Bayou beauty, p.7
Bayou Beauty, page 7
Sylvie shook her head. “I told you, I don’t need anything from you.”
“And everyone knows I’m particular about my clothes. Why wouldn’t I buy my wife new clothes? Besides, like I said, you’re going to need the armor around my family.”
“I have nice clothes.”
“You have beautiful clothes, and honestly, you would look stunning in a trash bag, but in my world they’ll judge you and they’ll judge me. You have to have the latest of everything. Clothes, shoes, handbags. I know it’s a terrible burden, but I must insist.”
“Rene,” she began.
He held out a hand. “Darling, no one will believe the ruse if you aren’t dressing the part, and tell me we won’t have fun buying out all those stores and drinking champagne and acting like we’re in some rom com. There has to be something good that comes out of all of this.”
She was in so much trouble. She put her hand in his. He had an agenda and she was on it. If she knew how to deal with his family, then he had a damn fine playbook on her. She stood and suddenly was in his space. She had to tilt her chin up to look at him. “All right. It will be fun. And I have to admit there are some Gucci pumps I’ve been saving for.”
“Consider them yours.” He was staring down at her. “Can I kiss you, Sylvie?”
“What?”
“If we’re awkward, no one’s going to believe us. We’re getting married in the morning. We should at least practice kissing.”
“Maybe we’re one of those private couples who don’t ever engage in PDA.”
“No. We’re affectionate. I’m going to model our fake marriage after your parents. Your parents were affectionate. I remember how your daddy used to chase your momma around the house.”
He was right. They would be expected to be comfortable with each other if their plan was going to work. And she would have to stay here for a while.
Danger. So much danger, and yet she couldn’t deny that she wanted to know. Maybe she’d made too much out of that night back in college. Maybe their chemistry had been an illusion, the hopes and dreams of a lonely girl with a crush on a boy she’d known forever. “Yes, you can kiss me, but it’s only for practice.”
Those generous lips of his kicked up in a devilish grin. “I haven’t kissed anyone in a couple of years. I might need a lot of practice.”
Years? That reminder of how hard life had been on Rene made it easier for her to go up on her toes and tilt her head back, offering her lips up to his. “It’s been years for me, too.”
His expression went soft and his hands went to her waist. “Then we’ll figure it all out again together.”
His lips descended on hers and she knew she’d been wrong in that moment. Her whole body went soft in his arms and she had to wrap herself around him to stay standing, because suddenly the only thing that mattered in the world was that kiss.
He moved cautiously, his hands tightening and his body slightly tense, but his lips were soft. He explored her mouth, lightly dragging his lips across hers. He was patient, giving her all the time she needed to relax into the kiss before she felt him gently pull at her bottom lip, the sensation going through her body like lightning.
It didn’t take much for the kiss to go from cautious to carnal. When she sighed and opened her mouth, he accepted her invitation without hesitation. All thought fled the minute she felt his tongue slide along hers, an invitation to dance.
Oh, she wanted to dance with him. So badly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t kissed anyone since him. She had, but there hadn’t been this wildfire passion that ran through her veins when she’d kissed her last boyfriend. There had been sweetness and familiarity, but not this sense of coming home.
Passion and comfort. That was what Rene Darois was for her. He was excitement and safety, all wrapped in a gorgeous man package that got her heart racing every time she saw him.
She was about to be his wife.
She took a step back. If she didn’t, she might fall into his bed tonight. She had to take a deep breath and worried he could actually hear her heart pounding. “Okay, I think we’ve got that down.”
“I don’t know. We might need more practice, but I agree it’s enough for tonight.” His breath was slightly shaky, proving he hadn’t been unmoved. “Sylvie . . . thank you.”
Her heart threatened to melt, because that reddish blond hair of his was always perfect, and now it was slightly messy, and she could see the young man he’d been in his green eyes, the one who’d happily slept on a sleeping bag in her grandfather’s ratty old cabin and got up in the early dawn hours to spend time with an old man.
“I’m happy to do this for you.” She frowned at her next thought. “But I have to tell my mom. I’m not sure how she’s going to handle it.”
“She’s going to put a love spell on me and threaten to whammy me if I hurt you.”
