by Lindsey Hart
“It’s… complicated,” he tried.
Lisa’s lips pursed together. Then, before he could react, she grabbed his collar and yanked him into a kiss. Shocked, he just stood there, not responding, and he heard a sound behind him that sounded almost like a wounded animal, telling him that someone else was there.
He wasn’t expecting to see Mia, and his heart dropped as he realized exactly what this looked like. She knew it too; her eyes were wide, and her face had drained of all color; she looked like she was about to faint.
He wished that she did faint, because then at least she would stay in the one spot. Instead, however, she fled before he could pull his thoughts together enough to say anything to her.
“Shit!” he exclaimed, tugging at his hair.
“What was that all about?” Lisa asked, confused.
He wanted to blame her, but he knew he couldn’t; she had no idea about what had gone on throughout this entire trip, after all. She didn’t know that he and Mia had started a power struggle over her, which had ended in them getting in far too deep with each other.
He restrained the impulse to snap at her. But Stephane couldn’t stop himself from whirling around and grabbing her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I’m not interested in sleeping with you,” he said. “I want a relationship – a real, true relationship – with your sister.”
Then he was gone, leaving her gaping after him. He had to find Mia and hope that she would let him explain before it was too late.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
No matter where he looked, he simply couldn’t find her. He had looked all through the manor before returning to the cabin, Lisa on his heels and demanding an explanation. Eventually, the entire sordid story had come out, and she had returned to the manor herself, promising to help him look after giving him her number so they could keep in touch.
But it didn’t matter. One hour passed, then two. The grounds were too large to search on their own, and it didn’t help that it had started to rain not long into the search. Lisa had retreated to shelter straight away, but Stephane found himself still wandering the empty grounds, hoping to see Mia. He couldn’t leave her out here all on her own.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he muttered to himself.
How had he allowed it to come to this? The thought of Mia huddled somewhere in pain, made him want to tear the grounds apart to look for her. It made his chest clench with fear and agony and he knew exactly why now.
Somehow, he had started to fall in love with Mia.
He should have realized it the moment he had noticed that he was more interest in winning her smile than sex with her. When her face had begun to bring him comfort, how could he have missed this?
Now she was gone, and Stephane only had himself to blame for it all. He shivered in the cool air, remembering that he had forgotten to bring a jacket, but unwilling to return to the cabin to get one lest he miss Mia out here somehow.
Still, he was going to catch a cold after this. He was walking in the pouring rain, which showed no signs of letting up, in only jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and tennis shoes. He was going to be laid up in bed for at least a week after this.
He couldn’t bring himself to care, though. He would stay in bed for a month if it meant that Mia would be by his side.
Eventually, he was forced to return to the manor, though. It was too cold and wet to go any further.
As he trudged forward a small building rose in the distance and he squinted at it before realizing it was the stable. He paused. Had he checked the stable yet?
No, he hadn’t.
His feet broke into a run before he realized it, his breaths panting in his ear. She had to be there, she just had to. He needed her to be.
He needed to tell her just how much she meant to him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Sorry, Patches,” Mia said glumly to the small horse, rubbing her hand down the mare’s flank soothingly. “Next time I’ll bring you an apple, I promise.”
The horse whinnied and then shuddered as another crash of thunder sounded overhead. Mia sighed deeply; it really was just her luck that a storm would break out not long after she entered the stables, preventing her from leaving.
Today just wasn’t her day.
She couldn’t even remember how long she had been trapped here. She had spent the first hour huddled by the stalls, crouching so that no one passing by could see her, lost in her own thoughts and misery. As the second hour had slipped by, however, she had found herself growing bored, which had resulted in her pacing the stables, patting each horse every time she passed them.
Now she was drawing comfort from Patches, leaning against the mare and gently brushing her fingers through her mane. Patches seemed to like her being there as the storm rumbled above them and hadn’t objected to her slipping into her stall at all.
“You know, I really am stupid, Patches,” she said to the horse, who had been a remarkably good listener so far. “I really thought…”
She trailed off. She couldn’t put into words what she had thought, but she was kicking herself for even daring to believe now. Tears pricked in her eyes and she wiped them away roughly; surely, she had cried enough for that jerk.
But it wasn’t just him that she was angry at. She was equally angry at herself. She had slipped up and allowed herself to believe, just for a moment, that he actually cared for her.
Stephane, however, was obviously a better actor than she had given him credit for. Mia snorted; the man deserved an Oscar for the performance that he had put on this week. She had honestly thought he had begun to really see her.
But maybe she should have realized how false it all was the moment he had told her she was beautiful. Of course, she wasn’t beautiful; he was the one that had told her so in the first place, after all.
“Stupid,” she whispered, leaning her forehead against Patches’ neck. “So stupid.”
How was she meant to go out there and face him now? Not only did she feel like an idiot, an intense feeling of betrayal was running through her. How was she meant to look him in the eye and pretend that nothing had happened?
