Page 61 of Marked By Moonlight

Wow. He really did know his art. And, double wow. What a cool idea.

“We could fix up the bathrooms the same way…” Bene continued.

“We’d have to decorate the entrance too,” Roux mused.

“And clean up the garden. Oh, and the hedge maze.” Bene’s eyes lit up. “Can we clean up the maze?”

I laughed, because he’d been fixated on that maze from day one.

“That’s phase four of the project,” I said, trying to slow him down.

“We should move it to phase one,” he declared.

Roux shook his head. “Plumbing and wiring come first.”

Bene snorted. “Do you know anything about wiring, man?”

Roux made a face. “How hard can it be?”

That spun off into a whole new argument. I followed with amusement until it hit me. There would be nowe. Soon, it would just beme.

And just in case my heart hadn’t crashed low enough yet, Roux’s phone rang.

He frowned and answered. “Allô?” His frown deepened, and his amber eyes cautiously met mine. “Oh. Hello, Gordon.”

Bene and I froze.

Roux winced. “You want us in Paris? Tomorrow?”

My stupid hopes crumbled, becauseusmeantthem, not me, and one more mission meant one more rift dividing our little community. Worse, one more chasm between Marius and me.

Roux’s eyebrows popped up at whatever Gordon said next, and he stared at me. “You’d like Mina to come too?”

My heart thudded. Was it about Marius? The painting?

“Yes, I’ll check with her.” Roux looked at me.

The guys didn’tcheckorders from Gordon. They were supposed to follow them to the letter, no questions asked.

But check Roux did, giving me an out if I needed.

I found myself asking why I had ever considered evicting him or Bene.

Slowly, I nodded.

Roux waited a long time, willing me to rethink that.

I nodded again, more firmly.

He didn’t look happy, but he relayed the message to Gordon. “Yes, sir. She says she’s available.”

More like at his beck and call. But if it meant seeing Marius — or getting another look at the painting — I was in.

Roux listened briefly, then nodded. “Yes, sir. Noon tomorrow, at your office. We’ll be there.”

Chapter Fourteen

MARIUS