Page 53 of The Charmer's Gambit
Oriental Lilies
“Okay. This is amazing.” I slipped out of my heels to twirl around the giant living area and skipped over to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Paris. First class had been a treat, but Will’s presidential suite took my awe to a whole new level.
“I’ll be sure to pass your compliments on to Evan,” he replied from the foyer.
I spun around to meet his amused gaze. “We need to explore. Now, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tipped his nonexistent hat and winked. “Just as soon as I shower and change.”
I groaned and waved at the windows. “But Paris.”
“It’s only eight o’clock in the mornin’. We have plenty of time to sightsee and shop.” He kept mentioning that last word—shop. I still didn’t know why he insisted on it, but considering I only had a few outfits left, it seemed appropriate. I’d left all my dirty laundry at his house in a basket, waiting for me to take home later, which left my suitcase very empty. Thinking of my bags made me frown.
“Where are my suitcases?” His were by the door.
“In your room,” he replied as he pulled a key out of his pocket. “You’re across the hall.”
“Oh.” Right. Of course. I’d followed him in here without even thinking. I held out my hand for the card but somehow found myself in his arms. He tilted my head back for a kiss that melted me from the inside out. This man certainly knew how to use his mouth.
“You’re welcome to stay here, but I reserved you a room in case you preferred it, and also for business purposes.” He nuzzled his nose against mine and smiled. “There isn’t anything in the contract that forbids us from being together, but I’m guessing Baker Brown frowns upon their employees seducing clients.”
I snorted. “I’m not the one doing the seducing here, Mershano.”
“Those adorable stockings of yours and I disagree, Miss Dawson.” He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and let it go with a pop. “Now I desperately need a shower and to change. Your bags are in your room, but getting ready over there doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be sleeping there tonight.”
I shivered at the promise in his words. “Tease.”
He chuckled darkly. “Oh, I can’t wait to redefine that word for you later.” He gave my ass a squeeze before picking up his bag and heading up the stairs to what I assumed was the master bedroom. Mershano Suites was known for opulence, but this took elegance to a whole new level. I’d have to ask Sarah later how she was dealing with this lifestyle. Something told me she was surviving it just fine.
An uncharacteristic giggle escaped me. This couldn’t be my reality. It seemed too fantastic, too happy, to be my life. Shaking my head, I slipped on my pumps and picked up my purse. My room was directly across from Will’s, just as he said, and Irealized with a start that between the two of us, we owned the entire floor.
“Filthy rich,” I muttered as I opened the door to a room that rivaled his own. “Ridiculously rich.” I knew the Mershanos had an insane amount of money, but to experience it was very different from just recognizing the family wealth. This was how Will grew up, yet he’d chosen to invest in a vineyard and a relatively modest home when he could have inherited a superior position with Mershano Suites and lived somewhere like this. Knowing that only made me respect him and his accomplishments more.
I picked through my bags, leaving them near the door since I would most likely put them in his room later, and started toward the stairs. That’s when I noticed the giant vase of oriental lilies sitting on the foyer table. Odd. Will didn’t have that in his room. I set my clothes down on the bottom step and moved forward to investigate. Maybe the firm sent them? Or Will? But why? And how did they know my favorite flower? Were these even produced in France?
A card sat elegantly beside it. I picked it up and froze at the familiar scrawl.
Thinking of you, baby girl.
Enjoy Paris, and good luck this week.
Yours,
Ryan
I read it over and over and over again. He knew my hotel room and number. But worse than that, this card was handwritten by him. I would recognize his elegant script anywhere. Did he have it flown here with the lilies? Or worse . . . was he in Paris too?
My legs gave out beneath me as I crumpled to the floor. What if he was staying in this hotel? Did Mershano Suites usually include a delivery receipt? Or a notice of being in the room? Was he here now, watching me react? My gaze darted around feverishly, and suddenly the suite felt far too big. He could be anywhere. In the bedroom, waiting for me, the bathroom, a closet . . .
Fear paralyzed me, making it impossible to move, to even begin searching. Had he really tracked me down to Paris? Showing up unannounced at my apartment was bad enough, but this was full-blown obsession. How had he gone from leaving me alone for months to stalking me to another country? Did he suspect my feelings for Will?
“Oh God,” I whispered.
The first man I dated after Ryan was on inactive duty for only two months when he received a call requesting his return. I didn’t know much about the military, but I knew that wasn’t a coincidence, especially when Ryan left a note under my door saying, “What a shame. And I hear Afghanistan is particularly brutal right now.”
My second date was more of a random one-night stand. A week after, I found a newspaper sitting on my coffee table with an article circled. The headline read, “Man Mugged near Millennium Park,” and the picture showcased the man I’d picked up from the bar. He was alive but hurt. Because of me.
And now Will . . .