Rene did know her mom. Her mother would be thrilled by the idea of putting one over on Charles Darois. She would view it as a grand adventure and throw herself into the con. “The good news is she puts all her love spells in jasmine tea. It’s pretty tasty.”
A grin crossed his face. “Good to know.”
“Hey, Rene, are you done with all the kissing stuff, because Remy caught a lucky turn and wiped me out. Hey, Sylvie.” Armie strode into the room. “I’m off for the night. What time’s the wedding?”
She felt herself flush. She’d been caught kissing Rene. Of course, since he would be her husband by tomorrow, she should probably get used to it. “The best time would be before noon. The judge takes a lot of fishing trips in the afternoon.”
“Excellent. The poker group wants to support you, and we always knew the two of you would get together,” Armie said as he headed for the front door. “See. Women aren’t the only ones who can get the word out. You need some help moving in, Sylvie?”
She was going to have to move in here. No one would believe she was Rene’s wife if she wasn’t living at Darois House. “Yeah. I’ll probably need some movers, though I’ll leave the furniture.”
“We’ll be there to help get you out asap,” Armie promised. “And I’m real happy to hear you’re giving him a second chance. ’Night, all.”
“I have to pack.” She hadn’t thought about this part at all. She’d spent all her time making the decision and then strategizing about how to deal with the family. She hadn’t thought about logistics.
Rene pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll have a team at your place in the morning. All you have to do is direct them. And I’ll put together a small reception for us. Obviously there’s no honeymoon, but we can explain that. What’s your ring size?”
She stared at him.
He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “This is what I do well. You figure out the big plan and I’ll handle all the details. I’m good with them. What kind of ring do you prefer? We’ve got several family pieces, but if you want something new, I can have it here by morning.”
She wasn’t great with details. It was why she had a very organized assistant. “I wear a seven. Whatever is fine. You pick.”
That brightened him up. “Excellent. I think we’ll go with the vivid yellow cushion cut. It’s only two carats, but it’s spectacular.”
Only two carats? She would definitely be giving that back if they got a divorce.
If. Not when. If.
Yes, she was in so much trouble.
* * *
* * *
Rene watched as Sylvie drove away in her perfectly respectable but sedate sedan. How fast could he get her a pretty Mercedes? She would look good driving around in a flashy car.
“Andre is going to kick your ass, you know.” Quaid stepped out onto the porch. He was the last of his friends to leave, but then he was likely sticking around to lecture him again on what a bad idea this whole thing was.
Quaid had been his attorney since Quaid’s father had retired and taken on fishing as a lifestyle.
“You know why I didn’t call him.”
“Because you think he’s going to have a problem with you using his sister to solve your business issues,” Quaid pointed out. “Which is precisely why you should have let me find a woman who won’t cause chaos. Or you could explain to Dre that you’ve been in love with his sister since college, and maybe he’ll be cool with his best friend and his sister having a shot at happiness.”
There was a problem with that scenario. “I’m worried he doesn’t think anyone can be happy in my family. He thinks my relatives are all toxic. Not me or Mom, but he thinks anyone who marries me will get tainted by the rest of my family.”
It was one more reason he’d stayed away from Sylvie in the beginning.
“That’s harsh.”
Rene shrugged. “And probably accurate since I find myself in the position I’m in. Charles came into the office today. He made a big deal out of requesting some accounting files.”
“Is there an accounting problem?”
“Only in his mind.” His cousin was a constant headache now. “Though the assistant who was retrieving them had some trouble with her password and Charles made a stink about how my office is obviously trying to cover up something.”
“We need to make sure everything is airtight.” Quaid had his keys in hand. “I’m afraid Charles is going to come after you on every front. He knows this is probably his last shot. If the Lowestone project makes as much money as we think it will, no one will question you for the next decade at least.”
Rene agreed with his friend’s assessment. All he had to do was hold on. And maybe if he presented Dre with a fait accompli, he wouldn’t have a choice but to accept the marriage. He was a manipulative bastard, since he’d timed his proposal with Dre being out of touch. Dre was out of the country chasing a big story and wouldn’t be home for a while. By then Rene would have moved Sylvie into his home, gotten a ring on her finger, and hopefully he would be well on the way to seducing his wife.
Was he giving up his best friend? God, he hoped not.
“You know if you showed them our projections, you might not have to do this,” Quaid said softly. “You could likely still keep your seat and the house and court Sylvie properly.”
