Heaven Scent (39 page)

Still on his knees, Jerard was reading a text message. ‘Oh, that’s great news! That big deal I was telling you about? I got it, and it’s even better than I thought it would be. An incredible order.’

‘How wonderful,’ Leoni said, watching his eyes light up and feeling herself shut down in response.

Jerard tucked his phone in his pocket, his expression apologetic as he stood up. ‘It means I have to cut this lovely evening short, I’m afraid.’

‘Oh no!’ Leoni was crushed. Was he really going to walk out and leave her, just as things had been about to get interesting? What about her plans for them to sleep together? What about the way he had been about to ravish her? Or was that just in her head?

‘I’m really sorry,’ Jerard said, squeezing her hand. ‘But I have to get to the office. I need to get in touch with all my overseas contacts, particularly in Japan.’ He kissed Leoni again, touching the tip of her nose with his finger. ‘I know you’re the woman for me because you understand why it’s so important for me to address all the details now.’

Leoni’s shoulders drooped. ‘Yes, of course. Of course I understand. Business is . . . everything.’

‘Not everything,’ Jerard admonished. ‘There’s plenty of time for us, isn’t there? And I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’ Standing up, he looked down at her admiringly. ‘You really do look beautiful tonight, Leoni. I can’t wait for us to spend more time together.’ With an effort, she hid her disappointment and watched Jerard disappear into the night. How silly she was being, how selfish. This deal had been taking up all of Jerard’s time over the past few weeks; it was only natural that he would want to go into his office and sort everything out before morning. She’d do the same thing, wouldn’t she?

Leoni got to her feet and straightened her emerald-green dress. It was just a blip, that was all. Jerard had made it very clear he was serious about her and she was sure he would make it up to her as promised. This was a grown-up, meaningful relationship, Leoni berated herself, so it was about time she stopped holding out for silly declarations of love and accepted that Jerard wasn’t that way inclined.

Back inside the château, Ashton was feeling utterly destroyed. He helped himself to a large Scotch and did his best to cover his feelings when Xavier found him.

‘Xav . . . good to see you.’

‘You too, Ash.’ Xavier glanced at him, wondering why his old friend looked as though he’d been punched in the chest. ‘That looks good,’ he added, nodding at the drink and grabbing one for himself as a waitress went to pirouette past him. ‘Enjoying yourself?’

Ashton nodded, looking away. ‘Delphine’s done a wonderful job with the château.’

‘Hasn’t she?’ Xavier pulled a face. ‘Considering she didn’t even want to host this party in the first place, she’s certainly gone all out to invite flashy guests and lay on a lavish feast.’ He glanced over his shoulder casually, wondering when he could dash off to find Cat.

Ashton said nothing.

‘Have you seen Leoni?’ Xavier asked.

‘Yes, I’ve seen her. She was with her . . . her boyfriend.’

Xavier raised his eyebrows. ‘Jerard Monville? He’s even more work focused than Leoni. One of my old girlfriends dated him for a while, said he was sweet but more likely to make love to his laptop than her.’

‘Really?’ Ashton couldn’t even manage a smile. ‘They looked pretty loved up when I saw the pair of them in the garden just now. In fact, Jerard was down on one knee.’

Xavier was flabbergasted. ‘Proposing? No way! I don’t believe it, Ash. Jerard is not the settling type. Seriously, if you think I’m anti-commitment, Jerard is an absolute pro at it. He just likes to have a girlfriend to while away the hours with when Japan shuts down.’

Ashton looked unconvinced. He put his glass down on a nearby table. ‘If you’ll excuse me, Xav, I think I need some air.’

Xavier stared at him as he headed outside. So he was right. He had suspected for many years that Ashton was in love with Leoni but he had never breathed a word about it to anyone. Olivier had mentioned it once in passing, saying the pair of them would never end up together, and Xavier had fleetingly wondered if Olivier had deliberately kept them apart because he couldn’t stand the thought of his best friend and his sister hooking up. It would be just like Olivier to be so selfish; unless the world had revolved around him, he wasn’t happy.

Thinking about Olivier made Xavier remember Cat. He still couldn’t understand why someone as gorgeous and genuine as she was would have fallen for an egotistical idiot like Olivier but he reminded himself it was all in the past now. Olivier had hoodwinked many women who were intelligent and should have known better and Xavier realised how unfair he had been towards Cat about it.

Love at first sight . . . or perhaps at first kiss, Xavier told himself ruefully, clearly did happen. And lightning really did strike twice but this time . . . this time, he thought, going in search of Cat, it had well and truly pierced his heart.

Seraphina was feeling woozy as she waited in a deserted corner of the pool house. Her stomach was jumping around madly and even though she kept telling herself everything would be fine, she was finding it impossible to relax.

Why had she drunk so much? Instead of giving her courage, it was simply making her feel nauseous. Unlike Max, Seraphina wasn’t used to drinking alcohol; having consumed more than a bottle of champagne now, she was feeling distinctly queasy and it wasn’t helping the churning nerves in her stomach. She stood up and started pacing across the pool house in agitation, taking in deep breaths of fresh air.

Pull yourself together, Seraphina told herself sternly. It’s sex, what’s the big deal? Everyone does it. People younger than you have sex and don’t lose any sleep over it, so stop being such a baby. Get it over with and stop whining. It was just . . . was it right to have such shaky hands? Was she supposed to want to ‘get it over with’? Thinking of all the romantic films she’d seen, Seraphina wasn’t sure that was the sentiment they promoted but maybe the rose petals, patient men and candlelight were just a fantasy.

