by Lindsey Hart
‘Ugly little duckling.’
“Ugh,” she groaned, rolling onto her back.
She was a grown woman now! She shouldn’t be allowing some stupid words from thirteen years ago get to her like this!
No, it was better to remember that Stephane was a hateful man that didn’t have a sincere bone in his body, and act like he didn’t exist. Then, after this vacation, she would be able to return to pretending that she had never seen him.
As long as he kept out of her way, just like she had asked, then there was nothing either of them would have to worry about. Pulling herself up off the bed, Mia stood and nodded firmly. He wouldn’t ruin this trip for her, not if she could help it.
She had a cottage to explore.
CHAPTER THREE
“I think I’m going to go for a walk,” Lisa said, stretching her arms. “I’d like to go and see more of this place. Want to come?”
“No, I want to finish unpacking,” Mia said, looking pointedly at Lisa’s own unpacked suitcase.
“I can do that later,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “But whatever you want to do. I’ll probably see you around, then.”
“Yeah, I’ll head out myself a little later,” Mia said with a smile. “Have fun.”
Her sister waved at her in reply and left the room. Mia chuckled to herself. One of the reasons she hadn’t wanted to go with Lisa was because she knew her sister well enough to know that she would be spending most of her exploration time at the yoga area, watching some of the classes. She, on the other hand, wanted to explore the area around the manor, something she doubted Lisa would be happy to do.
She also hadn’t been lying when she said she had wanted to finish unpacking. She was half way done now and she wanted to finish before dinner so that she didn’t have to worry about it tomorrow; she had a feeling she was going to be far too tired from the drive up here to want to do it tonight.
A soft tap on the doorway made her look up, and Mia tilted her head in confusion as she saw both her parents standing there. She had expected them to be doing their own unpacking or going upstairs to talk to Robert and Josie.
“Lisa heading out?” Sophie asked, stepping inside.
“Yeah, she wanted to explore a bit,” Mia said with a shrug, sitting on her bed. “Did you guys need something?”
“Actually, we needed to talk to you,” Robert said. Alarm bells started going off in Mia’s head. “About the true reason for this trip.”
“I knew it!” Mia blurted out, glaring at the two of them. “I knew something was fishy about this whole thing!” She crossed her arms, unimpressed. “Well, out with it, then. What’s going on here?”
“This was… a ploy, of sorts, between us and Stephane’s parents,” Sophie said, glancing at her husband. She turned and smiled at Mia. “Wouldn’t it be lovely to see Lisa and Stephane as a couple?”
Mia stared at them, part of her waiting to hear that they were joking. They gazed back at her, as though they were eagerly waiting for her instant acceptance of the idea.
“I’m sorry?” she said blankly. “Did you guys just say we’re here to set up Lisa and Stephane on a date?”
“It might seem a bit extravagant,” her mother admitted. “But we all thought it was nice to have a getaway at the same time.” She beamed. “Lisa isn’t settling down any time soon, and Stephane is such a nice young man.”
Mia tried to equate ‘nice young man’ with Stephane. It just didn’t add up.
“No, he isn’t,” she said, frowning. She turned to her father. “Weren’t you just saying last month how a young man you were working with was a bit of a playboy? That was Stephane, right?”
“Ah, well, yes,” Tim said, waving his hand dismissively. “But it’s all fine. Stephane just hasn’t settled down, is all. He and Lisa will get along like a house on fire.”
They would, Mia knew. They were both all heat and passion, and they would come together quite easily. However, Mia doubted that they would stay together.
No, she would not allow this to happen. Lisa might be her older sister, but she would not let Stephane just use and dump her. And she would certainly not allow Stephane to do to Lisa what he had done to her.
“I don’t think you’ve thought this through,” she protested. “Stephane would have no interest in Lisa beyond just sleeping with her, if what you say is true! Then where would they be? Don’t you think this could damage your working relationship?”
Her parents stared at her, not comprehending. It appeared that this hadn’t occurred to them at all. Mia sighed; sometimes, neither of her parents had any common sense. She often thought she was the only person in the family born with it.
“And how do you think Lisa will feel when Stephane dumps her?” she pressed.
“Lisa is a very strong young woman,” Sophie said with a shrug. “I think she will be more than able to handle Stephane.”
No, she wouldn’t. Mia knew her sister very well. She was flighty and prone to one night stands herself. If Mia had to admit it to herself, she knew her sister honestly wouldn’t care if Stephane was to sleep with her and then dump her once he’d gotten what he wanted. In fact, she would be seducing him just as hard as he was seducing her.
That didn’t mean Mia was going to let that happen. She didn’t care who her sister slept with. But she could not bear the idea of her letting that bastard anywhere near her.
She had already tried to warn Lisa away, but that didn’t work. Her parents, as well, did not look like they were willing to listen to reason. She doubted that she would get anywhere with Stephane’s parents, nor would they take lightly to her going to them and accusing their son of being an asshole.
Which meant she was going to have to try and get through to Stephane.
She shuddered. Damn it, she had wanted to stay clear of him over this trip. Now, because of her parents’ stupid machinations, she was going to be forced right into his path if she wanted to save her sister from him.