“I can’t. The deal isn’t done yet, and you know we’ve got a leak.” It was precisely why he was using Quaid instead of one of the corporate attorneys they employed. “We were outbid by pennies twice last month. Someone is trying hard to make me look incompetent.”
“Charles.”
“It’s got to be someone close to me. Charles couldn’t have gotten those bids on his own,” Rene replied with a weariness he’d been feeling a lot lately. He hated the fact that he couldn’t trust his own staff or the majority of his family.
He needed Sylvie in so many ways.
“I’ll revise the prenup,” Quaid promised. “Did you tell her about the stock she’s about to come into?”
He didn’t see why he should go into it. “She doesn’t get that until we’ve been married for at least three years.”
“Yes, but you might mention she’ll be a full voting member of the board if she stays on, and that stock is going to be worth millions,” Quaid pointed out. “You know it’s in the contract.”
“She won’t read it. She’s doing this to help a friend. She doesn’t care about the money or the stock.”
“But that stock ties her to you forever. She can’t sell it unless you choose to buy it back from her.”
“That’s a problem for another time.” He didn’t see that it would be an issue. It wouldn’t take them three years to figure out if they were staying in the marriage. The only reason he hadn’t told her about that clause was he expected pushback. She didn’t want to take a ring from him, much less a good portion of his company.
“You’re saying that a lot lately, brother. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.” Quaid started for his SUV. “And call Dre before he finds out on his own.”
That was a problem for . . . Yes, he was doing that a lot lately. He was shoving things off and hoping for the best, because if he dealt with all his fires right now, he would go up in flames.
Quaid drove off and Rene was left with a quiet yard, the sounds of the bayou around him, but that hum had been the soundtrack of his life. He found it soothing.
What he hadn’t found soothing was that kiss. That kiss had been life-affirming. He’d worried he’d made too much of that night all those years before, but that kiss had shown him he’d forgotten at least half of what that woman could make him feel.
Wanted. Needy. Weak.
Like he was at least ten feet tall.
He supposed the thing that was most surprising was that she made him feel at all.
He was going through the motions and had been for years. He’d done what he needed to do to get through a day and counted himself lucky to simply wake up in the morning.
Did he have any right to bring Sylvie into his world? Would she save him or end up drowning beside him?
He took a deep breath and tried to force the pessimistic thoughts out of his head.
He concentrated on how she’d felt in his arms. Soft and warm and perfect.
He wanted her. It felt good to want something again. Something for himself.
He would convince her to stay with him, that he could provide enough joy to counterbalance the annoyance of dealing with his family.
“Mr. Darois? Is everything all right? Your mother is a bit worried that something is wrong with all the comings and goings so late. She’s staying up to make sure you’re okay.” Mrs. Graham stood on the porch, still wearing the uniform she insisted was in keeping with her station in the house. It was a blue button-up dress with a white apron and sensible shoes. He’d told her she could wear whatever she liked, but she’d refused.
“I’m coming.” He had some good news for her.
He jogged into the house, hoping tomorrow would be a good day for his mother.
And a special day for him.
chapter four
“What do you mean, you’re getting married?”
Sylvie dropped her bag on the big desk in her office and turned to her assistant. “I mean, I need to move a couple of my appointments this morning because I’m getting married over at the courthouse at ten and I promised my mother we would go have a nice breakfast with Rene and Cricket after the ceremony.”
Her mother had insisted, and when she’d texted Rene to let him know, she’d gotten back a polite It would be our greatest pleasure.
She’d stared at that last word for way too long. Pleasure. In less than an hour she would be Rene’s wife, and he’d made it clear their physical relationship was all up to her. He would be more than willing to pleasure her.
She would be living with him . . . Maybe she was technically already living with him since he’d been true to his word and there had been a moving crew at her place bright and early this morning. Not that it would take them long. Most of the furniture wasn’t hers. She’d packed her own clothes and shoes and makeup. They’d quickly had her books and other possessions safely boxed up, and she’d been informed that a professional service would handle cleaning the house she’d lived in since she’d become the mayor.
It had been a shock to see how little time it had taken to bundle up her life and sweep it all away. When she’d helped Sera move, it had taken days to get everything over to Guidry Place.
