A Deceptive Attraction: The Wilsons, Book 3 (13 page)

Violet nodded. She had already absolved Colette of any blame in the matter. She had only wanted to help her brother and get her hands on some beautiful clothes.

“I lost control of the operation,” Leon continued. “The SEC has authority in your country and I don’t, so I had to let Hugh run the show. If I had failed to show up with you at the reception, I would have lost my job. I thought I could solve the problem by not letting you out of my sight, but in the end it was a plumbing failure.”

“Yes,” Violet laughed. “You had to use the men’s room.”

“Exactly. The rest you already know.” Leon drew a deep breath. “Violet, my conscience has tormented me since you left me in New York. I have a high-ranking position with ESMA. With a bit of foresight, I could have prevented this.”

“Leon,” Violet said, gently stroking his arm. “I already accepted your apology. Now I have the explanation I was looking for. You made a mistake, but people make mistakes. You’ve done a lot of good in your job. Don’t let it trouble you anymore.”

Leon looked into her eyes. “My mistake was in mixing business with pleasure. When I first saw you on the street that morning in SoHo, it was a coup de foudre. In English, that literally means, ‘hit by thunder.’ I had never seen a woman so beautiful and so sure of herself. I was in the wrong because I saw Hugh’s sting operation as an opportunity to get to know you and spend time with you. In the end, that hurt us both.”

He tightened his embrace around her. “You might have wondered what Colette and I were discussing in French after lunch today,” he said. “This morning ESMA granted my request for a transfer out of their undercover division. Lying to people is no longer my job. I have been undercover for over three years. That is an eternity in this line of work. After my testimony that you read about in Le Monde, I was too well known in Paris to be effective, so they sent me to work on Wall Street until my time was up. It seems that crooked traders in America cannot read French newspapers.” He laughed. “Stupid crooks are everywhere.”

Violet laughed too. “My brother always says the same thing.” She thought of her family and wondered what they would think of Leon when she took him home to meet them.

Leon sat up and looked into her eyes. “At least one good thing came out of my visit to New York,” he said.

“And what was that?”

Leon rested his cheek against hers. “I met you,” he whispered in her ear.

He kissed her. This time the kiss was deep, and it didn’t let up. When it finished, Violet’s face was flushed.

She looked around, certain that everyone was watching them, but no one was. In Paris, lovers kissing in public in broad daylight were as common as rain and sun. She would have to get accustomed to Leon’s public displays of affection.

“I am so glad I met you,” Leon said. “I realized after you left me that I have fallen in love with you.”

“I love you, Violet,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “I hope that one day you will forgive me for what I did to you, and that you will love me too.”

Violet’s heart leaped for joy. “I love you too, Leon, and of course I forgive you.”

There, she had said it, the feeling she had stuffed into a dark corner in the two excruciating weeks after she left Leon at the hotel and tried to forget him. It had just come out by itself. She had tried to pretend it wasn’t there, but there was no suppressing it, not when the man she wanted was sitting in front of her, asking for her love and forgiveness.

“Stay here with me in Paris until September,” Leon said. “We must get to know each other better so we can plan our future. And you must get to know Paris. I think you will find it quite to your liking.”

“I can’t,” Violet protested. “I have to run my shop.”

“Your seamstress seems very capable,” Leon remarked. “I’m sure she can hire someone to help her. I am not asking you to do this only for selfish reasons, Violet. Think of your work as well. The outfit you are designing for Colette is only the beginning. My sister is well connected on both sides of the Atlantic. Your designs will take Europe by storm, and you will need to be here so you can meet and greet the women who will be your new clients.”

“There’s something else,” he continued. “I hope that you and Colette will become friends.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon walking the streets of Paris, then took a cab back to her hotel and made love. After dinner they went out dancing, returned to the hotel, and made love again.

Lying securely in his arms in the dark with her head pillowed comfortably on his shoulder, Violet realized her friends and family had been right all along.

It was time for her to take risks and grow.

Chapter 20

The mid-morning Provence sun warmed Violet’s bare arms as she settled back in her comfortable chair, sipped a glass of red wine, and admired the gorgeous garden that surrounded her. The days warmed up quickly here in the south of France, and by early afternoon she would have to retreat to the cool darkness of the Girard family cottage.

She might even take a nap.

Violet looked down at her left hand and enjoyed the way the sun glanced off the diamond engagement ring she was wearing. The facets glittered so brightly that when she closed her eyes, she could still see the spots dancing against her eyelids.

It had all worked out so well. Colette had secured her a limited lease on a small apartment near her own in Paris, and Violet had stayed there until September, just as Leon had asked her to. They had been together every day, and she had grown so familiar with his state of mind that she could almost predict his every move.

Almost. She hadn’t expected him to propose to her the day before she was to board a plane bound for Kennedy Airport in New York City.