“Fine,” she said to her parents shortly. “Just keep me out of it.”
Knowing that was all the permission they were going to get, her parents left, bemused by her attitude. She waited until she heard them back in their own room, before abandoning her unpacking and hurrying upstairs.
Josie and Robert were in the living room, and they looked up as she entered, obviously surprised to see her.
“Mia, right?” Josie said, and Mia nodded awkwardly, suddenly aware that she was intruding on their hosts’ private space. “What can we do for you?”
“Ah… I was actually looking for Stephane,” she said, shifting from foot to foot.
They looked at her like she had just asked them to take down the moon for her. Mia wondered if they remembered finding Mia sobbing and Stephane growling, holding the leg she had just bitten fiercely after he had said such cruel things to her.
“Stephane?” Josie asked. “He said he was heading toward the manor to check out the fitness center.”
“Right, thanks,” Mia said, and darted away before they could ask any questions.
It figured that Stephane was a fitness buff. He had probably been one of those arrogant jocks in high school, too, the ones that made stupid bets to get girls like her in bed within a week. Well, screw the lot of them; she was stronger than any of them, Stephane included.
Now she just had to face him.
Steeling herself, she headed toward the manor, opting to walk instead of take the car. Stephane, also on foot, wouldn’t be too far in front of her, and she could hopefully catch up to him before he ran into Lisa.
The area around the cottage was really lovely, and it was a shame that she didn’t have time to slow down and take in the scenery. Mia moved quickly, though, resolving to return with her camera at some point; she had managed to click a quick picture of the resort as they were approaching in the car, but she would love to take her camera out into the range and take pictures with a better resolution. Right now, however, it was the furthest thing from her mind.
She hone
stly could not believe her parents would do something like this. In what world had they thought it was okay to set their daughter up with a known playboy? They were probably hoping Lisa would settle down and stop going out to drink and pick up men every weekend, but they were idiots to think that; if anything, Lisa would just gain a wingman if she and Stephane decided to stay associated after they slept together. All that would come out of this was that the two of them would enable each other in their bad habits.
She huffed, still seething in frustration, as the manor came into view. She paused in the car park to catch her breath, not wanting to rush in there and make it obvious that she had almost run here. When she was able to breathe properly, Mia straightened and stalked into the manor.
She had thought she would have to stop at reception and ask where the fitness center was, as that was where Stephane was meant to be. Instead, however, she was surprised to see Stephane at the desk himself, leaning over it.
It took her a moment to realize that he was smiling flirtatiously at the young receptionist, who was blushing but smiling back, angling her body toward him. Mia felt indignation rise in her; Stephane hadn’t come to check out the fitness center at all. No, he had come to check out the pretty receptionist!
“…two weeks,” Stephane was saying as she approached, his voice low and his eyes piercing. Mia hated to admit it, but she could see how girls might be taken in by his good looks and sultry voice. “I’m sure we can find something… fun to do in that time.”
“I do work here on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,” the receptionist giggled, twirling her hair around her finger. “I get breaks on those days, too.”
Mia wrinkled her nose. She hated girls like that, the ones who flirted and teased and made their interest plain. They made it easy for men like Stephane to get to them. It was unfortunate that Lisa was also one of those girls, but Mia was still trying to get through to her.
Starting with saving her from this jerk.
Hadn’t he just been flirting with both Lisa and Mia? The looks that he had given both of them, as well as his insincere words while speaking to Mia, had made it obvious. Now, not half an hour after that, he was here flirting with a third girl. It really was absolutely despicable.
More than ever, she was now certain that she was right in her decision to prevent Stephane from going anywhere near Lisa. None of them needed someone like him in their lives.
“Do you have any breaks soon?” Stephane asked the receptionist.
“I finish at six, which is in half an hour,” the receptionist said, leaning further toward him and reaching out to brush her hand across his shoulder. “We could… Oh! I’m sorry, can I help you?”
She had finally noticed Mia. Mia scowled; the girl had been looking so intently at Stephane that she had completely missed anyone else coming into the manor.
“What are you doing here?” Stephane drawled, frowning at her, obviously still sore from earlier.
“We need to talk,” Mia said, glaring at him.
Intrigued, Stephane stepped away from the desk, making the receptionist huff and glare at Mia for the interruption. Mia couldn’t care less. The girl would thank her later.
“About what?” Stephane asked.
“About the true reason we’re here,” Mia said, scowling at the thought. “Were you aware that our parents brought us here to set you and Lisa up together?”
Noticeably thrown, Stephane blinked several times. He hadn’t known then, which meant, unfortunately, that he was just as much a victim in this as Lisa.
“Seriously?” he asked. A contemplative look flowed over his face. “Well…”
“No.” Mia clenched her hands tightly at her side. “Don’t even think about it. You’re not allowed to go anywhere near my sister, do you understand?”
“Oh?” Stephane asked, raising an eyebrow. “And how are you going to stop me?”
“Don’t test me,” Mia warned. “I’m a whiz at research; I’m sure both my parents and yours would be very interested in what you get up to in your free time.”
