Perfect Together by Kristen Ashley

Remy was stunned.

“She told you that?” he queried.

“Yeah,” Sabre grunted.

“Why is he still—?” Remy started.

“Listen, Dad, it’s hers. It’s all hers. She gets to handle it how she wants. Okay?” Sabre clipped.

“How much did you guys talk?” Remy asked quietly.

“It took some work, but she opened up. I’ve known her since we were little. It’s no surprise.”

Maybe not, but his son had to be half miracle worker to get the shy girl who’d been there that night to open up about what had happened to her.

“If you like her—” Remy began.

“You know, she’s been raped,” Sabre bit out. “It’s not like she’s dirty or unfit or broken forever or anything.”

“I absolutely know that, Sah. And I see you’re feeling this deeply. But you have two allies sitting in this room. Settle down,” Remy growled.

Father and son stared at each other.

And then Sabre said, “I wanna find him and I wanna—”

“I know.”

“I cannot believe that piece of trash is walking around campus like nothing happened.”

“I can’t believe that either. But like you said, it’s hers.”

“I think I might walk Manon to every one of her classes from now on and sleep in a tent outside her house.”

Remy relaxed.

“How do you, like…let her be in the world?” Sabre asked.

“The same way I can let you be in the world,” Remy answered. “I understand life is going to find ways to kick you in the face. But I know I raised good, strong, smart kids who will carry on. And if they can’t, they know they can always come to me for help. The same thing you and I both know that Nat has.”

“I want her to come to Arizona,” Sabre declared.

“Because you like her?”

“Yeah, but not only. She needs to get away from this place. She needs a fresh start. But also just…yeah. She’s gorgeous and she’s sweet and she’s Nat. And the Nat I took home tonight is not ever going to get there with me long distance. I’ll always be the older brother who’s safe to talk to when I don’t wanna be that anymore. And that has to happen in Arizona.”

“You could move to New Orleans,” Guillaume put in smoothly.

“I can’t do that and work for Dad, Pépé,” Sabre replied.

“Je vois,” Guillaume said, smiling a small smile before drinking the last of his port.

But as much as he loved Sabre and the words he just spoke, Remy was conflicted.

He wanted to work with his son at his firm.

He also wanted his kids to go off and explore.

Because when he did that, he’d met their mother.

And there was no escaping the fact Remy’s mother was right.

He loved Nat and he hated what had happened to her.

But both of them were far too young to get too caught up in the emotions they were feeling right now. Because it was not lost on Remy that Sabre might feel like the big brother now, but that wasn’t the way Nat looked at him.

“Go get yourself a drink, kid,” he ordered.

“You want another one?” Sah asked.

“You too jazzed about Nat to go to bed?”

“Totally.”

“Then sure,” Remy answered. Even if what he wanted was to meet his wife in bed, he wanted more to have a drink with his son and talk things out so Sabre wouldn’t invent ways to keep himself hyped up and angry and then find his way to Loyola’s campus.

“Pépé?” Sabre asked, coming to get Remy’s glass.

“I’m done for the night, merci, Sabre.”

“Cool. Be back,” Sabre muttered and walked out of the room.

And when he did, Guillaume stood.

“This is all for me,” he announced.

“All right, Dad. Sleep well,” Remy replied.

Guillaume nodded and walked to the door.

He stopped just beyond it, turned back to Remy, then looked to his side, down the hall to the front parlor where Sabre undoubtedly was at the drinks cabinet.

Then he looked back at Remy.

“Let him have this,” he advised.

“They’re too young,” Remy refuted. “And she’s fragile.”

“Ah, but you see, life is moments. The French know this. The French know moments need to be lived. If you look too far in the future, Remy, you don’t see what’s before you.” He tipped his head to the hall. “This is their time now. I never understood when people said youth is wasted on the young. Young people live in moments. It seems to me they know precisely what they’re doing. Sabre and Natalya need their time now, Natalya most especially. But being young, they live the fact that nothing is forever. It’s just now. And if it’s right, if it’s meant to be, the path will lead there. It always leads back to what’s meant to be. You know that above all, no?”

Wyn was upstairs in bed, waiting for him.

So he, above all, knew that.

“You’re right, Dad,” Remy admitted.

That was when his father delivered his parting shot.

After another glance down the hall then back to Remy, he asked, “Et mon fils, you do not think you hang the moon?”

He made a tsk noise.