They had been sitting on a park bench along the Seine on a warm, sunny fall day. Lovers strolled past, lost in their own romantic murmurings. Leon had actually knelt before her and took her hand before asking her, “Violet, will you marry me?” He had been so earnest. In fact, she could swear he was trembling. In all of her years living in New York, she had never once seen a man kneel in front of a woman to propose to her.

Of course she said yes.

There were arrangements to be made. Without a shred of regret, Violet contracted to sell Daylily to Troyesha on a long-term payment plan that her seamstress could afford. Their agreement set up Daylily as the exclusive supplier to Violet’s new couture design firm, which she based in New York City with offices in Paris. Colette had spread the word and clients were clamoring for her work on both sides of the Atlantic. Troyesha had expanded the shop and hired two additional seamstresses to take care of the tailoring and cash register while she concentrated on bringing Violet’s designs to life. The shop was in good hands.

Leon had kept his job with ESMA but had transferred out of undercover work and was now in upper-level management. His nearly flawless English had given him enough leverage
with the agency to arrange to work part of the year in New York and the other part in Paris. After discussing the possibilities, he had agreed with Violet that they should keep her apartment on the Upper West Side to use when they were in Manhattan. A quick consult with Max’s accounting firm told her the place would be an easy tax deduction for her company, since its home offices were based in New York.

Violet had called Max the day after Leon told her he was an undercover investigator for ESMA and unraveled the mystery for her brother. Max had laughed when she mentioned that Hugh Steffans was undercover for the SEC.

“Typical cop,” he said. “Thinks he’s a genius, and maybe he is compared to the people he’s trying to catch, but that’s not saying much. Anyway, he’s been wasting the taxpayers’ money. Zetta Holdings has nothing to hide.”

On their first visit back to the States, Violet had taken Leon to Sunday brunch at their parents’ home upstate. His European manners had impressed her family from the moment he entered the house, and Max had whispered, “Nice work there, Vi,” in her ear when he thought no one was listening.

Yes, it had all worked out perfectly.

“Ah, Violet, your work ethic is suffering greatly since you came to Provence.”

She hadn’t heard Leon come up behind her, but she was too relaxed to be startled. His voice was as smooth and soothing as ever.

Without opening her eyes, she lifted her face to accept his kiss. “And yours has suffered damage as well, Monsieur,” she teased back.

He kissed her again, longer this time, with a hint of fire. Greedily, Violet returned the kiss and felt the familiar heat that coursed through her body whenever Leon touched her.

He straightened up, their eyes locked together, as if daring each other to take things further. After a moment, Leon reached for the wine bottle, refilled her glass, and poured one for himself.

“Perhaps a nap later?” he suggested. “Mademoiselle might be sleepy by the afternoon.”

“Indeed she might,” Violet said lazily.

“I will need to grow accustomed to calling you madame after we are married.”

“
And I will need to stop drinking wine before noon long enough to design some dresses,” Violet replied.

She was designing her own wedding gown and had already ordered the beadwork from her secret source in New York. She still had to create the dresses for her wedding party, but they would go quickly. Her sister Amelia was her maid of honor, and Troyesha and Amy, Max’s wife, would be her bridesmaids.

She would have to share her beadwork source with Troyesha now that she was part of Violet’s supply network, she thought.

She raised her glass and clicked it with Leon’s. “Here’s to better relations between the Americans and the French,” she said.

Leon gave her a loving smile. “For me, they can be no better than this.”

The Pink Rose: Secrets, Love & Betrayal
(Download for Free Here)

Picture Perfect

A Deceptive Attraction

The Billionaire's Contract: Proposals
(Download for Free Here)

The Billionaire's Contract 2: Considerations

The Billionaire's Contract 3: Aftermath

Invitation to the Platinum Society: The Billionaire’s Secret BDSM Club

Auctioned off at the Platinum Society

Initiation into the Platinum Society

Entertainment at the Platinum Society

Farewell to the Platinum Society

Keira's Punishment: The Billionaire's Submissive

Keira's Visit

Keira's Past

Keira’s Humiliation

Provoking the Dom: Stella's Submissiveness Challenge 1

Punished by the Dom

Pleasured by the Dom

Punishing His Accountant: Caught Stealing

Punishing His Accountant 2: Hard At Work

Punishing His Accountant 3

Bride By Design: Flights of Fancy (Taken By The Billionaire)

Bride By Design 2: Manchala On The Mind

Bride By Design 3: Manchala Nights

Secrets and Seduction: Solacia Cellars

Secrets and Seduction: Dilemmas

Secrets and Seduction: Ghosts of the Past

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Extract From "
Invitation to The Platinum Society: The Billionaire’s Secret BDSM Club
"

Description:

Vicki was thrilled to be accepted into her dream law school – it’s just too bad she can’t afford to go. Unless…

A chance encounter with a handsome stranger leads to her discovering certain things about herself, like her desire to be dominated and spanked. It’s funny how fulfilling her desire to be used and humiliated might also lead to her receiving enough cash to pay for her tuition in full…

Extract:

I told him my street address, and Nate raised the window again, so that we were in our own private space. “So Vicki, tell me about law school.”