Stephane scowled. Then he snorted.
“Fine, don’t worry, I’ll leave your precious sister alone,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. A leering smile appeared on his face, and Mia’s eyes widened as his eyes ran up and down her body. “I’m more interested in exploring uncharted territory, anyway.”
It was the last straw. His flirting had been minimal earlier, but this had crossed a line. Going red in both anger and embarrassment, Mia snarled and lashed out, kicking him right between the legs. Then she fled, leaving him groaning on the ground behind her.
That would teach him to think he could get away with being so crude to just anyone.
CHAPTER FOUR
Stephane was still in pain and furious when he woke the next morning.
Groaning at the dull ache in his male counterparts, he rolled over to try and find a more comfortable position. The moment he did, however, a shaft of sunlight that had wriggled its way through a gap in the curtains fell across his eyes, and he was forced to roll back.
He scowled into his pillow. Mia Arnold… who the hell did she think she was? Appearing out of nowhere like that, threatening him, and then kicking him down in front of the beautiful receptionist. He had been forced to hobble out of there, which had effectively killed any chances he had ever had with the girl.
And his chances had been good before Mia showed up.
His parents had been alarmed when he had limped back up to his room, and he had only just stopped himself from snapping at the two of them. He had wanted to skip dinner afterwards, but he honestly hadn’t wanted to give Mia the satisfaction.
Straight away, though, Stephane had wished he had just gone to bed. Mia had been noticeably smug at the other end of the table. He had spent most of dinner sulking and glaring at her out of the corner of his eye, unable to even appreciate the low-cut top Lisa was wearing.
He scoffed and rolled onto his back. The stupid girl had absolutely no idea who she was playing with here. Stephane was powerful and rich, he had more people at his beck and call than she could ever dream about. In the grand scheme of things, she was nothing.
He couldn’t quite get out of his head the way she had refused him twice, though. No one refused his advances. She obviously still had some sort of hang up from where they were kids, but that had been a long time ago! What could she possibly still be holding on to that she would hate him so much? He had tried to be nice. Well, at least, he had tried to flirt with her and compliment her, and she had thrown it right back in his face.
Then she had the absolute nerve to interrupt him while he was speaking to or, admittedly, flirting heavily with the girl at the reception desk to blather on about the true reason for this stupid vacation and threaten him away from her sister Lisa, who appeared to very receptive to Stephane’s charm, unlike her idiot sister.
That was another thing, too. Why had his parents brought him all the way out to the middle of nowhere to set him up with their friends’ daughter? The place was nice, and it was obviously luxurious, but there was no other form of civilization for miles around. There was a small town some distance away, but Stephane would hardly call that civilization either.
There were no restaurants, no shopping malls… there was barely even any phone reception. He had brought his laptop, intending to do work, but his parents had refused to buy any internet, citing that it was a work-free vacation.
That had seemed suspicious at that time. His father, who was only ever concerned with managing the branch and making money, suddenly declaring two weeks of no work? Now he knew why.
It was actually why he had stopped at reception yesterday on his way to the fitness center. He had wanted to request his own internet access; there was a lot to do here, but he wasn’t interested in stupid nature walks or horse riding or archery, especially since there didn’t seem to be too many people to show off to.
Of course, Mia had ruined that plan too.
His anger shifted from his parents’ plot and back to Mia. No matter how much he wracked his mind, he could not figure out what her deal was.
Knowing that he had to get up, Stephane pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. When he entered the living area, he found both his parents already there, a tray of tea and a plate of pastries sitting in front of them. His stomach rumbled and he dropped down into an armchair, reaching for the plate.
“Sleep well, Stephane?” his father asked, not looking up from the paper he was pursuing.
“Mm-hmm,” he hummed, mouth full of food.
“Are you feeling better this morning?” Josie asked, scanning him. “You looked unwell last night.”
‘No, just in pain,’ he scoffed mentally.
“I’m fine,” he said, swallowing his food. “Anything on the agenda today?”
“Yesterday was a long day, we thought it was a good idea to just rest,” Robert said, finally looking up. “Tim and I are going for a round of golf later, if you would like to join.”
Stephane would have dearly loved to say no. He couldn’t think of anything he would like to do less. But he knew his father well enough to know that it wasn’t a request.
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “What time?”
“We’ll take off at around two,” Robert said, returning to his newspaper, satisfied at his son’s answer.
Stephane glanced at his watch. It was only nine-thirty in the morning, which meant that he had several hours to kill before they played.
“I might go for a walk, then,” he said, snatching another pastry and standing. “I’ll meet you on the range.”
His father nodded, and his mother gave him a vague wave goodbye, already returning to her book.
As he left the cottage, Stephane paused, wondering where to go next. He could go and see about the internet… then he remembered, with a wince, that it was Thursday. The same receptionist from yesterday would be there, and he didn’t really want to run into her again after the way he had been embarrassed in front of her.
As such, instead of entering the manor, he wandered around the side, skirting the golf range and heading toward the stables. He had expected there to be a handful of people around, but he was surprised when he saw exactly who was leaning against the railing, looking at the horses in the paddock with a smile.