He propped a couple of loungers side by side on the deck. “What do you say we relax for a while before going downstairs to bed?”
“Ooh, yes! Who could go to sleep yet on a night like this?”
His eyes smiled at her. “Want a soda?” Luc was attentive to her every need. Jasmine had dated a little in college, but hardly at all in the last two years. She’d almost forgotten what it was like to be waited on and pampered.
“Not right now, thanks. What about you?”
“I’m perfect,” he murmured.
They’d stopped for dinner on the way back from Grasse and had bought some food and drinks to stow on board. Right now, they had everything they needed.
She lay down on her stomach with her face turned toward the beach. Luc stretched out on his side facing her with his hand propping his dark head. Jasmine chuckled. “You’re turned the wrong way.”
“I’ve been here before and am seeing the sight I want.”
Everything he said filled her with warmth. “You’re terrible.”
“You’re breathtaking. My grandfather had a copy of your grandmother’s book in his library. I’ve read it and looked at all the pictures. You’re more beautiful than she was and have the coloring of your grandfather. The combination is startling. Remy must have been shocked to see you face to face.”
Jasmine turned on her side. “I know he was.”
“Tell me the other reason besides pride that kept him from coming back to run the company after his father died. I know it had to do with your grandmother.”
Nothing got past Luc. She took a deep breath. “Do you remember when I told you that he went to Paris to run the company while my grandfather was on a trip to South America?”
“I do, but I didn’t know he’d gone so far away.”
“After his first wife and unborn baby died, the doctor told him to take a long trip.”
Luc sat up. “I didn’t know about a baby.”
“Not many people do. It would have been his firstborn. He had a few friends who enjoyed archaeology the way he did, so he joined them. Before leaving, he asked Remy to go to Paris and run the company. While Remy was there, he wanted him to attend the annual perfume awards banquet with the staff. Papa was glad to get out of it.”
“That’s right. He hated publicity.”
She nodded. “Remy went. It was held at the Hotel de Ville. Everyone who was anyone was there, including the president of France and some famous film stars like Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. While they stopped by the Ferrier table to talk to Remy, a woman bumped into him by accident, causing the champagne he’d been drinking to stain his ruffled shirt. That woman was my grandmother, Megan Hunt.”
“Why was she there?”
“Henri Brescault, a reporter for the Paris-Soir, was covering the event for the paper. He was hoping to get an interview with my grandfather, who kept winning the perfume award year after year. This reporter had a sister who was best friends with my grandmother. The uncle who raised her after her parents were killed was an Egyptologist and had given her a necklace that predated Christ.”
“You’re joking.”
“No. He worked at the Peabody Institute. Anyway, Henri asked her to wear it because he’d heard my grandfather would be in attendance. He hoped the necklace would catch Papa’s attention and garner him an interview.”
Luc smiled. “But nothing worked as planned because Maxim wasn’t there.”
“That’s right. Remy took one look at her and fell madly in love. She’d just graduated as a translator from the Sorbonne. He didn’t want to lose her to a job in England, so he begged his Aunt Dominique to hire her to help at the boarding school she ran in Switzerland. The night he asked her to marry him, she told him she cared for him very much, but she wasn’t ready to commit to marriage yet.
“In his pain, he drove off and got into a car accident with his Porsche. He ended up in the hospital. He was supposed to have driven her to Switzerland the next day. Unbeknownst to him, my grandfather returned from his trip a week earlier than planned because his aunt hadn’t been well and he was worried about her. When he walked into his apartment in Paris, he received a call from Remy, who was still in the hospital. Remy had thought the apartment retainer would answer, but it was my grandfather.
“Remy told Papa he’d fallen in love and was planning to be married at Christmas. Remy led Papa to believe he and my grandmother were engaged, which of course they weren’t. As a favor, he asked Papa to please pick up my grandmother at her apartment and drive her to the train leaving for Switzerland early the next morning.”
Luc shook his head.
“It was the perfect storm. Instead of putting her on the train, Papa drove her to Lausanne because he intended to drop in on his aunt, who’d already promised him she would close the school and stay home in Grasse.
“On the drive, he found out my grandmother wasn’t engaged and the two of them fell so deeply in love they didn’t know what to do. After Remy recovered from his accident, he discovered what had happened and his heart was broken beyond repair. He went after Papa in Grasse. They had a literal physical fight before Remy left for Paris and never came back home.”
“So the rest was history?” Luc surmised.
“Yes. My grandmother was in Switzerland when she found out about the fight. Knowing she was the cause of it horrified her because she loved Remy too, but not the way she loved Papa. In despair she left for the States, where neither man could ever find her, hoping that if she disappeared, the two of them could mend their differences. But Papa hunted her down until he found her in Driggs, Idaho, where she’d been born. They got married there and he brought her back to Grasse.”
“Mon Dieu.”
Jasmine sat up. “Perhaps now you understand why Papa suffered so much grief. Not only was Paul’s cruelty unforgiveable, Remy saw my grandparents’ love affair as a great betrayal. Neither Papa nor my grandmother meant for any of it to happen.
