by Lula Baxter
Cheers to you, Alexandre.
It’s been months since I saw him that day while getting my books for school.
‘Au revoir, Astrid.’
The phrase wasn’t lost on me when he said it. I assumed I would see him again soon after that. A tiny, immature part of me thought for sure the man who was so used to winning would fight a little for the woman who he claimed was what his life was all about. Even though it was for the best, I wish I hadn’t been so dismissive that day. I thought not seeing him again would help me get over him. Instead, it made the longing even more intense. I’ve barely been able to concentrate on school.
“Oh, there’s Penelope Drew, I have to go say hi,” Mom says, touching my arm lightly.
I just smile and gesture with my champagne glass to let her know she should go. I finish the rest of the drink and feel that first bit of buzz in my head. I like it, mostly because it helps me enjoy this scene, which is most definitely not my type of event. Mom may be quick to forgive the upper crust, who are so fickle with their acceptance, but I’m glad to be rid of it, at least on a personal level.
I look around for another server bearing drinks, then a better idea comes to me. Maybe it’s the Paris theme, which reminds me of my time back in France. The good memories. I walk out to the open bar in the foyer and lean in, giving the bartender a hopeful smile.
“You wouldn’t happen to know what a French 75 is, would you?”
He chuckles. “For a party like this, I’d better know every drink in the book.”
I laugh. “I’ll take one, thanks.”
I turn around to look at the people who have escaped the main event in the ballroom and see my father. He’s surrounded by some men, a few of whom seem to be well into their cups already. He turns to see me and gives me that pained look that tells me he’d rather be anyplace else but there.
“Here you are, miss,” The bartender says, grabbing my attention again.
“Thanks again,” I say, taking it and walking over to Dad. One of the men is laughing so hard, his face is red. The others seem to be laughing more out of politeness rather than amusement.
“Excuse me, you gentlemen don’t mind if I steel my father for a moment, do you?” I ask sweetly as I snake my arm through his.
The looks they give me are generous, perhaps too generous in a couple instances, but they don’t protest.
“Thank you for that, dear daughter,” he says as we walk away.
“Just doing my part. This is a charity event after all,” I say and we both laugh.
“Your mother may be in her element here, but I think I’d rather be home watching football. I suppose I’ll have to get used to all of this again, especially now that my company is about to expand.”
“At least there’s an open bar,” I say, guiding him that way.
“The one saving grace,” he says with a sigh. “What’s that you’ve got?”
“It’s called a French 75,” I say, looking down at it with a soft smile.
“Sounds fancy,” he says, then turns to the bartender. “I’ll just have a whiskey, neat.”
While he’s ordering, I scan the foyer again. My eyes wander so lazily, I almost miss him. But those green eyes are etched into my memory, forcing my own right back with a magnetic pull so strong everything else in the room drops out of sight.
Alexandre.
He looks as handsome and sophisticated as that first day I saw him in the lobby of his hotel. Once again, the tuxedo fits him like a glove, showing off that impressive physique.
“Isn’t that…?”
“Yes,” I say to Dad, who has just followed my gaze.
“Hmm,” he says in a way that breaks the spell Alexandre has on me.
“What?” I say, looking up at him as innocently as possible. “He’s just…” I don’t even know how to finish that, especially in a way that won’t put my father on alert as to the true nature of my history with Alexandre.
“More than just an acquaintance,” he finishes for me anyway. “I figured that much back in Monte Carlo.”
My eyes go wide in surprise. “How did you know?”
“I’m not blind, Astrid,” he chastises. “I wasn’t then, and I’m certainly not now. No judgment from this camp. You’re a grown woman, entitled to make your own decisions.”
He leans in and gives me a pointed look. “Just so long as you’re making those decisions for the right reasons. Your own reasons.”
I turn back to Alexandre, who is still standing across the room staring at me as though I’m the only one here.
“Go ahead. You’ve done your due diligence as a daughter by rescuing me. I might as well return the favor. Besides, I certainly can’t hate the man who invested fifty-million dollars in my company.”
Now I’m looking at him again in surprise. “You know about that? He said it was through a shell corporation.”
“And he did a very good job covering his tracks, but I’m more cautious these days about who I let invest in my company. I did my due diligence. It says something that he bought non-preferred, non-voting stock. I’m willing to give him a chance…in more ways than one.”
I turn back to Alexandre. Seeing him again has my heart nearly pounding out of my chest. But like my father, I’m more cautious these days. “I don’t know.”
“Yes you do,” he encourages. “At least if that look on your face is any indication. Like I said, I’m not blind.”
I feel the smile creep onto my face. I turn to Dad one more time and quickly peck him on the cheek. “Thanks, Dad,” I whisper.
Then I walk toward Alexandre.
“You’re here.” I’m mesmerized by those eyes of his, the strong male presence he carries with him, those lips that have always brought me so much pleasure.
“Didn’t I tell you the last time we met that I would see you soon?”
