Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Elise
M r. Devereaux looked as tanned and severe as ever as we entered the luxurious black and red lounge. Aurelie was glowing, as was Michele, and since they’d had such a happy aura of congeniality every time I’d interacted with them in the last few days, this was no surprise.
With Luc’s hand burning a hole in my dress at my lower back and his promise that he’d kiss me when we got home… well, I was basically on fire.
It wasn’t just his touch or the impending kiss. It certainly wasn’t the highly ostentatious and incredibly gorgeous ring he’d slipped on my finger. It was the little platinum chain he’d fastened around my neck, the brush of his fingers there, and the lingering reminder that he’d thought of me.
He’d considered me.
It shouldn’t have been revolutionary, but it was. In his very Luc way, he’d given me a huge gift that might’ve seemed flashy for the sake of our situation, yet nestled it into thoughtfulness so personal, it made this feel real.
And it just shouldn’t feel that way. It couldn’t.
And yet you asked him to kiss you? Great way to make it stay totally fake, genius.
Just the thought of the kiss had me igniting again.
I was set aflame right until an absolutely stunning woman stood from a wing-backed leather chair and turned to greet us.
This must’ve been Odette.
Her long blond hair and giant Disney princess blue eyes fringed with thick, dark lashes and her absolutely ridiculous bone structure gave way to a lithe body with porcelain skin and French manicured nails and a dress so feminine and classy in a blush pink, I could hardly breathe.
Like, really, I could hardly remember how to inhale because it felt like someone had punched me in the gut. This was the woman Luc’s grandfather had chosen for him?
She’s a frozen princess singing at an ice palace and he’s a guard who shows up to capture her, then falls for her in the wind-whistling night…
Half of me expected Luc to snatch the ring off my hand and tell me, “Thanks, but no thanks.” I honestly couldn’t have blamed him if looks were the only factor. But when she smiled as though delighted to see us both and gave prim little air kisses to him, then me, I simply didn’t know what to do with myself.
“I’m so happy to meet you both. Mr. Devereaux has told me so much about you,” she said, an alarmingly genuine-looking smile on her face. No trace of an accent like Aurelie, so maybe she was actually from New York despite her rather French-sounding name?
But like, she had to secretly be evil or something, right? That was how the stories went. She’d be awful, and then I’d feel happy to have helped Luc escape his dire fate.
If nothing else, she was beholden to her parents, or Mr. Devereaux, in some way. She wouldn’t be here otherwise… unless what she wanted was a loveless marriage with a super wealthy, super-hot war hero?
Okay, so maybe her being here isn’t that big of a mystery.
“Nice to meet you, too, Mademoiselle de Valois. I hope your travel was uneventful,” Luc said, offering her a subdued version of his smile.
A sickly sensation flashed through me—jealousy.
“I heard you own a donut shop, Elise. Are you open tomorrow? I’d love to come try one. I’ve been in Europe lately and they just don’t know donuts like we do,” she said, a sweet giggle accompanying her words.
“We are open, yes. Seven to ten-thirty tomorrow.” I hoped my smile didn’t look as fake as it felt.
Aurelie put her arm around my shoulders, shooing Luc away. “Her donuts are the best I’ve ever had. I mean that,” she said, looking right at me like she needed me to believe her.
“I’m so glad.” And I was. I just… couldn’t quite care about my donuts right now.
A waiter arrived and set down a tray of drinks including six flutes of champagne and several high ball glasses filled with cocktails. I wasn’t one to self-medicate with alcohol but right about now, a glass of bubbly sounded like the perfect distraction from the green monster rearing its head in my chest. Luc wasn’t mine, per se, so was I taking this fantasy too far here? No. Let’s just say I was invested in my role as his doting fiancée.
“Let’s toast.” Michele gestured at the tray and everyone took one, Mr. Devereaux the slowest to acquiesce.
“To Luc and Elise and their new engagement,” Aurelie said, a sly wink directed at her brother and me.
“And to being open to new opportunities when they present themselves,” Luc’s grandfather said, then a posh, “Santé.”
Well. Okay. Not going for subtle at all then, which wasn’t a shock. After all, he’d insisted on the meeting in the first place, so it wasn’t like we could pretend he didn’t have a motive.
Everyone joined in, echoing his cheers and enjoying a sip. I may have taken a rather hearty drink before setting down my glass and taking the seat Luc helped me into. He’d said nothing, and part of me felt he should’ve, but he wouldn’t poke the bear so overtly, nor would he risk being rude to someone… unless that someone happened to be Callum.
“Odette has just obtained a Master’s in Organizational Leadership and will be looking to take the helm of a large non-profit in New York,” Mr. Devereaux said, tipping his flute toward her before taking another drink.
“That’s exciting,” Aurelie said, offering her a smile.
“Si, congratulations, Odette. Do you know which organization?” Michele asked, cheery smile shining over at the woman.
I didn’t hear her response because despite the decent preparation Luc had given me, and the warnings he’d shared about how this would go, I hadn’t realized just how brutal it would feel to be set up directly next to a woman who was essentially my foil. Her looks were my opposite, her family was no doubt the inverse of mine, and here she was with a world-class education, a master’s degree, and heading for a job at what would undoubtedly be an impressive non-profit.