“If you want to know the truth, before my grandmother died, she confided in me about Remy. The things she loved about him touched my heart. Papa wasn’t the only one who suffered. Grandma wanted to love Remy the way a woman loves a man. She tried so hard. In fact, she admitted to me that if she’d never met my grandfather, she would probably have ended up marrying Remy.
“For nights, I listened to her tell me about their love story. He was so good to her while she was studying for her finals. Remy was prepared to give her the world. During those talks, I felt so close to him. Between my grandparents’ confidences about him, I felt like I knew him even though I hadn’t met him. I truly love him. Do you find that strange?”
“Not at all.” She could tell by Luc’s expression he’d been moved. “But it would take a strong man to overcome that kind of emotional pain.”
“Still, it didn’t break him, and Papa knew it. That’s why he begged me to help Remy. Grandma begged me too.”
He stared at her. “You have a look of your grandmother. It must have been like déjà vu for him when you showed up in his violet field.”
“That’s exactly what I thought when he turned around and saw me. I never prayed so hard in my life for a miracle to happen.”
“I had no idea so much was at stake. You’ve carried a heavy load.”
“Which you lightened by listening to me and helping me. I’m so thankful for you, Luc.” She could feel tears smarting her eyelids. “Enough talk about my life. I want to hear about the girl you loved. Tell me about her.”
Lines darkened his handsome features. “Sabine’s family moved to Cagnes from Paris our senior year. She was different from the other girls I knew.”
“In what way?”
“She was funny, and fun. I was intrigued and invited her to hang out with me and my best friend, Philippe. A group of us did all sorts of crazy things
when we weren’t studying. She fit right in.”
Jasmine smiled. “Define crazy.”
“My parents labeled me a daredevil at an early age. That’s what we did. We dared each other to push the envelope, no matter what it was.”
“Like the guys on the island.”
He nodded.
“Were you lovers?”
“Yes.”
His answer shouldn’t have hurt, but it did.
“We were crazy about each other. I got this idea that after we graduated from high school, we’d get married and take my sailboat around the world. You know. Stop for a while here and there to earn a little money, then move on to the next stop.
“Considering that my family had their own specific dreams for me, they would have been horrified if they’d known what I’d planned. But a selfish eighteen-year-old isn’t thinking about anyone else.”
Remembered pain seeped in. “I was the same way, Luc. Without giving my parents’ wishes a thought, I wanted to go to the Sorbonne, where my grandparents had gone.” She shook her head. “Forgive me for interrupting you. Go on,” she urged.
“There isn’t anything else. The day we graduated, we decided to go skydiving. It was my idea. Our big adventure sounded like the perfect way to start the summer. We took off in a single-engine plane near Cannet-des-Maures. One minute, we were all laughing and getting ready to parachute. In the next minute, the plane lost power and we plowed into a hill.”
He got up from the lounger and walked over to the side of the cruiser. In agony for him, she jumped up and joined him. “I can’t imagine the horror of it. Were you in the hospital a long time?”
“Three months with a bruised spine. My parents and grandparents never left me alone. At first, the doctors didn’t think I’d ever walk again. At the time, I didn’t care. I’d lost Sabine. It was my fault she and Philippe were dead. I wanted to die.”
Luc was no stranger to guilt of the worst kind. “Surely you still don’t blame yourself? You couldn’t have known that plane would crash.”
“You’re right, but it took me a long time to throw off the burden.”
She studied him for a moment. “I’m so sorry for your suffering.”
He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her in place for a long time. “It all happened a long time ago. I haven’t talked about it for years.”
Jasmine lifted a hand and caressed the side of his hard jaw. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I’m glad you did.” He kissed her fingertips.
“How did you pull out of your morose state?”
“My physical therapist told me he was being replaced. I asked him why. He said that when there were other patients fighting to get better, he couldn’t work with one who had a death wish. Since the doctor had given me the prognosis of a full recovery if I worked hard, he found me utterly selfish and pathetic and refused to waste his time.”
“Oh, Luc—”
“‘Oh, Luc’ is right. When he walked out on me, I got angry. That was the first real emotion to wake me up to my sickening state of mind. In another six months, I could walk with a cane. A year later, I’d thrown it away and started university at Sophia Antipolis in Nice where I took courses in economics and management.
“It was there I made good friends with Nic Valfort. We both went to graduate school in Paris. Life got better from that point on. Speaking of Nic, he has invited me to his house on Saturday evening and wants me to bring someone. When we get back from our trip, I’d like you to go with me. You’ll enjoy his wife, Laura, who’s your age. She’s from San Francisco.”
“An American? That’s interesting. But I’m not sure if I’ll have time. My flight leaves the next day.”
“Then we’ll make sure you find the time. He saw you on TV and wants to meet the famous head of Ferriers.”
“After today, I’m no longer anything. That’s the trouble with fame. Here today, gone tomorrow,” she quipped.