On top of that, she had failed her sister. She had had one chance to protect her older sister from that bastard, and she had failed completely in one moment of weakness, exactly as Stephane had likely planned it. Now she would be forced to watch Stephane flirt with Lisa and know that he was taking her to bed for the rest of the vacation.
‘Not that Lisa would be complaining,’ she thought bitterly.
She kicked herself for the thought. This was in no way Lisa’s fault. Lisa had had no idea what was going on between her and Stephane since they had kept it secret at Mia’s insistence, not wanting her family to know what she was doing. After all, Lisa would just laugh at her and her parents would probably just be disappointed by her interference in their plan.
‘There you go, mom, Dad,’ she thought. ‘You’re going to get what you wanted now… sort of.’
After all, they probably wouldn’t see Stephane again after this vacation. She wondered how awkward this would make business deals with her father. Then she decided she didn’t care. She was angry with her parents for starting this whole thing. And she could write a book filled with the righteous anger, shame and betrayal she was feeling toward Stephane.
Mia sniffled, and hot tears began to slip down her cheeks again. She was alone in here, so she didn’t bother to try and muffle her sobs as she flung her arms around Patches’ neck, so drained and hurt and confused that she didn’t know what to do with it all.
At least, trapped in here as she was, she had the time to work through it all. By the time she left, she would hopefully be able to hold her head high and pretend that she didn’t care what was happening all around her.
There was a loud crash as the stable door suddenly flew open, hitting the wall. Startled, wondering if the wind had picked up and blown it open, Mia lifted her head.
She had not been expecting to see Stephane.
For a long moment the two of them gaped at each other, neither of them having expected to see the other right now. Unbidden, Mia’s eyes travelled down Stephane’s body.
“You’re wet,” she said blankly, not sure what else to say.
“I… yeah, I’ve been… in the rain,” Stephane said, and she would have laughed at his strange awkwardness if the situation had been any different.
“Why?” she asked.
She wasn’t sure why she wanted to know the answer. But Stephane was standing in front of her, soaking wet with a wild look in his eyes, and her heart was beginning to thump in her chest as she barely allowed herself to hope at the answer he might give.
“I…” He grimaced as several drops of water slid from his hair down his face. “I was looking for you.”
“Why?” she whispered.
She didn’t want to believe what would come out of his mouth. But she knew what she wanted to hear, and tears began to roll down her cheeks again as she waited.
“I promise, Mia, I didn’t kiss her,” he said, straightening his shoulders and stepping forward. Then he faltered again, as though wondering if he had come too close. “I didn’t. She kissed me; I was in the observatory and she found me there.”
“And how do you expect me to believe that?” Mia was suddenly angry, and he had presented himself as a prime target, the one who had caused her all this pain in the first place. “Why should I believe a single word you said? All you are is lying, cheating scum!”
He winced, but she refused to feel guilty as she crossed her arms and glared at him from across the room. All her hurt was transforming into anger, now; it didn’t matter what he said because he had already shown her that he couldn’t be trusted.
“Because it was my fault that she did it,” he said quietly.
The answer startled her enough that her shoulders relaxed, and the glare fell from her face. Seeing that he had her attention, Stephane looked at her earnestly through beseeching eyes.
“It was my fault,” he repeated. “I’ve been flirting with her from day one, promising her something that I hadn’t delivered. I did it right in front of you and our parents, and she flirted back. I encouraged her because…” He swallowed. “Because I was sure I was going to win our bet.”
She didn’t know what to be more surprised about; that he had admitted culpability or that he had stated the truth so plainly.
“I’m sorry, Mia,” he said, his voice cracking slightly on her name. “I’ll say it a thousand times until you believe me, but I’m sorry. I’ve apologized to Lisa and explained the situation to her.” He chuckled. “She almost slapped me; I guess you two are more alike than I thought. You’ve both got a streak of violence in you.”
When Mia didn’t laugh, he deflated. But Mia couldn’t laugh; her anger had been drained away, replaced with shock at the words she didn’t expect to hear from him and a painful sort of hope.
“So… that wasn’t because you won the bet?” she asked quietly.
“The bet?” Stephane snorted. “Mia, I lost that bet already.” He raised his head, eyes warm. “I never got a chance to seduce you. You seduced me.”
“I…?” Mia started, furious at the accusation.
“You seduced me with your beautiful smile,” Stephane said before she could gather steam, and Mia found herself struck dumb again. “And with that gorgeous laugh of yours. I couldn’t get either out of my head. All I wanted to do was see you smile again and again and again. I couldn’t even think about sleeping with you… I just wanted you to smile at me.”
Mia drew in a deep, shuddering breath. A smile? She searched his face, trying to find the lie and she trembled when she couldn’t see it. Was he telling the truth?
“Please, smile?” Stephane asked.
Unbidden, she felt a tremulous smile tugging at her lips. He almost beamed in response, and she was blown away by how eager he was just to see some sign that her gloom was lifting. Could he be telling her the truth?
“I don’t understand,” she admitted. “I can’t work out whether you’re telling me the truth, or whether you’re just… still playing.”
