Chapter Fourteen
‘GIGI, IS ADAM THERE? I’ve been trying to reach him but his phone’s off.’
Gisèle tucked her phone against her shoulder as she assembled salad ingredients. With Adam away she couldn’t be bothered cooking.
‘He’s in the US, Julien. He’s probably in a meeting.’
Her mouth firmed. She’d grown so used to Adam managing his business empire from home she’d been surprised and disappointed when he’d flown out for a series of meetings in North America.
She missed him. It was the first time they’d been apart since the wedding.
But it wasn’t just that. He hadn’t been himself for the last week. He’d been preoccupied, almost withdrawn, unlike the confident, teasing lover to whom she’d grown accustomed.
He’d assured her nothing was wrong but she didn’t quite believe him. That scared her because whatever else their relationship was, it had always been honest.
Every instinct warned of a problem. Even when they made love it had been with an unfamiliar urgency on Adam’s part. But it wasn’t just the urgency of passion. It felt different, rooted in something darker than the joy they’d found together. Yet Adam had brushed off her concerns.
Maybe you’re jumping at shadows. Julien’s illness has made you expect the worst.
‘Hmm. That explains it.’ Julien paused. ‘I don’t suppose he said anything to you about the company?’
Something in her brother’s voice made her abandon the tomatoes and give all her attention to the conversation.
‘We talk about it all the time. What, in particular?’ An unnerving silence met her question and her nape furred, the fine hairs there standing on end. ‘Is there a problem?’
There couldn’t be. Already Adam’s changes were turning Fontaine’s around.
‘No problem. Laurent called. Do you know about that?’
The family lawyer? ‘No. What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. In fact, it’s good news. If it’s true.’
Gisèle rolled her eyes. ‘Stop talking in riddles.’
‘Well, if Laurent’s right, and this is what I want to check with Adam, he’s signing the company back to us. He’ll step aside as CEO.’
Julien sounded as stunned as she felt.
‘Step aside?’
‘The company is being handed over to us completely.’
‘Impossible!’ Gisèle braced herself against the counter. ‘Adam’s committed to Fontaine’s.’
‘That’s what I don’t understand. Laurent says he’s not even seeking compensation for the money he’s poured into it. It makes no sense. He can’t simply walk away.’
Ice glissaded down Gisèle’s spine. ‘It’s totally out of character,’ she said slowly. ‘He wanted Fontaine’s badly and he’s committed so much into improving it.’
Yet lately he’d seemed preoccupied with other business. Like the US acquisition.
Was that why he’d been distracted? Was he turning his attention to the next challenge? She’d believed him committed to Fontaine’s for the long haul. Their discussions had left her excited for the company’s future.
‘That’s what I thought. But I don’t know him as well as you. Maybe the American engineering company is more his style than cosmetics?’
Julien’s words struck home. Engineering was more in Adam’s line. Was it possible that despite his initial enthusiasm he was bored? Did he enjoy the thrill of the hunt, his interest waning once the process of reinvigorating the acquired company was underway? From his staff’s comments it wasn’t usual for him to be so heavily involved in the minutiae of an acquisition long term.
Was he losing interest?
Instantly she rejected the idea. Until she remembered months ago, telling herself that one day, when the novelty wore off, Adam would move on from the company.
And then he’d have no need for her. She’d be free.
The phone fell onto the benchtop as a wave of pain engulfed her, doubling her over. She clung to the counter, fighting for breath.
The idea was preposterous. Adam had paid a fortune for Fontaine’s. He wouldn’t give it away.
‘Gisèle?’
‘I’m here.’ She was proud of her even tone. ‘It sounds like nonsense.’ But Laurent had always been reliable.
‘Well, when you talk to Adam, you can clarify it.’
‘Of course.’
The problem was she’d had trouble reaching him. Even when he’d gone away prior to their wedding he’d rung every night. Was his schedule so busy now that he had no time for her? Or was he avoiding her?
Nausea swirled in the pit of her stomach.
She’d told herself their convenient marriage had turned into something special. That Adam was the man she wanted, not just in bed but in her life.
She’d never expected to feel this way about any man. Never wanted so much from one.
