Heaven Scent (63 page)

Xavier moved away from Angelique. ‘If you love me so much, why did you marry my cousin? The date on that marriage certificate says you were together when we were still an item – just before my mother’s death, in fact. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.’

Angelique realised she was going to have to call on her acting skills. ‘Olivier came on to me,’ she said, deciding it was the best course of action to blame the dead person who couldn’t defend himself. ‘I did my best to resist him but one night we got carried away. We met up in Paris later and did a foolish thing – we got married. It’s not a crime.’ She gestured dismissively in Cat’s direction. ‘
She
married Olivier on a whim and you all act as though she’s part of the family because of it.’

‘She wasn’t sleeping with his cousin at the same time,’ Leoni spat back nastily. ‘Cat married Olivier in good faith, she didn’t know he was a liar and a . . . a bigamist.’ She glanced at Cat. ‘I’m so sorry. I promise you I had no idea.’

Cat couldn’t speak she was so choked.

‘Oh my God!’ Ashton smacked his hand against his head. ‘I remember Olivier hinting to me back then that he’d done something really bad. He said he couldn’t tell me what it was but it was terrible enough to cause a huge rift in the family.’ He threw Xavier a sympathetic glance. ‘I’m so sorry, Xav. Olivier was flying out to Morocco every few weeks back then but I had no idea he was with Angelique.’

Xavier gave him a brief nod. ‘You have nothing to be sorry for, Ash.’ He turned to Angelique almost casually. ‘So what about the baby? Is that why you and Olivier got married?’

‘W-what?’ Angelique was caught unawares and before she could cover it up, her expression showed pure guilt.

‘What baby?’ Delphine asked in confusion.

Xavier said nothing, his eyes still focused on Angelique. ‘It was never mine, was it?’ His voice was dangerously quiet. ‘It was Olivier’s.’

Angelique hesitated but realised the game was up. ‘Oh, all right! The baby was Olivier’s. He didn’t want it and neither did I.’

Xavier flinched but said nothing.

Angelique didn’t notice. ‘We got married in secret then realised we’d been stupid and we agreed to sort out the divorce later on. Time went on and we forgot about it and then Olivier died,’ she added rather unnecessarily. ‘He died and the first I knew about him marrying someone else was when I read about it in the papers.’

Leoni couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Olivier had got Angelique pregnant? The story was getting more incredible by the minute. Leoni glanced at Ashton, who was looking as shell-shocked as she felt.

‘What happened to the baby, Angelique?’ Delphine suddenly asked. Her hazel eyes were frosty and she demanded an answer.

Angelique cast her eyes to the ground. ‘I got rid of it,’ she muttered.

Xavier let out a jerky breath. ‘I thought so. You didn’t “lose” our baby. It was never mine in the first place and you lied about having a miscarriage.’ He gritted his teeth. ‘That was one of the saddest times in my life, Angelique. How could you fucking do that to me?’

Angelique shrank back.

Xavier roared. ‘You’re a disgrace. You made me believe I’d lost a child when you were screwing my cousin behind my back and plotting abortions. You make me sick, Angelique, sick to the stomach.’

Guy was speechless. All at once, he understood why Xavier had been so utterly destroyed back then.

Delphine looked equally horrified, not least because she was responsible for Angelique’s return to La Fleurie. She would never, ever intervene in her family’s personal lives again.

Unable to hear any more, Cat slipped unnoticed out of the office.

Xavier folded his arms and stared at Angelique. ‘So, what are you really doing here, Angelique? It has nothing to do with me and I’ve known that for a while. No, it’s because of the family perfume business, isn’t it?’

‘So what if it is?’ Angelique returned rudely. ‘As much as it pains me to admit it, you, the Ducasse family, are respected. Your business is known throughout the world, you are a brand. That’s what I want.’

‘Respect!’ Leoni burst into peals of laughter. ‘You’ve got to be kidding. No one’s going to respect you when they hear about everything you’ve done.’

Xavier shook his head. ‘No one is going to hear about any of this,’ he stated firmly. ‘All ties to the family will be legally severed, with immediate effect. You will not contest that decision, nor will you ever try to claim any interest in the Ducasse family business, Angelique. Do you understand?’

It was Angelique’s turn to laugh and the harsh sound grated on everyone’s already shredded nerves. ‘And why on earth would I agree to that?’ she exclaimed.

