Serge frowned. ‘Seventeen is young for a girl to be out on her own.’
‘It is, but I managed.’
It explained a lot. Her independence, her ability to take him on, but also that vulnerability that had been worrying him.
‘So you don’t miss your family?’ He didn’t know why he was pursuing this, only he found he needed to know more about this side of her life, and until now she had never spoken about it.
‘Not much to miss,’ she replied briefly, looking down. ‘I was still at school when I left home. I ended up working a slew of menial jobs during the day, did school at night. I wasn’t getting anywhere so I made the decision to do what so many other people my age were doing and try London. I don’t regret making the move. I always felt like there were opportunities out there in the world for me, and I want to take them whilst I’m young enough to enjoy them.’
Clementine suddenly wished this conversation had never started up. Talking about her parents always stirred up painful memories. A childhood where nothing was certain, all power in the hands of two adults who seemed to be nothing more than overgrown toddlers careening out of control on dodgem cars, herself alone and unprotected between them, had given her a strong need to protect herself.
At twenty-five she knew her past was beginning to take a toll. Professionally she was fine, but her personal life had never really got off the ground and now it was dead in the water.
Until this man.
Don’t see too much, Clementine.
No, she wouldn’t. But he wanted to be reassured she wasn’t jumping the gun. That she could be the girl he wanted. The no-strings girl. But could she be that girl or was the price too high?
It was time to protect herself again.
She gripped her knees, and the gesture wasn’t lost on him. ‘Serge, can I be frank?’
He actually looked taken aback and she almost smiled. Were there worse words you could say to a man? It always prefaced something they would rather not know.
She smiled thinly. Lucky you, Serge, you’re going to get exactly what you want to hear.
‘I’m not naive,’ she continued. ‘I know you live for your work. Relationships are way down on your agenda. I also know that you want to keep me out of that part of your life—you want to keep your distance. I get that you chose to take me to a hotel rather than your townhouse.’
He looked as if he wanted to say something, but she got in there fast.
‘You’re telling me not to get serious about any of this. I get it. I understand all you’re offering is an opportunity, not a long-term relationship.’ She affected a casual shrug. ‘It’s okay. I’m cool with that. That’s what I want too.’ Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Serge stilled.
This should be his moment of relief. Instead it hit him like a sucker punch.
‘An opportunity?’ he said slowly, turning the phrase over like a rock and observing all the nasty things crawling out.
For the first time in over a week he was reminded of the girl he’d first met in St Petersburg. The girl he’d imagined had several guys on the go, working her advantages. From their first night together the notion had been rendered laughable. For all her innate sensuality Clementine was not a practised lover. In fact she had given the impression of being swept away by her feelings. It was a big part of why being with her felt so different.
Up until a moment ago he would have discounted her claim. Yet now knowing a little about her past put a slant on his perspective. She was clearly tougher than she looked. This was a woman who had survived on her own since she was a teenager. She didn’t need his protection. She didn’t need coddling. She was telling him exactly what he should be celebrating hearing.
‘So my finding a job makes sense, don’t you think?’ He looked over at her. She flashed a bright, brittle smile. Nyet, nothing made sense.
The next day Clementine spent her time alone, making the rounds of several fashion labels before one bit. Her CV now had Verado’s name as a calling card. All her hard work in St Petersburg had paid off. The fashion label Annelli were launching a campaign over Christmas, to brand their jeans with an up-and-coming young Hollywood actress. If she was interested in joining their team they had a job for her.
The work was in New York City. There wouldn’t be a problem with her visa. It was all lining up. Yet she hesitated to take the job.
In a cab uptown she thought about what all this meant.
She wanted a lot more from Serge than she suspected he ever intended to give her. You didn’t take a girl to a hotel when you had a perfectly good home across town. He had never meant this to be anything more than a no-strings fling and in the Hamptons, desperate to hold onto her dignity, she’d dismissed the depth of her feelings and given him his ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card.