Gisèle respected his intellect and his ability to make things happen, the way he could turn a failing enterprise into an exciting venture. But more important than that was the man behind the tycoon and the way he made her feel. Desired, and valued, even cherished.
His kindness had been an unexpected bonus. He was forever telling her how beautiful she was. They weren’t just words. The way he looked at her, the almost reverent way he touched her sometimes, made her feel beautiful inside. He laughed with her and made the days seemed brighter.
She’d begun to hope that one day he might love her.
Because she was almost sure she’d fallen in love with him. The idea alternately thrilled and terrified her.
Everywhere he went he was popular, as if the corporate shark were a part-time persona. He took an interest in everyone and everything. It didn’t matter whether they were wait staff, highflying executives or cleaners.
How often had she found him laughing with one of the staff at the villa or on the yacht? When the housekeeper had received a call saying her son had been in an accident, it was Adam who’d driven her to the hospital in his sports car, then stayed till the boy had received treatment.
Would a man so thoughtful simply drop Fontaine’s after so much work? And if his focus had shifted to the US, what about their relationship?
Frustratingly Gisèle didn’t have a chance to find out for twenty-four hours. Adam called when she was in the shower but when she rang back he was in a meeting. Then she dropped and damaged her phone and had to wait until business hours to get a new one. Only to find he’d switched his to message bank.
Unable to settle, she couldn’t face the effort of appearing cheerful for her team. She opted to work from home, giving the villa staff the day off.
So when the front door opened and firm footsteps echoed from the tiled foyer her blood fizzed with nervous anticipation. Adam wasn’t due until tomorrow but there was no mistaking his gait.
‘I’m on the terrace,’ she called, shutting her laptop.
‘Gisèle? Are you all right? Why aren’t you at work?’
His concern was a relief. Stupid to have been nervous.
Except when Adam appeared he didn’t look glad to see her. He looked...wary. Instead of drawing her into his arms he dropped a peck on her head and stood back.
Even so, she found time to admire the way he filled out jeans and a leather jacket, his black T-shirt shaping his solid chest.
‘I’m working from home. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow. Is everything okay? The US deal’s progressing?’
‘It’s done, wrapped up early.’
Yet there was no elation as he took a chair on the other side of the outdoor table. Normally they’d be in each other’s arms. Her body ached with the need to touch him, be held by him. But he kept his distance like a stranger.
Gisèle bit down a rising bubble of distress. Something was definitely amiss. Adam didn’t even meet her eyes after that initial, piercing glance. She shivered, reading his body language. This was a man with bad news to break.
She clamped her fingers on the edge of the table, sitting straighter. ‘Whatever it is, Adam, tell me. Don’t make me try to guess what’s wrong.’
Deep green eyes met hers and there was that familiar spark igniting in her blood. But was it in hers alone? He gave no indication the feeling was mutual.
Could it really be that she’d been a passing diversion? She’d been so sure they shared something special and strong.
‘Are you really getting rid of Fontaine’s?’
That drew a response. Adam cursed under his breath.
His scowl, his shadowed jaw and the delicious tangle of dark hair made him look like a bad-tempered pirate. But Gisèle refused to let attraction distract her. ‘You don’t think I have a right to know?’
‘That’s it. I intended to tell you myself.’
Yet he stopped, mouth clamping into a flat line.
She couldn’t believe it. ‘You’re actually walking away from the company?’
He dragged a hand across his scalp in a gesture of frustration or tiredness. Gisèle hardened her heart, refusing to feel sorry for him.
‘I’m returning the company to you and Julien. Fontaine’s will be run by the family as it always has been.’
Pain banded Gisèle’s chest. It was a moment before she realised she’d forgotten to breathe.
So it was true. Unbelievably Adam was discarding the prize he’d been so determined to win. Just as well she was holding on to the table as the world wheeled about her.
‘And us?’
‘Don’t worry, acquiring the company was my decision and I’ll wear the costs. You and Julien owe me nothing.’
The pain was back, except this time it wasn’t just in her chest. She ached all over as if every muscle and bone drew tight under the most tremendous pressure.
