by Chloe Blake
Nic heard his phone chime and slid his gaze to the text that popped onto his screen. It was from Maya.
You Bastard.
Nic smiled. His heart was jumping for joy. “It certainly does.”
Taking the red-eye from LAX, Maya touched down at Charles de Gaulle Airport in the morning, rented a car and checked into a hotel nowhere near Les Bains. She wanted to surprise Nic with a brilliant idea that would take this whole my company/your company thing off the table, but she needed to do some reconnaissance first. She’d seen the missed calls, but hadn’t checked her email. There was no time. This plan needed a well-thought-out strategy and an element of surprise, and she couldn’t do all of that looking like she’d just got off a plane. She checked into the hotel, showered and did her makeup in record time, then pulled out her battle suit of armor. Her Boss Red Dior pantsuit.
Black lace bustier and patent leather heels in place, soft waves of caramel-colored hair on fleek, Boss Red lips ready for anything, she followed her GPS to the jewelers where Nic had bought something mysterious. She knew it was usually store policy to keep customer information a secret, but she only needed a few small details, and by the looks of the old man, alone in the store with all of these lovely sparkling jewels, he needed someone to talk to.
“Bonjour, mademoiselle.”
“Bonjour, monsieur. Um, I’m in a bit of a bind. I hope you can help me. My boss came in the other day, Nicolas Rayo. He picked up a very special item.”
“Oh yes, the ring.” The jeweler smiled.
Maya’s heart almost beat out of her chest. “Yes...the ring.”
“It’s already been resold, lovely design. Unique, the couple said.”
Her heart stopped. He’d returned it. “Yes, it was lovely.” Even if it was on Daphne’s claw-like finger. “I think I was supposed to pick up the replacement today, but I seem to have lost the receipt.” Her dumb-assistant act wasn’t all an act; she really had no idea how ordering engagement rings worked.
The jeweler’s face reddened. “Replacement? I have no order for a replacement.” The man pulled out a giant book and began leafing through the pages. Wide-eyed, he adjusted his glasses. “Nothing. Oh, la vache, something seems to be amiss. I showed him several fine replacements, but he passed. Changed his mind, he said.”
The only thing amiss was her self-respect. “You know, I’m just going to bite the bullet and ask him about this receipt.” She began to walk toward the door.
“I’ll be happy to call him for you.”
“No! No, don’t do that. I’ll get this sorted.”
“Well, if he decides to go through with his proposal, tell him I’ll give him a good price.”
Maya gave the man a defeated smile. “Good to know.”
She believed that ring had been for her, but hearing that he’d changed his mind kind of ruined her world, and put a giant hole in her strategy. She walked slowly back to her car, buying a crepe, then checking her emails on her phone.
Her mouth was full of Nutella when she spotted an email from James T. Bauer, Esq. She clicked on the screen:
Dear Miss North Belcourt,
This letter is to inform you that Luca Nicolas Rayo Dechamps has filed a lawsuit against you claiming full rights to the Par Le Bouquet vineyard and brokerage and charging you with the misappropriation of company funds for personal gain, such as spa appointments, personal clothing shopping and personal travel expenses. A more detailed document has been mailed to you. Please have your legal representation call our office once received.
Good Day,
James T. Bauer, Esq.
Maya almost choked on her crepe. It couldn’t be real. She paced back and forth, disrupting the pedestrian flow of lunchtime traffic. He wouldn’t! Although, he did change his mind about the proposal.
“That bastard!” she said aloud, scaring a couple on the street. She had a mind to barge into James’s office, but he would just claim he was serving his client. It wouldn’t have satisfied her anyway. She wanted Nic’s head on a platter, and the only way to get that was to see him in person.
She hurried to her car and dialed his number, then cut it off. No, she didn’t want to waste all of her screaming over the phone. Instead, she sent a simple, elegant text: You Bastard. Then she sped off toward the vineyard.
Chapter 19
Nic and Claude were finishing up their tasting when Nic heard a door slam shut with a loud bang.
“Nathan?” he called out, glancing at the doorway.
A woman’s heels on the wood floors could be heard in the hallway, and he got nervous that Daphne had come to be with her father. The footsteps got closer, then Maya rounded the corner in a blur of red, black and caramel, her red lips square with anger. She stopped just inside the threshold of the room, and suddenly no one else existed but her.
“It’s not Nathan,” Claude said, wide eyed.
“You’re suing me?” she shouted.
“What’s happened?” Nathan appeared. “Maya!” he said, excited.
Maya’s narrowed gaze darted back and forth. “Hello, Nathan. Claude. Claude?” She hit Nic with an accusing look. “Claude, the vineyard isn’t for sale.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” Claude grinned, then turned to Nic, a knowing look in his gaze. He turned back to Maya. “I hope the grapes are still available?”
“Oh, yes, you can have those,” she said with an offhanded wave. “Nic, I’d like a word. In my office.” She turned on a shiny heel, and Nic began to follow, pretty sure he’d follow her anywhere. He stalled when he realized that Claude was still there.
“You’re smiling,” Claude said.
