The Templar's Secret (The Templar Series) Read Free Page B

heartbreaking.’
    ‘A repeating refrain the world over, unfortunately.’
    ‘All the same, it’s still a painful tune.’ As Edie was quickly discovering in her new gig with National Geographic magazine, having recently travelled to several third-world countries.
    Five months ago an editor at the renowned monthly caught an exhibition of Edie’s photography at a Washington DC gallery that specialized in African art. To her astonishment, the editor asked if she’d be interested in working as a freelance photographer. Interested? Dream come true. Although it meant that Edie now spent more time on the road than at her DC abode, squeezing in side trips to Paris when time permitted.
    Caedmon glanced at his wristwatch. ‘While it’s a bit early for dinner, l’heure de l’apéro is fast approaching. Care to stroll down the street for an aperitif?’
    Theatrically rolling her eyes, Edie said, ‘Why don’t you put on some French accordion music while you’re at it? Don’t think for one instant, Big Red, that I don’t see through your ploy. After plying me with alcohol, you intend to have your way with me,’ she accused, the rebuke eclipsed with a puckish grin.
    ‘If I’m that transparent, I’ve been out of the game far too long.’ Chortling softly to himself, Caedmon retrieved his jacket from the library ladder that did double duty as a coat rack.
    With its floor-to-ceiling bookcases , the expansive hallway put Edie in mind of the library from Beauty and the Beast. A reference that went right over Caedmon’s head. At one time he had owned an English-language bookstore on the Left Bank. Soon after his debut tome Isis Revealed was published, he sold the shop but kept the inventory.
    ‘Come, Miss Miller. A gastronomic adventure awaits us.’ Invitation issued, Caedmon swung open the door to the flat, gallantly sweeping his arm towards the landing beyond.
    A few moments later, after they descended to the ground floor in a rickety, old-fashioned elevator, Edie allowed him to usher out of the building.
    When a religious zealot intent on finding the Ark of the Covenant had marked them both for execution, fate, quite literally, hurled them together. Had it not been for that dangerous episode eight months ago, their paths would never have crossed.
    While they were officially ‘an item’, because Caedmon lived in Paris and she was based in Washington, they saw each other irregularly, although they communicated nearly every day via computer Skype. Something of a commitment phobe, Edie didn’t mind ping-ponging across the Atlantic. Despite the fact that it was an unconventional relationship, she considered it the perfect distillation of romance, long-distance longing and shared passions. No wonder she was happier than she’d been in years.
    ‘I thought that we could review our French Riviera itinerary over dinner,’ Edie said as they made their way across the cobbled courtyard adjacent to the Beaux Arts apartment.
    ‘This is the first that I’ve heard of a travel itinerary.’ Putting a hand on the small of her back, Caedmon shepherded her through the stone archway that led to rue Saint-Benoît, a typical Paris street with upscale boutiques at street level and elegant flats with wrought-iron balconies on the floors above.
    ‘A holiday checklist is a must . If I let you do the planning, we’ll spend our entire vacation traipsing through old castles and ancient ruins. When instead we can be hitting the nude beaches and über-hip discotheques.’
    ‘Bloody hell,’ Caedmon grumbled. ‘Eight months into the relationship and I’ve become a predictable bore.’
    ‘Anything but,’ Edie was quick to assure him, unpredictability the key to Caedmon Aisquith’s appeal. That and the fact that he was an incredibly smart man.
    Soon after making Caedmon’s acquaintance, Edie realized that he was addicted to knowledge. In a world of dangerous obsessions – drugs, pornography, online gambling – his was a harmless passion.