If she’d needed proof, there it was. When she’d asked about us, she’d meant Adam and her. But his first thought was the company, her and Julien.
Sharply she sat back, chin lifting in an automatic attempt to hide distress. Yet it took a moment to find her voice. ‘That doesn’t sound like a clever business decision.’
His jaw tightened. ‘It’s my decision.’
Now he was back, the billionaire businessman who called the shots.
Was the generous lover who’d changed her world a mirage? Had she imagined tenderness between them because she’d wanted it so badly?
Once before she’d thought a man cared for her, only to discover he wasn’t really interested in her. Had Adam decided that with his interest in Fontaine’s waning, he no longer required his French wife? After all, she’d only been an addendum in a business deal.
Gisèle shot to her feet and swung away. She couldn’t listen to any more, not yet, not when she hurt so much.
But she had to know. She sucked in a burning breath. ‘So your focus now is on the US, yes?’
After a moment he spoke. ‘That’s right.’
Still it didn’t make sense. It was bizarre to go to so much effort only to drop the project. Gisèle stared at the glittering sea. ‘And our marriage? Is that over too?’
His chair scraped the flagstones but he didn’t approach. ‘If you like.’
Her vision blurred and she wrapped her arms around her waist as she stifled a sob. If she liked. As if he didn’t care either way. Not a ringing endorsement!
Desperate determination was all that kept her standing. ‘You want to move on to greener pastures.’
Had it hurt this much when she lost her family? She’d forgotten such bone-deep anguish was possible.
The rush of blood in her ears masked his footsteps, for suddenly his voice came from behind her. His breath stirred her hair, sending cascading goosebumps across her scalp and shoulders.
‘What I want is for you to be happy.’
His voice was as tight as her bottled-up emotions.
‘How very...kind of you, Adam.’
He said something under his breath she couldn’t catch. ‘Hardly kind. Not after the way I’ve treated you.’
‘Don’t you mean the way you’re treating me now?’ She swung around, an unsteady laugh erupting from her throat. ‘Off with the old and on with the new. Is that it? You’ve found someone in America to replace me?’
Where that came from she had no idea. She hadn’t even let herself think such a thing. But the bitterness consuming her was unstoppable.
Large hands closed around her upper arms. She would have shrugged them off except she looked up and read Adam’s shock. He appeared as unhappy as she felt.
His voice was hoarse. ‘There’s no one else. Only you, Gisèle.’
She wanted to hug those words tight. But actions spoke louder than words, didn’t they? ‘Yet you want to be rid of me. Like you want to divest yourself of the company.’
‘It’s not like that. This is necessary. I’m trying to right a terrible wrong.’ His grip eased, hands sliding around to caress her back. ‘I’ve treated you badly, Gisèle, and I’m attempting to make up for it.’
She frowned, trying to make sense of this, trying to ignore the way her body arched into those sweeping hands.
‘What you’ve done is confuse me. What’s going on?’
His mouth ticked up at one corner in a smile so tight it looked like it hurt.
‘I wanted you from the moment I saw you. You know that.’ Gisèle’s needy heart flipped over but she made herself stand tall, waiting, even if she did shuffle a little closer. ‘I’ve never done that before—forced a woman I wanted into a corner. Brought undue pressure to bear.’ He shook his head. ‘I should have known I was getting in over my head.’
He was in over his head? Gisèle licked her lips and swallowed. She was completely out of her depth.
‘I thought I was being canny. It was only later I realised how unforgiveable my behaviour really was. When I found out you were sexually innocent, and how you’d been taken advantage of before, I felt so guilty I couldn’t face you. But I came back for the wedding because conscience or no conscience, I had to have you.’
They were so close now she had to brace her palms on his chest or fall against him. Through his shirt she felt the quick hammer of his heart, as fast as hers.
‘Then I discovered you’d had no choice about marrying me. I’d told myself you could have walked away from the deal if you didn’t fancy it.’ His bark of laughter was harsh. ‘My ego told me you fancied me. That despite everything you wanted me. But it turned out you’d been tied because of Julien’s illness and had no choice. Even then I couldn’t let you go as you deserved.’
