When they’d walked out of the restaurant, side by side, she’d caught several women checking him out. It was hard to believe he didn’t have a steady girl. Or so he claimed. Still, she had no reason not to believe him. Compared to his brothers, he was the only one who wasn’t known as a womanizer. He dated whenever it suited him, but so far, it seemed as if he wasn’t interested in settling down. Like her, he’d obviously made the decision to put his career first.
She felt a shiver run through her. Like it or not, she thought Cortez Masters was the most desirable man to walk the face of this planet. That night with him was never far from her mind. He’d been her first…and her only.
Sex had never really been that important to her. She’d heard stories from her cousins, and though she’d been curious about sex, she’d never really worried if she found out the truth or not. A lot of that, she conceded, was due to Monica’s less-than-complimentary view of the act.
She’d merely wanted to lose her virginity, but Cortez had done so much more than that for her. He had given her an experience of a lifetime. Even four years later, she was still getting hot flashes, just from the memories.
Victoria had been taken with him four years ago, and she had to admit, he still pushed her buttons. She’d found something with Cortez — something she didn’t want to experience again with anyone else.
After that night in Paris, she had returned to school, graduated, and then decided to remain for her master’s degree. With her education and acquired skills, she’d felt confident enough to talk her grandfather and father into broadening the nursery’s market, wanting Bennett Nursery to be more than a place to buy plants. She wanted to transform it into a business that specialized in corporate landscaping, as well.
After years of barely getting by, her father and grandfather had no problem turning the business over to her, as long as they got a reasonable cut of the profits each year. What they’d asked for was small in comparison to what she’d thought they would want. That’s why she had established a special trust fund for them that none of their wives — past, present or future — could touch. The trust would assure they lived comfortably for the rest of their lives.
She’d just moved back to her desk when she heard the sound of the buzzer. Was her administrative assistant connecting a call from Cortez? She hoped not…she hadn’t made her decision yet.
“Yes, Charlotte?”
“Ms. Bennett, your mother is on line two.”
A smile touched Victoria’s face. She and her mom were close and talked at least two or three times a week. She connected the call and said, “Hey, Mom, how was the cruise?” Her mother and Edison had taken a two-week voyage on a riverboat along the Moselle and Rhine Rivers to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary.
“It was wonderful. We started in Paris, toured several places in Germany, and ended up in Switzerland. Now I know why you loved Paris so much. I told Edison I want to go back one day. It’s so beautiful there.”
Victoria nibbled on her bottom lip a moment. “Funny you should say that. I’m planning on going back there soon…in a few weeks, in fact.” There. She’d made up her mind to give Cortez his two days. In all honesty, she would be getting her two days, as well.
She spoke with her mother for a few more minutes, then had to let her go when she got a business call from one of her franchise owners. An hour later, she was calling Cortez. She knew how to reach him at the law office, and he’d made certain she had his mobile number before they’d parted the other night.
“Yes, Victoria?”
She paused when he said her name. Of course, she shouldn’t be surprised he’d known it was her. He obviously had caller ID. “I’ve come to a decision about Paris, Cortez.”
“And?”
She hesitated a moment, then said, “I’ve decided to join you in Paris.”
There was silence on his end for a moment, then he said, “Good. Glad to hear it. I’ll make all the arrangements.”
“I’ll share the cost.”
“No reason you should. I’ve got this.”
“I prefer sharing, Cortez.”
“Maybe some other time.”
Some other time? Did he think they would be doing this again? And if he did, shouldn’t that assumption bother her? She decided not to let it and allow the things, like who paid for what, go for now. “Fine. Just let me know when the arrangements are finalized.”
“I will, Victoria.”
Later that day, after his last appointment, Cortez leaned back in his chair and thought about his phone conversation with Victoria. He knew she hadn’t liked his decision to handle the financial aspects of the Paris trip, but he wanted to do this. For her. For him. For them. When he’d picked up her call, he had been on his way to an important meeting regarding an out-of-court settlement. And today had been his lucky day. He’d scored well for his client with the settlement, and was elated with Victoria’s decision.
His thoughts shifted to his conversation with Quinn a few days ago. Since running into Victoria at Alexia’s birthday party, Cortez had periodically asked his cousin about her, trying to piece together in his mind what might have been the reason for her flight that morning. He’d been careful in his questioning, for fear Quinn would figure out that there was something between them. Still, Quinn was sharp and had probably figured things out, although he hadn’t said anything.
He drew in a deep breath. Like he’d told Quinn, he knew it would take more than two days to win Victoria over, but he intended to try. What he hoped to accomplish in Paris was simple — he wanted to give her a reason to consider starting a relationship with him. One with a promise of a future together.
He would wine and dine her and show her there was more on his mind than sex…although, he intended to give her plenty of physical attention, as well. But when she left Paris to return home, he would make sure she knew another side of him…one she didn’t know now.
