Chapter 13
Eugenia flew to Paris for Fashion Week with Patrick on his plane. Ten days before,
they had had dinner with Quinn and Eloise, who had hit it off remarkably, and on
the spur of the moment Quinn decided to come. Eloise flew with them. She was going to
help her mother with the presentation and the orders. The presentation was too much for
Eugenia to do alone, running both brands, though she had a small staff in Paris, an
assistant in the office and three women who worked with him. And Eugenia had Eloise
there to help her with the Cotton Candy orders. Guy was fun to work with, and Eloise
liked the Paris staff. They were excited about the new lines too. Eugenia preferred
working with Pam in New York, but she didn’t speak French, so the Paris office staff
handled the orders in Europe. Eloise was fluent, so she was a big help to her mother,
and she knew the new lines. Eugenia thought it would be good for Eloise’s
selfconfidence to be back in Paris, working with a successful brand, and not depressed at
her apartment, unemployed. Eloise hated to give up her Paris apartment, which she
loved. She still didn’t know whether she wanted to stay in Paris and look for a job, or
try to find one in New York. She had contacted headhunters in both cities. In the interim,
she could work for her mother’s lines, until she found a new job. It was working out
well for both of them.
Eloise and Quinn had had dinner alone once, after the dinner with their parents, and
Eloise said she had fun with him. He had a great sense of humor and was handsome,
smart, and successful, but she could sense that he was a player, and she didn’t want to
be part of a chorus line, so she refused to take him seriously, which sparked his interest
even more.
They sat next to each other on the plane and talked. Then they both watched a movie,
and eventually fell asleep.
Eugenia smiled, watching them, and whispered to Patrick, “It’s funny having our
children with us, isn’t it? I love working with her, but she needs a real job. She’s a
talented designer and should have an important job like the one she had, not being my
assistant.”
“Maybe she needs a break for a while. There must have been a lot of pressure in her
last job. You said she was always anxious, so maybe this is what she needs, a little
while under your wing, with no big decisions to make.” Eugenia thought he might be
right, and she wondered if anything was going to happen between her daughter and
Quinn romantically. There were definitely sparks, but Eloise refused to fan the flames.
She was afraid to get involved, and she didn’t even know if she was going to stay in
New York. Quinn seemed like a complication to her, and she was being cautious, which
made Quinn want her all the more. He was dazzled by her beauty, and she was talented
and smart and a nice person.
“I was like him at his age,” Patrick admitted to Eugenia on the flight, and he had
before. “I was divorced and having too much fun to get deeply involved with anyone,
and by the time I realized that wasn’t the right answer for the long run, I’d been alone
for too long, set in my ways, and a deep committed relationship seemed like too much
trouble. I was more comfortable alone. I could do what I wanted, go where I wanted,
didn’t have to answer to anyone. And then you came along, and turned my safe lonely
world upside down, and now I’m happy.” He smiled at her. “Happier than I’ve ever
been before. I’m sorry I waited this long.” They’d been together for two months, and
everything was going smoothly, and he was understanding about the demands of her job
and how hard she worked. The previous men in her life had always resented it, or been
jealous of her success. Patrick had his own. And he had a heavy workload too. They
were evenly matched.
“I did the same thing, I filled my life with my work and my kids,” she said. “I felt
safe that way. And now the kids are gone, and work isn’t enough. I want more. But I
didn’t know that was what I wanted until now.” She had never known anyone like him.
He was the exact opposite of Umberto in every way. He was solid, responsible, kind, a
good father, and he tried to take care of Eugenia when she let him. She was independent
and self-sufficient, but she loved being close to him. They had the best of all possible
worlds and he admitted that in the past, he would never have taken a week off to go to
Paris for fun. He had been married to his business for forty years. And now he loved
being with Eugenia, and he was fine about her work when she was busy. He couldn’t
wait to be in Paris with her, his favorite city in the world, other than New York.
“Do you think Eloise will move back to Paris?” Patrick asked her quietly.
“I think it will depend where she finds a job she loves.”
“You don’t want to hire her to work for you?”
“She deserves more than that,” Eugenia said honestly. “I don’t want her to live in my
shadow. She needs her own world.”
“That’s why I never encouraged Quinn to work for me. He needs to be his own
man.” Eugenia agreed, for both of them. She wished that something would happen
between them, but it was up to them. She thought Quinn seemed like a good man, like his
father.
Eugenia had invited Gloria to meet them in Paris, but she was in London, working
seriously on her book, and said she didn’t want to lose the impetus again. She was
hoping to come to New York for Thanksgiving, and that was only two months away. She
didn’t want to stop now. And she felt awkward being around her mother, after all the
things she had said. She had meant them at the time, encouraged by Geoff, but she
regretted them now and she couldn’t take them back or erase them.
