Sandi downed the last of her sparkling white wine, then they each stood like their tête-à-tête was over. She picked up her pocketbook. “So why did you agree to marry me with my parents over email, as I certainly never met your Clara?”
He placed his hand on her lower back and led her out to the street. Perhaps one more day with Sandi might cure him of his sudden interest in her, but he also knew he was throwing a fire cracker in the air that might burn him if he did. He’d get her a cab and see himself home. “A story for tomorrow it seems. Breakfast?”
Her eyes widened. "Sure." She adjusted her necklace like it was a nervous gesture. “Then you can take me to meet your Clara. Where would you like to meet?”
Charles walked her to the group of cabs that waited for passengers and said, “Your hotel lobby? We’ll go from there.”
“Good night then,” she said as a cab pulled up beside her.
Again the impulse to taste her hit him. He probably shouldn’t. It was a bad idea, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and she pressed her chest into his and parted her lips.
They closed their eyes and he kissed her.
She was better than wine. She was warm and her sighs made him forget the world.
Sandi was sweeter than any crème-filled dessert.
As the kiss ended, she swayed.
He pulled back and hoped she hadn’t had too much to drink when he let her go and opened the car door for her. “Good night.”
She slipped into the back seat but stared at him the whole time like she had more to say.
Her green eyes haunted him as the car drove away, but for once in his life, he’d done the right thing. He’d let her go.
Chapter 5
The tiny hotel shower the size of a shoe box hadn’t washed away Charles's kiss and Sandi was glad for that.
The room she’d paid for had a twin bed and not the normal queen bed most American hotels had, but the sparseness didn’t matter.
Sandi twirled around her closet-sized hotel room humming.
She hadn’t hummed since she was in that high school production of Man of La Mancha, yet here she was--happy.
She chose clothes from where she'd hung them in the small armoire and glanced out the window toward a glowing florescent red and gold restaurant sign.
When she thought about Paris and the Eiffel Tower she’d never thought she’d smell rice cakes.
Granted, the room only showed a Chinese food restaurant and a crowded street, but this was still Paris, and she'd been kissed.
Her plan before Charles had come onto the scene was to check out the Louvre, the next stop on her trip. She shrugged into her knee-length black knit dress.
Maybe teenage Sandi Smith hadn’t known her life of leisure was a lie, but she knew now.
She’d never return to Paris as money was going to be tight to nonexistent soon enough.
She’d probably marry a mechanic and hope one day her children had a solid background with skills where they weren’t running things before they were ready.
And all because her parents hadn’t wanted to deal with being responsible, so they'd tossed their future in her hands once her grandfather had died.
They'd be broke. Unless she tossed caution to the wind and married Charles.
Whoever he married would be a duchess, live in a grand home, and have a better view from her hotel window.
His kiss made her lips tingle.
Her phone rang. Sandi plopped on her twin bed with a cozy white comforter and answered her mother, who immediately said without a hello, “So our contract is on hold, dear.”
Part of Sandi wished her mother was here. She’d always been a lady and she might actually know how to act when one kiss affected her balance.
Not like Sandi who was just expected to make good choices without understanding details.
Sandi finger-combed her long hair. “I made a counter offer to Charles Esposito.”
Her mother was the one person in the world who could talk her into a position, but today Sandi just couldn’t do it. “Your father and I need that contract.”
If Sandi married Charles, then maybe she’d know what great sex was and not care about making another bad choice. Not that she’d tell her mother that. She picked up her grandmother’s rose necklace from the nightstand to put it on. “I’ve never been a bargaining chip before.”
She heard the click of her mother’s heel as it came in contact with the marble tile, a signal that her mother was upset. “Your father mortgaged our home to keep our warehouse open despite the online competition because you said the novelty would pass.”
That made the decimation of their life that much worse.
The Denver mansion had been paid for. Her voice went higher as she asked, “You have to sell the house too?”
“That deal for you to marry Charles could save us,” her mother said fast. “As you were the one that told us to keep the warehouses that now has no customers.”
And possibly ensure Sandi was the happiest woman who ever lived, if Charles kissed her like that every day. Charles was nearly perfect, but rather than rejoice, she felt trapped where all roads led to fixing the mess she’d made for everyone with one trip down the aisle. “I’ve made lots of bad choices, I get it. And I don’t want us to lose our home, but… I wanted to fall in love, the old fashioned way.”
“Is he awful?" her mother asked. "He looks very handsome in his online pictures. I thought he was a gift sent from heaven to save our family from further ruin.”
Charles was handsome, that was true, and Sandi usually spoke honestly with her mother. Her mother had always been taken care of and expected to be pampered but she'd married a rich man who had no business skills. Unfortunately she hadn’t inherited her grandfather’s smarts either. She scooted forward to continue their conversation but then a knock sounded on the door. “He’s… Charles is here. I have to go.”
But she didn’t hang up. She kept the phone in her hand and answered the door.
Charles’s dark eyes, strong shoulders, and sexy clean-shaven chin below perfect lips made her insides twist like she might get another shot at a kiss.
