Croissant Murder (A Patisserie Mystery with Recipes) by Harper Lin Page B
Authors: Harper Lin
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him. He’s all right, I guess, but he’s a little boring for you, don’t you think?”
“Arthur is—”
“I still have feelings for you,” Mathieu blurted. “If you feel the same way, life is too short. What I took away from Charlotte’s death is this: if you want something in life, grab it, and I definitely want you, Clémence Damour.”
He leaned in to kiss her. Clémence turned her cheek, and he kissed her there instead. “I’m flattered Mathieu. But you know that—”
“I know, I know. Your boyfriend, Arthur.” He stepped back to give her space. “Just think about it, Clémence. We’re meant to be together. We can be one of those great artist couples, like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.”
“But they were miserable. They cheated on each other.”
“You know what I mean. We have a lot to learn from each other. And you’re so adventurous. You proved that when you went around the world. I’d always thought you didn’t like living life on the edge. You’re so different now, like you’re a new woman. Maybe we needed to be apart for a while so we can find ourselves before finding each other again.”
“Mathieu…”
“Okay, I’ll stop talking about it. You know where I stand now, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
“Thanks.”
They were silent for a moment, looking out at the cityscape.
“How’s your roommate?” Clémence brought up casually. “Is he still in London?”
“Yeah. He just called yesterday. Said he’d be back this weekend. I’m glad he’ll be around again. You know, with this whole ghost situation. Yesterday I really wasn’t able to sleep, because I kept hearing noises.”
“The ghost’s been keeping you awake?” Clémence tried not to let any sarcasm creep into your voice.
“Maybe you want to come over one night,” he said flirtatiously. “We’ll film it and make Paranormal Activity 9 .”
“Maybe.” Clémence met his gaze, smiling in what she hoped was a seductive way. “I better be going. Arthur is going to be coming home soon, and there’s something I want to talk to him about. You know, about our relationship. Something between us hasn’t been right for some time.”
Mathieu nodded sympathetically. “Do what you have to do.”
They gave each other bisous good-bye and Clémence promised she’d call soon.
When she exited Galerie Lafayette onto Boulevard Haussman, Amelie called her.
“Hey Clémence,” Amelie said. “We ran some tests this morning on the Mercier painting. It turned out that one of the pigments used wasn’t invented until 1934. Since the painting is dated 1878, the painting is a fake. From what I can tell from the photograph, it’s a pretty good forgery.”
Clémence had suspected this all along. But what about the one from the auction? Did somebody pay 50,000 euros for a fake Mercier?
Chapter 18
The next day, Clémence wore a little black dress, courtesy of Marcus Savin, and red leather pumps. She was looking her best as she rang Mathieu’s door in the late evening.
She’d come uninvited, and she heard voices from outside the door. Gilles was home.
When she rang the doorbell again, Mathieu opened the door and received her with surprise.
“Clémence. I didn’t know you were coming by. It’s nice to see you.” He gave her a once-over. “You look drop-dead sexy.”
“Thanks,” Clémence said breezily, stepping into the house as if she owned the place. “So it’s settled. I talked to Arthur, and now I’m here to talk to you.”
She plopped down on the cream leather couch, and he sat down next to her, looking at her at with puppy eyes. “What is it?”
“I told Arthur everything. He was very understanding about the whole situation.”
Mathieu couldn’t help but smirk. “Hope he wasn’t too hurt.”
“No.” Clémence smirked back. “Actually, he was very relieved.”
“How come?”
“Arthur is—”
“I still have feelings for you,” Mathieu blurted. “If you feel the same way, life is too short. What I took away from Charlotte’s death is this: if you want something in life, grab it, and I definitely want you, Clémence Damour.”
He leaned in to kiss her. Clémence turned her cheek, and he kissed her there instead. “I’m flattered Mathieu. But you know that—”
“I know, I know. Your boyfriend, Arthur.” He stepped back to give her space. “Just think about it, Clémence. We’re meant to be together. We can be one of those great artist couples, like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.”
“But they were miserable. They cheated on each other.”
“You know what I mean. We have a lot to learn from each other. And you’re so adventurous. You proved that when you went around the world. I’d always thought you didn’t like living life on the edge. You’re so different now, like you’re a new woman. Maybe we needed to be apart for a while so we can find ourselves before finding each other again.”
“Mathieu…”
“Okay, I’ll stop talking about it. You know where I stand now, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
“Thanks.”
They were silent for a moment, looking out at the cityscape.
“How’s your roommate?” Clémence brought up casually. “Is he still in London?”
“Yeah. He just called yesterday. Said he’d be back this weekend. I’m glad he’ll be around again. You know, with this whole ghost situation. Yesterday I really wasn’t able to sleep, because I kept hearing noises.”
“The ghost’s been keeping you awake?” Clémence tried not to let any sarcasm creep into your voice.
“Maybe you want to come over one night,” he said flirtatiously. “We’ll film it and make Paranormal Activity 9 .”
“Maybe.” Clémence met his gaze, smiling in what she hoped was a seductive way. “I better be going. Arthur is going to be coming home soon, and there’s something I want to talk to him about. You know, about our relationship. Something between us hasn’t been right for some time.”
Mathieu nodded sympathetically. “Do what you have to do.”
They gave each other bisous good-bye and Clémence promised she’d call soon.
When she exited Galerie Lafayette onto Boulevard Haussman, Amelie called her.
“Hey Clémence,” Amelie said. “We ran some tests this morning on the Mercier painting. It turned out that one of the pigments used wasn’t invented until 1934. Since the painting is dated 1878, the painting is a fake. From what I can tell from the photograph, it’s a pretty good forgery.”
Clémence had suspected this all along. But what about the one from the auction? Did somebody pay 50,000 euros for a fake Mercier?
Chapter 18
The next day, Clémence wore a little black dress, courtesy of Marcus Savin, and red leather pumps. She was looking her best as she rang Mathieu’s door in the late evening.
She’d come uninvited, and she heard voices from outside the door. Gilles was home.
When she rang the doorbell again, Mathieu opened the door and received her with surprise.
“Clémence. I didn’t know you were coming by. It’s nice to see you.” He gave her a once-over. “You look drop-dead sexy.”
“Thanks,” Clémence said breezily, stepping into the house as if she owned the place. “So it’s settled. I talked to Arthur, and now I’m here to talk to you.”
She plopped down on the cream leather couch, and he sat down next to her, looking at her at with puppy eyes. “What is it?”
“I told Arthur everything. He was very understanding about the whole situation.”
Mathieu couldn’t help but smirk. “Hope he wasn’t too hurt.”
“No.” Clémence smirked back. “Actually, he was very relieved.”
“How come?”
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