Eugenia had a feeling that Brad and Sofia would get engaged over the holidays, but
he hadn’t said anything about it officially to Eugenia yet, and he seemed like the kind of
man who would. He had made it clear that he had the intention, but she had no idea
when, and Sofia was young, although mature for her age.
—
When they got to Paris, Patrick stayed at Eugenia’s apartment with her. Eloise stayed in
hers, and Quinn was at a hotel. He liked the George V and could afford it, so he had
booked a room there, and invited Eloise out to dinner. She gave a small informal dinner
party and introduced him to a few of her French friends. He could see why she loved
her life there. He liked her friends. They were all French but spoke English. She had a
lovely apartment, and she loved the city. She was sad she had lost the job and didn’t
know if she’d find another one of the same stature in Paris.
When she wasn’t busy with her mother, Eloise took Quinn to her favorite haunts,
little cafés and typical French restaurants, shops on the Left Bank, and galleries. She
showed him a whole new world, and a side of Paris he’d never seen before and loved
discovering with her.
“Do you think you could be happy living in New York again?” he asked her one day,
and she thought about it.
“I don’t know. It depends on what else is in my life, like if I find a job I love.”
“Don’t you want to settle down?” he asked her, curious, as they lay on the grass in
the Bois de Boulogne on a warm late September day.
“Not really,” she said honestly. “I hated watching my parents’ marriage. My father
was never there, my mother had all the responsibility. She never complained, but her
life was hard while we were growing up. I can’t remember my mother having fun,
except with us. My father hates responsibility. All he wants to do is go to parties and
play. His life would bore me to death. I’m more like my mother. I love my work. And
kids grow up and move away. You can’t count on them. I saw my sister tear my mother
apart this summer over her stupid wedding. She really hurt my mother deeply. What’s
the point of that? It was like watching her get mugged and beaten up. I don’t want kids
who would do that to me.”
“But she has the rest of you.”
“There’s always one rotten apple in the barrel who spoils everything,” she said.
“I’m happy as I am.”
“You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who wasn’t dying to get married and have
kids,” he said, startled by her. She was a mystery to him. She was a locked door, and he
couldn’t find the key.
“Those girls are just too lazy to get a job,” she said and he laughed. “They want to
spend someone else’s money. And kids are so much harder.”
“Maybe you’re scared to get married and have kids,” he suggested, and she thought
about it.
“Probably. And I’m too young to have kids. I’m thirty. I have my whole life ahead of
me.”
“It goes faster than you think,” he said, wise for his years. “Yesterday I was thirty.
Now I’m thirty-five. And suddenly you blink and you’re our parents’ age. I think my
father is sad that he’s alone now. He says it’s too late. Or at least he said that until he
met your mother. He’s like a kid now, or a young man. I’ve never seen him that way.
Your mom is good for him,” he said warmly.
“She says the same about him. I think they’re good for each other, it’s nice for them.”
They were lying in the grass, talking, and Quinn couldn’t resist anymore. He’d been
circling her for weeks and she was keeping him at bay. He rolled over in the grass next
to her, leaned gently toward her and kissed her. She looked startled at first, and then she
kissed him back until they were both breathless and had to stop. He was terrified of her
reaction afterward. Maybe she would never see him again. She lay on her back, looking
up at the sky for a few minutes, and didn’t say anything. She loved the sky in Paris, it
was always beautiful, filled with giant puffy clouds, or pearl gray in the rain. The sky
was luminous. And then she turned to look at Quinn. “Why did you do that?” She wasn’t
angry, she was curious, referring to the kiss. She hadn’t expected it.
“Because I’m crazy about you, and I couldn’t stand it any longer,” he said honestly.
She was so close and so out of reach at the same time. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for
weeks, and you always stay just distant enough that I was afraid to upset you.”
“I’m not upset, or scared,” she said, and he kissed her again, and this time she
responded even more passionately, with their bodies pressed together until she could
feel that he was aroused, and she wanted him too. “Let’s go back to my apartment,” she
whispered. Lying there, listening to him, she had made a decision. She had unlocked the
door, and was willing to open it to him. She didn’t know what else she was going to do
with her life now, but whatever it would be, she wanted him in her life too. She didn’t
want to make any promises, she wanted to see how they were together and figure it out
as they went along. She didn’t want to make a mistake, as her parents had. She’d been
afraid of that all her life.
When they got to her apartment, they raced each other up the stairs, laughing. She
liked having fun with him. He acted like a kid sometimes and she liked that. Most of the
time, he seemed very grown up. The building was old and full of charm. She unlocked
the door, they walked in, and they never made it to her bedroom. They made love on the
battered vintage leather couch in the living room, in a big comfortable chair she had
bought at the flea market, finally on her bed, and in the shower afterward. She had held
back for so long, that she realized now that she was starving for him. He had no idea
what had finally given her the courage to let him in, but she abandoned herself to him,
and that night they clung to each other, sated, in a private world all their own. They ate
cheese and a baguette, naked in her kitchen, and shared a bottle of red wine. They fell
asleep with his arms around her that night, and he knew he had come home, to the place
and the woman he wanted to be with. He had been looking for her and never found her
until he met Eloise. The first time he had seen her he knew she was special.
