Chapter 4
JAKE
T his was a huge fucking mistake.
I knew it as soon as I’d rolled up to the train station and saw her leaning back in the sun, her long shapely legs on display and her silky top clinging to her like a second skin.
I knew it when I could barely keep my eyes on the road on the drive back home.
And I knew it when I opened the French doors to the guest cottage, and she glided past me in a whisper of linden blossom perfume and warm skin.
I wanted her. And not just a little bit. This was the kind of full-body desire that I hadn’t felt since I was a high school virgin with a stack of old Playboys under my bed.
I gritted my teeth and kept my eyes glued to the sketches on the wall. Pretended that my body wasn’t as hard as the goddamn window railing.
How had I convinced myself that having my childhood friend’s daughter spend an entire summer at my place wasn’t going to be a problem?
I hadn’t even given it a second thought since Christmas.
Had pushed it completely from my mind until Olivia had contacted me a week ago.
Even then I’d somehow managed to convince myself that I’d imagined my attraction to her.
But if she went wandering around like that every day, this was going to be a long fucking summer. It was going to be torture.
“Wow. This is amazing,” she said as she spun around taking in the freshly cleaned room that Chantal, my housekeeper, had prepared earlier.
I occasionally hosted clients here and had hired an interior decorator to spruce up the place.
She’d gone for a luxe bohemian style—whatever the fuck that meant—and damn if it didn’t look like it had been made for Olivia, from the soft white linens and the canopied bed to the antique kilim on the floor and the watercolor sketches on the wall.
Olivia ran her hands over the coverlet and made a little moaning sound that made me wonder if she sounded like that when she came.
I tried not to notice how her breasts bounced as she raised her arms over her head and flopped backward onto the bed.
But judging from the way the blood went rushing to my cock, I wasn’t doing a very good job of it.
So I forced myself to think about her father.
She looked nothing like Ben. Thank God. He’d always been charming in a blond, Midwestern sort of way and, as a varsity baseball player, he’d gotten his fair share of girls back in high school while I still had my nose buried in comic books or hidden behind my camera.
But he was never the best-looking guy in school. His daughter, however . . .
“This is gorgeous, Jake. Like a five-star hotel only cozier.” She leaned up on her elbows and beamed up at me. With a strength I didn’t know I possessed I willed my eyes not to drift down her body.
“So where’s the kitchen?” Her blue eyes twinkled.
“I’ll show you.” Thankful to get away from the bed, I practically raced back to the main house. Olivia followed me through the glass doors into the kitchen, and her gasp of pleasure had my entire body tensing again.
“This is bigger than my apartment! Ooh, are those copper?” She practically squealed as she stared up at the old pots and sauté pans hanging above the center island. When she glided her hands across the marble countertop and sighed, I turned away.
“Feel free to use the kitchen as much as you like.” I continued through the alcove to the living room. “There’s a TV here, but everyone your age watches YouTube, right?” Yeah, grandpa, that’s what kids are doing these days .
She frowned at the last remark. I suppose it was insulting.
She was an adult. Barely. “I prefer to read actually.” She wandered back into the kitchen and trailed her fingers over the countertop, smiling back at me again.
“Honestly, I can’t believe I get to live in such a beautiful place for the summer.
Thank you so much, Jake. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you. ”
I wasn’t used to so much unfiltered honesty and enthusiasm. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I brushed it off. “Not necessary. Your dad got me out of trouble so many times when we were kids; I’m happy to return the favor.”
Olivia leaned against the counter in a pool of sunlight and closed her eyes.
My gaze wandered over her again. This time I couldn’t fight it—imagining the heat of her skin through that flimsy top as I ran my hands over the curves of her breasts.
I fisted my hands and opened the fridge searching for something cold to drink.
“So what do you want me to help you with while I’m here?” she asked.
“You don’t have to do any work for me. Just enjoy yourself.” I poured both of us a glass of sparkling water.
Her face fell. “Oh, I don’t mind. I’d like to learn more about wine.
Anyway, what else would I do? It’s not like I have any friends here.
” She slid her hand in her pocket like she was looking for something.
“Oh right, no phone. I wanted to show you this app that a friend of mine developed. I used it for the archives at the law firm, and I think it would help with your inventory. I can show it to you on my computer.”
Shit, well now I felt like a complete ass. She’d given this project thought. Spending the next few weeks in proximity to her might send me over the edge, but she sounded so damn eager to help. “If you really want to work, I’ll see with Jin. I know he’s expecting some deliveries this week.”
“Did I hear my name?” I cringed as Jin’s voice filled the room, remembering too late that I’d never told him about Olivia.
He clasped his hand to his chest as he approached, snatching off his yellow sunglasses.
During the week, Jin dressed in sober, expensive suits, but on the weekend, he preferred a monochromatic look and had a full ensemble for every color of the rainbow.
Today, he looked like a lemon tree had exploded all over him.
Weekend Jin was a lot to take in, and Olivia blinked at him in surprise then broke into the most irresistible smile.
Jin continued to study her over lowered glasses. Then he turned to me with a reproachful glare. “You’ve been keeping secrets from me! Who is this?”
I’d avoided mentioning Olivia to Jin because I honestly hadn’t thought about the ridiculous promise I’d made to her all those months ago.
Now I realized how foolish that was since Jin would wonder why I’d withheld this information from him.
He’d been on me about my lack of a love life for the past year.
“Jin, this is Olivia Peterson. She’s going to be helping us this summer. Olivia, this is my colleague Jin Zhao”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Olivia held her hand out while Jin stared at it like he’d never seen a hand before. He narrowed his eyes at me. “You said we didn’t need any help when I asked you if I could hire an assistant.”