Gisèle frowned. He didn’t sound like he wanted to ditch her. He sounded as tormented as she felt. The ache inside eased a little. Hope stirred.
‘What changed?’
Another of those taut smiles as his gaze met hers and she fell into moss green depths.
‘I realised what I’d avoided acknowledging. I love you, Gisèle.’
She felt her heart bump her ribs at his admission. It seemed too incredible to be true. But already he was moving on, speaking in a husky voice that signalled deep emotion.
‘I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy and make up for my actions. It’s not enough to apologise and tell myself you’re content now. I need to know for sure. I need to make it right. I have to give you back the power I stole so you have a choice.’
Gisèle swayed, buffeted by a rush of shocked understanding. He cared for her. Loved her. And he was trying to redress past wrongs. Because he wasn’t a bad man, merely flawed like everyone else.
Trust Adam to make reparations with the most outlandishly generous gesture! He was always larger than life. With him everything was magnified. The scale of his ambition. The depth of feeling he aroused in her. The magic of his lovemaking. His determination. His sheer, masculine charisma. Even his guilt and contrition.
Gisèle’s chest squeezed as the truth sank in.
She leaned into his reassuring heat and strength. ‘You’re giving me and Julien the House of Fontaine so I’ll be free to choose whether I want to be with you?’
Adam nodded, his mouth a tight line, a frantic pulse throbbing at his temple.
It was the most extraordinary thing she’d ever heard.
But he was serious. She saw it in his face, felt it in his hammering heart and tense muscles.
‘I love you, Gisèle. I want you to choose me. I want to be worthy of you. Nothing else matters.’
For a moment she basked in the glory of that.
‘It’s not because you’ve lost interest in—’
‘Lost interest!’ He gathered her close. ‘If you tell me to go, I will. But never, for a moment, think that.’ He swallowed. ‘I’m trying to be a better man. More self-aware and respectful. More loving.’
She drew a sustaining breath, almost impossible to do when her emotions were a riot of shock and utter joy.
‘What if I decide to stay?’
The sudden brilliance in his eyes gave her the answer she needed. Gisèle pressed her fingers to his lips before he could speak. She had no interest in prolonging his agony and she was done with trying to hold in her feelings. It felt like she’d been damming her emotions for a lifetime and finally they were about to burst free.
‘You’ve never been one to do things by halves, have you? You stormed into my world and behaved outrageously. You pushed and demanded but somehow I’ve never felt stronger than when I was pushing back. Then when I got to know you...’ She shook her head. ‘The fact is I love you too, Adam Wilde. I want us to build a life together.’
That had stunned her. ‘I’d always thought romance wasn’t for me.’ Not after seeing her mother so lost after her husband’s death. ‘But now I understand some things aren’t a choice. Love is one of them.’
It was a beat in her blood, a tenderness she’d never known before Adam. It was hope and strength and a need to share everything with him.
He lifted her hand from his mouth, keeping it in a firm grip.
‘Truly? You love me? You forgive me, Gisèle?’
‘As you astutely pointed out, I turned up for the wedding. I could have walked away but didn’t. It wasn’t about Fontaine’s by then, it was about you. The challenging, surprising, wonderful man I want to be with always.’
Next thing she knew, strong arms lifted her and his mouth was on hers, full of tenderness and the sweet promise of love.
When he lowered her to the ground they were both shaky.
‘My precious Gisèle.’
Everything she’d never dared let herself expect or hope for was in those three words. Tenderness. Love. Respect. Even adoration. She felt them like a warm tide, filling her to the brim.
‘My demanding, wonderful Adam.’
Gisèle stroked his stubbly cheek, enjoying the friction on her palm. But nowhere near as much as she adored his ardent expression.
‘I can’t believe you love me,’ he said. ‘It’s miraculous.’
‘You want proof?’ The sudden release of tension made Gisèle laugh as she slid his jacket off his shoulders. ‘I can give you proof.’
‘It might take a while to convince me. Days. Weeks.’
Adam’s voice was endearingly unsteady but his hand was deft as he reached for the zip on her sundress.
Gisèle nuzzled his throat as she slipped open the top button of his shirt. ‘How about a lifetime?’
‘That sounds absolutely perfect.’