Page 20 of A New Year's Toy

Alistair holds the door for me, and we’re out.

Only in the elevator do we speak again.

“How are you?” He tucks a wayward lock of hair behind my ear.

“Not the happiest.” I snuggle into his raised arm, the invitation for a side embrace. “I was really looking forward to it. They had great toys, too.”

The elevator pings, announcing our arrival on the ground floor of the building. We exit to the snowy sidewalk, where Alistair holds me to help me balance while still rushing forward.

The driver Alistair rented for the trip tips his hat and opens the back of the Bentley for us. We climb inside, and Alistair tells him something in French.

He starts the car, blasting the heater on. I expect him to roll into the road toward the restaurant we had booked for lunch, but he doesn’t move.

“About my proposition.”

Oh, so that’s what he told him. To hang on and wait for my choice.

“I’m all ears.”

“Julia, the woman who owned the sex shop I used to buy from, she left me the number of the boutique factory where she bought her inventory.”

My mouth opens to ask a question that my brain finds the answer to quickly. “You haven’t mentioned it the entire time because you didn’t want to meddle.”

“That’s correct.” He rubs my covered knee. His palm is cold even through the fabric, his gaze, is fiery hot. “I haven’t talked to them. There’s no backup plan, whatsoever. But if you like them, I’m pretty convinced a call from Julia could land us a meeting.”

“Really?” My squeaky voice fills the car. I leap on Alistair, enveloping his broad shoulders and even bigger heart in my arms. “Holy shit, that’d be awesome. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

His rumbling chuckle rings beautifully in my ears. “Hold your horses. You haven’t even looked at their catalog.”

I pull back, my mouth forming an O shape. “You have it here?”

“Julia sent me everything I might need.” He presses a finger to the bottom of my chin, snapping my mouth shut with amusement dancing in his eyes. “I was one of her favorite clients, and she was aware of my busy schedule. She tried to spare me the pain of going back and forth, in case I didn’t find anything fitting in the US. Which I have.”

Roger’s shop, my former workplace, springs to mind. I cock an eyebrow. “You haven’t.”

“I’m not talking about the products. I’m talking about you.”

“Alistair…”

“It’s getting late, a day before New Year’s.” He clears a tear I hadn’t felt sliding down my cheek. “Come take a look at their catalog, see if it’s something you’d like for your shop. You do—I’ll make the call to have Julia convince them to meet us this afternoon.”

“Or we could stay another week.”

“I would’ve called you greedy.” Alistair’s lips tilt to the side as he browses his phone. “Thing is, I’m willing to bet every business I own that you’re more eager to return to work than I am.”

As always, Alistair is right.

CHAPTER TEN

Alistair

The meeting with Avryll, the owner of the sex toy factory, took place around five hours after the morning’s debacle. She had family matters, which left Nola and me to enjoy our lunch and explore the city.

We drove through Paris, getting out of the car to observe the river Seine, Place de la Concorde, Montmartre, and many other impressive monuments and snowy gardens of the city.

They were fun to watch, especially through Nola’s eyes, who saw everything for the first time. Her awe, her giddiness. She’d been effervescent in her enthusiasm, sucking me into marveling at them anew alongside her.

But what was exponentially more enjoyable, was sitting in on her successful meeting with Avryll later. The successful one.

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