“That’s what I was just explaining to Olivia. I’m trying to convince her to enjoy her summer and not feel obliged to work the entire time.” Jin continued to stare at Olivia like she was from another planet.
“Oh, no, no, no. I need help.” His gaze wandered from her toes to her baffled face. “Especially from Elizabeth Taylor here. I approve.”
“Jin,” I admonished as Olivia’s cheeks pinkened.
“What? Is it wrong that I’m happy to have an attractive assistant?” He rolled his eyes.
“First of all, she’s not your assistant. But, if she’s willing, she can help you with the inventory. Maybe even go with you to Burgundy.” Normally, Jin worked exclusively in our Asian offices, but this summer he was handling visits to our local producers.
“And will she be assisting you in any way?” Jin winked at me, ignoring my irritated glare.
“I’m happy to help however I can,” Olivia said.
“Thank God!” Jin wrapped his arms around her, and she laughed, that same husky laugh that had my blood warming the first time I met her.
When Jin finally let her go she asked, “So, Jin, do you live in Shanghai?”
“No, doll, I live upstairs.”
“Jin lives here when he’s in town for work,” I explained. “But most of the time he’s between Shanghai and Singapore.”
“Your English is perfect,” Olivia said.
“It’d better be after two years at Harvard Business School.”
As Jin eagerly launched into a recital of his professional biography, my phone buzzed with a missed message. Relieved to have an excuse to leave, I said, “I need to make a call. I’ll let you two get acquainted.”
“Work?” Jin rolled his eyes. “Or is that one of your girlfriends calling?”
“Yeah, that’s it, Jin.” All I needed now was for him to remind me that I hadn’t been laid in months. Or was it a year now? I’d lost count.
However, if my reaction to Olivia was any indication, my body was clearly keeping score.
* * *
Upstairs I closed the door to my room and checked my messages. Two missed calls, one from Lucie and one from my mother. Fantastic.
My mother could wait. Our relationship was strained at best, and we sometimes went months without speaking.
But since my father passed last year, she’d been calling more often, hinting that she’d like to come to Moustiers for a visit.
I’d never invited her here for the simple reason that it had never occurred to me.
And for the moment, I had more than enough houseguests.
Better to deal with Lucie first or she’d keep harassing me.
“ Enfin !” She laughed, picking up after the first ring. “I was beginning to think you didn’t like me anymore.”
“As if that were possible,” I replied. Lucie and I had met when I first came to France. We’d dated off and on in our twenties until we’d wised up and decided we were better off as friends.
“You never know with you,” she scolded. “Now listen, I have important news.”
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me what it is?”
“I’m sure you’ll tell me even if I don’t ask.” I wandered over to the desk and flipped through the unopened mail. Bills, invitations to events I had no intention of going to, nothing interesting. “Does this have anything to do with the new magazine?”
Lucie’s family owned a French media and lifestyle company second only to LVMH.
They’d launched a new food and wine magazine last fall and Lucie was now at the helm.
She’d been bugging me to do an interview for months, but I hated that kind of publicity, even if it was good for business.
And God knows that wasn’t going well these days.
“No, this is much bigger news. I’m getting married!”
I froze, my thumb still stuck under the envelope I’d been about to open and sat down in the leather armchair. “Seriously?”
I couldn’t imagine her settling down. Lucie had never been interested in marriage. She’d made that very clear when we were together, claiming that she got bored too easily. We’d never been exclusive, and that was fine with me.
“It’s crazy, I know. But I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.” Through the phone, her voice practically vibrated with happiness.
“Is this Michele we’re talking about?” The last boyfriend I’d met was a banker from Milan with a bald head as shiny as his over-polished loafers.
“No, that ended last year. You haven’t met him yet. I’ll bring him to your birthday party.”
“You’re not throwing me a party this year,” I warned.
For some reason she insisted on “surprising” me every year at my birthday.
She found it hilarious that I never celebrated it.
Turning another year older was the last thing I wanted to think about, especially now that I had decided that lusting after the twenty-three-year-old in my kitchen was something I ought to do.
“We’ll see,” Lucie teased. “Anyway, I want you to come to the wedding. It’s in late September.”
“Jesus, you’re not fooling around, are you?”
“ Franchement , Jake, I’d marry him tomorrow, but my father insists on throwing a big party so it can be in all the papers.”
“Well, I’m happy for you, Lucie. Shocked, but happy.
” I only half heard what she was saying during the rest of our conversation.
Her news had really thrown me for a loop.
I wasn’t jealous—just completely mystified that someone so determined to remain single would want to tie herself down to a man she’d just met.
Relationships had always been a mystery for me. Anytime it got serious with someone, I’d pull away. I preferred to keep physical relationships separate from the rest of my life. It was easier that way. No messy emotions, clear boundaries. The way I approached everything in life.
I only had the example of my parents to go by, and that was a disaster. My dad was a serial cheater, and I could never figure out why my mother didn’t leave him. They’d both been miserable, and I didn’t want to end up that way.
Then, unbidden, the photo I’d taken of Charlie and Janet Peterson popped into my head.
Okay, sure, they’d been crazy about each other, but they were the exception that proved the rule.
For most people, relationships were temporary distractions, destined to sour.
Being alone was better. At least then, the only person you had to worry about disappointing was yourself.
I hung up with Lucie and a burst of laughter downstairs reminded me how very far from alone I was right now.
The house suddenly felt too crowded. The summer stretched out in front of me like a long path of burning coals I’d be forced to walk over again and again.
A hot cloud of dread filled my stomach, and I closed my eyes.
I could do this. I just had to take it one step at a time. And keep my eyes and my hands to myself.