Would she even fit in at Rene’s house? It was huge and had old-world elegance. When she’d been a kid, she’d always pretended she was a princess when she went over there. Rene had been the prince who would one day notice she was there.
Was she making a horrible mistake?
Gertie stared at her like she’d grown two heads. “Married?”
It was good to know Hallie and Sera had kept their cone of silence. And apparently so had Rene’s friends. She hadn’t realized she was interrupting his weekly poker night when she’d gone to his place the night before. “Yes. I know it’s a surprise, but I’m getting married. It’s a bit of a rush, but we have our reasons. It won’t interrupt the rest of the week, but I need some time today. And I’ll need some time in a couple of weeks. I’ll get you the dates.”
She wasn’t sure exactly when the celebration for Rene’s aunt was taking place, but she knew it would be important to this mission of theirs. He would need her to show a united front to his family.
Gertie hadn’t moved. “Dare I ask who you’re marrying? Also, Quaid Havery dropped a contract off this morning. He asked for you to sign it at your earliest convenience and have it sent back to him. I told him any contract you’re signing needs to be looked at by a lawyer of your choosing. I wondered if you were buying a new place, but now I fear it has to do with this foolishness.”
Sylvie picked up the envelope on her desk and pulled out the prenup. She wasn’t going to drag another lawyer into this. Also, there wasn’t another lawyer anywhere close, and this was the best time to catch the judge. She glanced through it and then signed because it wasn’t worth arguing. If she was still with Rene in three years, she would receive a bunch of stock, but if she was still with Rene in three years, then it would be because they were truly married. She wasn’t going to worry about that now.
She didn’t even want to think about the custody clause dealing with any children that came from the marriage.
“I’m marrying Rene Darois. We’ve been seeing each other quietly for the last couple of months.”
There was a brisk knock on the door she’d left open. Sylvie turned and her mom was standing there wearing a flowy dress and matching headwrap, her dangliest earrings completing the outfit. “She’s saving Rene’s butt is what she’s doing.”
They had talked briefly the night before. She’d stopped by her mother’s place and explained the situation. Before her mother could argue, Sylvie had announced that she had to prep for the movers in the morning and left. She should have known her mom wouldn’t let this happen without registering her opinion.
“And everyone knows I’m particular about my clothes. Why wouldn’t I buy my wife new clothes? Besides, like I said, you’re going to need the armor around my family.”
“I have nice clothes.”
“You have beautiful clothes, and honestly, you would look stunning in a trash bag, but in my world they’ll judge you and they’ll judge me. You have to have the latest of everything. Clothes, shoes, handbags. I know it’s a terrible burden, but I must insist.”
“Rene,” she began.
He held out a hand. “Darling, no one will believe the ruse if you aren’t dressing the part, and tell me we won’t have fun buying out all those stores and drinking champagne and acting like we’re in some rom com. There has to be something good that comes out of all of this.”
She was in so much trouble. She put her hand in his. He had an agenda and she was on it. If she knew how to deal with his family, then he had a damn fine playbook on her. She stood and suddenly was in his space. She had to tilt her chin up to look at him. “All right. It will be fun. And I have to admit there are some Gucci pumps I’ve been saving for.”
“Consider them yours.” He was staring down at her. “Can I kiss you, Sylvie?”
“What?”
“If we’re awkward, no one’s going to believe us. We’re getting married in the morning. We should at least practice kissing.”
“Maybe we’re one of those private couples who don’t ever engage in PDA.”
“No. We’re affectionate. I’m going to model our fake marriage after your parents. Your parents were affectionate. I remember how your daddy used to chase your momma around the house.”
He was right. They would be expected to be comfortable with each other if their plan was going to work. And she would have to stay here for a while.
Danger. So much danger, and yet she couldn’t deny that she wanted to know. Maybe she’d made too much out of that night back in college. Maybe their chemistry had been an illusion, the hopes and dreams of a lonely girl with a crush on a boy she’d known forever. “Yes, you can kiss me, but it’s only for practice.”
Those generous lips of his kicked up in a devilish grin. “I haven’t kissed anyone in a couple of years. I might need a lot of practice.”
Years? That reminder of how hard life had been on Rene made it easier for her to go up on her toes and tilt her head back, offering her lips up to his. “It’s been years for me, too.”
