by Kim Black
I wasn’t an idiot. It was obvious that Julien and Emily loved each other. I realized that now more than ever. I thought that losing her memory would keep the man out of the picture; but, of course, she still found her way to him. Though I knew I should probably walk away, I was even more determined now to win her back. May the best fucking man win.
I knew Emily would be knocked out for a while, but I decided to stick around just in case she woke up and needed to talk. I also hoped that, when she did wake up, she wouldn’t want to talk about that fucking Frenchman. Now that she knew about the amnesia, the awkwardness between us was no longer an issue, since I didn’t feel like a complete fraud. There was no need to keep my distance and I could finally pursue her without guilt. I loved Emily and I would do anything for her. What we had was something special, it was lasting, and I couldn’t help the pride I felt that she hadn’t forgotten about what we had, but I had forgotten about that Julien. Well … somewhat forgotten…
Suddenly, there was a loud pounding at the door followed by a very annoyingly boisterous Suzie.
“Roberts, open up!” she bellowed behind the door.
I was tempted to let her stand there a while longer, but I didn’t want her waking up Emily.
“What the hell Suzie?” I barked as I opened the door to find her standing with her fists balled up on her hips.
“Owens! What the fuck are you doing here? You left last night with Diana. Don’t you dare tell me you’re trying to date them both or I swear –”
“Are you nuts or something? You should know me better than that. I know I’m the hottest man you’ve ever laid eyes on, but I’m a man of honor, Sue,” I joked, cutting her off her rant.
She relaxed a little, but I could see her replaying my statements in her mind. “Hottest man my ass, Owen, and don’t fucking EVER call me Sue!” she quipped and punched me in the arm. Predictable, predictable. I chuckled even when holding my hurting arm.
“So, where’s Em?” Suzie asked as she made her way into the kitchen, opening the fridge and inspecting it.
“Bed … hangover.” I responded, not wanting to go into the whole Frenchman thing with Suzie. It was bad enough I had to deal with him being back in the picture, I was not about to start crying about it, and I sure as hell did not need to gossip about it.
“Alright then. You may leave now,” she announced as she pulled her head out of the fridge and closed it, smiling.
“Um, I’m not going anywhere,” I challenge. Who the fuck died and made her God!
“Oh, really?” she retorted as she folded her arm across her chest.
JULIEN
Just when I believed things couldn’t get worse, they did. After Emily scurried out of my home last night, obviously upset about God knows what, I was beyond drained. To have her literally walk back into my life only to dash away into the night made getting up this morning unbearable.
Unable to face my bedroom and her lingering scent; I opted for the guest room again, tossing and turning most of the night as I attempted to figure out what had scared her away.
Having her in my arms again, in my bed, had greatly renewed my faith in our love despite the night’s end. We had danced around walking away from each other for far too long. I would give her time, a few days, to deal with her confusion; but afterwards, I planned to ensure she understood that I was in it for the long haul - no more running away … Not from me and not from her. She was mine, my only… my Emily.
When I arrived at the office, I intended to prepare for my meeting with a potential investor for the new expansion of the Belmont International but, to my surprise, I had an unexpected visitor waiting for me in my office.
“Good morning Sylvie, you’re looking rather lovely this morning,” I declared as I strolled over to retrieve any messages from her. As usual, she handed me a small stack of pink notices and I began thumbing through them one by one, before I noticed her uneasiness.
“Uh, good morning, Mr. Belmont. You… you have a visitor. She insisted she wait in your office,” she began before standing up to lean closer. “Normally I wouldn’t have allowed anyone in, but she’s very persistent and given your relationship…,” she trailed off, looking nervous.
Charlette.
I knew she would show up eventually. I was actually surprised she hadn’t surfaced sooner, which only meant that she was up to something. I was in no mood to deal with the woman and nothing she could say would change what I knew I had to do.
“Not a problem, Sylvie, I’ll talk to Ms. Delacroix,” I informed her before walking away and heading to my corner office.
“Charlette.” I greeted and strolled into the office, not bothering with the pleasantries - we offered each other nothing. This meeting was going to be anything but pleasant.
“Julien,” she responded icily. I knew she wanted me to notice her use of my first name. She had always called me Jules instead of Julien since we wedded three years ago.
“What brings you in today, Charlette?” I asked as I rounded my desk and began shuffling through the mountain of paperwork that awaited me.
She shifted slightly in her seat. I could sense her piercing eyes burning holes into me. She was upset. I couldn’t say that she didn’t have reason to be. I had bedded the woman and left her at dawn the next morning, without so much as a note or explanation, only sending her a text demanding a divorce a week later.
“You know exactly why I am here, Julien. You think you can sleep with me and then throw me away like some harlot?” she asked with a stern even toned voice.
I was wrong. She wasn’t upset. She was livid. Once again, just as she had done the night of the charity gala, Charlette allowed me to see her weakness. Taken aback, I lifted my eyes from the papers in front of me and looked at her. Merde! Shit!
“Look, Charlette. What happened between us was a mistake. I love Emily and our sleeping together has done nothing but cause me great pain. I am sorry that I hurt you, but per the contract we signed, you are to grant me a divorce should I request it.”
