by Alix Nichols
He nudges a sheet of paper across the coffee table. The title at the top of the page says, “Nondisclosure Agreement.”
How clever of him.
I read and sign the agreement while Darcy wolfs down a few sandwiches, explaining he hasn’t had time to eat yet.
Who knew billionaires were such busy people?
“We’ll use your dramatic appearance at Jeanne and Mat’s party to our best advantage,” he says, wiping his fingers with a napkin.
“How?”
“I’ll tell everyone we’d been seeing each other discreetly for a few months until you were led to believe I’d cheated on you. But now the misunderstanding is cleared up and we’re back together, madly in love.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why go out of your way to give a reason for what I did when you can just fall madly in love with a fresh face who won’t require any explaining.”
“Because what you did suggests you’re the kind of woman who doesn’t put up with cheating.”
“And that’s good becaaaause…?”
“I can’t tell you, but trust me, it’s good. In fact, it’s perfect for my plan.”
I sigh. “Whatever you say.”
“Let’s look at the contract now, shall we?” He glances at his watch. “My meeting starts in fifteen minutes.”
I open the manila folder and stare at the document inside it.
“Most of it is legalese that we can go over next time once we agree on the terms,” Darcy says.
I nod.
“You can go straight to this part.” He turns several pages and points at a paragraph with bullet points. “Please read this and let me know if you have questions. Or, if you prefer, I can just walk you through it.”
I scoff at him. “Coming from a family that’s been sending its children to private schools for generations, you may not be aware that France has had free universal education since the 1880s.”
He blinks, clearly taken aback. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No, it’s me who’s sorry to shatter your aristocratic illusions,” I say. “But cashiers can read.”
“I was just trying to be helpful,” he says.
I know he is. And it aggravates me. I’d be much more comfortable with him if he’d stop hiding his ugly face behind this mask of polite concern.
Darcy looks at his watch again and taps his index finger on the highlighted passage. “Read this at home, then reread it, and write down all your questions. I’ll call you tomorrow night.”
Aha, now he’s showing his bossy side.
I’m so intimidated.
Not.
“Oui, monsieur.” I bow my head with exaggerated obedience, noting in passing that Darcy has handsome hands—lean wrists, large palms, and long fingers.
At least the right one, which is currently pinning the contract to the table.
Let’s hope his left hand is teeny-weeny. Or super fat. Or excessively hairy.
He doesn’t deserve two handsome hands.
“The gist of this paragraph,” Darcy says, “is that you recognize you’re entering a financially compensated transaction with me, which is couched as a relationship, but is not a relationship, be it physical or emotional.”
A relationship with an a-hole.
God forbid.
“Consider it recognized,” I say.
“It also says here somewhere…” He slides his finger along the lines and halts on one of the bullet points. “Here—it says you commit to moving in with me at about the two-month mark on our timeline.”
“Do I have to?”
“This has to be credible for it to work.” He makes a sweeping gesture with his other hand, which, unfortunately, is as nicely shaped as the first. “A month after that, I’ll propose, and another month after that, we’ll marry.”
“It’ll look rushed. Besides, how are you going to stage a town hall ceremony and—”
“I won’t have to. We’ll fly to the Bahamas for a week and get married there.” He uses air quotes.
“Wow, you’ve thought this through.”
“I have, indeed.” He clears his throat. “As you can see, the bullet point just below states that sex is not a requirement but you will need to touch and kiss me in public.”
“Good.”
He raises his eyebrows in surprise.
Crap. That came out all wrong.
“What I meant was it’s good that sex isn’t required. It would’ve been a deal-breaker.”
He nods. “That’s what I thought.”
“Do I have to kiss you?”
“Yes. It doesn’t have to be torrid. But if we never kiss, our relationship won’t look convincing.”
“OK, if we must.” I sigh. “So we date, move in together, and smooch on camera. Then what?”
“Then we wait for… a certain person to make his move.”
“How very enigmatic.” I roll my eyes. “You do realize I’m going to hate every moment of our time together, right?”
“You won’t be the only one,” he says. “In any event, if nothing happens within six months, we’ll break up and I’ll pay you for your time. But if my plan works, you’ll walk away a rich woman.”
Or if my plan works, you’ll be left a ruined man.
Get Find You in Paris now!
Books by Alix Nichols
Game Time
Playing with Fire
He was supposed to look after her, not kiss her senseless.