His expression went soft and his hands went to her waist. “Then we’ll figure it all out again together.”
His lips descended on hers and she knew she’d been wrong in that moment. Her whole body went soft in his arms and she had to wrap herself around him to stay standing, because suddenly the only thing that mattered in the world was that kiss.
He moved cautiously, his hands tightening and his body slightly tense, but his lips were soft. He explored her mouth, lightly dragging his lips across hers. He was patient, giving her all the time she needed to relax into the kiss before she felt him gently pull at her bottom lip, the sensation going through her body like lightning.
It didn’t take much for the kiss to go from cautious to carnal. When she sighed and opened her mouth, he accepted her invitation without hesitation. All thought fled the minute she felt his tongue slide along hers, an invitation to dance.
Oh, she wanted to dance with him. So badly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t kissed anyone since him. She had, but there hadn’t been this wildfire passion that ran through her veins when she’d kissed her last boyfriend. There had been sweetness and familiarity, but not this sense of coming home.
Passion and comfort. That was what Rene Darois was for her. He was excitement and safety, all wrapped in a gorgeous man package that got her heart racing every time she saw him.
She was about to be his wife.
She took a step back. If she didn’t, she might fall into his bed tonight. She had to take a deep breath and worried he could actually hear her heart pounding. “Okay, I think we’ve got that down.”
“I don’t know. We might need more practice, but I agree it’s enough for tonight.” His breath was slightly shaky, proving he hadn’t been unmoved. “Sylvie . . . thank you.”
Her heart threatened to melt, because that reddish blond hair of his was always perfect, and now it was slightly messy, and she could see the young man he’d been in his green eyes, the one who’d happily slept on a sleeping bag in her grandfather’s ratty old cabin and got up in the early dawn hours to spend time with an old man.
“I’m happy to do this for you.” She frowned at her next thought. “But I have to tell my mom. I’m not sure how she’s going to handle it.”
“She’s going to put a love spell on me and threaten to whammy me if I hurt you.”
Rene did know her mom. Her mother would be thrilled by the idea of putting one over on Charles Darois. She would view it as a grand adventure and throw herself into the con. “The good news is she puts all her love spells in jasmine tea. It’s pretty tasty.”
A grin crossed his face. “Good to know.”
“Hey, Rene, are you done with all the kissing stuff, because Remy caught a lucky turn and wiped me out. Hey, Sylvie.” Armie strode into the room. “I’m off for the night. What time’s the wedding?”
She felt herself flush. She’d been caught kissing Rene. Of course, since he would be her husband by tomorrow, she should probably get used to it. “The best time would be before noon. The judge takes a lot of fishing trips in the afternoon.”
“Excellent. The poker group wants to support you, and we always knew the two of you would get together,” Armie said as he headed for the front door. “See. Women aren’t the only ones who can get the word out. You need some help moving in, Sylvie?”
She was going to have to move in here. No one would believe she was Rene’s wife if she wasn’t living at Darois House. “Yeah. I’ll probably need some movers, though I’ll leave the furniture.”
“We’ll be there to help get you out asap,” Armie promised. “And I’m real happy to hear you’re giving him a second chance. ’Night, all.”
“I have to pack.” She hadn’t thought about this part at all. She’d spent all her time making the decision and then strategizing about how to deal with the family. She hadn’t thought about logistics.
Rene pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll have a team at your place in the morning. All you have to do is direct them. And I’ll put together a small reception for us. Obviously there’s no honeymoon, but we can explain that. What’s your ring size?”
She stared at him.
He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “This is what I do well. You figure out the big plan and I’ll handle all the details. I’m good with them. What kind of ring do you prefer? We’ve got several family pieces, but if you want something new, I can have it here by morning.”
She wasn’t great with details. It was why she had a very organized assistant. “I wear a seven. Whatever is fine. You pick.”
That brightened him up. “Excellent. I think we’ll go with the vivid yellow cushion cut. It’s only two carats, but it’s spectacular.”
Only two carats? She would definitely be giving that back if they got a divorce.
If. Not when. If.
Yes, she was in so much trouble.
* * *
* * *
Rene watched as Sylvie drove away in her perfectly respectable but sedate sedan. How fast could he get her a pretty Mercedes? She would look good driving around in a flashy car.
