“I don’t know. What more do I need to learn?”
Not much, Etienne conceded, but the fact that he’d been upsetting Meg with his attempt to protect her from himself was unacceptable. She had enough on her plate. He didn’t want her worrying about him.
“Perhaps…we need to take a stab at some dance lessons?”
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right? I need to know how to dance, too?”
“You told me that you only knew how to do the polka.”
“And I don’t even do that right, if you remember correctly. I was leading you the whole time. Plus, remember all those classes I told you that I took? You’re talking about a woman who couldn’t even master the basics of how to fall gracefully.”
Etienne grinned. “I’m not going to let you fall, Meg.”
She smiled back at him. “Okay, but I can’t imagine why this would be an essential skill. Will we be dancing in France?”
He didn’t want to lie to her. “Definitely.” He would make very sure of that. Especially since what was needed right now was some dancing, some levity, a release of the tension they’d all been subjected to.
“Where should we go?”
He grinned. “The outer office.”
“In front of everyone?”
“They can dance, too.”
She put her head back and laughed at that. “Oh, they’re going to love that. Somehow I don’t think that I can simply tell everyone that we’re expanding their job descriptions again.”
“Don’t worry, Meg,” Etienne whispered. “Just tell them that we’re having recess. Tell them that it will help you. They’ll do anything you ask.”
“They’ll do anything you ask, too.”
He raised a brow.
“Really,” she said. “You may not have noticed but they’ve latched on to you as one of their own. They trust you now.”
Which made Etienne more than a little nervous. No matter what Meg said, he was responsible for this company, for her and for what happened at that expo. Betray Meg or fail the company and he would be destroying lives. Again.
“So, you think they won’t report me to the labor union if I ask them to tango?”
“As long as you remove the thorns from the roses they hold in their teeth, I think they’ll be amused by the diversion.”
But, of course, it wasn’t that simple.
“We need music,” Meg said, “and something to play it on.”
After an announcement and a quick search, it just so happened that Jeff had a portable MP3 player in his car with some tiny speakers that would plug into it.
“Sometimes I like to go to the park at lunch,” he explained. “You may not like my taste in music, though.”
Jeff’s taste in music ranged from hip hop to jazz with a little rock thrown in. Trying to find something that a person could ballroom dance to was a challenge, but Harold managed to locate some slow love songs. “Ooh, this one sounds hot!” Harold said, which made Jeff’s ears turn red.
“I don’t know how that got there,” he said.
Etienne chuckled. “Just keep repeating that, my friend,” he said. “Not that anyone will believe it.”
“Jeff, it’s a really nice song,” Meg argued. “You play that when you have a woman with you and I guarantee she’ll melt.”
Which made Etienne sit up and take notice. He wanted Meg to melt for him.
But, of course, that wasn’t what he was supposed to be thinking about. “Let’s get some space,” he directed. Together everyone pushed the desks out of the way.
Then he turned to see a small sea of expectant faces turned his way. “Partner up,” he directed. “Grab the person next to you, no matter what sex. We’ll switch for the next song.”
There was some giggling as people paired up with colleagues.
“We’ll begin with a simple waltz. If you haven’t done much of this before, then this is how the dance proceeds. You place your hand on her, or his, waist like this,” Etienne said, and he slowly slid his palm around Meg’s waist.
Immediately he was aware of her softness, how she fit him and how his heart pounded when he stared down into her eyes. “She places her hand on your shoulder. And then you take her hand in yours,” he said, his voice thick in his own ears.
As he called out instructions, Jeff started the music and the group began to move, but Etienne was only aware of Meg, of looking into her eyes, of twirling with her around the floor.
“You’re very good,” she said, her voice so soft he nearly had to lean close to hear.
“Years of practice. It’s second nature.” But it wasn’t. Not with her. The waltz had never seemed so exhilarating, so meaningful, so short.
The music ended. “Switch,” Jeff said, and he headed straight toward Meg.
Etienne’s hand tightened on hers for a second, but then he released her, ceding his place to the other man. The one who would stay. Etienne hadn’t failed to notice Jeff’s interest in Meg. She might find happiness with him.
But not yet. Not today.
Etienne led them through a series of mini lessons in various ballroom dances, but when they came to the tango he claimed Meg as his own again.
“Last one,” he said. “And for this one, Meg is mine.”
He looked up into Jeff’s stubborn eyes and felt a twinge of sympathy for the man. Also a trace of guilt. He had seniority here and it wasn’t fair to pull rank.
But he did it anyway. “There might be dancing in Paris,” he explained to the man, even though he was pretty sure that there wouldn’t be an opportunity for anything quite like this. He just wanted the chance to dance with her, to be with her.
He pulled her into his arms, swirled her into the dance.
Meg was obviously new to the dance; she was awkward, very self-conscious and totally charming. “If I step on your feet you’ll forgive me, won’t you?” she asked. “And not yell out too loud?”
“I’ll swallow the pain,” he promised. “And love every minute.”