“Are you alright?” Luc asked, his voice so close, I startled slightly, then shut my eyes when he pressed his lips to the side of my head.
Whether the affectionate gesture was rooted in the need to be convincing, or if it’d been in an effort to comfort me, I’d take it either way. I needed to remember who I was. I didn’t care about any of the things Odette had. Good for her. So far, she seemed lovely, and her life had nothing to do with mine.
I nodded and patted his thigh to reassure him without drawing any excess attention. Sadly, even the simple gesture did the opposite of what I’d hoped, and Luc’s grandfather zeroed in on me.
“Do you hold a professional degree, Elise?” He waited with brows raised as though this were a completely normal question to ask someone.
“I have a bachelor’s in communications.” I wouldn’t mention the half of an online MBA program I’d completed since I’d left that by the wayside almost two years ago. I’d realized I couldn’t open the store and complete the degree, neither financially nor with only twenty-four hours in a day. One had to go, and for once, it hadn’t been my dream.
I’d spent so long acquiescing to others and, at that time, Callum. He’d talked me into letting him invest, and although it’d made me slightly ill to allow it, he did. He’d even wanted me to continue the master’s and he’d cover the difference, but in my heart of hearts, I’d known him helping that much more would make me miserable. I hadn’t wanted him to contribute at all, but he’d made a convincing case, and we’d been together for a while at that point, so I’d said yes.
Quitting the MBA had been an important choice for me. Maybe someday, I’d go back and pick up where I’d left off, but it’d been the right move. The more I’d gotten into the nitty gritty of the business, the more I’d seen how some of the MBA programming had been helpful but much of it didn’t really apply to my little shop, and that was okay. I’d learned so much by doing and I was proud of that.
Except you’re currently failing, which is why Callum is trying to salvage his investment and sell it off.
I blinked away from that cruel reminder right as Mr. Devereaux said, “And this donut shop is… a franchise?”
The disdain with which he said the word made it seem like anything unoriginal would threaten his ability to breathe. One would think he’d never experienced a retail chain in any capacity, but the designer stores with his brands’ labels on the doors were, in fact, chains.
“No, it’s an original,” I said, a little burst of pride hitting with the confession.
“Ah. Well, we can see you and Luc aren’t exactly?—”
“What made you decide on donuts?” Aurelie asked, quickly cutting through whatever delightful criticism her grandfather would’ve landed.
I smiled at her stealthy work. “I love them, and I had a period a while back where I experimented with all kinds of baking but kept coming back to donuts after I tasted an amazing one in Salt Lake. It was too far to drive to satisfy the whim of a craving, so I started making them here and sharing them with friends. Soon, people were requesting them, asking if they could order them, and… well, the rest is history.”
The community had driven my belief I could have a store here. They’d supported it in peak ski season and in the slim months. I’d never be anything but grateful to the residents of Silverton for the way they’d allowed me to bring my dream to life.
Even if that dream gets sold off to someone I’ve never met.
“Oh, I love that,” Aurelie said.
“é una storia perfetto—a perfect story.” Michele smiled.
I beamed at them both, appreciating that they’d taken the time to come to the shop and try a donut, and also that they were clearly trying to help Luc. They were good people, and they were doing right by Luc with every breath tonight.
Odette, too, seemed charmed by my story. I hadn’t shared all the details, but I supposed it was nice enough to learn someone had turned a passion or pleasure into a fruitful business.
“It is, however, a clear reason you and my grandson aren’t suited to one another. You are tethered here, and he is a member of an international community. You have a… background that has trained you to expect very little from your life and my grandson is in a situation where?—”
Luc stood and reached for me, tugging me up from my seat and walking out of the lounge leaving only a murmured “Excuse us,” in his wake.
“Are you okay? I’m fine, really. I knew he wasn’t approving of us,” I said, a little breathless in my efforts to keep up with him as he took giant strides to get us out of the lounge as fast as possible.
He whipped around and his intense gaze was full of stormy emotion. “He has the gall to say such things directly to your face, but he won’t speak to me. He tried the other night but I shut it down and I’d foolishly hoped he’d heard me. And now this, this… this vitriol disguised as concern.” He paced away a few steps, then returned a second later. “I don’t know how you’ll ever forgive me.”
His frustration with his grandfather made perfect sense, but I didn’t need his outrage on my behalf. I’d felt small at first, but something clicked when he asked about my degree. I didn’t need the credentials of a master’s degree to give me value and I couldn’t manufacture a past with pedigree or old money or links to royalty or whatever it was that man wanted to see in the match for his progeny.
I was fine, and I wanted Luc to know this, so I grabbed his face and pressed our foreheads together, taking a large, deep breath before saying, “I promise you I’m fine.”
His gaze searched mine like he thought I might be hiding something from him, but after a few seconds, he shut his eyes and deflated, just a touch. “Thank goodness.”
A soft smile grew on my lips because he really was as sweet as I thought, and now I knew all the more what to do.
I was fine. I liked him. And I wanted one thing in this moment. Somehow recognizing how fine I was, whatever happened here, gave me the boldness to say, “I need you to do something for me, though.”
“Anything,” he said instantly, not a millisecond of hesitation.
“Kiss me.”