“Not playing,” Stephane said instantly. He took another step forward. “I promise, Mia, I stopped playing days ago. You made me stop playing.” He took another step. “I don’t want Lisa. I don’t want anyone else. I want you.”
“But why?” she asked. Her voice shook. The fact that he was here, and not out seducing Lisa told her that this, at least, was somewhat truthful. He had followed her out into the rain even though he could have already been in bed with her sister. “Why do you want me?”
“Because you’re beautiful,” Stephane said, stepping forward again. Only a stable door separated them now. He smiled and reached out with a damp hand, brushing wispy curls out of her face. “A beautiful swan.”
Her breath caught. She recognized the reference. The ugly duckling that had become the gorgeous swan, beloved of all. He was referring to the hurtful name he had called her thirteen years ago, a title that she had never quite been able to shake.
She was crying again, she could feel it. Stephane didn’t seem to mind, though, as he cupped her face in his large hands. His fingers were trembling, and she realized that he was nowhere near as confident as he seemed right now.
“Give me a second chance?” he asked. “I know I don’t deserve it. But I don’t care how long it takes; I want to prove to you every day just how much I love you.”
A sob escaped Mia, and she reached up to cover his hands with hers. She couldn’t help how damn happy she was suddenly feeling. He had come for her, he had told her how deeply he had fallen for her… he had put himself on the line in an attempt to get her back. She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips, her tears mingling with the rainwater dripping down his face. It made the kiss salty, and she let out a breathy laugh as she pulled back, her smile broadened at the stunned look on his face.
“Okay,” she said. “Okay… let’s try this.”
The joy on his face crashed through the last of her doubts. He wanted this, and so did she. Now it was time to see if they could make this, whatever it was, work.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As Stephane felt Mia slip her hand shyly into his, he realized that he had never felt so deliriously happy. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I won’t lose you this time, I promise.”
“You better not,” she said, surprising a laugh out of him; still as feisty as ever, he saw.
“I know I’ll be risking life and limb if I do,” he joked.
“Don’t doubt it,” Mia said, holding up a fist and shaking it mockingly in his face. “You haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve got a mean right hook.”
Remembering the various ways that she had injured him at the beginning of the vacation, Stephane winced. He really didn’t want to see that, unless she was delivering it to someone else.
They stood that way for a moment, foreheads pressed together and the stable door between them, just relishing in being in each other’s company. Then, suddenly, Stephane remembered the promise he had made with Mia’s sister.
“Oh!” he exclaimed, pulling away. “I have to call Lisa!”
“Lisa?” Mia asked incredulously as he scrolled through his contacts and found his number. “Wait, why do you even have her number?”
“She gave it to me,” he said distractedly as he listened to the phone ring.
On the third ring it picked up.
“Stephane?” Lisa asked breathlessly. “Did you find her?”
“Yeah, in the stables,” he said, smiling at Mia.
He was met by the dial tone and he blinked at the phone, surprised. Had she just hung up on him?
“So, what was that about?” Mia asked in a tone of forced casualness.
“I told you that I told Lisa about what was going on,” Stephane reminded her. “She offered to help me search for you. After it started raini
ng though, she just kept searching the manor. She made me promise to phone her if I found you.”
Mia winced. “How mad was she?”
“At you?” Stephane asked. “Not at all. She was pretty pissed at me, though. And she’s furious with our parents for setting something like this up in the first place.”
“I can imagine,” Mia said with a snicker. “I’m surprised she’s not more annoyed that I didn’t tell her when I first found out.”
“Oh, I’m plenty mad about that, too,” said a voice in the doorway. “But I figure we can talk about that later.”
Stephane and Mia turned to the door, surprised. Lisa, still dressed in her swimsuit and using a towel as a skirt, a heavy jacket now draped over her shoulders, was standing in the doorway of the stables, shaking water off an umbrella. She looked at them with an unreadable expression before throwing herself at Mia and wrapping her in a giant bear hug.
“I’m so sorry, little sister,” she murmured. “I had no idea what was going on. Forgive me?”
“Lisa, there’s nothing to forgive,” Mia said, pulling back with a laugh. “You had no idea what was going on because no one told you.”
“Yeah, but I saw you were acting weird,” Lisa admitted. “I should have asked, but I was too busy chasing Stephane.”
She glared him out of the corner of her eye, telling him that he wasn’t off the hook yet with the role he had played in this drama. Stephane held his hands out in front of him, wordlessly telling her that he meant no harm, and she rolled her eyes at him.
“So?” Lisa asked finally, glancing between the two of them. “What happened between the two of you?”
“Stephane said he told you…” Mia started.
“Yes, he’s already told me what happened,” Lisa said impatiently. “But Stephane found you here, alone in the stables. You can’t tell me you guys haven’t talked in that time.”
“Oh!” Mia said, blushing. She smiled shyly and took Stephane’s hand again. “Yeah, we’ve spoken about it all and figured things out.”