Free Sunset in St. Tropez by Danielle Steel

to both of them.
    And Pascale was relieved when he agreed to meet them for dinner the next week. He sounded normal, and as solemn as ever, when she called him in his office at the court.
     
    Much to everyone's surprise, when they had dinner, he mentioned meeting Gwen.
    “Who is she?” John looked blank when Robert said it, and both women were carefully studying his face to see if it meant anything to him.
    “She won an Oscar,” Pascale said to her husband, with a look of contempt. “Everyone knows who she is. She's very pretty,” and then she turned to Robert. “How did you meet her?”
    “With Mandy at a film premiere,” Robert said innocently as Pascale and Diana's eyes met. It was exactly what they'd thought. “She's an interesting woman. She lived in England for a long time, and did Shakespeare. And then she worked on Broadway before she got into movies. She's very levelheaded, and well read.” Diana looked worried as she listened, and Pascale's eyes narrowed with suspicion instantly.
    “You know a lot about her,” she said casually, as John shot her a look.
    “What does she look like?” John asked with growing interest, wondering exactly what she meant to him, or if they'd gone to bed.
    “She's attractive,” Robert said without any particular passion. “She has red hair. She's divorced.” Pascale gulped.
    “How old is she?” Diana asked calmly.
    “Forty-one,” he said, eating his dinner. Their guesses had been correct. “She's been living in California, and she just moved back to New York. She seems kind of lonely. She doesn't know anyone here.” Pascale and Diana were certain that was just a ploy to reel him in.
    “Are you going to see her again?” Pascale couldn't resist asking, with a look of innocence.
    “I don't know,” he said vaguely, “she's busy. So am I. She's starting another movie in September, and she's going to travel this summer with friends. I think Anne would have liked her,” he said calmly, smiling at his friends. He hadn't an inkling of the turmoil in the two women's minds. They concealed it well, from him at least.
    “Robert,” Diana said cautiously, not sure where to start, “you have to be careful. There are a lot of very manipulative, very artful women out there. You haven't been out in the big bad dating world in a long time.” She adopted a sisterly tone for her brief speech, and he smiled.
    “And I"m not „dating" now,” he said, looking her in the eye. “She's just a friend.” What he said ended the conversation, and after they went their separate ways after dinner, Eric told Diana that she'd been out of line.
    “He's a big boy. He has a right to do what he wants. And if he can snag some movie star for his first date, more power to him.” Eric looked both admiring and amused.
    “He doesn't know what he's doing,” Diana insisted. “God only knows what kind of barracuda that girl is. He didn't even mention if she had kids.”
    “What difference does that make?”
    “Because it would mean she's stable, and at least a halfway decent person.”
    “Pascale doesn't have kids, and she's a great person. That's a silly thing to say. Lots of „decent" women don't have kids.”
    “In Pascale's case, that's different, and you know it. I"m just worried about him.”
    “So am I. But if he's going out with women, it's a terrific sign, and I feel a lot better. Why don't you and Pascale mind your own business and leave the poor guy alone?”
    “We wanted to warn him for his own good,” she insisted.
    “This is the best thing that could happen to him. And maybe she's a nice girl.” He preferred to assume the best rather than the worst, unlike Diana and Pascale who already hated her, in defense of Anne.
    “A movie star? Are you kidding? How likely is that?” Diana persisted in her point of view.
    “Not very likely, I'll admit. But at least he'll have some fun with her.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he said it, and as she went to her bathroom to