“You know why I stayed.”

Dominique nods. “I do, but look at my kids. They’re still so young, and their life, although very privileged, isn’t exactly a bed of roses, but they’ll be fine. In a way, it’s good for them now that Philippe and I are divorced. That way they can escape the whole circus of their mother being president and lead a somewhat normal life.”

“But you see them so little.”

“I know.” Dominique goes quiet for a few seconds. “But I want what’s best for them. Living with their father is definitely best for them right now.”

“Do you have children, Zoya?” Steph asks me.

I shake my head. “I do have two extremely spoiled nephews, whom I don’t get to see often enough.”

Steph nods as though she considers the case closed. “I have two kids now, I guess. Whether I wanted them or not.”

“Hey.” Dominique swats her on the knee. “The kids adore you.” She turns to us. “It often seems to me that they prefer spending time with her rather than me.”

“That’s because I’m so much younger than you and I actually do fun stuff with them.”

Dominique smiles away the playful jab, then taps Steph on the knee again. “I keep trying to convince her to have a child with me after my term is up. Can you imagine a tiny version of Steph? Honestly, he or she would just be too adorable.”

“After your term?” I’m too tipsy to suppress my journalist tendencies. “Are you not planning to stand again?”

“Whether I plan to or not is less the question than whether I can win another term or not,” she says drily.

“Come on, babe. Of course, you’ll be running again and you will win by a landslide,” Steph says.

“You have my vote,” Camille says.

“No politics tonight, please. Where were we? Oh yes, a little Stéphanie Mathis.” She turns to Steph. “I’m not sure the world can handle two of you.”

This line of conversation incites Camille to talk about Emma for a while and I glance at Dominique and Steph who are so at ease around each other, so attuned to each other’s mild teasing, so informed about each other’s innermost thoughts, that I can only conclude that love—and there is a lot of love here tonight—can conquer the greatest obstacles. It gives me hope for my future with Camille.

Chapter Twenty-Six

By the time the last week of my stay in Paris comes around, I can actually say some things in French and, when spoken slowly and clearly, understand even more. Camille has the week off, and we spend every single second of the day together.