Totally unfair how he made jeans and a black t-shirt rock because it showed off those muscles of his.
Most men wished they had that physique, not that she should notice--since she wasn't going to marry him.
Sandi held the handle like it might be the only physical thing that kept her steady, as he asked, “Are you ready for breakfast?”
“Almost, give me a minute.” She opened the door wider.
The room was maybe three hundred square feet. He took up a lot of the space just from entering and he crouched so his head didn’t hit the ceiling. “I can meet you in the lobby.”
Her bag and shoes were all she needed. She backed up as she shook her head. “No. It’s fine. Just wait here.”
“Very well.” He stood like he'd guard the door and yet today he seemed somehow less intense.
As she headed to the armoire, she glanced at her phone and realized that she hadn’t hung up. Sandi put the phone to her ear and her mother must have heard her breathing as she said, “He sounds nice.”
“Mom, we’ll talk later.”
“Hurry, sweetheart," her mother said. "We’re running out of time.”
Once again she called the shots so her parents could continue to be… frivolous and free from responsibility. Her shoulders grew heavy, but she tried to pretend she was fine. Sandi clicked the phone off and tossed it in her pocketbook, then put her black flats on.
Charles placed a hand in his pocket. “Was that your mother?”
She’d known he was a bad boy, but he just seemed more delicious without the suit and tie. Her face heated and she squeezed her eyes shut as she clearly imagined her mother telling Charles to marry her right here, right now. “Yes. She was convincing me to marry you straight away.”
He widened his stance as he stared down at her. “Did you tell her about our deal?”
&nb
sp; She shook her head but met his gaze again as she checked her hair in the mirror to make sure the frizz was tamed. “I had no time.”
He took a step closer. “I can-”
“No,” she interrupted and took his hand, ignoring the spark that rushed through her as she pressed closer to him. “I’m looking forward to meeting your Clara. I thought about this all night.”
He reached behind him to open the door and asked, “All night? You didn’t sleep?”
She placed her hand forward to close the door and keep them in her room, so no one in the hallway heard her. “A little, but I kept remembering your kiss. The boys in Denver never made my toes curl.”
This close to him, smelling that woodsy cologne, and her tiny bed behind her made her imagine the illicit idea she never, ever would act on. His mouth curved upward and she saw his dimple as he said, “Sounds to me like you kiss the wrong men.”
The ones she’d made time for hadn’t exactly been stellar choices, yeah. Her lips began to tingle in hope for another kiss, then she shrugged and went past him to open the door. “I suppose that’s true. What about me?”
But he didn’t move and pressed his palm to the door to stay inside with her and asked, “Did you forget something in your room?”
But they hadn’t left for her to forget anything. Did he mean alone time? She returned to the door and his arms wrapped around her. Her heart beat faster as she asked, “No. What about me? How do my kisses compare to other women’s kisses?”
“Every woman has different chemistry.”
Her body was warm waiting for his touch. “So I was just okay? Your answer is totally fine.”
“No, that wouldn’t be okay for an answer. I must have used the wrong words to evade the question, mademoiselle.” He traced her cheekbone. “Why do you want to know?”
Well true, English wasn’t his first language. She stared at his lips and wondered why he hadn’t kissed her yet. Granted she hadn’t exactly had a lot of experience to draw from but she’d always been a good student. “'Cause I kept thinking about you, and your kiss. I want to know how I rate.”
He leaned closer. “Maybe it was the alcohol we both consumed.”
Seriously? She clasped her fingers around the back of his neck and said, “We can-”
He claimed her lips.
Once again the world dissipated into nothing except the two of them and this moment.
As their mouths separated, she needed to hold onto his arm for a second until she was sure her feet were steady. But then he stepped back, ran his hand through his short, slightly curly hair and shook his head. “We should never do this again.”
Adrenaline coursed through her as she pressed herself against the wall between him and her small bed. “Why not?”
He let out a long sigh that sounded like it pained him. “Because your kiss makes me believe you might be the one and that’s not actually possible.”
She flinched. The one? “Why?”
He motioned with his head toward the door. “Because love and romance aren’t real.”
She held her hand to her heart. Somehow she’d tripped over one of his emotional walls or something. “They aren’t?”
He pursed his lips together like this was obvious as he said, “Romance is a delusion where we make ourselves believe we’re happy because someone is in our life, and love is the justification for indulging in our desires.”
Maybe she’d seen one too many movies or she'd read one too many books, but her heart went into double-time as she opened the door. “I disagree.”
The air from the hall helped cool her.
Good.
He put his hands in his pockets. “Because life is sunshine and rainbows for you?”
Just because she didn’t believe his jaded viewpoint didn’t make her childish. She had her hand on her hip as they headed out of her room. “No. But love exists. It’s real and everywhere.”
He shrugged and walked next to her as they made their way down the stairs in lieu of the elevator. “Psychosis is all around us but it’s best to be honest. Our kiss earlier was strictly chemistry.”
So he'd felt something too. Good. She relaxed as she said, “It was.”
