Charles was looking at Grace then, with a curious glance. “He offered me the ambassadorship to Paris,” he told her quietly as the kids continued to make a ruckus behind them.

“He did?” She looked stunned. “Now?”

“In April.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I had to ask you, all of you, and he said to let him know. What do you think?” He was looking at her as he drove through Washington, and headed north to Greenwich.

“I think we're the luckiest people alive,” she said, and meant it. They had come out nearly unscathed from the fires of hell, and they were still together. “You know what else I think?” she asked, leaning close to him as she whispered.

“What?”

She said it so the kids wouldn't hear. “I think I'm pregnant.” He looked at her with a grin, and answered back in a whisper just loud enough to be heard despite the din in the backseat.

“I'm going to be eighty-two when this one graduates from college, maybe I should stop counting. I suppose we'll have to name him François.”

“Françoise,” she corrected, and he laughed.

“Twins. Does that mean we're going?” he asked politely.

“Sounds like it, doesn't it?” The kids in the backseat were singing French songs at the top of their lungs and Andy was beaming.

“Do you mind having a baby over there?” he asked her quietly again. It worried him a little.

“Nope,” she grinned. “I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be than Paris.”

“Does that mean yes?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“He said he'd like me back here in two or three years to talk about the next elections. But I don't know, I'm not sure I'd ever want to go through all this again.”

“Maybe we wouldn't next time. Maybe they wore themselves out.”

“After the stunt that jerk pulled with his photographs, we may end up owning Thrill by then,” he smiled ruefully. Goldsmith was going to be busy.

“We could burn it to the ground. What a nice idea.” She smiled evilly.

“I'd love to.” He smiled and leaned over and kissed her. In some ways, listening to their children laugh and sing in the backseat, and looking at her, made it seem as though the nightmare of the past months had never happened.

“Au revoir, Washington!” the kids shouted as they drove across the Potomac.

Charles looked at the place where so many dreams were born, and so many died, and shrugged his shoulders. “See ya.” Grace moved closer to him, and smiled as she looked out the window.

WATCH FOR THE NEW NOVEL

FROM

DANIELLE STEEL

On Sale in Hardcover

June 27, 2006

COMING OUT

Olympia Crawford Rubinstein has a way of managing her thriving family with grace and humor. With twin daughters finishing high school, a son at Dartmouth, and a kindergartener from her second marriage, there seems to be nothing Olympia can't handle … until one sunny day in May, when she opens an invitation for her daughters to attend the most exclusive coming out ball in New York—and chaos erupts all around her. …

From a son's crisis to a daughter's heartbreak, from a case of the chickenpox to a political debate raging in her household, Olympia is on the verge of surrender… until a series of startling choices and changes of heart, family and friends turn a night of calamity into an evening of magic. As old wounds are healed, barriers are shattered and new traditions are born, and a debutante ball becomes a catalyst for change, revelation, acceptance, and love.

Please turn the page for a special advance preview.

COMING OUT