The Frenchman's Bride

Even if it was an imitation, it must have cost a lot of money. More than was prudent even for someone of Paul’s resources. When he knew what she was all about, it defied logic he actually meant her to have it.

What was he thinking?

She started to ask him, but the look of desire in his eyes stopped her cold.

“Happy twenty-fifth birthday, ma belle.”

Hallie blinked. Paul was serious.

She sensed he was trembling. Gone was the fun loving, lighthearted banter she’d always associated with him.

How long had this been going on?

In her attempt to be there for the twins as part of her service in the outreach program, she hadn’t realized he’d become infatuated with her. If there’d been telltale signs, she hadn’t read them.

“It’s a gorgeous piece of jewelry, but you’ll have to return it.”

“Don’t be silly.” He grasped her hands tighter so she couldn’t remove it. “Even if you don’t wear it, I want you to keep it as a constant reminder of me.”

“I can’t do that, Paul. You know why. Material things don’t matter to me. When I enter the convent, I won’t be taking anything with me.”

His eyes had grown suspiciously bright. “I’m counting on your not entering. I adore you, Hallie—” he cried with all the ardency of a lovestruck teen.

“I’m staying in Paris as long as it takes to talk you into coming home to St. Genes with me. You weren’t meant to be a nun. One day I hope you’ll become my wife.”

His wife—

He pulled her close with surprising strength. This time he gave her a man’s kiss filled with the heat of passion.

She couldn’t believe it!

“Paul—” She pushed her hands against his chest to separate them, but he was so strong! Right now she prayed for inspiration to know how to reject him without hurting his pride.

“What in the name of heaven is going on here?”

A deep masculine voice permeated the stillness. Paul sprang away from her, flushing guiltily.

Hallie, on the other hand, was still so dazed at the depth of Paul’s feelings for her—feelings he’d kept hidden until today—she was much slower to react to the interruption. All this time she’d thought of him like she might a younger brother.

“Papa—I thought you were in London,” he said in a subdued tone.

“Obviously,” came the terse reply. “I had the ridiculous impression my children might enjoy a celebration dinner with me this evening. But it appears your taste runs to something much stronger indeed.”

There could be no doubt from his acid tone that Vincent Rolland had come into the dining room, that he’d caught his eighteen year old kissing a strange woman, that he’d seen the wine bottle and glasses on the table.

The evidence was so incriminating, Hallie shook her head. It just couldn’t be worse for Paul, yet she really wasn’t surprised. She shouldn’t have ignored her earlier intuition that the twins had no business skipping school or bringing her to their father’s apartment.

Hallie simply hadn’t expected the man himself to arrive from England at the precise moment his son chose to reveal his affection for her.

Curiosity caused her to look across the expanse at Monsieur Rolland. She found herself staring at him.

The twins had shown her pictures of their father, but the camera hadn’t captured his disturbing sensuality. She hadn’t thought it possible any man could be more attractive than the new husband Hallie had lost in that horrendous plane crash two years ago. But she was wrong…

The twins had inherited their father’s dark hair and brown eyes. However there was none of their innocence in his piercing eyes as his gaze swept over her, assessing her feminine attributes for a long serious moment.

Hallie had been the object of men’s attention since her teens and had learned to live with it. However this man seemed to be looking for something beyond the physical. In the unremarkable blouse and brown skirt she was wearing, the designer scarf must appear ludicrously out of place.

He advanced into the dining room, his bronzed hands on his hips. Dressed in a pale blue knit shirt and cream colored jeans that molded his powerful thighs, his masculinity threw her senses into upheaval.

Closer now she could see his rock-hard physique topped Paul by several inches.

He picked up the wine bottle. One black brow slanted in displeasure. “I can’t fault your choice of vintage, but on a Thursday evening when you’re supposed to be celebrating the end of school with your classmates?” He finally put the bottle back on the table.

Paul cleared his throat. “Hallie’s birthday is much more important than being with a bunch of guys. Papa—may I introduce my friend, Mademoiselle Linn. We met last fall.”

Lines darkened his arresting features as he examined her face and hair once more. Then his gaze dropped lower until it came to rest on the aquamarine stone shimmering on her finger.

“Ms. Linn,” he muttered icily, insultingly, as if even having to acknowledge her presence was something he could scarcely tolerate.

Hallie was confused. Surely seeing her being kissed by his son didn’t warrant such venom. In fact, she had the idea this display of hostility was a rare occurrence.

Determined to smooth things over she said, “How do you do, Monsieur Rolland. Your children have sung your praises for so long, I’m glad to have this opportunity to meet you at last.”

“Papa? Could we go in the salon for a moment?”

“No, we could not.” The quiet rage boiling beneath the surface was unmistakable. His eyes, more black than brown, remained fastened on the ring. “Since Mademoiselle Linn is such an intimate part of your life, I see no reason to exclude her from this conversation.”

“It’s true that I’m in love with her,” he explained. “She means everything to me. In time I intend to marry her.”

Paul!

Not only was she years older in age and experience, he had to be in complete denial.

A pulse throbbed along his father’s jawline. “How very interesting… Now I understand why she’s wearing a piece of jewelry that caused you to withdraw the entire balance of your checking account for the school year!”

Hallie moaned.

Paul displayed the classic symptoms of a rich young man whose infatuation had led him to make a very foolish and costly mistake.

“I’ll always remember that you wanted to give me this ring, Paul, but you know the reasons why I couldn’t possibly accept it.”

She’d wanted to protect his sensitivities, but he’d gone too far and needed a wakeup call. Without hesitation she pulled the ring off her finger and put it on the table.

His face went ashen.

“It’s too late to try to impress me with a ‘you never meant to keep it’, Ms. Linn.”

Paul wheeled around. “You don’t understand. I can explain!”