My eyes fall down to the drink I just remember is in my hand. I bring it up to take a sip.
“French 75,” he muses. “That always bodes well for the night.”
I nearly choke on my sip as I recall the last two times I had this drink.
“Careful,” he says with a smile. He reaches out to brush a stray hair that’s fallen into my face as a result of my coughing fit. His fingers send a sizzling bolt of lightning through me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, once I recover. There are a million different meanings to that question.
What are you doing here in America? In Boston? At this event?
What are you doing here now after all this time?
What do you want from me?
Instead of answering right away, his expression becomes serious as he stares at me.
“Do you remember when I sent that vase of tulips? The one red bloom?”
I search my memory and it doesn’t take me long to figure out what he’s talking about. The one red tulip in a vase of fifty white tulips.
“Even then, I knew,” he says, stepping closer to me. He practically consumes my space and I want to fall right into it, drowning in his everything. One hand comes up to cup my face as those dreamy green eyes hold mine.
“You’re the one. Je t'aime, Astrid.”
And just like that, I’m sinking. It’s a sea where wave after wave crashes through my body, washing away all the bad memories and leaving me floating in nothing but hope and passion and pure, unadulterated happiness.
“I love you too, Alexandre.”
When he kisses me, the rest of the world really does fall away. This is it, our beginning. Square one. Let the game begin.
It’s going to be so much fun.
Chapter Forty-Four
Alexandre
THE NEXT SUMMER
“Oh my God!” Astrid gasps, closing her eyes and moaning with pleasure.
“I promised you, you would enjoy it.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect it to be this amazing,” she groans.
A group of teenagers nearby are staring at us. They catch me looking, then turn bac
k to each other and giggle.
“So I take it you like your first graduation gift?” I say, before biting into my hamburger.
We’re at In-n-Out Burger in Santa Monica, eating hamburgers and fries “animal style” which is something new for me.
“I asked for a new experience and this was definitely one,” she says, taking another bite.
I smile at her, once again enjoying her zest for life. It reminds me of what my life was like before Bernard Financiers consumed me. I’ve started a new financial investment company, Richmont Investments. We specialize in angel investing in start-ups. The firm finds budding companies in need of money and invests ethically, maintaining the mission statement of the original founders. It isn’t as profitable as Bernard Financiers was, but money hasn’t been a consideration for me for a long time.
Gabrielle liquidated her portion of the company and ran off with a much younger man to Ibiza.
Bruce Campbell eventually came out of hiding and, very much against his parents’ wishes, moved to San Francisco, near where his old friend Conrad just happened to be going to law school. Astrid didn’t seem at all bothered when she learned about it. Even though I wasn’t the wronged party, I didn’t understand at first.
“Honestly, I’m happy for him. He deserves a break after what he had to deal with from his parents.”
“Even after the way he treated you?”
“I forgave you didn’t I?” she replies with one eyebrow raised.
I twist my lips and tilt my head in acknowledgment. “Still…”
“Still, nothing,” she says, reaching out to take my face in both her hands. “Forgiveness isn’t about the other party, it’s about letting go. It’s about moving on to live the best life possible.”
Admittedly, it took me a long time to appreciate those words she’d uttered. It was something my mother had tried to instill in me before we fell out of touch. For most of my life, I had let the anger and resentment over my father’s death not just consume me, but control me. It had only caused those feelings to fester. Giving up Bernard Financiers and being with Astrid this past year opened me up to the possibility of what life could be like. A life that focused on simply enjoying the moment, while it was there.
I think about what was once my favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo. I refer back to it often, mostly to remind myself of what I once was, what I need to let go of. It’s one passage in the last chapter that guided me through this last year with Astrid and helped me grow more than anything.
I have but you in the world, Haydée; through you I again take hold on life, through you I shall suffer, through you rejoice.
Life has taught me pain and suffering. It has also taught me happiness and joy. With Astrid, I have hope. There will be ups and downs, but I know I’ll always have her. Like the Count had his Haydée, I have my Astrid.
“So, what is the plan from here?” Astrid asks.
I give her a warning look. “You should know better than to ask that by now.”
She laughs and digs her fork into the animal style fries, shoving a huge chunk into her mouth. These days, I know exactly how to surprise her. No fancy displays of wealth. No yachts and private jets and fancy dinners. This trip is just the two of us, driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. I did splurge with the Jaguar E-type again. No need to give up all luxuries.
This drive up the coast is one that my parents, who were big on road trips, took me on many times when I was a kid. It’ll be fun re-living it again, this time with Astrid by my side. It will be fun living the rest of my life with Astrid by my side. Maybe one day we can bring our own children back here to enjoy the experience all over again….
That thought stirs the excitement and hope inside of me for the millionth time since Astrid and I reunited last year. Hopefully, Astrid will feel the same since she’s in for the biggest surprise of all at the end of this trip: The ring I have hidden in my suitcase.
