Tempt Me at Midnight (22 page)

“Asha! I didn’t know you were in Paris.”

Asha chuckled. “Darling,” she said, greeting Lexi with a double-cheek kiss, “when am I
not
in Paris?”

“Right. Of course.” Asha’s international haute couture house was headquartered there. She somehow managed to divide her time between Atlanta, New York and Paris—

and still keep Sterling happy.

She arched a fine brow at the blouse Lexi was holding. “Is there a reason you’re browsing through the maternity racks?”

Lexi blushed deeply. “I—I was just, um, looking around,” she stammered, clumsily hanging up the blouse. “Everything you design is absolutely gorgeous.”

Asha gave her a knowing smile, then took her hand and led her through the busy boutique to a private, luxurious reception area in the back. With barely a snap of her fingers, an assistant materialized out of thin air bearing two glasses of champagne on a silver tray.

“So, Alexis, are you enjoying your stay in Paris?” Asha asked, gesturing her to join her on an elegant silk sofa.

“Very much.” Lexi smiled as she sat down. “It
is
Paris.”

“Mmm. The last time you were here, you were moping over Quentin because he’d called to say he couldn’t make it for New Year’s.” Asha smiled faintly. “And here you are again,
chère
, moping over Quentin.”

Lexi flushed, averting her gaze to take a gulp of wine.

“He’s not faring much better,” Asha told her. “Michael says Quentin has become such a workaholic that even Marcus is worried. He says Quentin is often the first one at the office, and sometimes he’s still there the next morning when Marcus returns.” She heaved a dramatic sigh. “Looks like the hard-partying, skirt-chasing scoundrel we once knew and loved is no more.”

Lexi said nothing.

After another moment, Asha said gently, “You don’t belong in Paris, Alexis. You belong in Atlanta with Quentin. Or have you already forgotten my New Year’s toast?”

That startled a laugh out of Lexi. “I haven’t forgotten it,” she said dryly. “I doubt that any of your guests have.”

“Well, darling, I hope
they’re
doing a better job of fulfilling it than you are.”

Lexi’s smile faded, and she let out a shaky breath. “It’s complicated.”

“Love always is.” Asha took a languid sip of wine. “How’s your mother doing?”

Lexi swallowed. “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her in months.” She’d ignored all her mother’s attempts to reach her, even when Carlene had left tearful, rambling messages begging Lexi to return home. She wasn’t ready to let her mother back into her life. She didn’t know if she ever would be.

Watching the play of emotions across her face, Asha murmured, “Your mother is a bitter, ignorant woman—”

Lexi bristled defensively. “Now hold on—”

“—who happens to love you very much,” Asha finished quietly.

Surprised, Lexi stared at her.

Asha smiled ruefully. “We’re not so very different, your mother and I. We both made the mistake of trusting the wrong men, and we allowed our mistakes to define the type of mothers we would become.” She paused. “Someday you should ask Samara about the history of our relationship. Ask her how she found it in her heart to forgive me for abandoning her.”

Lexi regarded Asha for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I will.”

“Good.” Asha touched her cheek. “Have you been back to Burgundy?”

Lexi shook her head. “I can’t,” she whispered.

Asha gave her a gentle, intuitive smile. “That’s the thing about memories,
chère
.

They follow you wherever you go. But not just the bad ones. The good ones, too.”

H
is was the first face she searched for when she arrived at the party.

When she found him, her heart skidded to a complete stop.

He was playing with Savannah, gently hefting her into the air and making goofy faces at her. The baby’s delighted gurgles and squeals blended with his deep, rumbling laughter, a sound that was pure music to Lexi’s starved ears.

Drawing a deep breath to shore up her courage, she started across the crowded room, which was filled with friends and family members who had gathered to celebrate Sterling’s sixty-seventh birthday. Even as Lexi exchanged smiles and greetings, she kept her gaze trained on Quentin.

As she neared him, he turned and gently handed the baby to his mother, who’d been standing beside him awaiting her turn to hold Savannah.

From across the room, someone called out a boisterous greeting to Lexi. Quentin glanced up sharply, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. When he saw Lexi, those hazel eyes widened in surprise.

