14. Iris
14
IRIS
C hloe collapsed on the gargantuan four poster bed that was home for the next few days. She gave a theatrical sigh. “I can’t believe he showed you his turret! You hardly know each other.”
I hung up the last of my unpacking in the wardrobe and threw her a raised eyebrow. “Calm down. It was an average turret. Nothing to get excited about.”
She ran the fabric of the bed’s light blue curtain through her fingers. “I’d take any turret right now. Jacques, the new picker, has been all talk and no action so far. I need to think of a way to seduce him.”
My lips bowed. I adored my best friend’s humour. “I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask for advice.”
“Well, you seduced a billionaire last week byjust floating around in his pool half-naked. That has to count for something.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Chloe got in first.
“Don’t deny it. Why else would he have moved you into this palatial room again? He wants you at his beck and call. I guarantee there’s a little more than just pleasing his grandmother going on.”
My cheeks heated, and I closed the wardrobe door with an almost silent click. Crossing the room, I peeped out of the window into the garden. I’m not sure who or what I expected to see, but discussing Luc in this casual manner felt wrong. Out of bounds. What if he could hear me through the walls?
I shook my head. I sounded crazy right now. Luc couldn’t hear me—but I didn’t want him to know I was talking about him, either. Thinking of him. Wondering what he was doing.
Convinced there were no spies lurking in the lavender under my window, I turned to Chloe. “I haven’t seduced anyone. What Luc and I are doing is purely business. I’m helping him out and he’s helping me get Stuart back. That’s all.”
Chloe winced. “Speaking of Stuart, any more texts from the delightful Nathan? More demands?”
I joined her on the bed, gazing up at the blue and white canopy. “Just the usual.” Nathan sent a weekly reminder of the amount I owed him. As the interest racked up, my gut would churn away for the rest of the day. I’d send him cheery replies, trying to stay on his good side, for Stuart’s sake. My stomach rolled. Luc offered the only hope I had in this crazy situation right now.
“Well, if you say you haven’t seduced our favourite billionaire, you must be doing something right. This room is amazing.”
She wasn’t wrong. I had my own couch and coffee table, complete with fresh-cut flowers and a cavernous bathroom. The bath stood on claws. I’d seen them before in magazines when Nathan and I had discussed updating our flat in London.
I ran my eyes over the faded blue and gold pattern covering the ceiling above me. A medieval craftsman must have painted it hundreds of years ago. Perhaps he’d lived in the fireplace. I’d read somewhere that people in the olden days were smaller, and this thing was the size of a rowboat. It certainly beat the pokey staff dorms.
Chloe nudged me in the ribs. “Can’t you sneak me in? I don’t take up much room. I could live in the fireplace.” Great minds think alike.
With a snort, I nudged her back. “No. But you can come and use the bath, and the fancy bath salts. I’ll leave the window ajar when I know Agnes isn’t around. You can climb in.”
My best friend squealed in delight. “Bliss! Smelling rich will definitely help with my seduction plans. Hey, can you make it to the fire pit tonight? Jacques has a guitar. I’m not sure he’ll be any good, but we haven’t seen you there for a couple of days. Nobody roasts marshmallows like you.”
The pickers loved to hang out at the fire pit near the river. Most evenings, they’d bring wine, chairs, blankets. More often than not, there’d be music and sometimes a little dancing. Chloe was right. I hadn’t been there for a few days. I’d chosen to stay in the dorms and read and today, I’d moved into the chateau. I didn’t know how much time being a fake fiancée would take up.
“I’ll try and make it.”
She grinned at me, but a knock at the door stopped us in our tracks.
“Yes?” I called out, trying to sound as regal as possible. Why, I didn’t know. Maybe the four-poster bed had given me delusions of grandeur.
“Iris, it’s Luc. May I come in?”
Chloe clutched my arm as if we were the last contestants in a beauty pageant, waiting for the results.
“Just a second,” I squeaked, all delusions of grandeur crumbling. Chloe and I scrambled off the bed and while she smoothed her red curls, I smoothed out the sheets.
With a pounding heart, I padded to the door and pulled it open. Luc stood on the other side. He wore a loose cotton shirt and trousers, along with some very expensive-looking brogues. His hair looked a little mussed up, and he had his signature shades on the top of his head. I took a breath. Why did he always have to look so catwalk ready? Couldn’t he just look more ordinary sometimes? A little less glorious. It would make us mere mortals feel better about our split ends and eye bags.
I pulled in a breath to speak, but his gaze flew over my shoulder, resting on Chloe. I didn’t need to look round to know she’d be grinning like the Cheshire cat.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”
Chloe let out a tinkling giggle. “Don’t mind me. I’m just leaving.”
“Luc, this is my friend, Chloe. She’s picking grapes, too. She gave me a hand with bringing my things here.”
As Luc held out his hand in greeting, Chloe’s cheeks turned bright crimson, and I swear she dipped into a shallow curtsy. I closed my eyes. We’d have to have a chat about protocol around Luc later. I wouldn’t put it past her to kneel for him.
“Chloe, this is Luc Du Comtois, our boss .”
My emphasis on the last word did little to dampen her bobbing and grinning. “Oh yes,” she said with a sing-song voice, as though he were the least likely person to be at my door. “It’s lovely to meet you. You’re even more handsome in person.”
Luc’s mouth dropped. Oh, ground, please open up and swallow me whole.
I opened my eyes as wide as I could without my eyeballs popping out and nodded towards the door.“Thanks, Chloe. I’ll see you later, down by the fire pit, okay?”
She hopped around for a second or two before finally grasping my hint to leave. “Oh! Yes, sorry. Let’s chat later, then.”
She practically skipped past Luc before disappearing through the door, giving me a jaunty “thumbs up” on the way out. I prayed he didn’t see.
When she’d gone, I turned back, trying to look breezy and casual. “I’m sorry. She’s a little excitable. Needs to cut down on her sugar. Did you need something?”
The corners of Luc’s lips peaked a touch. “She seems nice. I wondered what your plans were this afternoon. I thought if we were to get to know each other better, we could do it somewhere a little more picturesque than my swimming pool.”
Well, his swimming pool wasn’t bad, but bubbles jostled in my tummy at the thought of spending the afternoon with him, anywhere . I smiled up at him. “ Our swimming pool, darling. Don’t forget, what’s yours is mine.”
He raised a brow. “I believe it works both ways.”
I shrugged and slipped my feet into my flip-flops. “Of course. You’re welcome to borrow anything of mine, any time. I have a couple of T-shirts that might just fit you, maybe a mini-skirt.”
A glorious grin erupted on his face, and my lips curved wider. I’d only witnessed his transformation from dour to devastatingly delicious around five times–not that I was counting. I was hooked.
“Meet me at the winery in half an hour,” he said, before walking out the door and closing it gently behind him.