Which, of course, made her chuckle in that low, husky way she had that made his nerves sing.
They moved through the dance, circling each other, twirling, gazes connected, not paying attention to anyone else in the room until the music reached its crescendo. “Now dip,” Etienne directed, and he lowered Meg into his arms, ending up only a breath from her lips.
“And up,” he whispered, pulling her back into his arms as the music died away.
By then everyone was laughing and breathing heavily. “Do you do this kind of thing at every company you reclaim?” Edie asked.
“This was Meg,” he said. “All Meg.”
So no, he would never do this again. The sands of time were running out. In just over a week, she would walk out of his life.
And he would have to take it. There was no other way.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE days were spinning by, the expo was almost here, Meg and Etienne were leaving the next day and the company was developing a slow, quiet hum of efficiency rather than the awkward thump, thump of a car driving along minus one wheel.
Still, with the prospect of speaking before an international audience, Meg should have been petrified. That had been her modus operandi for most of her life. Stay out of the spotlight. Don’t attract attention. Hide your defects. But, that just wasn’t happening this time. The scar, the weight, the awkwardness and tendency to speak her mind too freely…those things just weren’t bothering her. Etienne had worked his magic and made her feel unique. Whether it was true or not, she felt it and that was really all that mattered.
He’d changed her life, and she was grateful, but…
“What are you going to do when he’s gone?” Edie asked her one day.
Meg froze. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Meg, this is Edie. I’ve known you forever. You follow him with your eyes. You watch for him when he’s not here. You’re falling in love with him.”
Meg opened her mouth to deny it, but thi
s was Edie. No point in trying to pretend.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s not a staying kind of guy. He doesn’t want children. I’m not even sure he could deal with the cats, but mostly it’s just…he’s not a man a woman should allow herself to fall in love with.”
“And yet you have.”
“Not yet. Not completely,” Meg said. “I’ve known he was off-limits from the start, so I’ve been careful.” Or as careful as she was capable of being. “But I will miss him.” Desperately.
And more than that, she would worry about him. For all he had done for them, for all that she knew he would move on and do the same for another company, maybe hitch up with another woman such as herself, he was essentially alone. He had built himself an emotional prison of constant movement where he wasn’t allowed to make lasting connections.
Still, it was what he wanted, and maybe, Meg realized, it was the first time in his life he was able to have what he wanted. From what he’d said, it sounded as if his younger years had been lived according to the family plan. His marriage had been expected, an heir had been expected, and trying to twist himself into a pretzel to do the expected things had hurt a lot of people. One of the people most damaged had been Etienne, though he would never admit that.
But Meg did. She also admitted that his choice to live his life alone was one she had to respect. It wasn’t the kind of thing she would choose—she did want those babies—but if being alone and always on the move in his bid to help failing companies brought Etienne peace and made him happy…She so wanted him to be happy.
So, she pasted on a smile and ignored the pain in her heart. She still had him for a few more days before she had to give him up.
Etienne looked on in amusement as Meg squirmed in her seat on the plane. “Can you believe that you and I are going to France?” she asked.
He smiled. “I think I can.”
“Okay,” she said with a grin. “I suppose that was a silly question. You jet around all the time, but I’ve never been anywhere, least of all France.”
“I hope you like it.”
She gave him a tap on the arm. “As if I couldn’t. I’m going to love it.” She squirmed some more.
“Are you worried?” he asked. “Meg, you’re not worried, are you? Because I’ve explained that you’re going to be fantastic, haven’t I?”
“Yes, you have.”
“And…”
“And, has it ever occurred to you that you may be a tiny bit biased? I’m your creation, after all.”
Etienne frowned and turned in his seat. “You’re no one’s creation. You’re one of a kind.”
She laughed. “Let’s hope that’s a good thing.”
It was. A very good thing. And everyone would recognize that at the expo. Etienne had put more effort into Fieldman’s than he had ever put into any company and he knew it was because he wanted to make sure that Meg was set up with her heart’s desire when he left. That company was her home, and he wanted it to thrive and grow, for her sake. He wanted her to have everything she wanted out of life.
Including those children. Meg, he knew, would never choose to have a child simply out of some misguided sense of duty the way he had. Like some task that had to be accomplished.
Regret hit him, but he ignored it. This wasn’t about him. It was about Meg and her happiness.
“You’re going to shine,” he assured her.
“I will,” she promised, and he felt a twinge of concern. She wasn’t just doing this for him, was she?
“Where’s Lightning?”
“I left her with Edie. And Jeff took Pride and Prejudice, although he agrees with you. He said that they were both guys and they needed more manly names. I expect to come back and find that he’s teaching them how to pick up felines.”
Etienne laughed. “Jeff’s a good man. He’d make sure that everyone ended up happy, I’ll bet.” He had the feeling that Jeff might be looking for a mate for more than the cats, too, a fact that sent an arrow straight into Etienne’s heart. But he had no business going there. Jeff was a good man, one who wouldn’t destroy a woman’s self-esteem and lose her love by leaving her alone all the time. Or by valuing her child more for what it meant to the family name rather than for the joy a child could bring.