‘Because otherwise I’ll tell the press that you tried to steal the formula for my latest perfume,’ Xavier said impassively. ‘Because you did, didn’t you? It was a sort of insurance, wasn’t it? You thought you could use it for your own perfume line if I didn’t marry you or after you’d divorced me or some such nonsense.’

Angelique flushed, clashing wildly with her dress.

Xavier looked disappointed. ‘What a shame. I was hoping I was wrong about that part. Get out, can you? Legal papers will be sent to you and none of us ever want to see you again.’

About to argue, Angelique backed down. As soon as she’d left the room, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

‘Unbelievable!’ said Leoni, feeling tearful. ‘Xavier, I’m so sorry about Olivier. I didn’t realise he was capable of such awful behaviour.’

‘It’s not your fault.’ Xavier put the marriage certificate back into his pocket for safekeeping. ‘It’s no one’s fault.’ He looked around suddenly. ‘Fuck, where’s Cat?’

Guy glanced to his left in surprise. ‘She was right here! I was holding her up because I thought she was about to faint and then you said about the baby . . .’

Delphine tutted. ‘Silly girl! Where on earth has she gone? And why would she leave like that?’

‘Perhaps she thought she had no right to be here,’ Leoni offered. ‘She’s just found out my stupid brother was a bigamist and she was probably embarrassed. I know I am.’

Xavier clutched his dark hair. ‘Where would she have gone? Anyone … any ideas?’

Leoni thought for a second. ‘Seraphina said she was going on about one of Paris’s most famous landmarks before we left.’ Filling him in, she pushed him out of the door but Xavier didn’t need to be told twice.

 

As guests began to trickle out of the door, Leoni leant her head on Ashton’s shoulder. ‘The shop is so beautiful. I can’t thank you enough.’

‘I actually built that shelf myself.’ Ashton pointed to the curved shelf that showcased Leoni’s home fragrance line. He shrugged. ‘Hey, I had nothing better to do and I quite enjoyed getting my hands dirty, for once.’ He glanced down at her, tipping her chin up towards him. Loving the sight of her mouth without a scrap of red lipstick on it, he kissed her. ‘I can’t believe we’re finally together.’

‘Me neither,’ Leoni said, snuggling into him. She breathed in the tang of his aftershave. Dunhill London, crisp apple, rose and patchouli, so very Ashton. ‘So, show me where you’ve been living.’

Ashton laughed and took her upstairs. He watched her as she did her best to look unperturbed by the lack of space and the cold chill that crept in from the cracks in the windows.

‘Oh no,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘This will never do.’

‘I did say . . .’

Leoni smiled. ‘I just meant, as a long-term solution. But for what I have in mind, it’ll do just fine.’

Ashton looked at her. ‘What do you have in mind?’

She blushed prettily.

‘Aah.’ As gently as he could, Ashton threw her on the inflatable bed. ‘Just to warn you, clothes might get ripped in a minute and I can tell this dress is very expensive but I know I won’t be able to help myself . . .’

Leoni grinned as her stomach did a flip-flop. This was it, this was the way she wanted to feel. ‘Is that a promise?’

Ashton nudged her legs apart with his thigh. ‘Seriously, L, haven’t you learnt by now that the one thing you can say about me is that I never, ever lie . . .’ Pushing her back against the bed, they both laughed at the sound of material ripping.

 

Shoving some notes into the taxi driver’s hand as he pulled up alongside the Eiffel Tower, Xavier leapt out, nearly colliding with a group of Japanese tourists. The place was teeming with people; crowds were milling around the four great feet of the tower, taking photographs and queuing to take a ride up to the top floor.

La dame de fer
, the Iron Lady, as it was nicknamed, looked magnificent. Close up, it was immense and its base stretched out widely, encompassing a vast concreted area. It was lit up beautifully, rising majestically into the sky like a beacon and at 1,063 feet it unquestionably provided the best view of the city, especially at night.

This was madness. Xavier looked around in frustration. Cat could be anywhere in the city and, frankly, he thought it more likely she had gone back to the hotel to book an early flight to England. Just because she had mentioned to Seraphina that the Eiffel Tower was one of the places she’d always wanted to visit, didn’t mean Cat was going to head towards it right at this minute. And if she had, how the hell was he going to find her?