At least she had moonlight, she thought rather hysterically. That was almost as good as candlelight, right? Who needed rose petals? The deserted pool house, shut off from guests due to refurbishment, was just as good. Romantic props were for silly little children, not a sophisticated girl . . . no, a
woman
like her, Seraphina corrected herself. And as for patient men, in reality, weren’t they all full blooded and desperate for sex at any given minute of the day? Most magazines seemed to think so, which made even more of a mockery of the childish romance she’d been envisaging for her first time.

Drawing herself up to her full height and letting out a jerky breath, Seraphina made an effort to pull herself together. She had a gorgeous, older boyfriend who thought she was desirable and grown up. Everything was as it should be; she simply needed to find the courage to go through with something that was scaring her witless.

Looking up, she saw her boyfriend just outside the pool house. Wearing a suave but rather showy dinner suit, he looked sexy and mature. Seraphina’s stomach flipped over again.

‘Darling,’ he said, kissing her cheeks slowly and deliberately. His mouth brushed hers as he moved from side to side and he linked his fingers through hers. ‘You look . . . delectable,’ he murmured, dropping a kiss on to her bare shoulder. The midnight-blue silk dress fitted her perfectly, highlighting her height and slender curves. Seraphina looked like a young girl attending her first prom but the blend of sexual innocence and womanly knowing she conveyed was utterly irresistible. To a certain type of man. And Seraphina’s boyfriend was undoubtedly one of those men.

‘Th-thanks,’ she stammered, wishing once more that she hadn’t touched a single drop of champagne. She sat down on a lounger abruptly and her boyfriend took a seat next to her. He nuzzled her neck, pushing her back on the lounger slightly. In the moonlight, her pale skin looked flawless, like creamy alabaster. He ran a finger down her arm seductively.

‘Have you . . . thought any more about our conversation?’ he asked.

Seraphina trembled but managed a nod in response.

‘And?’ He lifted his head, meeting her eyes. His mouth curved up teasingly, expectantly, and Seraphina’s heart skipped a beat.

‘And . . . I’m . . . not sure.’ Remembering Cat’s words earlier, she tried to buy herself some time. Struggling to sit up, she pulled the strap of her dress back up and took a deep breath. ‘The thing is, I really want to do this but I’m not sure I’m ready.’ That was it in a nutshell; Seraphina really
did
want to do it. She wanted to get it over and done with so she never had to worry about it again and she was pretty sure she was in love with this man. It was just that . . .

He sat up with a look of regret. ‘I see.’ He shot his cuffs, somehow conveying his displeasure with the snappy gesture. ‘So you’re just a little girl after all.’ The chilly, impatient statement was like a reprimand; he had lost patience with her.

Seraphina felt tears pricking her eyes. ‘I’m not!’ she cried hotly. Her stomach lurched again. ‘I want to . . . I want you . . . I’m just . . . I’m sorry.’ She felt distraught, everything was unravelling. She didn’t want to lose him, not over something so stupid. Everyone did this! Still, Seraphina couldn’t explain why she felt so uneasy about it or why it suddenly felt so wrong. A tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away, embarrassed.

‘It’s up to you,’ he told her, seemingly unmoved by her emotional outburst. ‘There are any number of girls out there I could date, Seraphina. I chose you because I thought you were special.’ His eyes met hers unrepentantly. ‘I was wrong.’

Seraphina winced. Wasn’t this how her father always made her feel? That she should have been special but that somehow she wasn’t? Seraphina was sick and tired of being made to feel she wasn’t good enough, that she was some silly little girl who didn’t know what to do or how to behave. Impulsively grabbing her boyfriend’s hand, she placed it on her thigh.

‘You’re not wrong about me,’ she gulped. ‘I want this . . . I want you.’ Her eyes luminous in her face, she nodded. ‘I’m ready.’

‘Are you sure?’ He looked sceptical but he left his hand on her thigh.

Say it doesn’t matter, Seraphina pleaded with him silently. Say you don’t care and that you’d never leave me. Tell me you love me anyway, and that I’m special even without that . . . please . . .

He did nothing of the sort. Instead, he smiled and pulled her down on to the lounger. ‘This is going to be incredible,’ he whispered in her ear. He slid his hand under her silky dress, his fingers sliding up her calf.

Seraphina squirmed, as ever, finding his touch both frightening and seductive. Her breath came in short, jerky pants; she willed her fizzing stomach not to let her down.

‘You won’t regret it, Seraphina, I promise you,’ he murmured as he brushed his mouth against her exposed thigh.

Seraphina turned her head away as tears slid down her cheeks.

 

‘Have you seen Seraphina?’ Guy demanded as he bumped into Xavier in the garden.

Xavier started, taken aback by his father’s uncharacteristically scruffy appearance. His silver hair was in disarray and his tie was askew. ‘No, I haven’t. I was looking for Cat, actually.’ Noticing his father’s stricken expression, he frowned. ‘Why, is there a problem?’

Guy sighed. ‘I don’t know. No one’s seen her for hours and I’ve got this gut feeling something is wrong, Xav. Max is looking for her too.’

Xavier felt distinctly ill at ease. He remembered Max mentioning the boyfriend Seraphina was dating, someone much older than her, and his jaw tightened. Was Seraphina in danger? ‘I’ll help you find her,’ he said to his father.

Guy nodded. ‘Would you? Maybe try the stables. There’s Ashton. I’ll get him to help me look up here.’

Unable to find Seraphina anywhere, Max was tearing his hair out. After what Cat had told him about Seraphina’s plans with her boyfriend, all he could think was that he had to go after his twin and stop her. He knew Seraphina as well as he knew himself and deep down he was sure she wasn’t ready for this. She might think she was and she might act as though she was but Max knew better. Seraphina was soft and vulnerable and he couldn’t bear the thought of someone taking advantage of her. He could have kicked himself for ignoring the warning signs she had given him over the past few months.