Даниэла Стил - Turning Point

Bill gave his car up to a valet parker, and they walked into the rotunda of City Hall. Three hundred people were expected at the reception, politicians, members of city government, and anyone involved in trauma and emergency services. And the mayor.

—

“Are you ready?” Andy asked Stephanie, as he walked into their bedroom. He’d been dressed for half an hour and was wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and navy tie. His hair was neat, he was freshly shaved, his shoes were shined, and she was startled for a minute. She had forgotten how handsome he was, or could be, when he made an effort. She hadn’t seen him dressed that way in several years. She always saw him in jeans and sweatshirts or T-shirts now, with running shoes and five days of beard stubble on his face. But not tonight. He looked terrific and like the man she’d married and remembered from when he had a job.

She had tried on three dresses and didn’t like any of them. Her hair was smoothed back in a long neat ponytail. She had makeup on, and she was wearing a white silk dress with a wide satin collar and a low back. It was sexy and elegant at the same time. She had on high heels and knew her feet would be killing her before the end of the evening, but the shoes looked great. She wanted to knock Gabriel’s socks off when she walked into the room. And standing next to Andy, they made a dazzling couple as she caught sight of them in the mirror.

“We look pretty good together.” She smiled at him, and he nodded. He hardly ever smiled these days. Even if she hadn’t told him, he knew what was coming. Their marriage was in shambles, they never talked to each other, and divorce seemed inevitable, but he wanted to be there for her tonight. He was making the effort for her. He didn’t care about her French friends. Their housekeeper had agreed to stay late, and they got in the car at ten to seven. They would only be a few minutes late. She was wearing a black fur jacket that was a hand-me-down from her mother over the white dress. Stephanie would never have bought it for herself.

There was silence in the car as they drove downtown, and Stephanie was thinking of Gabriel. She heard a text come in and glanced at it. “Where are you?”

“On my way,” she answered.

“You get a lot of texts these days,” Andy commented.

“One of the women on the French team wanted to know where I am,” she said defensively, disgusted with herself. Lying again.

Andy didn’t know what to expect when they got there, she hadn’t told him anything about it, and didn’t know much herself. The American and French teams were being honored, which she assumed meant a speech and some champagne.

They walked into City Hall together, past security and the metal detectors, and their names were checked off a list, and then they entered the rotunda, and Marie-Laure elbowed Valérie in the ribs when she saw them. Andy and Stephanie had just arrived and looked like movie stars.

“He looks like a Greek god,” Marie-Laure whispered. “Why is she giving that up?” Gabriel was not nearly as attractive. He had a warm sexy manly quality to him, and was almost fatherly at times, but Andy looked like an actor or a model, and several heads turned as they walked in side by side. A photographer snapped their picture. Stephanie hadn’t spotted Gabriel yet in the crowd, but he had seen them. Valérie glanced at him, and he seemed livid. Andy had upstaged him. Gabriel was not going to be able to show off with Stephanie tonight. Her handsome young American husband was very much in evidence.

Marie-Laure and Valérie approached Stephanie and Andy with Bill and Tom just behind them, and Stephanie introduced Andy. He was cool and aloof, and not very friendly. He appeared uncomfortable, and didn’t make small talk with any of them. He didn’t seem like a warm person, which explained more why she was attracted to Gabriel. Gabriel was full of emotion, passionate in his beliefs, and very French. He made up in personality for anything he lacked in appearance. He was a nice-looking man, but nothing like Andy who had the athletic, lean, powerful body of a man who went to the gym every day.

“He has nothing else to do,” Marie-Laure said to Valérie. “He doesn’t work.”

“He takes care of the kids, she doesn’t. She says it herself,” Valérie defended him, even though she didn’t know him. She felt sorry for him, he looked unhappy to be there, and they all knew something he didn’t, that his wife was having an affair.

Wendy and Gabriel walked up to them then, and they all froze for a moment. Stephanie tried to appear calm while she introduced them, but she wasn’t, her palms were soaking wet and she didn’t meet Gabriel’s eye. He shook hands with Andy with a stern expression as though he disapproved of him, almost as though he was pawing the ground, establishing his turf, as Stephanie stood by helplessly. An electric current passed between the two men as their eyes met and held. Andy seemed to grow taller, and Gabriel seemed more powerful, as Wendy disappeared into the crowd to find Paul. Stephanie felt like she was going to faint. Not a word passed between the two men, and an aide of the mayor’s came to tell them that they were wanted at the steps in the center of the rotunda. They wanted all eight of the honorees lined up on the steps, so the mayor could begin his speech, and with that, the group moved forward. Stephanie told Andy she’d be back as soon as it was over, and they moved through the crowd as Stephanie tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

“Are you okay?” Valérie whispered to her. She was deathly pale, and Valérie could only imagine the stress she was experiencing with both men under one roof, and some instinct had warned each of them of danger.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” she said, clutching Valérie’s hand.

“You can’t. You have to act perfectly normal, or your husband will figure it out. They both sense it, your husband just doesn’t know it. Gabriel does, and he can barely keep himself in control.” Valérie had seen it all. “You’re quite a woman,” Valérie teased her to lighten the moment, “to inspire that kind of feeling in two very attractive men. Your husband is gorgeous, by the way. But that’s usually not enough, unfortunately.” Valérie thought he looked boring, but he wasn’t her kind of man. He wasn’t interesting enough for her, or for Stephanie either. She was too bright for him. He seemed sour, restless, and bored. “Marie-Laure almost fainted when she saw him. She thinks you’re betting on the wrong horse. But beauty isn’t everything.” Her patter had relaxed Stephanie a little, and the color had returned to her face. For a minute she had thought that one of the two men would hit the other, and there would be a brawl in the rotunda of City Hall because of her.

They had reached the steps by then, and were told by the mayor’s aide where and how to line up. Stephanie felt numb, and the whole group stood expectantly while the mayor began his speech, listed the credentials of each member of the team, described the purpose of the exchange to benefit both cities, and commended all of them for their bravery during the recent school shooting in Paris, then he gave each of them a citation rolled up and tied with a gold ribbon. They thanked the mayor, then all posed for photographs with him, and a band began to play as hors d’oeuvres and champagne were passed on silver trays. It was a very nice reception and the French team were touched. And as soon as his speech was over, the mayor slipped away to his second event of the night.

Gabriel spoke to her in an undervoice as they left the steps.

“Stay with me tonight,” he said urgently. “I need you.”

“I need you too, but I can’t. He senses something. This is going to turn into a mess if we’re not careful. I can’t tonight.” He stared at her intensely, then stormed out of the building, but she couldn’t do anything about it. At least he hadn’t made a scene with Andy, and a few minutes later, Paul told them all that Gabriel had gone back to the hotel with a headache. And for once, he didn’t text her. She went to find Andy then, and tried to include him in the group, but he had found someone he knew and was talking to him. Stephanie was more relaxed with only one of her men in the room, although she wished it could have been Gabriel and not Andy.