A Taste of Temptation

by Cat Schield

  The crowd dispersed, sidestepping Harper, who stood tongue-tied and uncertain. She’d practiced a hundred different openings and none of them seemed right.

  “Can I help you?”

  “My name is Harper Fontaine.” She stumbled over her surname, wondering at the last second if he’d recognize it.

  “Nice to meet you.” No recognition flared in his eyes.

  “I believe you met my mother several years ago. Penelope Fontaine?”

  “Was she on one of my safaris?”

  Things had just gotten awkward. “You met her in London. At an exhibition of your work.”

  “I’m sorry. The name just doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Perhaps a picture would help.” Harper pulled out her smartphone and showed him an image of her mother, knowing Penelope would be quite put out that a lover—even one she’d had a brief affair with thirty years prior—could forget her so easily.

  LeDay didn’t look at the photo; he stared at Harper. “Why don’t you tell me what this is about.”

  “You had an affair with my mother.” Now that the words were out, Harper was struck with an awful thought. What if she’d flown halfway around the world to meet the wrong man?

  “And if I did?”

  “Then I’m your daughter.”

  Other than a brief tightening of his mouth, LeDay didn’t react to her announcement. He regarded Harper in silence for a long time and she started to understand how he’d captured all those incredible moments in his photographs. He had the ability to stay very still for long periods of time. Meanwhile her heart rate was escalating and her breath had gone unsteady.

  At last LeDay moved. He crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want?”

  “Nothing.” Obviously that wasn’t true, but Harper hadn’t defined for herself what chasing him halfway around the globe was supposed to accomplish. “I only recently found out. I simply wanted to meet you.” Her voice trailed off. His expression hadn’t changed. He looked as welcoming as a rock pile.

  “Where are you from?”

  “I live in Las Vegas at the moment.”

  “That’s a long way to come for nothing.”

  “I guess I was hoping that getting to know you would help answer some questions I have.”

  “Are you staying here?”

  “No, we drove over from Grant’s.”

  His eyebrows rose. “We?”

  Harper turned in Ashton’s direction and he left the car and headed toward them. “This is Ashton Croft,” she said, catching his hand and drawing him to her side.

  The two men shook hands, sizing each other up, like a pair of competing alpha males. Harper sensed they came to some sort of understanding.

  “I’ve seen your show. You’ve traveled extensively.”

  “Experiencing new cultures and cuisine is a passion of mine.”

  LeDay shifted his attention to Harper, but he continued to speak to Ashton. “It’s hard having a career where you’re gone all the time and maintaining a relationship.”

  “I know.”

  They were two of a kind, Harper realized. Adventure-loving men who didn’t want to be tied down. She’d known that going in and didn’t want to domesticate Ashton. He’d never be happy staying put for long. He would go wherever the wind blew next. Two questions remained. Would he ever invite her to travel with him? Would she say yes if he did?

  LeDay gestured toward the cluster of buildings. “The restaurant has opened for dinner. If you’d like to eat before returning to your camp.”

  “Would you join us?” Harper asked, barely able to hope he’d agree.

  He hesitated and then nodded. Still hand in hand, she and Ashton followed him toward the outdoor dining area. Trembling slightly in reaction to the stress of meeting the man she believed to be her father, Harper leaned her head against Ashton’s shoulder.

  “You okay?” he asked, his fingers brushing her cheek.

  “Just a little overwhelmed.”

  “That’s to be expected.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she whispered.

  He squeezed her hand in response as they followed a waiter to their table. Once they sat down and Harper had a chance to survey the menu, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat anything. She glanced to Ashton for help.

  “Will you order something for me? I can’t make up my mind.”

  “Of course.”

  The waiter brought beer for the men and a glass of red wine for Harper, wrote down their dinner selections and left.

  Harper gathered a breath, surprised by how unsteady she felt, and plunged in. “I know you must be annoyed with me for showing up here like this, and I’m sorry that I didn’t give you some warning. But I wasn’t sure if you’d see me.”

  “I’m still not sure I’m the person you’re looking for.”

  “Frankly, neither am I, but my mother said she met a wildlife photographer at an exhibition of his work in London and then she bought a book of your photographs for my grandmother.” Hearing herself, Harper broke off. She caught Ashton’s gaze and saw reassurance there. “It sounds a bit crazy when I say it out loud.”

  “Let me see that photo of your mother.”

  Harper pulled out her phone and handed it to him.

  LeDay looked at the photo for a long time before speaking. “Penny.”

  Penny?

  “A beautiful girl.”

  Harper clapped a hand over her mouth to smother a wild bubble of laughter. It was weird to hear someone call her formal, inflexible mother a girl. Even weirder to hear a man use a nickname in such fond tones. Penelope hated nicknames. And then Harper remembered.

  “Her father used to call her that. He died when she was nine.”

  “We spent almost two weeks together. She was quite the mystery. Had never tasted beer before. Couldn’t comprehend how to navigate the Tube. And yet she spoke effortlessly about art, history and politics.”