Surprised, Nic fixed his face, then couldn’t help but smile wider.
“Try to keep it under wraps until she’s done yelling at you. Trust me,” Claude said.
Nic nodded. “You can see your way out, yes?”
“Of course,” his old friend said. “Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.” Nic turned to Nathan. “We may need a mediator.”
Nathan grimaced and crossed his arms.
Maya was standing still and beautiful across the room, in the same spot where he had almost made love to her. Her gaze was heated, her mouth slightly pursed. His plan had worked better than he’d hoped. She was ready to do battle, and it was turning him on. She licked her lips and his body reacted.
“I’m going to destroy you,” she said, her anger like music. He was certain sparks flew from her eyes. Magical.
“How did you get here so fast?”
“I was already on my way back. This isn’t funny!”
He was smiling again. “You were coming back? Nathan said—”
“I don’t care what Nathan said! You and that lawyer are not going to get away with this. Jen might conduct business meetings in her pajamas, but that woman is a beast!”
Nic raised his voice to match hers, his tone neutral. “Nathan said you were on a job interview in Los Angeles.”
“I was. Stop changing the subject.”
“You have a job here.”
“That you are trying to take from me!”
“I’m not suing you,” he said in a low voice. He stepped forward slowly.
“Excuse me? Would you like to see the email I just received?”
“You weren’t answering my calls.”
Her eyes flashed. “Ditto,” she spit, then her gaze hit the floor. She bit her lip, then met his eyes. “You disappeared. And then the only communication I got was this? Why would you do this to me? I thought...”
He hurried forward and pulled her into his arms, his face inches from hers. “You thought what?”
She blinked, her gaze searching his, then dropping to his lips. He felt her hand caress his arm. “I thought maybe...” Her gaze darted around the room, then came to focus on him. “I had every intention of
signing over the shares, Nic. But honestly, the minute I took the pen, I had doubts. I know you deserve it more than I do, but it’s all I have of him. You know what I mean?”
“I do,” he said, wanting so badly to kiss her. He leaned closer, his head dipping toward her mouth.
“And then you do this!” She hit him and wriggled from his grasp to stand by the desk. “Listen to me right now. This is mine and I’m not giving it up.”
“Good. Don’t.”
She paused. “You’re not making sense.”
“You’re not letting me talk.” She opened her mouth, then closed it. Gestured with a raised brow for him to continue. “I was upset at the outcome of the meeting, but not for the reasons that you think. I’d gone to Spain to get my thoughts together. I wasn’t avoiding you—okay, maybe I was a little—but I wasn’t angry with you. I’ve never been angry with you.”
“Then why this?” She held up her phone, then tossed it on the desk.
“When I came back you were gone, and you weren’t returning my calls, so I needed to get your attention.” He walked to stand just in front of her. “I needed you here.” He gently ran a finger down a tendril of her hair. “And here you are. You look beautiful, by the way.”
Her gaze was wide. She swallowed and sat on the edge of the desk. “So this was a joke?”
“Call it a ruse.”
She smirked. “You’re not suing me.”
“No, I’m not.” He straightened and slid his hands in his pockets. “But if you’re taking jobs in LA, then I might have to.”
A smile peeked out from under her frown. “I’m not taking jobs in LA.”
He bent forward and grasped the desktop, placing his arms on either side of her. “Still want to destroy me?”
She ran her hands up his arms. “Not at this particular moment.”
“Then what are your plans, Mademoiselle North? You came back for something. What was it?”
* * *
Nic’s playful gaze roamed over her face, and his lips were on the verge of a smirk. How was she supposed to think when he was this close, looking this good? No distractions! He was a man, and her idea could send him into a cold sweat. That was why she had to be methodical in the negotiations, make him think it was his idea. She’d been pretty sure he’d at least thought about it, but after this morning, she wasn’t so certain.
“Remember when we had that business meeting and I took your shares?” She heard his inner sigh. He pulled back his arms and stood, his eyes narrow. “I’d like to give them back to you.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You want me to buy my shares back?”
“No, I have a business proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“The kind that makes things really clear. No special clauses. No strange reviews. What’s mine will be yours...and vice versa,” she added quickly. His mouth turned down as he tried to follow along. “You were right—I can’t run this business from LA. And I can’t run it without you. I know nothing about wine or agriculture. And like you said, this was your father’s, too. You deserve this business more than I do—”
“Maya, I don’t want—”
“I know, you say you don’t want the business. But I don’t think that’s really true, or else you would have let it crumble years ago. You want ownership, you want the right to make decisions, you want to turn this business around. I know you do. I saw it at Dechamps.”
Nic dropped his arms and slid his hands into his pockets, his gaze intent on her. “What are you saying?”
“Nic, do you care about me?” Her heart was pounding. What if he said no, what if he laughed, what if...
“Of course I do. Very, very much.”
She smiled into his softened gaze, trying to ignore the fact that he hadn’t said the words she’d hoped for. “I care about you, too.” She licked her lips. “I think I might even lo—”
The door whipped open and Nathan stood in the threshold. “I was just making sure you hadn’t killed him.”
“Not now!” Nic shouted.