She stared back at me, speechless. I could tell that she was battling something internally, her mouth moving to say something but then - not.
“Don’t take this as anything against you, Charlette. In a different time, a different place, who knows what could have come of this; but I am in love with Emily and I intend to be with her,” I offered softly, not wanting to hurt the woman any further.
I had never known the extent of her feelings for me, but certainly knew now, that Charlette had allowed herself to feel something for me. It was something more than fondness, more than the banter to which we had grown accustomed.
“You are making a mistake, Jules. You mustn’t walk away from this so … easily,” she whispered, gesturing between us while still staring deeply into my eyes, pleading silently.
I went to respond but she quickly took to her feet, once again catching me off guard.
“One date is all I ask … One night. After which, should you decide to walk away, I’ll sign divorce papers with no question or hesitation,” she purred softly as she rounded my desk, giving me the full view ample breasts.
Merde.
I knew what she was trying to do, but it wouldn’t work. It was obvious that Charlette was completely delusional. Somewhere in her mind, she believed I was rightfully hers; and, being the conniving woman that she was, I had no doubt she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Did she really think I could easily be seduced?
I lifted my eyes to meet hers. My blood was boiling, but I wouldn’t let the martinet see me upset. Not only was the woman delusional, but I felt insulted that she would think me so weak minded. Clearly, she had forgotten just who I was, and it was high time that I reminded her.
Deciding to give her a taste of her own medication, I leaned into her slowly, causing her to do the same until our lips were a mere inch apart. Her eyes instantly fell from my eyes to my lips. Her breathing became shallow as she stared at my lips, obviously expecting me to kiss he
r. Delusional indeed…
I allowed my eyes to fall to her lips, as well. I played her little game, fueling her evident desire as her chest began to rise and fall rapidly. I slowly released a soft warm breath against her lips, causing her to close her eyes expectantly before I finally spoke.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Charlette. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I ever go on a date with you, let alone chose you over Emily. Now, get the fuck out!”
Chapter Eleven
EMILY
“Please mon amour, stay with me,” Julien said to me through pleading eyes.
I was in his home again. This time I was fully clothed. He stood at the top of the staircase in a black tux, looking absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. I wasn’t one to call a man beautiful, but he was. The sight of him in his expertly tailored suit, which stretched perfectly across his strong solid chest, made my body weak. God, he’s gorgeous!
I didn’t know what it was about the man that made my body betray me each time I was in his presence, but it was as if every part of me called out to the man, wanting to surrender to his overpowering, sexy, will.
“I can’t, I’m sorry…” I began. I couldn’t give into him. It wasn’t fair to him given my circumstance. I was a broken woman. I didn’t even know anything about him. What did he do for a living? Who were his parents? When did he fall in love with me?
“Croyez-moi, chérie. Trust me sweetheart,” he said as he descended the stairs with his arms stretched out towards me.
Panic gripped me and I instantly turned away, pushing through the massive double wooden doors and ran away from him. I couldn’t give in. I had to stay away.
“Please! I can’t! I’m sorry!” I yelled out through my tears.
“Emily! Em’, wake up!” I heard Suzie say as she shook my body awake. “Sweetie, you ok? You were screaming,” she informed me as she brushed her fingers through my hair.
My breathing was accelerated. I was no longer having erotic dreams about the Frenchman. Instead, he now invaded my dreams with pleas and declarations of love. I couldn’t handle it. I needed to process everything I had learned in the last forty-eight hours.
I shook my head towards Suzie, as she looked down at me clearly concerned. “Tell me what you were dreaming about sweetie?” she asked.
I knew I couldn’t hide it much longer from her and, though I still hadn’t sorted out my feelings about all that had happened, I told her everything. I told her about the erotic dreams I had at the hospital. I told her how I somehow ended up in front of his home. I told her about asking him to kiss me, how he swept me off my feet, and brought me inside. Suzie’s eyes widened so much that I couldn’t help but laugh when I told her that I had asked him to make love to me.
It was quite impulsive really, I knew. But, at the time, I felt as though I needed some kind of confirmation. My gut told me that the Frenchman and Julien were one and the same, but my mind … my mind remembered none of it. How can I have such a passionate connection with a man and not remember any of it?
“What do I do Suzie, please tell me, because I am serious freaking the fuck out,” I confessed.
“Girl, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I think that - before you do anything - you need to know that Adam wants you back,” she confessed wearily.
I immediately shot her a look, unable to believe that I, Emily Roberts, had two men pursuing me - an ex that I don’t remember breaking up with and a fucking sexy ass Frenchman that has some sort of voodoo powers over my body. I knew that most women would be thrilled to have two men chase after them, but I … I couldn’t handle it. It was too much!
“Are you sure? He didn’t say anything to me,” I whispered, completely in shock, while I replayed the last few days in my mind. Nothing seemed to indicate that Adam still wanted to be with me. In fact, he had done everything he could to keep his distance from me. I looked over at Suzie who was biting her lower lip then turned away, knowing that she only bit her lip when she was nervous.