Xavier tore up to the bridge for a better look, scanning the area with eagle eyes.

‘Excuse me, mister . . . you take picture?’ Someone was tugging at the sleeve of his suit.

Xavier was about to tell whoever it was to go away in no uncertain terms when he saw that it was a small Japanese girl with bunches and gappy front teeth.

‘You very handsome,’ she told him earnestly. She was holding up a funky little pink camera, no doubt the latest in forward-thinking Japanese technology. He didn’t have the heart to turn her down.

Xavier sighed. ‘Of course. How do I work this thing?’

After a quick lesson on pointing and pressing, he waited as the girl ran to stand with her family. Xavier held the camera up and pressed the focus button, accidentally panning back and sending the image of the family hurtling into the distance. About to correct the focus, Xavier gasped. There she was! In the background of the shot, he could see Cat. She was standing by the southern foot of the tower and through the powerful lens of the camera, her turquoise dress stood out brightly against the dark grey steel, as did her butterscotch-coloured hair.

He quickly took a photo of the Japanese family, thrust the camera into the girl’s hands and tore after Cat before she moved and he lost her again. Zipping in and out of the crowds and doing his best not to knock anyone over, he kept his eye on Cat’s turquoise dress, never letting it out of his sight. Seeing that she was starting to walk away, Xavier cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled her name at the top of his voice. Cat turned in surprise and when she caught sight of him, she gasped.

‘What are you doing here?’ Xavier panted as he caught up with her, his loose bow tie ends flapping. His dark hair was all over the place and he looked uncharacteristically dishevelled.

And ridiculously sexy, Cat thought. Standing there, looking like a glamorous French model in his dinner suit with his chiselled chin and kissable mouth, Cat knew she would never, ever feel the same way about another man again. It wasn’t just his looks, it was his humour and his passionate nature that made him heart-stoppingly irresistible. Realising he’d asked her a question, she stumbled to answer it.

‘I just wanted to see the Eiffel Tower before I go home.’

‘Go home?’ Xavier clutched her hands. She looked gorgeous, even though her cheeks were tear stained and flushed and her eyes were full of anguish. Xavier didn’t think she had ever looked more vulnerable or more beautiful. ‘Your home is La Fleurie.’

‘No, it’s not, Xavier!’ She tugged her hands back. ‘And it never was. I had no right to be there . . . I was never married to Olivier.’ Cat hoped he couldn’t see her tears. ‘I feel so stupid, so embarrassed. I’ve spent months living with you all and I never should have been there in the first place.’

Leading her to the grassy stretch behind the Eiffel Tower and pushing her down on to the closest bench, Xavier took her hands again. ‘I meant everything I said back there in the store,’ he told her honestly. ‘You were . . . you
are
the inspiration behind La Spontanéité. You’re that perfect woman I had in mind. I just hadn’t met you when I put that formula together. But you’re everything I knew I wanted in a woman. You’re beautiful – on the inside too, which matters more than anything.’ Xavier stroked her fingers with his, aching to kiss her. ‘You’re genuine and you’re brave.’ He laughed. ‘You must have been, to take on my family.’

Cat started to smile as she stared into his gorgeous eyes and focused on the gold flecks.

Xavier continued. ‘Look, Cat, I didn’t want to fall for you. You were Olivier’s widow, at least, I thought you were, and I thought you were crazy to fall in love with him when you didn’t really know him.’

‘I don’t think I was ever really—’

‘It’s doesn’t matter,’ he interrupted her. ‘I was wrong to think that because it’s exactly what happened to me with you. I had all these ideas about you but as soon as we went to Grasse, I knew I’d made a mistake and then I did the very thing I was mocking you for.’ Xavier’s expression was rueful. ‘I fell head over heels for someone I barely knew.’

Cat’s heart leapt.

He took a deep breath. ‘And trust me, I didn’t want to fall in love with anyone because the last time I did that, I got hurt. As you know. Although, obviously, I was very wrong about Angelique . . . she had other things on her mind.’ Loath to talk about his ex-girlfriend for a second longer, Xavier looked at Cat with intent. ‘But you showed me that life is about taking risks and being spontaneous, that even if something seems to be crazy, if it feels right, then it
is
right. That’s how I felt about you in Grasse . . . and it’s definitely how I felt about you that night in the stables.’