They stared at each other for the space of three breathless heartbeats before his expression grew shuttered and he glanced away.

As Lexi approached on rubbery legs, Georgina Reddick beamed a smile at her.

“Alexis! Welcome home!”

Lexi smiled warmly. “Hello, Mrs. Reddick. It’s good to see you.” She hugged her, then kissed the top of Savannah’s curly head before meeting Quentin’s remote gaze.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Alexis,” he murmured.

No smile, no hug for her. She might as well have been a stranger.

Seeking to cover the awkward moment, Georgina grinned at Lexi. “I know this is your goddaughter, but I’ve been patiently waiting to get my turn to hold her, so you can’t have her yet.”

Lexi laughed. “That’s okay,” she said, affectionately kissing the baby’s chubby fist.

“I spent the day with Reese and Michael yesterday, so Savvy and I already had our bonding time.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Quentin’s face.

Lexi had asked their friends not to tell him that she was back in town, because she was afraid that he’d skip the party just to avoid seeing her.

“How was Paris?” Georgina asked her.

“Good. But I—”

“Excuse me.” Quentin abruptly departed.

Lexi watched him go, her heart constricting painfully.

Her gaze returned to Georgina, who was regarding her with gentle maternal compassion. “I’m glad you’re back, Alexis,” she said quietly.

“Me too,” Lexi whispered.

Georgina searched her face. “Are you staying?”

Lexi nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.” Georgina smiled down at the adorable, gurgling baby perched on her hip.

“I’m ready to be a grandmother. Catch my drift?”

Lexi swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”

And with that, she went in search of Quentin, hoping and praying that he hadn’t given up on her.

She found him outside in the gazebo that overlooked the huge, beautifully landscaped backyard. He stood at the balustrade staring out at the light drizzle that had kept the party indoors. He looked incredible, Lexi thought with an ache of deep longing.

Breathtakingly virile in a black T-shirt and dark jeans that rode low on his hips, he was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

Pausing in the entrance to the gazebo, Lexi shoved her moist palms into the back pockets of her jeans. “Mind if I come in?”

“Free country,” he murmured without turning his head.

She stepped forward, shaking with nerves. She could feel the tension radiating from his body, warning her to keep her distance. Leaning against one of the support columns, she gazed at him.

“I missed you,” she said, husky with emotion.

He didn’t respond.

“Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you, wondering what you were doing, wondering what kind of cases you were working on, wondering what you ate for dinner. I missed cooking for you, I missed talking and laughing with you. I
missed
you.”

He remained silent and impenetrable.

She forged ahead. “I had to leave, Quentin. I know it was hard for you—”

His head whipped around.
“Hard?”
he growled, his voice vibrating with suppressed fury. “You ripped my heart out of my damn chest and dangled it in front of my face.
Hard,
”

he said mockingly, all but spitting the word at her feet before he turned away again.

She trembled at his harsh outburst, but she didn’t back down. Too much was at stake. “Do you remember when I went to New York to attend culinary school? I was so excited because you’d been accepted into Columbia’s law school, so that meant we’d still be together. But then you decided to go to Emory instead so you could keep an eye on your mother. I was so disappointed, but I understood and supported your decision.”

A muscle clenched in his jaw. “It’s not the same thing, and you know it.”

“That’s not the point I was trying to make.” She took a tentative step toward him.

“When I left for Paris, I told myself that we could make it work. I kept reminding myself that our friendship hadn’t suffered while I was in New York and you were here. We were apart for a whole year, but we spoke on the phone every day. Whenever you’d gripe about some class that was kicking your butt, I’d make you laugh with a story about an embarrassing blunder I’d made at cooking school. And whenever I had doubts about whether I had the chops to become a chef, you’d encourage me and remind me what a great cook I was.” She smiled poignantly. “We were always there for each other, so I knew we’d be okay.”

Quentin fell silent again.

“That’s what I counted on when I made the heart-wrenching decision to leave you and go to Paris. And make no mistake about it, Quentin. It was the hardest decision I’ve
ever
made in my life. If you don’t believe that, then maybe you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.”

He shot her a dark glance that warned her not to pursue that line of thinking.

