Chapter 17

Vince

S eeing Sylvain again after three weeks was the best feeling. While I travelled, my heart had been in my throat the whole time, expecting him to be nowhere around on my arrival. I'd been a bundle of nerves, and my stomach had rebelled at every morsel of food I ate.

But as soon as I saw him standing there, looking all kinds of delicious, waiting for me in the lobby of this exclusive hotel, all my anxiety had ebbed away.

The moment I stepped out of the lift, I lost the ability to speak. The fucking penthouse, it had to be. Or maybe the honeymoon suite.

I walked through the door, the sweet perfume of all the roses taking my breath away.

And I didn't have any time to catch it with his lips on mine. I almost came in my underwear from his potent kisses. What else could we get up to this weekend? Maybe we could skip the wedding and spend three days in bed.

No, we couldn't do that. Could we?

When he finally let me go, he sat heavily on the bed and dragged a hand through his hair.

Something was going on, but what? Gone was his usual debonair behaviour.

It was funny, but in hindsight, I'd always thought something wasn't quite right. Not in a bad way. I'd just never been able to put my finger on it.

The fancy car, the beautiful house in the village, the resort he managed. It didn't add up, or maybe I was inherently suspicious of everyone.

"I don't need your money. I'm happy to pay for it all. The company is paying, as technically, this is a business trip."

"So, what is it you're not telling me?"

"It's nothing bad, I promise. I'm not a serial killer, just a businessman. The resort you stayed at, remember I said it was owned by a corporation? I own it."

"The corporation."

"Yes. The corporation."

"And is that a big company? What kind of company are we talking about here? Multinational? Worldwide?"

"We own a few more resorts in a few different countries across the world, but mainly in Europe. I'm the CEO, but I choose to stay in France, as that's my home."

I blew out a breath, trying to assimilate the information he'd just given me.

"What does that mean for us?"

"Absolutely nothing. Why would it? We haven't changed."

"But you're rich."

"I have money, yes."

"How much? Sorry, that's rude. I shouldn't ask questions like that. I hardly know you."

"You know me well enough, Vince, and I'm happy to tell you. I don't know the exact figures, but I'm worth a few million euros. The company is worth considerably more."

"Jesus Christ. You're like fucking loaded." My pulse raced, my stomach churned, and bile rose in my throat.

Sylvain laughed. Fucking laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Why didn't you tell me? This changes everything." He could have anyone he wanted.

"It doesn't have to. I'm the same person I was ten minutes ago when you didn't know, so why does me having money make any difference to who we are as a couple?"

"It just does." I walked over to the window overlooking the pristine gardens. The sunlight glinting off the pond reminded me of the sea in France and how it had sparkled like diamonds.

"Please, Vince. This doesn't change a thing. Not my feelings for you, nor me being here with you to celebrate your friend's wedding."

"But you have so much money." More than I'd ever see.

"Isn't happiness more important?"

"Not if you don't have it, it's not."

"Don't let this come between us. I'm begging you."

"I…I…I need a minute."

"Of course. I'll go downstairs. Call me when you're ready."

"No, stay, please. You don't need to go anywhere. Let me think for a moment."

He was still the same person he was three weeks ago. The fact that he had money shouldn't make a difference. Why was I finding this so hard?

Because I'd struggled all my life, barely having enough to live on at times. The holiday had been a steal, and despite having my money and cards stolen, I'd not spent that much while there.

But he'd arranged for everything here, and I felt like I was taking advantage. I wouldn't do that.

"Let me pay my way."

"What?"

"Let me give you money for the weekend. I insist, and if you don't let me, I'll find another room and pay for it myself."

He shook his head. "I don't understand. I'm happily paying for all this for you."

"I didn't ask you to, though."

"No, you didn't. I offered. Please, Vince. Can we talk about this after the weekend? Let's have a good time, and we can discuss money on Monday. I promise. If it makes you that uncomfortable, we can revisit. The room, the food, all this"—he swept his arms as if to encompass the flowers, the chocolates, the champagne—"it's all paid for. My treat for you. I don't expect you to pay for that. I wanted to do that for you. I wanted us to remember this weekend."

