopping. And Salima slept in her own room at the Ritz. They didn’t take Becky. It was a family trip, and she went home to New Hampshire for three weeks while they were away.
Blaise had told Salima about the baby in June, and she was wonderful about it and promised to help. She was thrilled when Simon came back. And just before they left for Europe, she got accepted to Juilliard. She and Simon both had new adventures to look forward to in September, and the baby right after that. The network was fine about the pregnancy, and wanted Blaise to take at least four weeks off after the birth, and she negotiated them down to three. She had already hired a baby nurse who was going to sleep in the room next to Becky’s, and she had offered to help with Salima too. But Salima didn’t need a lot of help, and she would be busy at school. And she and Simon argued about a guide dog on the plane on the way back. They were an even match. And he was with Blaise too. After the trip, he had promised to teach them both French, and teach Salima to cook. They each brought something to the table, their special talents and gifts.
August whizzed by, with a heat wave that made Blaise uncomfortable as she got bigger. She was determined to work as hard as ever and continued taping interviews. She even impressed Zack with her energy and determination, despite her pregnancy. She finally admitted to it on air during one of her morning segments, and the network was flooded with gifts for the baby, which really touched her.
Simon, Blaise, and Salima rented a house in the Hamptons and went out every weekend. And some weeks, Becky and Salima stayed there and had a ball. And Becky was off on Saturdays and Sundays, which gave her time to spend with a new boyfriend she had met while they were in Europe. He was a struggling artist and a very nice guy, and Salima liked him too.