Luc winced, not able to appreciate the humor when he knew she was going to leave him. He walked her back over to the loungers. “I don’t want to talk about tomorrow. We came on this trip to get to know each other better. I want to hear about all the various men in your life.”
She sank back down. “You make it sound like there have been legions.”
He sat opposite her, tracing the outline of her cheek with his finger. “I have no doubt legions of men have desired you, but I want to know about the one or two who were lucky enough to enjoy your company.”
“I dated some in high school, mostly group dates. But there was one guy named Hank Branson.”
He grinned. “Sounds like a cowboy.”
She nodded. “The year I met him I was seventeen. Dad had taken the family to the rodeo. My father was a famous bull rider at one time and he’s always had an active association with the rodeo. Both my brothers got into it for a while. They became friends with Hank, an eighteen-year-old steer wrestler from Rexburg, a town a half hour away. I was introduced to him.
“In the arena he was known as Hank the Tank because he was big and tough. And cute.
“Every girl around was nuts about him. I was smitten. When he took time off, he came by the house during the year while I was home. I was in heaven riding around the ranch with him, going out on the occasional steak fry with him and our family.
“We went to movies and did some hiking in the Tetons. He gave me my first kiss and told me he was going to marry me when I was all grown up. We dated on and off for about three years, but because I spent so much time in France, it was hit and miss.
“The family really liked him, and dad kept telling me I couldn’t do any better. Hank has gone into business with his father, who owns a big, successful ranch. They’re good people. But at one point I realized my crush on him had worn off. When he brought up marriage again, I had to tell him I wasn’t in love with him and that ended it.”
Luc closed his eyes. “The poor devil,” he muttered, once again stunned by the revelations falling from her lips. “Are you sure he’s still not waiting for you when you go home?”
“For his sake, I hope not.”
“What about the men you met at the university in Paris?”
“I went out with several guys, but I never had a lover if that’s what you’re asking.”
Never? “Surely there must have been someone who mattered to you.”
“There was one named André. We dated some until I realized he was too dictatorial. He tried to order me around.”
“You mean the way I did to you on the island?”
She nodded. “For a few moments, you reminded me of him.”
“So that’s why you were so angry with me.”
“Only for a moment, Luc. Now you know about my legions of love affairs. I’m afraid I’ve put you to sleep.”
“If anything, it’s your voice that sounds tired. Maybe we ought to head downstairs. I think I’ve worn you out after all that’s happened today.”
He pulled her along with him and they went below. To her surprise, he didn’t linger in the doorway to her cabin.
“I need to put the boat to bed. So you’ll feel safe, I’ll turn on the cruiser’s warning device. Sleep well.” After a brief kiss to her lips, he walked back toward the stairs, leaving her with an ache that would keep her awake all night.
CHAPTER EIGHT
AS SHE GOT READY, Jasmine realized she wasn’t on Luc’s mind right now. How could she be after she’d forced him to relive his tragic past? But she was glad she knew. The experience had helped him to become the remarkable man he was today. The man you’re going to leave after this short vacation is over.
In order not to think about that, she took out a map of the Mediterranean he’d given her to study and got in bed. Tomorrow he’d let her pick their next spot to
explore. Jasmine couldn’t recall ever having had this kind of joy in her life. There was only one reason why. Luc.
But he was probably up on deck recalling his former dream of sailing around the world. Unfortunately, his dream had been dashed. Jasmine shuddered and tried to focus on their destination for tomorrow, but that didn’t work.
After studying the map for a while longer, she fell asleep. She came awake the next morning with a pounding heartbeat. Nothing could slow down her heartbeat knowing Luc was on board. After a shower, she dressed in a plum-colored bikini. When she’d put on a matching beach wrap, she went up on deck to find him.
“Luc?”
“There’s my Amazon warrior. I’m out here!”
With a chuckle, she turned in time to see his dark, handsome head while he treaded water. “Come on in! It’s the perfect temperature.”
Jasmine needed to tie back her hair first, but that meant going below. His invitation was so inviting, she forgot about it and made her way to the transom. Then, removing her wrap, she dove into the brilliant blue water. He swam toward her. The sight of him with his black hair slicked back and those jet-black eyes devouring her thrilled her so much it was hard to breathe.
He reached for her hand and drew her into him. “I’ve been waiting for my breakfast and here you are.” His white smile was devilish. “I’m not sure which part of you I want to eat first.”
Jasmine laughed nervously until he captured her mouth and twirled them around. Having lived by the water all his life, Luc swam like a fish. He kept them buoyant as he turned on his back with her lying on top of him so they could drink deeply of each other. They played and kissed both in and on top of the water. For a while, she lost all sense of time, never wanting sensual pleasure like this to end.
Though going to bed with a man was one experience she hadn’t known yet, Luc was teaching her ways to enjoy the exquisite pleasure of being with a man. Nothing in life had prepared her for happiness like this. He lifted her high above the water while he turned in circles. When he lowered her again, his eyes played over her hair.
Taming the French Tycoon Page 13