He checked out of the hotel the next day and moved in with her. She loved sharing
her apartment with him, although it was small, but she loved the smell and feel of him,
his touch, his skin. After keeping her distance at first, she was the most passionate
woman he had ever known, and she knew she had been waiting for him too. The walls
she had built around her heart to protect it were crumbling as she opened herself to him.
His father called him that night on his cell, sounding worried.
“Where are you? They said you checked out of the hotel.”
“I did,” Quinn admitted, without further explanation. Eloise was lying naked next to
him.
“Are you okay?” Patrick asked him, but he could hear that Quinn was peaceful and
content. Patrick didn’t know where Quinn was, but he hoped he was with Eloise, and
Eugenia felt the same way.
“Do you want to have lunch tomorrow? Eugenia wants to have lunch at a bistro she
loves, and she’d like to know if you and Eloise would join us.”
“We’d love to come,” Quinn said cryptically, and Patrick smiled. He could guess the
rest. If Quinn were with a girl other than Eloise, he wouldn’t have brought her to lunch
with them. His father told him the name of the bistro. And Patrick reported the call to
Eugenia when he hung up.
“Well, we’ll see who he brings to lunch tomorrow,” she said, smiling.
When Quinn and Eloise walked into the restaurant together the next day, they tried to
look casual, but everything they felt for each other was written on their faces. Eugenia
wished that she could freeze the moment forever as she watched them. She could tell
instantly that something had changed. She and Patrick held hands under the table, as they
watched their children and smiled. Quinn and Eloise had found each other, and there
was a tangible intimacy between them that didn’t need words. The rest was up to them.
—
The orders they took at Eugenia’s office were phenomenal. Cotton Candy outsold the
daywear line two to one, but the new daywear was a big hit with high-end stores.
Cotton Candy had done brilliantly in Europe, Asia, and the States. It was the look every
young girl wanted. Eugenia couldn’t believe how much they sold.
They flew back to New York after a week, and Eloise decided not to give up her
Paris apartment. She hoped that she and Quinn would come back there again often,
whenever they could. And she was still open to the idea of a job in Paris.
She moved in with Quinn three weeks later after they returned to New York. Patrick
and Eugenia were alternating between his house, her apartment, and the boat on
weekends. They had an abundance of possibilities. The boat was where they had the
most fun, and the choice of her place or his depended on their mood and their meetings
the next day.
—
Patrick and Eugenia went skiing in January, instead of Eugenia showing her couture line
in Paris. She had decided to take a season off from haute couture to build her two
successful ready-to-wear lines and make them even stronger. She was going to present
her new couture collection in July, and expected to be financially stable again by then.
Maybe even more so than before. The decision not to show for a season was the right
one, and she thought the world would be going to parties again by summer. She had a
terrific time skiing with Patrick. They were both good skiers, and spent a week trying
out different trails in the three valleys near Courchevel. It was the perfect trip for them,
healthy, relaxed, and fun.
—
Sofia and Brad had gotten engaged at Christmas, which didn’t surprise anybody, and
they were all happy for her. They were going to wait a year to get married.
—
Gloria had finished her book by then and came home for Christmas. But she wasn’t
ready to leave London yet. She hadn’t dated since Geoff, and she didn’t feel ready for
that yet either. She was taking her time to get over the trauma of the canceled wedding
and seeing him pursue another woman on the eve of their wedding. She hadn’t run into
him since in London, and hoped she never would. She was taking the time she needed to
heal. And she had a lot of fences to mend when she was ready. Eugenia had forgiven
her, but Gloria needed time to understand how she had fallen prey to a man who didn’t
love or respect her, and only cared about himself, and why she’d been so willing to
embrace all his opinions and abandon her own.
—
While Patrick and Eugenia were in the Alps, Eloise texted her mother that she had found
a job, designing for a new label that someone was starting in New York. She said she
would be traveling between Paris and New York, which suited her perfectly. She was
glad she had kept her apartment in Paris. The job felt like a perfect fit and she hoped she
was right. She said she would miss working with her mother. It had been fun and
exciting, but now it was time to move forward. Eloise was ready. And she was going to
continue living with Quinn when she was in New York. She loved him and wanted to
give the relationship a chance to see where it went. She thought they were headed in the
right direction, while respecting themselves and each other. She was in no hurry to
marry, and didn’t want anyone controlling her life. Quinn was well aware of it and
respected her boundaries. Their relationship was working well so far. And now she had
a job she was excited about too. Eugenia was happy for her.