"Then I'll pay for the drinks tomorrow at the wedding."

"If it makes you happy." He took my hand and kissed it. "Anything to make you happy."

The wild fluttering in my stomach had subsided, and a sliver of normality had returned, but he wanted to make me happy. No one had ever taken my feelings into consideration before. Only him and for that reason, I was willing to give in… for the moment.

"I'm going to take a shower, then hang up my clothes, but Monday, though, we will talk about it."

Sylvain smiled. Finally. "I'm happy you're staying. Otherwise, I'd be a bit lonely in this room, and I'd get fat from eating the chocolate."

"It is good chocolate. Maybe one more before I shower." I really shouldn't but they were delicious.

"Here, have another."

His eyes shone as he fed the truffle to me, licking his lips as the soft chocolate melted on my tongue. If anyone had told me that a sexy man feeding me expensive chocolate was extravagant, they were absolutely right.

"You know, there are other things we could do with this chocolate. Want to play?" He cocked an eyebrow, mischief on his face.

Happy to see Sylvain back to his flirty self, I bit down on the chocolate and licked his fingers, cleaning off the dusty coating.

"You like to live dangerously, Vince."

"I'm a rebel. What can I say? Shower for me, though. I'll leave you to think about that."

Who was this brazen Vince? I'd shocked myself with my words, but if I felt horny, then he could too.

I sashayed to the bathroom, giving him a cheeky wink, and closed the door on him.

I leant against it. What in god's name had I got myself into? Not only had I bagged myself an honest-to-god sexy-as-fuck Frenchman, but he was a millionaire too. How the fuck had that happened?

I stripped off and turned on the water. The shower stall was huge, with plenty of room for two. I could invite the hunk in the next room to join me, but I needed time to think more about our situation.

I couldn't afford to pay even a fraction of what this room cost, so what had I been thinking saying that?

Streams of hot water soaked my skin, washing away the grime of travelling. I could find another room or stay here. Was it really a choice?

If I took another room, Sylvain wouldn't be with me, with his wicked smile and sinful body. Plus, there was every chance they wouldn't have a spare room, what with the wedding being on.

I'd best stay here. After all, that bed was so comfortable, and as I pictured the night ahead, sharing it with Sylvain, my dick thought it was an exceptional idea.

I'd thought of nothing else since he'd told me about the room, and many a night I'd lain in bed, wondering what it'd be like to share. Would he cuddle or lie on the other side, stiff as a board?

I only needed one part of him to be stiff. Perhaps I could help with that.

God, I'd been standing under the water doing nothing for a good few minutes, so I soaped myself up quickly and washed my hair. I wrapped myself in the biggest, fluffiest towel I'd ever seen and stepped back into the bedroom.

Sylvain lounged on the bed, his ankles crossed, arms behind his head.

Well, fuck. Didn't he look all kinds of edible?

I'd been so intent on teasing Sylvain I'd forgotten to bring clean clothes with me into the bathroom. I hadn't even unpacked.

The towel was in danger of coming undone, revealing me to him. Would that be so bad?

"So, what's the plan for today?" I sat on the bed next to him.

"Dinner isn't for a few hours, but we could go for a stroll around the gardens or maybe have afternoon tea in the hotel bar."

"That sounds like an excellent idea. Can we do that?"

"Of course. We can do anything you want to. I want you to be happy this weekend. I know how hard it might be, and I'm offering to be your ‘fake' boyfriend for the days we're here. Theo and Glen don't need to know any different."

"Lexi thinks we're boyfriends already." I joked.

"She does, does she? Well, shall we give everyone something to talk about this weekend? We could have fun. I'm looking forward to it." His eyes glistened and a smile played on his lips.

As was I. I'd still not told Theo who I was bringing with me. Only Lexi knew and had sworn to tell no one.

"I'll go have a shower while you get dressed, although we could have saved water and showered together."

Damn, why hadn't I thought of that?

