She felt like such a phony. Heck, she was a professional phony. It was her job to smile and make polite conversation with people she would just as soon never see again.
At last he released his grip on her hand, and it shook as she took it back.
“I was so sorry to hear about your husband.” His deep measured voice sounded sincere. “A terrible tragedy.”
“Yes. We hope to bring the killers to justice.” This was getting more awkward by the second. Then she remembered her daughter! “This is my daughter Callista. She lives and works here in Paris.”
Now he seized Callista’s hand in both of his, then brought it to his lips and kissed it. Callista looked like she was about to pass out with delight. Luckily, he let her daughter have her hand back right away. “I’m so pleased to meet you. I can see you have your mother’s beauty.”
Callista wasn’t usually the blushing type, but her cheeks grew pink. Lina wanted to laugh. She’d probably looked much the same the first time Amadou swept her off her feet with his practiced charm. “I’ve been a huge fan of yours for years. I have all your albums.”
“She bought our tickets as a birthday present for me,” offered Lina, keen to offer an innocuous conversational gambit. She didn’t want him thinking it was her idea to come here tonight.
“Today is your birthday?” He frowned at Lina. “No. Your birthday is Tuesday. May ninth.”
“I can’t believe you remember.” Uh-oh, they were wading into dangerous territory here. “It’s been a long time. More than thirty years.”
Callista’s expression revealed that she’d figured out they were more than acquaintances. “How exactly do you two know each other?”
A slow smile tilted one corner of Amadou’s expressive mouth. “It’s a long story. Perhaps we can tell it to your daughter over dinner?”
“No!” the word shot out of Lina’s mouth. “I mean, it’s late. She has a big meeting tomorrow.”
“Just you, then. My favorite restaurant is only steps away, and I’m always starving after a concert. I’ll be deeply offended if you don’t join me.” Just enough humor shone in his dark eyes to suggest—at least to others—that he was joking.
But she knew he wasn’t joking. If she turned him down, she’d give him yet another reason to never forgive her.
“Go on, Mom. You can walk back to your hotel afterward. It’s so close.”
“I’ll escort your mother back safely,” assured Amadou, already looking confident. “Just give me a few moments to change. Mustafa, please look after Mme. Leone while I shower.” He disappeared into an anteroom. This might have been a good moment to make a speedy exit if it weren’t for Mustafa and the still-gathered throng now talking among themselves in more than one language.
Trapped, she made awkward conversation about nothing with Callista and smiled grimly at Mustafa, who looked very suspicious of her and the whole situation. As well he might.
In less than two minutes Amadou emerged dressed in black pants and a bright white shirt, also slightly damp but this time with fresh water from the shower. He toweled off his hair and looked relieved that she was still there.
This was so weird, being backstage while he showered. Far too intimate. He never had been the type to stand on ceremony, but still. He pulled on some sharp-looking leather shoes and placed a dark fedora onto his head. Then he extended his arm.
Lina gulped, then took it. How could she not?
Callista stared. Lina could tell that her daughter would have stayed up all night and missed her meeting if she thought for even one second that she’d be welcome at this dinner. But she knew she wasn’t, and so did everyone else there.
Amadou had claimed her.
Again.
The Princess and the Player is available now.
Explore the Royal House of Leone series:
The King’s Bought Bride (Darias and Emma)
A Prince for Christmas (Free short story with Sandro and Serena’s first encounter)
The Prince’s Secret Baby (Sandro and Serena)
The Princess’s Scandalous Affair (Beatriz and Lorenzo)
The Princess and the Player (Lina and Amadou)
Taming the Royal Beast (Rigo and Bella)
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Copyright © 2017 by Jennifer Lewis
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Published 2017 by Mangrove
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Princess's Scandalous Affair (Royal House of Leone Book 4) Page 21