“Andre is going to kick your ass, you know.” Quaid stepped out onto the porch. He was the last of his friends to leave, but then he was likely sticking around to lecture him again on what a bad idea this whole thing was.
Quaid had been his attorney since Quaid’s father had retired and taken on fishing as a lifestyle.
“You know why I didn’t call him.”
“Because you think he’s going to have a problem with you using his sister to solve your business issues,” Quaid pointed out. “Which is precisely why you should have let me find a woman who won’t cause chaos. Or you could explain to Dre that you’ve been in love with his sister since college, and maybe he’ll be cool with his best friend and his sister having a shot at happiness.”
There was a problem with that scenario. “I’m worried he doesn’t think anyone can be happy in my family. He thinks my relatives are all toxic. Not me or Mom, but he thinks anyone who marries me will get tainted by the rest of my family.”
It was one more reason he’d stayed away from Sylvie in the beginning.
“That’s harsh.”
Rene shrugged. “And probably accurate since I find myself in the position I’m in. Charles came into the office today. He made a big deal out of requesting some accounting files.”
“Is there an accounting problem?”
“Only in his mind.” His cousin was a constant headache now. “Though the assistant who was retrieving them had some trouble with her password and Charles made a stink about how my office is obviously trying to cover up something.”
“We need to make sure everything is airtight.” Quaid had his keys in hand. “I’m afraid Charles is going to come after you on every front. He knows this is probably his last shot. If the Lowestone project makes as much money as we think it will, no one will question you for the next decade at least.”
Rene agreed with his friend’s assessment. All he had to do was hold on. And maybe if he presented Dre with a fait accompli, he wouldn’t have a choice but to accept the marriage. He was a manipulative bastard, since he’d timed his proposal with Dre being out of touch. Dre was out of the country chasing a big story and wouldn’t be home for a while. By then Rene would have moved Sylvie into his home, gotten a ring on her finger, and hopefully he would be well on the way to seducing his wife.
Was he giving up his best friend? God, he hoped not.
“You know if you showed them our projections, you might not have to do this,” Quaid said softly. “You could likely still keep your seat and the house and court Sylvie properly.”
“I can’t. The deal isn’t done yet, and you know we’ve got a leak.” It was precisely why he was using Quaid instead of one of the corporate attorneys they employed. “We were outbid by pennies twice last month. Someone is trying hard to make me look incompetent.”
“Charles.”
“It’s got to be someone close to me. Charles couldn’t have gotten those bids on his own,” Rene replied with a weariness he’d been feeling a lot lately. He hated the fact that he couldn’t trust his own staff or the majority of his family.
He needed Sylvie in so many ways.
“I’ll revise the prenup,” Quaid promised. “Did you tell her about the stock she’s about to come into?”
He didn’t see why he should go into it. “She doesn’t get that until we’ve been married for at least three years.”
“Yes, but you might mention she’ll be a full voting member of the board if she stays on, and that stock is going to be worth millions,” Quaid pointed out. “You know it’s in the contract.”
“She won’t read it. She’s doing this to help a friend. She doesn’t care about the money or the stock.”
“But that stock ties her to you forever. She can’t sell it unless you choose to buy it back from her.”
“That’s a problem for another time.” He didn’t see that it would be an issue. It wouldn’t take them three years to figure out if they were staying in the marriage. The only reason he hadn’t told her about that clause was he expected pushback. She didn’t want to take a ring from him, much less a good portion of his company.
“You’re saying that a lot lately, brother. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.” Quaid started for his SUV. “And call Dre before he finds out on his own.”
That was a problem for . . . Yes, he was doing that a lot lately. He was shoving things off and hoping for the best, because if he dealt with all his fires right now, he would go up in flames.
Quaid drove off and Rene was left with a quiet yard, the sounds of the bayou around him, but that hum had been the soundtrack of his life. He found it soothing.
What he hadn’t found soothing was that kiss. That kiss had been life-affirming. He’d worried he’d made too much of that night all those years before, but that kiss had shown him he’d forgotten at least half of what that woman could make him feel.
Wanted. Needy. Weak.
Like he was at least ten feet tall.
He supposed the thing that was most surprising was that she made him feel at all.
He was going through the motions and had been for years. He’d done what he needed to do to get through a day and counted himself lucky to simply wake up in the morning.
