Chapter 14
Anxious wasn’t the word to explain what Sienna was feeling right now. There was a low hum of dread located somewhere behind her rib cage, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what was causing it.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. It had been a couple of days since Max had come to visit her at the château, and let her know that he wanted more out of their relationship than they had initially agreed upon. Jacyn’s arrival with her new baby had cut short what was going to be an important conversation, and Sienna had to admit that she was a tiny bit relieved that his exit had bought her some time to think more about their situation. She was still confused, still up in the air about what she wanted. She’d texted him a few hours after Jacyn returned to tell him that she wouldn’t be able to make their nightly rendezvous. Conveniently, she used the excuse of spending time with her friend and new nephew in order to avoid him. For a while, at least.
Jacyn and Naisha came to her room bubbling with excitement two days ago, wanting to give her information on Max, but she’d declined to hear it. If he had any secrets, she wanted him to divulge it to her, not someone else. Besides, the secret couldn’t have been that horrible if the two women were practically busting at the seams with glee.
So yeah, okay. Maybe she did have a good reason to feel uneasy. But tonight was supposed to be fun. She and the girls were at a charity gala being hosted at one of the grandest stately homes in Aix, an event which William co-sponsored.
The home was as close to a Disney castle as Sienna had ever come, even larger and grander than the château, and that was saying something. Highly coveted modern and classical artworks hung on the walls, chandeliers glinted overhead, and the drinks and tidbits were served by liveried footmen who looked as if they had gotten lost somewhere on the space-time continuum and would any moment be returning to their century of origin.
And Sienna looked good: she knew she did. The girls had spent an entire day in town shopping for the event, and she had come away with a champagne-colored gown that swooped down at the back and clung to her breasts. Jacyn had lent her a set of earrings and a choker that had originally belonged to Alex’s grandmother, and with every movement it looked as if she was on fire.
She made a mindful effort to be happy and in the moment. Forgetting her indecisions about Max, if only for a while. Except her girlfriends were making it hard.
Jacyn was enthusiastically describing her shock as Max had appeared on her doorstep the evening they had returned, in his riding leathers and boots, his black hair tousled by his motorcycle helmet.
Naisha scoffed. “Girl, please. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen that hunk of eye-candy on horseback!” She gestured dramatically, inviting the others to join her in the vision. “There he was, rounding the lake on his dapple gray, emerging from the mist like Zorro—”
“There was no mist!” Sienna interrupted. “It was the middle of the afternoon!”
Naisha kept on taunting. “Jacket open to the waist, six-pack printed out against his t-shirt…”
“I know!” Shaundra joined in. “Girl, you should have seen him swaggering into the bar that night. Dude should have his own soundtrack!”
“That’s enough,” Sienna huffed. “I’m going to get a drink.”
Naisha grabbed her by the upper arm. “Okay, honey, okay. We’ll let up on you. It’s clear that you like him.”
“I do not!” she protested, although a voice at the back of her head whispered,Liar.“It’s a summer fling. That’s all.”
“We’ll see,” Jacyn said. “But you’re right, I mean, he’s drop-dead hunky, but he’s like, a teenager—”
“No, he’s not!” Sienna disagreed.
Chantelle gaped. “But he is though…”
She hastened to clarify. “He’s actually twenty-six. But that’s still very young for a man...”
“It’s not that young,” Chantelle answered. “I mean, he’s more than a decade past the age of consent in France. So, it’s neither a sin nor a crime.”
Shaundra held up her glass and clinked with Chantelle. “I’m with you on that. If you guys are just having a little fun, what’s the big deal?”
Jacyn shuddered. “I dunno. If it was me, I’d feel like a cradle robber.”
Sienna cringed. “Really?”
Jacyn shrugged. “Well, I guess you aren’t exactly robbing it; maybe just rocking it a little.”
“Remember when I was shot? Well, that dude was twenty-five to my thirty,” Naisha volunteered. “He turned out to be a total psycho stalker.”
“He was younger? Damn, I thought he was an older man,” Sienna responded.
“Do you love him?” Shaundra asked suddenly, throwing Sienna for a loop.
“What? No!” But did she, she wondered.
Before she could spend any more time down that particular rabbit hole, the husbands appeared in a cluster of good looks and testosterone. Alex, Liam, Nathanael and Dustin, all having returned from doing their rounds. The men gravitated to their wives, pressing kisses on their lips and offering to freshen up their drinks.