Heart Of Protectors {#2}

Epilogue

[Epilogue]

It had already been months, but still Jean-Jacques felt as if he were living in a dream; a dream that he had never dared to wish for. Still, it was here as Jean-Jacques waited impatiently in the hotel lobby, tapping his feet. For a moment’s worth of respite in the war, having been ordered by Cian to take a breather 'no matter what', Jean-Jacques had been forced to move temporarily out of the mansion and stay in a hotel with Renee, to enjoy their twosome time.

Despite his reluctance to leave his family and friends unprotected, especially Cian, this was an opportunity that Jean-Jacques cherished very much.

“Jean-Jacques?” A familiar voice asked, as he jumped to his feet, a little surprised himself as he turned towards the middle-aged, pale-faced man. The businessman didn’t seem to be taking his age well, and it was understandable that he looked older than his actual age.

“Mr. Devaux,” Jean-Jacques greeted politely with a small bow. “What brings you here?”

“I had a business meeting in the restaurant here. What about you?” Pierre Devaux, though looking frail, met his polite bow with a wide smile. Jean-Jacques could not help but remember the first time he had been brought to visit Renee’s father. Where he had once been nothing but confidence, before Pierre Devaux, the father of the person who had stolen his heart, Jean-Jacques had almost been unable to speak.

But both Roger-Luc and Renee had picked up their easy-going nature from their father, as Pierre had stopped at nothing to ease Jean-Jacques’s nervousness, ending up with the two men forming good, amiable ties with each other. Pierre had not even flickered a single eyelid when he had asked for blessings to date Renee, only smiling and grinning like a Cheshire cat back at Jean-Jacques, wishing them well.

“We decided that we needed to take a break from our work. Renee is upstairs dressing up.” Jean-Jacques explained, earning a bright smile in return. It was easy to say that Pierre had learnt to let his children go, and for some strange reason, it somehow brought his children even closer to his heart. Jean-Jacques failed to count the number of times ‘Daddy Pierre’ became a topic of affection between Roger-Luc and Renee.

“That naughty girl didn’t even tell me about it. She must be losing her Daddy’s heart.” Daddy Pierre complained a little, gesturing for Jean-Jacques to sit back down.

“Quite the contrary, she keeps begging me to find some time to have dinner with you.” Jean-Jacques smiled back politely, watching as Daddy Pierre invited his own seat across Jean-Jacques in the comfortable armchair.

“Don’t let me keep you from your work, Mr. Devaux.” Jean-Jacques offered respectfully, but Pierre’s answer was a dismissive wave of hand.

“Nonsense, it’s been ages since I last sat down to have a nice chat with you. Besides, I can’t miss out on a chance to catch my darling daughter by surprise, Ai-je raison (am I right)?” The twinkle of Pierre’s eyes betrayed a hint of mischievousness that Jean-Jacques often observed in Roger-Luc’s eyes. There was no doubt who Roger-Luc’s father was, as he began picking out the small details that made the entire Devaux family so attractive and likeable at least to him.

“She will be glad to see you. She has been complaining about missing you for quite some time.” Jean-Jacques admitted, checking his watch smoothly. He had already been waiting for fifteen minutes, and from what experiences he had gained thus far, he was ready to wait for at least another ten minutes more. Still, Jean-Jacques knew that no matter what, the 25 minutes’ worth of wait would be worth it, for he knew that his breath would forever be taken away by the beauty of his lover –even if she turned up in sweatpants and a hoodie.