Sunset in St. Tropez Read Online Free PDF Page A

the air fare, and if the girls did most of the cooking, and they didn't go out to fashionable restaurants every night, it almost sounded reasonable to him.
    “Do you suppose it really is as good as it looks in the pictures?” Robert asked cautiously, helping himself to Pascale's hors d"oeuvres. Her culinary skills were a lot better than John admitted. Most of the pretty little canapes had already been devoured, and the aroma wafting from the kitchen smelled delicious.
    “Why would they lie to us?” Pascale asked, looking surprised. It was the same thing John had said. “I used a very reputable agent to find it. I can ask my mother to fly down to see it, if you want.”
    “Oh God, no!” John said, looking horrified. “Don't let her get involved in this. She'll tell them I"m a rich American banker, and they'll double the price.” He looked agonized just thinking of it, and the others laughed at him.
    “I think it looks absolutely perfect,” Anne said sensibly. She had been enthusiastic about the project from the beginning. “I think we ought to move on it before we lose it to someone else. And even if it turns out to be a little less perfect than the pictures, so what? How bad can a month be in a villa in the South of France? I vote that we fax them tonight and tell them we want it,” she said decisively, with a warm smile to Pascale. “You did a great job!”
    “Thank you,” Pascale said, looking ecstatic. She loved the idea of spending an additional month in France. She always stayed with her family in Paris for most of June, and all of July. But this year she could also stay for August.
    “I agree with Anne,” Robert said without hesitation. “And I like the idea of the guest rooms. I know our kids would love to come over for a few days, if the rest of you don't mind.”
    “I'll bet ours would too,” Eric joined in, and Diana nodded.
    “I don't know if Katherine's husband could get away, but I know she'd love to come over with the boys, and Samantha is crazy about France.”
    “So am I,” Anne smiled. “Do we agree then? Shall we do it?” They rapidly calculated how much it would cost each couple, and although John pretended to clutch his heart as they converted it to dollars, in the end they all agreed that for a house as large and well cared for as this one, it was a fair price, and well worth doing.
    “It's a done deal then,” Robert said, looking pleased. He knew he could arrange to take the month off, and he wanted Anne to take a vacation. She had been looking very tired, and even she admitted that she worked too hard. Robert had even told her lately that he thought she should think about retiring. Life was too short to spend every waking hour either in the office, in the courtroom, or preparing cases for their litigators to try. Although she loved her work, it was very stressful, and her clients demanded a lot of her. She worked nights and some weekends, and although her career was her passion, he was beginning to think it was time for her to slow down. He wanted to spend more time with her. “Will you take the whole month off?” he asked his wife pointedly as Pascale called them in to dinner, and Anne nodded, with a twinkle in her eye. “Do you mean that? I"m going to hold you to it, you know,” he said, as he pulled her close to him and kissed her. He was really looking forward to their time together in France. For the past two years, she had cut short their vacations in order to come back to the office and handle emergencies for her clients.
    “I promise to stay for the whole time,” she said solemnly, and meant it. For now at least.
    “Then it's worth every penny,” Robert said, looking happy as they walked into the dining room arm in arm. They looked very distinguished together, and very cozy.
    “Particularly with a sailboat,” she teased him. Sailing with him was one of her great pleasures, and it always reminded them of their early summers on Cape Cod, when the children were