Whether he admitted his true feelings for her was up in the air, he needed to know she was ready to hear it. By their last day in Paris, he would know.
Right now, though, he needed to start making arrangements for their trip. And he was sparing no expense. She’d have no doubt just how important this was to him…how important she was to him.
Operation “Win Over Victoria” had begun.
VICTORIA SAW THE MAN holding the sign with her name on it the moment she walked out of Charles de Gaulle Airport. It had been a relaxing flight — in first-class. She hadn’t expected that, and had to admit the nine-hour flight had been a lot nicer than her previous one to Paris. The flight attendants had lavished her with attention…including offering warm chocolate chip cookies that tasted as if they’d been freshly baked. And she’d even been able to take a nap, something she’d always had trouble doing while traveling.
When she had spoken with Cortez yesterday, she had tried to reason with him again about splitting the cost of the trip, but he had effectively shut her down. She should have known better than to squabble with such an accomplished attorney.
Upon reaching the older gentleman with the sign, she smiled and said, “I’m Victoria Bennett.”
He returned her smile and asked with a heavy French accent, “Do you need help with your luggage, Mademoiselle?”
“No, I just have a carry-on,” she responded, speaking fluent French.
He smiled widely, evidently appreciating her master of his language. “Then if you will please follow me, I will take you to Mr. Masters.”
Take her to Mr. Masters… Why did that suddenly cause sensuous chills to flow through her? She wondered when Cortez had arrived. They had agreed to meet in Paris today — that’s all she knew. She had no idea where they would be staying, but assumed they would be in the same hotel he’d stayed in four years ago. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d even managed to get the same room.
A half hour later, in the back seat of the private car, Victoria stared out the window acknowledging that she’d assumed wrong. The d
river was taking her away from the city, out toward the countryside. “Where are we going?”
The driver met her gaze in the rearview mirror, and the corners of his lips tilted in a huge smile. “To Mr. Masters.”
She chuckled. “I know that, but where is Mr. Masters?”
“I can’t tell you that,” he said apologetically. “I think he wants it to be a surprise.”
It would be a surprise, alright. Once again, she wondered if she had made the right choice. Victoria had thought she and Cortez would share two wild nights together and that would be it. She hadn’t expected him to do anything special. But it sure looked like he had. “Can you at least tell me how much farther we have to go?”
“We’ll be there in less than ten minutes.”
“Thank you.” Victoria hoped Cortez wasn’t intending to test the level of her patience. She had agreed on their time together because it was something she wanted, too. However, she wasn’t a fan of surprises. A surprise had been what had ended her parents’ marriage.
Pulling her phone out of her purse, she decided to send her cousins a text instead of calling them. There was a seven-hour time difference between Paris and Minnesota, and they were probably still sleeping.
“We’ve arrived, Mademoiselle.”
Victoria finished sending her group text, then looked out the car’s window. Her eyes widened. “Wow.”
Upon hearing a car approaching, Cortez glanced around, satisfied with everything before crossing the room to gaze out the window. The private car that had picked Victoria up from the airport was making its way up the winding road toward the Airbnb he’d rented.
He recalled their last time together, and doubted if she knew how one single night with her had changed his life. Victoria had done what no other woman had managed to do — capture his heart. He wasn’t surprised things had happened that way, though. His parents had fallen in love at first sight, and according to Quinn, the same thing had happened to him with Alexia.
Cortez moved away from the window as the car got closer to the villa. When the vehicle came to a stop, so did his heart. He had thought of this day, dreamed about it, fantasized about it, but had to admit that it was unlikely to ever happen. But the fact that she was here, in that car, was proof that dreams could come true.
He knew he had his work cut out for him. But he had an ace in his pocket. Since that night in Paris, he’d made it a point to learn everything he could about her, through others. And now, he intended to put what he’d discovered to work in their favor.
Suddenly his breath caught as the driver opened the door for Victoria and she climbed out. There was just something so incredibly sexy about a woman wearing a pair of skin-tight jeans and a pull-over sweater with boots.
He moved toward the door, and after her first knock, he opened it and said. “Bonjour. Bienvenue à Paris. Vous êtes belle.” He then leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. He’d just greeted her in French and ending by telling her she looked beautiful.
“Thank you. And you could have warned me, Cortez.”
He couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips. “About what?” he asked, taking her carry-on luggage from her and pulling it into the house.
“About this,” she said, spreading out her arms.
He knew what she meant. This villa on the hill was simply magnificent and was surrounded by numerous vineyards. The closest neighbor was five miles away. “You have a problem with staying here?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course not. I just assumed we would be at the hotel. You know, the one you brought me to four years ago.”
He shrugged. “I thought about it but decided a change would be nice. The last time I was in this country, I didn’t have a job. The trip to Paris had been a gift from my brothers. The hotel was nice, but I think I can afford to splurge a little now.”