They sailed through the tiny lobby with the glittering chandelier of the hotel that was at one point someone’s house and onto the streets of Paris. “But you’re still going to find me another woman to marry.”
True. Yes. Right. She’d follow through and then never think about kisses or Paris or Charles. Charles was tall and handsome and the first man like that who didn’t make her feel… well, awkward, but she wasn’t going to push for a marriage until she decided what she wanted. “What do you want me to do?”
He directed them to a small bakery on the street corner and held the door for her. “Leave and never come back to Paris.”
Her nose wrinkled as she said, “I can’t now, not until you get married.”
“Why?” He turned his attention toward the cashier where he ordered croissants, butter, fruit, cafe au lait for himself and then he glanced at her. "What would you like?"
She remembered her friends in high school once talking about the hot chocolate in Paris. “Hot chocolate.”
Charles translated that to, “Chocolat chaud.”
He paid, then gestured toward an oval table with two seats. She answered his earlier question of why she couldn't leave Paris right away. “My parents need the deal you offered.”
He moved their seats so they both might enjoy watching people pass them from under the awning of the café near the street. “I only offered because the matchmaker in Avce prides herself on being able to find anyone’s true love.”
Her mind and body buzzed. Seriously? She'd once Googled the famous matchmaker and even put getting a name on her vision board. She’d wanted to know who her true love was--the system had a perfect record. Butterflies grew in her stomach as she asked, “The woman who owns AvceLoveMatch.com?”
He shrugged like this wasn’t a big deal and said, “That’s her. She’s my half-sister…I wanted to prove her wrong.”
Which meant he'd just saved her twenty-thousand dollars to find out the name. Charles was her match.
She tugged her ear and leaned closer to be sure. “So, she gave you my name?”
He nodded. “Yes. That's why I contacted your parents with the proposal via email. I knew your business was failing.”
Wait. So he'd made the deal because he knew they were perfectly matched as strangers and then let her leave his office that day without revealing this?
She tilted her head as her mind raced.
If she and Charles were matched then maybe she shouldn’t rush to sever all ties with him.
Was she ruining her own future happiness if she directed him toward other women?
She had no idea what to do. Sandi folded her hands in her lap as the food was delivered to the table. Once they were alone, she said, “So the world's most successful matchmaker said we’re true love just waiting to happen?”
He picked up his coffee. “Impossible, right?”
She tried the hot chocolate and the liquid cocoa was nothing like she'd ever had.
Wow. Sandi forced herself to put the cup back rather than drink it down. “No. When I raised the money, I was going to give the five-figure donation to have her find my soul mate.”
The website directed the high price toward one of the five charities the countess found worthy. Sandi had even chosen the children’s hospital she volunteered at so the money went toward a good cause.
The only thing she hadn’t done was hit pay as she wasn’t able to just yet.
She sucked on her bottom lip and tasted chocolate. She took out a mirror and quickly checked her face.
Clean. He asked, “Why waste your money like that?”
She tucked her mirror in her bag and sat back. If for whatever reason they were a true love match and meant to live happily ever after, then he would need to accept her choices despite how many bad choices she’d
made.
Time would tell, but her eyes were now open to the fact that maybe she needed to marry Charles. Sandi picked up her cup. “It’s not a waste. I sucked at finding men. I’m socially awkward.”
“Don’t lie.” He reached forward like he’d take her hand. "You're stunning. Red hair, green eyes. Ivory skin."
Surely she must be glowing that he thought she was some gorgeous, beautiful woman when the truth was she was normal without the inner siren he saw in her. “I’m not lying. I figured that if I was told who "the one" was then that would be all I needed." But for it to be Charles? "I don’t want to date endlessly and never find the right person to settle down with.”
His face went white. “You already said no to my proposal.”
She sipped her chocolate that warmed her inside, but not as much as Charles. “You didn’t tell me you were my possible true love and that you didn’t just pick my name randomly.”
He sat rigidly beside her. “Does it make a difference?”
She scooted her chair closer to him and kept her voice down as she said, “Yes. Charles, you kiss like you’re my true love…”
A blush went over his entire face, making him red under his perfect tan. “That’s insane.”
Sandi took the last sip of her hot chocolate and quickly ate her croissant. She then placed her napkin on the table and said, “No. No it’s not. So let’s get going.”
He gulped his own coffee and rose with her. “To the airport to get you back to Denver?”
“I told you already I’m staying. So let’s go…” She stared into his brown eyes as she knew she was about to challenge him. “To meet your Clara. If she agrees that we should marry then I was wrong to protest.”
Sandi turned on her heels and headed out of the cafe. He chased after her and once they reached the sidewalk he asked, “What does that mean?”
Now or never. Their paths had changed today and she wanted to know if this matchmaker was right. Her life would be so much better if Charles was the one. She raised her hand in the air to flag a cab. “It means we can get married and figure out how to live happily-ever-after.”
Forbidden Bastard: Opposites Attract Matchmaker Romance (Princes of Avce Book 10) Page 5