Au pair Uma is all kinds of wrong for single dad Zach. Raised in a conservative Hindu family, Uma is his son’s nanny, a twenty-three-year-old virgin, and a guileless ingenue to boot. Zach knows all of that.
Then why can’t he rein in his lust for her?
If there is one man Uma should not be attracted to, it’s the father of the adorable five-year-old in her charge. Once burned twice shy, Zach is the captain of a pro water polo team and a wealthy entrepreneur who can have any woman he wants. No strings attached.
Small wonder he goes all out to shun Uma!
But when, with the help of a bottle of fine wine, Zach confesses all the dirty things he’d like to do to her, Uma astounds him by saying she wants that, too.
What’s a man to do but oblige?
Besides, it’s not like it’s the end of the world. They’re both sensible, level-headed adults. They’ll just have a bit of fun and then go back to normal, as if nothing happened.
As if feelings weren’t already getting in the way.
Playing for Keeps
He remembers everything… except the first thirty years of his life.
French athletics star-turned-coach Lucas Delaunay has no recollection of his past, despite his parents’ and friends’ efforts to help him. Every month of his life is accounted for. Mementos from the birthdays he celebrated, the games he played, and the women he dated fill Lucas’s mind, amounting to hundreds of memories.
Shame they aren’t his.
Now a manager of an up-and-coming water polo club, Lucas’s ambition is to take his team to the European and World arenas. He wants them on the podium even more than he wants to remember his past.
Enter publicist Isabelle Ferrand, hired to land sponsors and fundraise for the club. A few years back, Isabelle was a poloist herself. She was also a friend. Just a friend, until she fell out with him for reasons she claims she can no longer recall. But everyone—Isabelle included—insists Lucas regarded her as a sister.
Not anymore, he doesn’t.
Every night, he dreams of her naked and panting beneath him. Her taste, her smell, the way her breasts fill his palms… Every morning he wakes up rock hard, groping for her in his empty bed.
With desire spinning out of control, Lucas struggles with his own non-fraternizing policy. But he must know if he hungers for Isabelle because amnesia has changed his taste in women, or if there is something she isn’t telling him.
And if she could be the key to unlocking his past.
Playing Dirty (coming Fall 2017)
The Darcy Brothers
Find You in Paris
True spite. Fake marriage. Real romance.
If there's one man that store clerk and amateur photographer Diane Petit really, really, actively hates, it's fragrance mogul Sebastian Darcy who stole her father's company--and wrecked the man's health in the process.
But the arrogant SOB had better brace himself because Diane has vowed revenge.
And revenge she will have.
Raphael’s Fling
One bookish assistant. One cocky CEO. One Christmas party that changes everything...
My name is Mia, and I dream about publishing a guide to medieval Paris. Except... I'm better qualified for writing a manual on how to go from a budding scholar to a pregnant runaway in three easy steps.
The Perfect Catch
He blocked the penalty shot, but he left his heart unguarded.
French goalkeeper Noah Masson wants to prove his worth to Coach and help his team win the gold. With an unruly mutt for company, a part-time gig to pay rent, and the national Water Polo Championships fast approaching, Noah is one hundred percent focused on his goal.
That is, until he catches a beautiful intruder poking around his kitchen...
American realtor-in-training Sophie Bander wants to convince her overbearing father she can be a first-class agent. Now she's in Paris, learning the ropes at a large agency. When she's done, she'll return to Key West, join her father's business, and marry the man of his dreams. It's not like she expects to be attracted to that man. Sophie has never felt sexual attraction, anyway.
That is, until a hard-bodied goalie mistakes her for a thief and presses her against the wall in his kitchen...
La Bohème
Winter’s Gift
What If It’s Love?
Falling for Emma
Under My Skin
Amanda’s Guide to Love
About the Author
Alix Nichols is an unapologetic caffeine addict and a longtime fan of Mr. Darcy, especially in his Colin Firth incarnation. She is a USA Today bestselling author of sexy, funny, riveting books that "will keep you hanging off the edge of your seat" (RT Book Reviews).
At the age of six, she released her first romance. It featured highly creative spelling on a dozen pages stitched together and bound in velvet paper.
Decades later, she still writes. Her spelling has improved (somewhat), and her books have topped the Amazon charts around the world. She lives in France with her family and their almost-human dog.
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Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Alix Nichols
SAYN PRESS
All Rights Reserved.
Editing provided by Write Divas
Cover design: Madison Silver
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the author.