She closed the door behind them. “I told you I’d split the cost of everything.”
“And I just said I can afford it. This trip is my treat.” In more ways than one, he thought. “Take a look around while I put your luggage in the bedroom.” Although the villa had three bedrooms, there was no need to ask which one she would be taking. They both knew, for the next two nights, they would be sharing a bed.
“Alright.”
Entering the master bedroom, he placed her carry-on luggage by the bed. When he came back out to the living room, he found her moving from room to room, a huge smile on her face. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her, loving the way her backside filled her jeans.
“What’s upstairs?” she asked him.
“A workout room with several types of exercise equipment, as well as another guestroom. It’s pretty nice up there.”
“Sounds like it. I think I’ll take a look.”
Cortez smiled. “Help yourself.”
He wanted her to be as impressed with this place as he was. He watched her walk up the spiral staircase, and his jeans got tighter. Seeing her backside in motion was having one hell of an effect on his libido. But it couldn’t be helped. Victoria was a very desirable woman. He knew that better than anyone.
He continued to lean against the doorjamb as he heard her move around upstairs. The bonus room was the size of half of the house and was split into several rooms — a gym and guest bedroom, but also two full baths, a small kitchen nook, and a balcony where you could see the countryside from high above.
“It’s gorgeous,” Victoria said, coming back down the stairs.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that she was gorgeous, but he decided to hold that compliment until later. “I thought so.”
“How did you find it?” she asked, heading toward the kitchen.
“The owners are friends of one of my clients.”
The villa had an open-concept floor plan so he could see her moving around the kitchen. When she looked into the empty refrigerator, she glanced over her shoulder at him, lifting a brow. “We do plan to eat, right?”
He chuckled. “Yes, we do. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I figured we could go to the market. It’s not far from here.”
She nodded, smiling. “That’s one of the things I enjoyed most about living in Paris. All the fresh foods available at the markets.”
“So, tell me, Victoria. What was the real reason you were in Paris that summer? I now know you weren’t really a student at the university.”
She turned to lean against the kitchen counter. “I was a student, but not at the University of Paris. I was working on my master’s at Tuskegee University and was awarded the chance to spend the summer in Paris to work at the botanical gardens.”
“And you speak fluent French?”
“Yes. My maternal great-grandmother was French. She and my great-grandfather met when he was in the area during World War II. She taught her daughter, who was my grandmother Adele, to speak it, and my grandmother taught me.”
“You have family here?”
“None that I know of. According to Gramma Adele, my great-grandmother’s family practically disowned her when she married an American and left Paris. Over the years, she lost contact with them.”
She paused a moment. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask Alexia and Quinn about me, once you discovered my identity.”
“I thought it best not to ask a lot of questions. Quinn and Alexia are both sharp and would have figured things out in no time. It was obvious from the way you handled our introduction that you preferred that no one know we’d previously met. Why was that?”
Even with the distance between them, he could see Victoria nibbling on her bottom lip, something he knew she did whenever she was nervous about something. “If my cousins, Sebrina, Monica, and Kennedy, had known we knew each other, they would have figured out you were the one.”
He lifted a brow. “The one?”
“Yes. The first guy I’d ever slept with. It would have placed both of us in an awkward position. It was bad enough that they couldn’t understand why I was avoiding you and you were
avoiding me. I eventually told them the truth. So, it’s not a secret any longer.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute, and then asked, “What about your brothers? Do they know our history, as well?” Referring to their one-time tryst as history sounded a lot better than calling it a one-night stand.
He nodded. “Yes, Cobra and Colton know. When they arrived in Paris, they picked up on my foul mood. I told them about a girl I’d met named Adele, and how we’d spent one night together before she’d disappeared.”
He decided not to fill her in on the years in between quite yet. “The night I saw you at Alexia’s party, they knew me well enough to realize something was wrong…especially when I flew back to Savannah the next day. The three of us had planned to hang out in Los Angeles for a few days. They questioned my abrupt change in plans, and wouldn’t let up until I told them the truth — that you were the woman who’d run out on me in Paris.”
A guilty feeling rushed up her spine. But she couldn’t deal with it right now, so she changed the subject. “How do you plan for us to get to the market?”
He pushed away from the doorjamb and walked toward the kitchen area. “I’ve rented a car. It’s parked in the back.”
“Oh.”
He looked at his watch. “I thought you might want to rest up a bit before we go anywhere. I’m sure I don’t have to warn you about jet lag.”
She chuckled. “No, you don’t. The meals the flight attendants served were good, but I’m still kind of hungry.”
He nodded. “Then I suggest we leave now and go to a café and grab something to eat before heading for the market.”
“That would be great. Just give me a few minutes to freshen up.”
“Okay.”
THE BENNETTS' WEDDING (The Bennett Family and the Masters Family Book 5) Page 19