“I’m sorry, Em’, but I’m positive. It’s not the end of the world, babe. I will help you sort through all of this, don’t worry,” she offered, trying to ease my exhausted, useless, mind. “Let me make you some coffee and we can have a girl’s night and talk about all of this… or something else. Whatever you want, ok?”
I nodded my head and she strolled out of my bedroom.
Great! Just what I fucking needed.
I could barely deal with the fact that Julien was in love with me and I hadn’t the faintest idea as to who he was. Now, I had to deal with Adam. And why we had we broken up? I was still clueless, because I’d not had the chance to speak to Diana, who’d been behaving rather oddly lately. We were normally inseparable, but she was scarcely around - unless everyone else was around. Had our friendship changed that much in just a year?
“Hey, where is Adam anyway?” I yelled out to Suzie, who was in the kitchen banging things around. I suddenly remembered that he had been here yesterday morning. Fuck, had I really slept through an entire friggin’ day? No more midnight solo wine parties for me.
“Oh, I sent his ass home. He didn’t want to leave, but a few purple nurples later and he was scurrying out the door,” she teased. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Reaching over to the nightstand, I grabbed my cell phone. It wasn’t the one I remembered, but when they grabbed my things out of the closet in my hospital room I discovered it. Apparently flip phones where now out and huge monstrosities, bigger-than-my-entire-hand, were now in. I hadn’t figured out how the device worked yet, but I powered it on pressing the button on the right side. Instantly it lit up and felt proud of myself. It was silly, but I couldn’t help but feel a small victory.
When the device powered up all the way, I noticed that I only had five percent battery power left.
A sudden knock on the front door pulled me from my thoughts. Who was that?
I looked over at the clock on my nightstand. It was now after eight. Sighing, I pulled the covers off me and slid out of bed. I needed a nice, long, hot shower. As I made my way to the bathroom, Suzie rushed into the bedroom.
“Umm, there’s a guy here asking to speak to you,” she announced in hushed tones. She looked weird as she closed the door behind her and hurried to my side.
“Well…who is he?” I asked, confused by her flushed cheeks and odd behavior.
She looked at me and swallowed hard, “I forgot to ask. I just … I told him to wait,” she said breathlessly.
I grabbed my robe, quickly put it on, and sauntered to my bedroom door expecting Suzie to come with me; but she sat on the edge of the bed, completely beside herself. I had never seen her so … bothered. What the fuck?
When I reached the living room, I saw the man staring out my window with his back to me. At first glance, I thought it was Julien, but I realized that this man was too short to be my Frenchman. Did I seriously just refer to the man as my Frenchman? I groaned and pushed the thought out of my head.
“Hello, how may I help you?” I asked as I approached the man.
He turned around slowly and immediately I realize just what had Suzie so frazzled. He. Was. Gorgeous.
“Hello, Emily. I know that you don’t know me, but I need to speak to you,” he offered as he extended his hand for me to shake.
I couldn’t move. Instead, I stood there like a complete fucking idiot staring into his stunning blue eyes. Suddenly, Julien’s grey/gold eyes flashed before my eyes jolting me out of my trance. “Umm, excuse me, hello,” I said and reached for his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Emily. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about you,” he said once he released my hand.
Still a bit uneasy about having such a fine specimen in my living room, I looked away. “Please have a seat Mr.…”
“Belmont. Shane Belmont.”
FUCK. ME!
“Of course,” was all I managed to say, as I slowly sat down on the opposite side of the couch, clenching my ro
be shut. It wasn’t hard to believe that he was related to Julien. One look at him in his sexy leather jacket, ripped jeans, and biker boots made me instantly flushed. He was sexy as hell, and had a bad boy air about him that made me feel quite warm between my legs. It was unnerving really to be in his presence. He wasn’t better looking than Julien, but his rugged style was definitely a turn on. And boy, did he turn me on. The Belmont name obviously produced nothing but hot men; and they all seemed to want something from me. Please don’t tell me this one is in love with me too! I just can’t take anymore fine men chasing after me. Loss of mind and all…
“I’m sorry to intrude, but I needed to speak with you regarding Julien,” he offered, obviously picking up on my discomfort. He leaned closer before continuing. “He told me everything that happened and I need you to know that my brother is very fond of you. In fact, I have never seen him so smitten by a woman.”
I knew he believed that he was helping, but the truth was this was the very last thing I needed to hear right now. This was too intense, too much for one person to absorb just a few days after a car accident, a coma, and my current amnesic state.
“I know that Julien is in love with me, Shane. I understand that. It’s just … I can’t be with him, with anyone for that matter, right now. I don’t even know how we met. Did I approach him? Did he approach me? Had he pursued me for weeks, months, what? I have very little memory of the man, outside of…” I trailed off, realizing that continuing would not be appropriate.
“I understand. This must be very difficult for you. I can’t imagine losing part of your past so suddenly. But, Julien isn’t a part of your past. I believe he is your future,” he declared, staring into my eyes to convey his seriousness.
Unable to speak, I looked away. I didn’t know what to say. I still needed time to process everything.
“I know this is very confusing, but you didn’t hear the anguish in his voice when you were in the coma. He was a complete ―”