He got off the bed and placed a kiss on my forehead, then sauntered to the bathroom, whistling a song I didn't know.

My insides turned to jelly, as did my legs, and I lay down. How, in god's name, had I managed to snag a man like him?

I dried and dressed quickly in a pair of chinos and a blue checked shirt I'd bought especially for the occasion. By the looks of the clientele when I arrived, jeans and a T-shirt wouldn't do, and I was right.

I poured more champagne and sipped on it, waiting for him. Finally, the door opened.

My mouth dropped open. He clearly worked out and had a body to die for. Firm muscled pecs, defined abs, and a prominent vein running down his torso, disappearing beneath the low-slung towel threatening to come undone. If my eyes didn't deceive me, it hid a definite bulge, and I tore my eyes away before he saw me ogling him like a piece of meat.

Good god, but he was fabulous.

Keeping my back to him, I glimpsed his reflection in the glass, and as he dropped his towel, I tried my hardest not to make a sound.

Such torture: a taut white arse in stark contrast to his golden tan.

I guzzled down the remaining champagne, almost choking on the bubbles.

"You can look now, Vince. I'm decent."

Disappointing, but I turned and smiled. "You look great."

"As do you, and you can tell me over tea how you've managed to lose so much weight. Don't think I didn't notice, although I did like you as you were."

"I didn't. Like me, that is. I did it for me."

"An admirable sentiment. Shall we?"

He opened the door, and we walked to the lift that opened as we reached it. We stood in silence again. Sylvain placed a comforting hand at my back as we stepped off, straight into the wedding party just arriving.

"Vince? Is that you?" Theo rushed over to greet me.

"Theo. Glen. This is Sylvain," I said with a forced smile.

"Vince's boyfriend." Of course Sylvain had to get that in there. He stuck out his hand and shook both of theirs.

Theo gaped like a goldfish, and Glen had the sourest look on his face as if he'd sucked on a lemon.

"You sly dog," Theo said when he'd finally come around. "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"I told you I was bringing a plus-one." Like I would tell him anything more. He deserved no explanation from me.

"I thought you were joking. Didn't I say that, Glen?" He turned to his fiancé, who still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing Sylvain.

I preened. Petty, maybe, but they deserved nothing less.

And Sylvain was right. The money meant nothing. Glen paled in every way compared to Sylvain. He'd been kind, generous and not just with his money but his time too.

Glen would surely have left me lying bleeding in the street, and that was the difference between the two men.

Theo was welcome to Glen and vice versa. Since Lexi's wedding, I'd seen Theo's true colours. It didn't matter that they were Glen's words he'd spoken. Theo had said them with no regard for my feelings. Genuine friends didn't do that.

"We were just going for afternoon tea, so if you'll excuse us."

Had Sylvain put on more of a French accent? He sounded a hundred times sexier, and when he took my hand and kissed it, I almost wet myself laughing at Theo's and Glen's expressions.

We walked towards the bar, both of us sniggering.

"You did that on purpose," I whispered.

"I might have put on the accent a little more, but the kiss was genuine. I intend to do that a lot this weekend, so you'd best get used to it."

Oh, I could get used to it. His kisses were addictive.

We took a seat by the window and I gazed out of the window, enjoying the gorgeous view but not half as much as the one sitting in front of me.

A waitress brought our afternoon tea, stumbling over her words. She might have liked the view as much as I did, but he was taken. By me.

"So, do you fancy going out for dinner this evening?" He poured us both tea, served in patterned china cups and saucers.

"After eating all this?" Plate after plate was brought out with cucumber and salmon sandwiches, petit fours, tiny little cakes, and pots of tea. "I don't want to undo all the good work I've done and slip back into old habits."

"Perfectly understandable, but we could order room service a little later if you'd prefer. I had booked a table for eight. It's up to you."

"Let me see how I feel in a few hours. I might be ravenous."

"I can think of something that would increase your appetite." He slipped a piece of cucumber into his mouth, then licked his lips slowly.

"You really are a tease, you know."

"I know, and I can't wait for you to find out just how much."