Read Murder in Aix (The Maggie Newberry Mystery Series Book 5) for Free Online Page A

what I mean,” she admitted. “I just can’t stand this,
knowing that she’s down there. Damn that Roger!”
    “Roger Bedard?”
Grace’s eyebrows arched up. “ Your Roger Bedard?”
    “Oh, stop it,
Grace. I haven’t seen him in over a year.”
    “Did he know
about…” Grace gestured to Maggie’s very prominent baby bump.
    “No reason why he
should. We don’t run in the same circles. I mean, I knew he was transferred to
Aix only because Laurent heard it and passed it on to me.”
    “Darling Laurent.
So civilized about the men in love with his wife. I suppose it’s the French in
him.”
    “Stop it, Grace.
If you want to know, he’s not at all civilized about it but he knows he never
had anything to worry about—”
    “Never? Careful
about the history you attempt to rewrite, darling,” Grace said with a sly
smile. “I was here at the time, remember?”
    “Okay, one kiss. That’s nothing to get derailed
over.”
    “Does Laurent
know about the one kiss?”
    Maggie looked at
her with exasperation. “Why are we talking about this? It’s all water under the
bridge. I’m practically ready to deliver Laurent’s baby. There was clearly no
harm done and all parties have retreated safely to their respective corners.
And I would greatly appreciate it, Grace, if you forgot about the stupid kiss.”
    “Consider it
forgotten,” Grace said with a shrug. But her eyes met Maggie’s and said
otherwise.
    As uncomfortable
as this whole line of conversation made Maggie feel—especially with Roger
showing up again in her life—she had to admit it was the first time since
Grace had arrived that she had behaved in her old confident manner and Maggie
hated to totally quash her teasing.
    “He wasn’t
expecting to see me,” Maggie said as she reseated herself. “And all this…” She
gestured to her stomach. “God, Grace, he looked…hurt.”
    “Which isn’t
rational, right, sweetie?” Grace said, helpfully. “Whatever he felt for you or
hoped to get from you was at least mostly all in his own mind, right?”
    Maggie nodded.
“Laurent and I have been getting along so well lately.”
    “I should hope
so.”
    Maggie narrowed
her eyes at her. “Not just because of the pregnancy, Grace. Ever since I got
back from Paris and got involved with the book I’m writing, I’ve been able to
see the things I was doing to sabotage my marriage.”
    “That’s handy.”
    “Why are you
being so glib?” Maggie’s face flushed with annoyance. “How I was treating him wasn’t easy to see and it wasn’t easy to stop doing either. You
act like I’m some kind of one-dimensional sitcom character. Did I not tell you how close Laurent and I came to
tossing in the towel?”
    “You did,” Grace
said, taking a sip from her wine, her eyes never leaving Maggie’s.
    “Then how can you
be so flip? It was literally the scariest thing I’ve ever gone through.”
         “I’m sorry, Maggie. But
like you said, you and Laurent had serious issues and I guess I’m just not
buying into the whole I solved it and
everything’s perfect now scenario. Or do you honestly think having a baby
will fix all that’s wrong with your marriage?”
         “What?!” Maggie
sputtered.  
         “Look, I’m sorry,
Maggie,” Grace said hurriedly. “I just don’t want you to think children will
make a difference—except maybe to make everything worse. That’s the truth
of it and I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear it.”
         Maggie took a long,
steadying breath, trying to stay calm. She smoothed her tunic down over her
tummy and forced herself to reach out for Grace’s hand. “It isn’t the baby
that’s changed things, Grace,” she said firmly. “As I was trying to tell you, I changed the way I looked at living
here in St-Buvard—in France —and that made everything else better.”
    “Well, that’s
great then,” Grace said, her eyes filling with tears.
    Maggie scooted
over to her on the chair and Grace moved