“Out!” Maya screamed at the same time. Wide eyed, Nathan closed the door behind him and Nic grabbed the knob and locked it. Which was good, because when he heard what she was about to say, there would be nowhere for him to run.
“Please, continue,” Nic said, his gaze expectant.
Maya paused, unable to get her mojo back. She switched gears. It was negotiation time. “Nic, do you want the shares or not?”
“I’d like to be your partner, if you’ll have me.”
“I’m glad you said that.” She paced, then stopped. “Because I think the best way to solidify our partnership is marriage.”
Nic stilled, his eyes fixed on her for a long moment.
“Did you hear me?”
He swallowed, then blinked. It was worse than she thought.
“Nic?” she continued in measured tones. “I know this is unconventional, but if you think about it from a business perspective, it’s a good deal.”
“You just proposed to me,” Nic stated as if in shock.
“Yeah. I did.”
“Do you love me?” he asked.
Maya nodded slowly, afraid he was going to keel over. “Yeah. I do.” He blinked some more. “I didn’t just come back for the business. I missed you.”
He was across the room, unlocking the door and rushing out into the hall before she knew what was happening.
“Where are you going!” Maya hurried after him, trying to catch his long stride to no avail. “Hey! I just proposed to you!”
At Maya’s statement, Nathan whipped his head around and watched first Nic then Maya disappear up the stairs toward the bedrooms.
Maya’s black heels struggled to keep up while Nic took the stairs two at a time. He took a sharp left into his bedroom, leaving the door open. “You know what,” she called out in a labored breath as she reached the top of the stairs. “Never mind. Clearly it was a bad idea,” she huffed, walking toward his bedroom. He still wasn’t saying anything. “You could have just said no. I’m perfectly happy running this business by...my...self!”
Maya entered his room and stopped short. There was Nic, on one knee, holding an open velvet box. A gold ring glittered on its black pillow.
Her hand flew to her throat and tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Nic took a deep breath. “I couldn’t stop you from taking over the business, but I won’t let you take this proposal away from me.” He smiled, making her lips curve upward even as she continued to tear up. “I’ve had a ring in my pocket for you since the night of the casino. We know how that went. This ring is my grandmother’s. That’s why I went to Spain. When you left, I had to do something dramatic to get you back.” Nic took a breath and swallowed hard. “Maya Elizabeth North Belcourt. Will you do me the honor of entering into a lifetime partnership with me?”
Maya wiped at her eyes and nose, her heart racing as she looked at her future husband. “Is this just to get my shares?” she mumbled through tears.
He stood and brought the ring closer to her. “You told me you didn’t know wine, you knew people. What does your heart tell you?”
“My heart tells me that this proposal is way better than the one I just attempted.”
They laughed as he took her hand and slid the princess-cut diamond onto her finger. “This ring is our life contract. I promise to love you forever. I hope you can do the same.”
She played with the beautiful but unfamiliar object on her hand and felt a swell of emotion fill her soul. She met his gaze. “You really love me?”
His dark eyes were earnest. “I think I loved you the day you started grilling me on expenses.” He took her in his arms and stroked her hair away from her face. “There is nothing sexier than hearing you talk profit and loss.”
She grinned and wrapped
her arms around his neck. “Well then, wait until you hear about my ideas for our brokerage.”
“Our brokerage,” he repeated. “I told you those shares were going to be mine,” he teased. “I just didn’t think I’d get such a good deal.” He kissed her gently, then pulled back to hover over her lips. “So that’s a oui?”
“Hell yes, that’s a oui,” she whispered, taking his lips with hers again. “I knew I loved you the day you let me negotiate with Armand. When you put your trust in me, I feel like I can do anything.”
“You can do anything. I’ve seen it.”
“But only because you support me. I’ve always been ambitious, but I’ve never felt so confident as with you beside me. You’re focused and steadfast when it comes to your work. You have a passion for the vineyard that you mask as an obligation. You are committed to running the best hotel in Paris and I’ve never seen anyone do it better. And not once, even when you questioned what I was doing, even when you weren’t sure you liked me, did you try to stop me. You gave me a seat next to you at the table, even though I hadn’t earned it. Thank you for that.”
He inhaled deeply. “You think you didn’t earn it? That seat was yours the minute you walked into my life. You are fire and energy, taking no prisoners on your quest to rule the world. You’re an inspiration to me.”
She tightened her grip. “Maybe just one prisoner.”
“And that wicked sense of humor.” He grinned.
Maya smiled through a few more happy tears. “We’re going to be happy.”
Nic ran his hands down her body and lifted her just off the floor. “We are happy.” He walked them to the bed and gently laid her underneath him.
“Do you think Nathan will approve?” she asked against his mouth, then sighed as his lips found her throat.
“I think Nathan will be making mini croissants for our wedding.”
“Which will be in the vineyard, by the way,” Maya said as she rolled them both so she was on top. He pushed her jacket off to bare her strapless black bustier. “The pictures will be an amazing marketing tool.”
He sat up and shrugged out of his own shirt, then kissed the swell of her breasts. “I love it when you talk dirty.”