Did he have any right to bring Sylvie into his world? Would she save him or end up drowning beside him?
He took a deep breath and tried to force the pessimistic thoughts out of his head.
He concentrated on how she’d felt in his arms. Soft and warm and perfect.
He wanted her. It felt good to want something again. Something for himself.
He would convince her to stay with him, that he could provide enough joy to counterbalance the annoyance of dealing with his family.
“Mr. Darois? Is everything all right? Your mother is a bit worried that something is wrong with all the comings and goings so late. She’s staying up to make sure you’re okay.” Mrs. Graham stood on the porch, still wearing the uniform she insisted was in keeping with her station in the house. It was a blue button-up dress with a white apron and sensible shoes. He’d told her she could wear whatever she liked, but she’d refused.
“I’m coming.” He had some good news for her.
He jogged into the house, hoping tomorrow would be a good day for his mother.
And a special day for him.
chapter four
“What do you mean, you’re getting married?”
Sylvie dropped her bag on the big desk in her office and turned to her assistant. “I mean, I need to move a couple of my appointments this morning because I’m getting married over at the courthouse at ten and I promised my mother we would go have a nice breakfast with Rene and Cricket after the ceremony.”
Her mother had insisted, and when she’d texted Rene to let him know, she’d gotten back a polite It would be our greatest pleasure.
She’d stared at that last word for way too long. Pleasure. In less than an hour she would be Rene’s wife, and he’d made it clear their physical relationship was all up to her. He would be more than willing to pleasure her.
She would be living with him . . . Maybe she was technically already living with him since he’d been true to his word and there had been a moving crew at her place bright and early this morning. Not that it would take them long. Most of the furniture wasn’t hers. She’d packed her own clothes and shoes and makeup. They’d quickly had her books and other possessions safely boxed up, and she’d been informed that a professional service would handle cleaning the house she’d lived in since she’d become the mayor.
It had been a shock to see how little time it had taken to bundle up her life and sweep it all away. When she’d helped Sera move, it had taken days to get everything over to Guidry Place.
Would she even fit in at Rene’s house? It was huge and had old-world elegance. When she’d been a kid, she’d always pretended she was a princess when she went over there. Rene had been the prince who would one day notice she was there.
Was she making a horrible mistake?
Gertie stared at her like she’d grown two heads. “Married?”
It was good to know Hallie and Sera had kept their cone of silence. And apparently so had Rene’s friends. She hadn’t realized she was interrupting his weekly poker night when she’d gone to his place the night before. “Yes. I know it’s a surprise, but I’m getting married. It’s a bit of a rush, but we have our reasons. It won’t interrupt the rest of the week, but I need some time today. And I’ll need some time in a couple of weeks. I’ll get you the dates.”
She wasn’t sure exactly when the celebration for Rene’s aunt was taking place, but she knew it would be important to this mission of theirs. He would need her to show a united front to his family.
Gertie hadn’t moved. “Dare I ask who you’re marrying? Also, Quaid Havery dropped a contract off this morning. He asked for you to sign it at your earliest convenience and have it sent back to him. I told him any contract you’re signing needs to be looked at by a lawyer of your choosing. I wondered if you were buying a new place, but now I fear it has to do with this foolishness.”
Sylvie picked up the envelope on her desk and pulled out the prenup. She wasn’t going to drag another lawyer into this. Also, there wasn’t another lawyer anywhere close, and this was the best time to catch the judge. She glanced through it and then signed because it wasn’t worth arguing. If she was still with Rene in three years, she would receive a bunch of stock, but if she was still with Rene in three years, then it would be because they were truly married. She wasn’t going to worry about that now.
She didn’t even want to think about the custody clause dealing with any children that came from the marriage.
“I’m marrying Rene Darois. We’ve been seeing each other quietly for the last couple of months.”
There was a brisk knock on the door she’d left open. Sylvie turned and her mom was standing there wearing a flowy dress and matching headwrap, her dangliest earrings completing the outfit. “She’s saving Rene’s butt is what she’s doing.”
They had talked briefly the night before. She’d stopped by her mother’s place and explained the situation. Before her mother could argue, Sylvie had announced that she had to prep for the movers in the morning and left. She should have known her mom wouldn’t let this happen without registering her opinion.