Meg had said she wanted to raise a family alone, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be men in her life. She might even change her mind if the right man came along. And if Jeff was the man who could make Meg happy, then he would do his utmost to be happy that the man was there for her, Etienne promised himself.
But for now, Meg was still with him, and he was going to savor every moment he had left with her.
So, the next morning, after she’d had time to rest up from the flight, he was at her door.
She opened it wearing some sort of slender, red dress that emphasized her shape and showed her pretty knees.
“I don’t remember that dress,” he told her.
She gave him a brilliant smile that made him want to lean close. “I bought this myself. I wanted to do some shopping while you were still around to tell me whether I had made a mistake…or not.”
He tucked a finger beneath the long, slender deep-cut collar, sliding his way down the length of the cloth. “Very definitely an or not. No question. It suits you, very much.”
“Well, there you go,” she said as Etienne came into her room and she began to comb her hair. “My day just started off right. Edie told me it worked, but Edie is always nice about what I wear and she doesn’t have much better taste than I do. You, however, are an expert.”
“On some things,” he agreed, watching the hypnotic movement of her arm as she stroked the comb through her curls. “Not on everything.”
“What things don’t you know enough about?” she wondered, turning to face him.
“Cats?” he suggested.
“Okay, cats. I take it you never had any growing up. How about a dog?”
“Not a dog, either.”
“No pets?” she asked. Etienne noticed that there was a stray curl that Meg had missed. It lay partially across her cheek. He wanted to brush it aside with his fingertips.
“No pets,” he said, continuing to study that curl and the one next to it that swirled down, just touching the hollow of her throat. That very sexy little hollow made for a man’s lips.
“None?” Meg asked with that sad voice that told him she was moving directly into her “I want to fix things, I want to help you” mode.
He cleared his throat, tried to ignore the need to touch her and managed a smile to reassure her. “Don’t look so sad. I had no clue I was missing anything. My mother simply feared animals, and she didn’t like having their fur on her clothing or the furniture at Mont Gavard.”
“Wow. Your home is on a mountain?”
“Sounds grand doesn’t it?” he asked with a laugh. “But the mountain is really just a small hill. It’s a pretentious name, but a beautiful estate nonetheless.”
“You must miss it when you’re away.”
Those beautiful eyes of hers looked suddenly sad.
“I’m not a puppy or a kitten, Meg. You can’t save me. And anyway, I don’t need saving. There’s no reason to be sad about the ancestral home because I’m away from it so much. The truth is that it’s far too big for one person, so I’ve only been there once or twice since my mother died.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Almost two years. There’s a skeleton crew that takes care of the grounds and keeps things running smoothly.”
“It sounds like a lovely place.”
“I could show it to you if you’d like.”
“Would you do that? I mean…I wouldn’t want to ask you to do something you didn’t feel like doing. You don’t have to play the host if it makes you sad or brings back unhappy memories.”
He thought about that. He had been sad the last time he was there. His mother had loved Mont Gavard, and the place had seemed to be missing an essential element without her, b
ut…
“I didn’t live there with Louisa. The vastness of the estate intimidated her, and my mother was never happier than when people were admiring her home. I think she’d be happy that someone was showing an interest. But…”
“See, there is a problem. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Etienne brushed a finger across her nose. “Stop it. There isn’t a problem in the way you’re thinking. I just…We only have two days before the expo. If you go to Mont Gavard, that will only leave you one day to see Paris.”
She looked at him with that clear, direct gaze of hers. “There’s only one Paris, and I might never get the chance again, but lots of people see Paris. How many see Mont Gavard? I’ll see what I can of Paris in a day. I’d like to see where you grew up.”
“Why?”
She hesitated. “You’re an interesting man. Your home must be an interesting place.”
“Flattery will get you there, sweet Meg. I would love to show you my home,” he said. “Come on.” He took her hand. And then, because he couldn’t seem to help himself, he stopped and smoothed that curl back behind her ear.
She shivered, and his self-control wavered even more. With the greatest of difficulty he managed not to kiss her. He had a feeling that these next few days were going to be very difficult, very wonderful and far too short. He hoped that when they ended their time together he would handle things right. He wanted Meg to be happy when he had gone, with no regrets.
Visiting Mont Gavard was probably a very good idea, after all. Despite the way things had been between him and his mother at the end, he had always loved the place. There was a serenity about it that reminded him of the way Meg made him feel when she was smiling.
That was a good thing, because while most of the time Meg seemed to be blessed with bravado, there were those moments such as the one when she asked him about her dress, when he realized how much she disliked being on display. How nervous and self-conscious she still was when she had to face strangers.
At the expo, he would be the only familiar face in the crowd. And for the two days they were there, she would be very much on display. A day at Mont Gavard might be just the thing to help her relax before all the madness to come.
The Frenchman's Plain-Jane Project Page 12