Her heart thumped into her throat. She swallowed tightly before continuing, “While I was in Paris, I did a lot of praying and soul searching. And one day I realized something.

All these years, I’d always believed that my mother was the reason I came back to Atlanta after graduating from culinary school. I always thought I’d returned home out of a sense of obligation to her, and that same obligation was keeping me here.” She shook her head slowly. “But I was wrong. It was you, Quentin.
You’re
the reason I rushed back home all those years ago. And
you’re
the reason I’ve stayed.”

She watched, breathless, as he bowed his head and gripped the balustrade with trembling hands.

“I looked in the mirror,” she continued softly, tears misting her eyes, “and I asked myself what I was doing in Paris when my heart was here with you. I
love
you. And it scares me to realize that maybe, just maybe, some of Adam’s fears were founded. I’m not excusing his deplorable behavior, but the truth is that I’ve
always
loved you, Quentin. I don’t know if I’ve been in denial all these years, or genuinely clueless. But my eyes are open now, sweetheart. And the greatest gift you could have ever given me was that kiss on the bal—”

He whirled suddenly, reaching her in two powerful strides and hauling her roughly into his arms. Her heart soared to the sky and she clung to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as tears of joy and relief streamed down her face.

“I love you,
love
you,” Quentin whispered hoarsely. “Don’t ever leave me again!”

“I won’t!” she promised.

He hugged her tightly, then cradled her tear-streaked face between his hands and gazed fervently into her eyes. “I’ve always loved you, Lex. I wish to
God
I’d figured it out before you married another man. That was one of the worst days of my life!”

Her heart swelled with raw emotion. “I should have known that day how I truly felt about you,” she confessed. “The moment I stepped through the church doors and started searching for you, I should have
known.
”

Quentin groaned, his mouth covering hers with fierce, tender urgency. They kissed as though their very lives depended on it, pouring years of secret longing and passion into the kiss.

Drawing back slightly, Quentin rested his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes, into her soul. “Help me make this right, sweetness,” he said in an achingly husky voice. “Say you’ll marry me.”

Smiling through her tears, Lexi reached up and cupped his warm cheek in her palm.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Whooping with triumphant elation, Quentin lifted her into his arms and spun her around before capturing her lips in another deep, searing kiss that was eventually interrupted by the sound of applause.

Mouths parting reluctantly, they glanced toward the house. A crowd of their friends, Georgina Reddick and several other guests had gathered on the veranda, their faces wreathed in wide, delighted grins as they watched the emotional reunion.

“I
told
you Q would be next,” Michael crowed to an incredulous Percy Sheldon.

“Now pay up.”

Laughter swept over the veranda.

“So are we having another garden wedding,” Asha called out merrily, “or do you lovebirds have somewhere else in mind?”

Lexi and Quentin looked at each other and smiled. “Burgundy.”

Three months later

E
verything was perfect.

The weather was glorious. The hills surrounding the château were covered with fields of lavender that perfumed the air, mingled with the scent of ripe grapes wafting from the lush vineyards. Flowers bloomed in the beautifully manicured garden, where three hundred guests were gathered.

The flower girls sprinkled a trail of roses and anemones in honor of the bride’s favorite print, a gift from the groom. Ring bearers Matthew and Malcolm Wolf drew adoring sighs and chuckles from the crowd as they strutted down the aisle. The gorgeous dresses worn by the bridesmaids—Reese, Samara, Raina, and Summer Austin—elicited hearty murmurs of approval.

An awed hush swept over the garden when the bride made her entrance, radiant in a strapless princess gown fashioned out of white appliquéd silk. Handkerchiefs were fumbled out of purses and dabbed at watery eyes.

Everything was perfect.

But as Lexi started down the aisle on Sterling’s arm, she only had eyes for Quentin.

Not only was he devastatingly handsome in a custom-made Armani tuxedo, but the worshipful look in his eyes took her breath away. Over the years they had laughed and cried together, and fought like there was no tomorrow. But in Quentin’s eyes she saw a
lifetime
of tomorrows, glorious days filled with joy and fiery passion. She saw the promise of the children they would bring into the world together. And most of all, she saw
love.
A deep, unshakable love that would sustain them through whatever trials life brought their way.