  “My mother is fascinated with current events and the background that shaped them. Sometimes I think she knows more about what’s going on in Washington, D.C., than the journalists.”

  “Is she a politician?”

  “It’s just her hobby.”

  “What do you do in Las Vegas?”

  “My family... I manage a hotel. Fontaine Ciel.”

  “Fontaine. That’s your mother’s last name?”

  Harper nodded. “Did you know she was married when you were together?”

  “She didn’t say and wasn’t wearing a ring, but I sensed that might have been the case.” He paused and stared out over the valley. “What gives you the idea that I’m your father?”

  “My father... I recently found out the man I believed was my father was out of town in Macao when I was conceived. My mother isn’t the sort of woman to have an affair.” Harper glimpsed LeDay’s doubt and rushed on. “She was married to a man who cheated on her every chance he got, but I know you were the only time she broke her vows.”

  “You said you had questions you needed answers to. I don’t know what I can tell you.”

  She hesitated. What had happened to the woman who had all the answers? She never entered a negotiation without a strategy for how to get what she wanted. Beneath the table, Ashton’s hand closed over hers, offering support and strength.

  “I don’t know what to ask. I thought everything would be clear if I met you.”

  Harper had no choice but to fall silent. Meeting this man hadn’t made her confusion disappear. If anything, she was even more lost. As Ashton drew the man out, asking questions about his life in Africa and the magnificent photos he’d taken over the years, Harper listened in fascination and growing dismay. What had she been thinking to come here and expect he would gladly welcome her into his life?

/>   His passion for the country of his birth was all-consuming. The wildlife. The ecosystem. He devoted himself to sharing his experiences and by doing so hoped to increase people’s appreciation for the animals and support for his conservation efforts.

  A noble cause and one he was ideally suited for. Harper pushed food around on her plate, her appetite nonexistent, and listened with only half her attention until he said something that pulled her out of her thoughts.

  “You have two sisters?”

  It shocked Harper to think she had aunts she’d never known.

  “And a half-dozen nieces and nephews.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  She stopped herself from asking for further details. As much as she longed to hear about this family she’d never known, she remembered what it had been like when her grandfather had told her she had two half sisters. She’d initially viewed them as trespassers in her neatly planned life. This must be how LeDay was feeling. She’d descended into his life without warning and how he must resent her intrusion.

  Never mind that Violet and Scarlett had gone from being strangers to family at their first meeting.

  “Ashton,” she finally said, deciding it was time to stop waiting for some sign that she and LeDay had a connection. The man had enjoyed a brief encounter with a beautiful woman. End of story. That the affair had produced a daughter wasn’t going to touch his life. “We should be getting back to camp.” She gave LeDay a bright smile. “Thank you for having dinner with us. I enjoyed meeting you.”

  “Nice meeting you, as well,” he replied.

  “Ready?” Ashton gave her a searching look.

  “Absolutely.”

  There were no halfhearted offers to stay in touch. Just a simple wave goodbye and a sinking feeling in Harper’s stomach that she should have stayed home.

  Overwhelmed by futility, Harper trudged back to the car. Her boots felt as if they weighed ten pounds each. She’d been uncharacteristically naive to expect that she and LeDay would have some sort of immediate connection.

  “That didn’t go as you’d hoped,” Ashton said, stating the obvious. “I suspected he wasn’t going to welcome you with open arms.”

  That he was right didn’t make Harper feel any better about how meeting her father had gone. She was angry with herself for wondering if the reason Ross Fontaine hadn’t been a loving father was because they weren’t biologically related.

  “A man like that isn’t interested in family,” Ashton continued, and Harper wasn’t sure if he was trying to make her feel better or just pointing out the obvious. “He has his photography and the safaris. They’re his passion. He doesn’t seem to need anyone.”

  Weighed down by disappointment, Harper’s temper got the better of her. “Like someone else I know?”

  “Criticize me all you want, but I’m here for you.”

  As she threw herself into the Range Rover and waited for him to get behind the wheel, she wondered what he did feel about her. The way he’d made love to her left her emotions jumbled and her confidence rocky. Could a man kiss with such gut-wrenching passion and feel nothing more than uncomplicated lust? Ashton wasn’t exactly the easiest person to read and she couldn’t expect him to start spouting poetry.

  Who was Ashton Croft? Selfish adventurer? Celebrity hound? Romantic lover?

  Seeing that Ashton continued to stand where she’d left him, Harper got out of the vehicle and crossed to stand before him. Hands bracketing his hips, he was staring at the distant horizon, a scowl of absolute frustration drawing his brows together. If he’d noticed she’d reappeared, he gave no sign.

  “How do I make you feel?” she asked softly, scarcely able to believe she had the nerve to have her heart stomped all over for a second time that day.

  “Dependable.” He made the word sound like a curse.