Epilogue
“Happy Birthday, Mama!”
I wake up to see Alexandre ushering our three daughters, Chloe, Olivia, Julia, into the bedroom of our large home in Nice.
As the oldest, at five-years-old, Chloe is precariously holding a breakfast tray in her small hands. Olivia, three-years-old, has her tiny hands gripping some papers. Julia is still only one and rests in the crock of Alexandre’s arm, while he holds up a flute of something in the other hand. By now I’m able to recognize my favorite drink.
“Oh, what’s all this? How wonderful!” I cry with happiness and mock surprise, clapping my hands.
Thankfully, I had forewarning from my dear husband that I should be somewhat presentable this morning. Especially after the amazing early birthday gift—multiple birthday gifts, in fact—he gave me last night.
“We made you breakfast!” Chloe says proudly, bringing the tray forward. I watch the bowl of fruit and platter of croissants slide across it, hoping it makes the trip from the door to the bed without disaster. “I cut the fruit myself.”
“Well, thank you!” I say to her. She has my blonde hair, but Alexandre’s clear green eyes. She definitely has his tendency toward taking control, bossing her sisters around, until I manage to temper it with one or two gentle words of reproach.
“We did some pictures for you, Mama!” Olivia says, trying to climb up on our bed while holding the papers in her hands, which I now notice are watercolor paintings, the very definition of abstract art.
“You’re wrinkling them, Olivia,” Chloe complains with a frown.
“That’s okay,” I say easily, even though Olivia is most definitely doing a number on them as her little legs and arms try to climb up and hold them at the same time. I reach over and pick her up to sit next to me on the large bed. She has Alexandre’s darker hair and my blue eyes. She isn’t at all bothered by her older sister’s criticism. Her refreshingly easy-going attitude toward almost everything can only be inherited from Jeanne, who is notoriously unfazed by anything, God bless her.
“And, finally,” Alexandre says, leaning in to hand me my drink. “As is birthday tradition.”
“French 75?” I say, raising an eyebrow his way to give him a coy smile. “I believe this is how all of this started in the first place,” I add, looking around at our three daughters.
“All the better to expand,” He replies, giving me a devilish grin and a wink. I laugh and take a sip.
“What does that mean, Mama?” Chloe asks, a little too sharp these days for my liking.
“It means,” I say, setting the tray of food aside and pulling her into my other side for a hug, “that this is the best birthday ever.”
Alexandre settles on the edge of the bed with Julia on his lap. She still has brilliantly blonde hair and his green eyes. I can already see that impish curiosity in her that she probably inherited from me. I appreciate on every level, except that of being a mother, that she’s going to be the biggest handful of all.
“Happy Birthday, Astrid,” Alexandre says, looking at me in that secret way we have, when it seems to be just the two of us in the world.
Today, I’m turning thirty. Alexandre still looks at me the way he did on that boat, years ago. Now that we live here in Nice, Jeanne is more than happy to take the girls, while we escape back to one of those little coves to experience that first time all over again.
My parents are flying in today, just as they do at least a few times a year, and tonight will be a larger family celebration. For now, I’m enjoying this moment. I can’t believe I ever once thought about giving this up to marry a man who didn’t want me, to live a life that would have drained my soul.
Even though I’m passionate about my career, heading a foundation that provides scholarships to promising artists so they can attend art school, this right here is what makes life worth living. I look around at my family that’s brought me so much joy and irritation and pride and worry and all the emotions that go along with experiencing life fully. Mostly, I focus on the man who made it all possible. The man I love more than
life itself.
This is what a marriage should be like.
This is what a family should be like.
This is what life should be like.
Continue on for more…
FILTHY HEIR
Coming Fall 2018
FILTHY HEIR
An International Alphas Romance
DESCRIPTION
One week in sinful paradise.
One surprise that lasts…FOREVER
VIOLET
Tall. Dark. Handsome.
Seductive. Enigmatic. Dominant.
LORENZO was my knight in shining armor that fateful morning in Napoli.
When he invited me to his tiny Italian island paradise, I was too deep under his spell to say no.
For one full week, I was uninhibitedly his.
No ties.
No pressure.
The best laid plans….
Now, I’m back home in Seattle.
I’m definitely tied…and the pressure is on.
I have a tiny surprise that will last forever.
Lorenzo is the heir to a corporate legacy with a twisted past that he wants nothing to do with.
What will he do when he finds out he has an heir of his own?
This is a STAND ALONE in the International Alphas Romance series, with a Happily Ever After, HEA and No Cliffhangers!
WARNING: Due to A LOT of steamy scenes and adult language 18+ Only!
CHAPTER 1
Violet
This is so, so bad. Absolutely sinful.
“Mmmm,” I moan.
The pleasure running through me is positively orgasmic. I close my eyes to savor the sensation. The heat of the morning sun on my bare skin. The feel of the sweat that is just beginning to bead. The soft noise of lyrical Italian in my ears.