  It wasn’t at all what she expected him to say, and the giddy relief that struck her made little sense. “You don’t like being dependable?”

  “I don’t like living up to anyone’s expectations but my own.”

  “I wish you could teach me your trick of living that way.”

  He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard. She met the bold thrust of his tongue with matching hunger and let herself be swept up in the rising passion of their embrace. This was easy. Surrendering to his mastery. Letting his insistent kisses and eager hands sweep away all her worries.

  Breathing unevenly, Ashton placed his forehead against hers. They stayed that way for several minutes as the sun sank below the horizon and the night sounds swelled. At long last he stirred.

  “We’d better get going. It’s an hour back to camp.”

  She nodded and let him draw her back to the truck. As the ancient shocks struggled to absorb the road’s dips and bumps, Harper reflected over the past few hours.

  “You know it doesn’t matter that LeDay disappointed me,” she said, determination in her voice. “In fact, I’m glad. I can stop second-guessing who I am. I can go back to my life and my career and never look back again. It’s better for everyone this way.”

  Ashton’s features could have been carved from stone. “You’re not going to tell your grandfather the truth about who your father really is.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because maybe if you know you’ll never be Fontaine’s CEO you might look around and see there’s something you’d rather be doing.”

  “Being CEO is what I want.”

  “Then why did you hop on a plane at the last second and fly all this way to meet your father? You could have saved time and money by staying home and making the same decision.”

  He was right. “I became a businesswoman because that’s what my father and grandfather did. It defined me. Then I find out I’m not a businessman’s daughter, but the offspring of a brilliant photographer. I know I should take something away from that, but I don’t know what.”

  “Who your parents are doesn’t define you any more than your environment does. You are the sum of your choices.”

  “You’re a fool to believe your parents didn’t define you. You’ve spent your whole life rejecting their selflessness and believing you’re out for no one but yourself.”

  “At least I admit that I’m selfish. It’s my parents who are hypocrites. They were so obsessed with their mission to save every person they met that they couldn’t take two minutes to recognize the person closest to them needed their help, as well.”

  Ashton made the accusation without heat or bitterness, as if he’d made peace with his parents’ flaws long ago. By proclaiming his own selfishness he warned the world what they could expect from him.

  Harper’s heart constricted in sympathy.

  “So you ran away and got caught up with a bad group.”

  “I was fifteen and my parents never tried to find me.” And there was the crux of all his pain. Abandoned. Left to fend for himself. Terrorized for three years. Of course he’d developed a protective shell.

  “How do you know that? The criminals you fell in with needed to stay way below the radar. They couldn’t have been easy for the police to find.”

  “My parents never filed a report that I was missing. No one was looking for me.” He took one hand off the wheel and pinched the bridge of his nose. “When I first joined the gang, Franco checked. Couldn’t find anyone looking for a fifteen-year-old white kid. He told me to go home, offered to help me get out.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Go home to what? I’d left because my parents didn’t give a damn about me. Nothing had changed. They went on with their work. That’s what was important to them.”

  The unfairness of it burned like acid in Harper’s stomach. She knew loneliness. Hadn’t she been an afterthought in her parents’ lives? Ross Fontaine had taken to fatherhood with less enthu
siasm than he’d put into being a husband. But her situation hadn’t been unique among her classmates. Many of them had successful, driven parents who worked eighty hours a week and traveled extensively.

  But she couldn’t imagine any of them losing a child and going on as if nothing had happened.

  “Do you ever wonder what happened to them?”

  For a moment Ashton regretted sharing his past with Harper. She wasn’t good at leaving things alone. That her journey to self-discovery hadn’t ended well wasn’t going to diminish her confidence for long. He was certain by the time they got on the plane tomorrow that she would have the plan for her future all documented with bullet points and colorful graphs.

  “I don’t wonder.” Or he hadn’t until she’d raised the question. Franco had offered to track down his parents on several occasions, but Ashton had turned him down each time. If they hadn’t looked for him, why should he make sure they were doing all right? “They were committed to their ministry. Whatever happened to them, they will not regret the sacrifices they made.”

  And for that he couldn’t condemn them. They’d chosen a path that gave them satisfaction. He’d done the same. He accepted that they wouldn’t be proud that he’d made a great deal of money and become famous. Nothing about what he did fell into their value system.

  “I envy your ability to put your past behind you like that.”

  He wasn’t completely sure he’d attained the sort of peace of mind she believed he had. Returning to Africa had raised too many old ghosts. He might have left his life here behind fifteen years ago, but it had shaped him into the man he was. That wasn’t something he could completely escape.

  They were silent for the rest of the drive back to the camp, the barrier between them created by his stubbornness and her disappointment. Ashton was aware of a sharp ache in his chest. It was a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time. Harper’s questions about his parents had unlocked the door on regret. Wanting to know if his mother and father were all right meant he cared. By caring about them he betrayed himself, and the choice he’d made to put his needs first because they never had.